Get that President a Wetsuit

Lets reduce the size of government and hold them responsible for poor decisions made by private corporations while at the same time reducing the government's ability to regulate.

I don't care who is responsible for the oil spill but I do care that it gets cleaned up and that this kind of disaster never occurs again.

Bill Nelson when asked about the cozy relationship between Minerals Management Service and Oil companies responded by saying the relationship was "incestuous". Then went on to talk about "breaking up" the agency. The question seems a bit obvious to me me but is anyone talking about criminal prosecution of the Oil companies for offering the bribes and influencing the MMS decisions. Why is it the focus is on government only when there is a crime instigated by the corporations who bribe the government people. Tough enforcement of this type of crime never seems to be an option. Why is it destroying the lives of millions of people and killing some creates less of an outrage against theses criminals that a shoplifter of a pack of twinkies?

I don't like the finger pointing even when it's at George Bush I do care about solutions. Who is responsible. All of us, for allowing our government and business leaders to drag their feet in working toward alternate solutions to oil.

Who is best equipped to solve the current problem? Where was the industry-wide response. Where was Shell, Mobile, and all the other offshore oil companies; where was T. Boone Pickens?

So the way some people talk we should send Barack Obama down with a wetsuit to fix it and have Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed cleaning the shore with scouring pads. Isn't it ironic that the Republican outrage is focused on the government when it is their own pet industry is the problem.

Meanwhile let's all grab a dish towel and head for the Gulf of Mexico or better yet start planning better and reduce our oil consumption. Perhaps we can get some Crayfish and Crude Etouffee.

Tea Party Logic Fails

They scream they want smaller government yet with the BP oil spill they rant about how the government is doing nothing (not true). So do they want less government or more? Do they want more regulation or less? The Bush era loaded the government with "hands off" managers and regulators who allowed the decimation of the forests and now the destruction of the gulf.

The tea Party and Republicans are blaming the Obama Administration for their failures to protect the environment. It appears as if they never understood "the Environment" meant the fishing industry and coastal tourism. Did they think all the energy in the world would make up for the loss of income for all those on the coast?

It is about time for these people to stop and think beyond their sound bites and come to grips with what small government really means - no protection for the common person in this country.

Can we afford to complain and not support our government? Are we becoming a bi-polar, short sighted group of malcontents? Chris Mathews can't understand why other oil companies are not asked to help out and I wonder if he knows that multi-national oil companies have zero allegiance to the US.

A strong country with the support of its people could cope with huge issues and yet the supposed "patriots" are ranting about "bringing down the government" or taking back "their country" as if two thirds of our citizens are the enemy. It is all male bovine waste and what they call common sense is really either hindsight or mimicked talking points espoused by the radical right who look at the common folk as surfs.

So, we have a problem created by corporate greed and these clowns blame Barack Obama and government as if he specifically told BP, Haliburton and Transocean LTD. to screw up and cause a spill.

Well I need to let my blood pressure get back to normal (JK) and close.

The answer is stronger regulation and a strong government that really gives a flying flip for the country's best interests.

Elena Kagan and the Keystone Republican't Cops

Does it bother anyone that President Obama can't talk without us hearing how the world will come to an end if anyone agrees with him? I suppose if you are sliding over a cliff you will grasp at anything initially and then claw at rock until your finger bleed as you are at the brink.

Senator Jeff Session, the ranking Republican on the committee, told George Stephanopoulos he wasn’t so sure; “This is a confirmation process not a coronation." S here we have one Senator insinuating what? Why the talk of Coronations and Czars coming from the party of wealth and power?

Frank Lutz is the savvy wordsmith of the darkside that got it right about what most Americans hate these days his only problem it happens to be the arrogant Republican't jerks he represents. So Frank designed a tapestry of oft repeated points for getting poor and middle income people to "Hate Government" it goes something like this.

Repeat early and often these sayings:

"Big Government" = to take your eye off the real bureaucracy "Big Business"
"Czar, Coronation..." = To make you think of government as a dictatorship
"Cram/Ram/Stuff down your throats" = Make majority opinion appear something akin to rape.
"Socialism, Fascism, any-ism" = Something other than Democracy
"The Democrat Party" = we can't have people confusing democracy with "Those People"
"The Elite/Intellectual" vs "Common Sense" = So you believe Democrats are aloof snobs while listening to Republican't aloof snobs tell you what to do.
"Tax & Spend Liberals" = So you can't see the Republican't party has been "Spend and Bankrupt the Country Conservatives"

Sure the country is upset, so much so, some people are preparing for the "End of Days" with great delight while stocking up on guns, food, gasoline and other supplies for some vague catastrophic event that will wipe out mankind. Why do you need all of this for the end of the world? Is it to kill everyone in sight while waiting to die?

But back to Kagen

Elena Kagan has a superb record of legal accomplishment yet the buzzards are out pecking. I don't mind intelligent comment and I do consider Jeff Sessions an intelligent person after listening to his questioning of Halliburton at the Senate hearing on the BP oil spill, but really what kind of logic can you credit him with after comparing Kagen to Abdul.

From Andy Borowitz ~ "Howling in protest over Obama Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s lack of judging experience, leading Republicans today urged the President to withdraw Kagan and instead nominate Paula Abdul.

“The American people have had years of watching Paula’s judging expertise, and they know that she is fair,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee."

I look at the legacy the Republicant's gave us with John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Sam Alito and see something other than justice something akin to the phrase "gimme, gimme, gimme" with no understanding of what it means struggle in life.

Thee used to be a value in apolitical thought that was more concerned with right thinking and not right leaning.

So far Barack Obama has nominated two people to the Supreme Court both are even handed and better represent moderate thought and both have been blasted by the Republican'ts as unqualified even though both are extremely qualified and highly intelligent.

I read the comment Jeff Sessions made and wondered if he is expressing thoughts better said about Clarence Thomas and never got a chance to say.

Late news - BP, Transocean and Halliburton in a Ménage à trois made in hell.

It has been a day of finger-pointing at the first Senate hearing on what caused the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. None of the men representing the three companies — BP, Transocean, and Halliburton — have wanted to admit total responsibility for what caused the accident on April 20, which resulted in 11 deaths, and in 4,000 square miles of oil contaminated water in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ménage à trois ~ In contemporary usage, the meaning of the term has been extended to mean any living relationship between three people, whether or not sex is involved, but the term retains its suggestive quality.

There is No Comparison - At All

The Business Insider said,

"It's been argued that Hurricane Katrina was one of George W. Bush's biggest organizational failures, for the tragedy was allowed to fester on for way too long before his much-vaunted homeland security apparatus sprang into action.

Will the oil spill in the gulf -- which some suspect could be worse than Exxon Valdez -- be the equivalent for Barack Obama?"

How could anyone compare the two incidents in severity, loss of life, timeliness of the response?

While George Bush did not cause the storm or create the circumstances of Katrina his administration did have an awful lot to do with the response and lack thereof. How many days did we see people dying at the Superdome and not even get transportation to a safer place or food and assistance?

Then comes a great BP corporate disaster in lives and environmental/economic losses. And what has been the response? First I must say to those who keep harping on how terrible regulations are not just for off-shore drilling, finance and mining but a myriad of business ventures that perhaps a little more regulation would help rather than cripple business. Business men at the top of these organizations are powerful but they are no more competent than government in being effective.

"The Response To The Oil Spill So Far
Posted by Robert Gibbs on April 30, 2010 at 09:51 AM EDT
Ed. Note: This post was updated at 3:45PM.

The response to the BP Oil Spill began as an emergency search and rescue mission by the U.S. Coast Guard and other partners on April 20. Concurrently, command center operations were stood up immediately in the Gulf Coast to begin also addressing the environmental impact of the incident.

The morning after the explosion, Secretary Salazar deployed Deputy Secretary Hayes down to the gulf to assist with coordination and response to the incident.

The Administration immediately began holding regular calls with BP leadership and numerous senior-level meetings have been held between the administration and BP to discuss BP’s response effort and federal oversight and support.

The National Response Team (NRT), an organization of 16 federal departments and agencies responsible for coordinating emergency preparedness and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents was quickly activated and a coordinated group of federal partners—including the United States Coast Guard, Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency—immediately began directing and overseeing BP’s response.

The President immediately began actively monitoring the incident and consulting on the response. The President has been in contact with all the governors of the states that may be affected and ordered that the administration use every single available resource at our disposal.

The Department of Defense is fully integrated into the DHS-led team and fully supportive of all response activities. Navy assets have been involved since day #1, and DOD continues to offer and prepare to offer what is needed as the situation develops.

The Secretary of Defense has approved a request for two C-130 aircraft with Modular Aerial Spray Systems (MASS), which are currently en route to the affected area. The Coast Guard has requested assistance from the Department of Defense for these aircraft.

These aircraft dispense the same dispersant chemical being used by BP and the federal responders. Each system is capable of covering up to 250 acres per flight with three flights per aircraft per day.

Additionally, in direct support of the Coast Guard under an existing pollution clean-up and salvage operations agreement, the Navy is providing a variety of oil pollution control equipment. The Navy has sent thousands of feet of inflatable oil boom with mooring equipment, several skimming systems, related support gear, and personnel to support oil spill response efforts. Naval Air Station Pensacola is serving as a staging facility for Coast Guard contractor-provided equipment.

Early on, the President directed responding agencies to not only devote every resource to respond to this incident but to also determine its cause. Earlier this week, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar laid out the next steps for the investigation.

The President has also dispatched Secretary Napolitano, Secretary Salazar, EPA Administrator Jackson, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco to the Gulf Coast to ensure all is being done to respond to this oil spill.

DHS Secretary Napolitano announced that this incident is of national significance, the Department of Interior has announced that they will be sending SWAT teams to the Gulf to inspect all platforms and rigs and the EPA is conducting air monitoring activities to gather information on the impact of the controlled burn on air quality.

By the Numbers To Date:
Personnel were quickly deployed and 1,900 have been responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife—hundreds more than yesterday.
Approximately 75 response vessels have been responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts—in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles, and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.
More than 217,000 feet of boom (barrier) have been deployed to contain the spill—an increase of more than 40,000 feet since yesterday. An additional 305,000 feet is available.
20,313 barrels (853,146 gallons) of an oil-water mix have been recovered—an increase of 90,000 gallons since yesterday.
139,459 gallons of dispersant have been deployed—an increase of more than 40,000 gallons since yesterday. An additional 51,000 gallons are available.
Six staging areas (Biloxi, Miss., Pensacola, Fla. Venice, La., Pascagoula, Miss. and Theodore, Ala., and Fourchon, La.) were set up to protect sensitive shorelines—an increase of 1 since yesterday. "

The real "Death Panels" Insurance Companies

"I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room." ~ G.W.Bush, 7/10/07.

The way Sarah Palin squawked about "Death Panels" you would think she didn't realize we already have them and they are administered by Insurance Companies. The real death panels are "certain rules" adopted by those we had trusted to keep us safe.

Insure - to do something in order to prevent something unpleasant from happening or from affecting you.

By excluding us from coverage too many people lose everything including their lives from lack of adequate care. When we have no coverage or coverage was dropped there is no true option other than letting an illnes fester until the Emergency Room is the only option and then in many cases it is too late, all other patients pay for the Dr./Hospital losses and many die.

So what are the real "Death Panels?" I found this on the web.

List of Pre-Existing Conditions - Declinable Conditions Which Can Cause Denial of Health Insurance Coverage
Abnormal PAP Smear Achalasia, Cardiospasm Acne Acromegaly Acute Poliomyelitis ADD Addison's Disease Adrenal Insufficiency AIDS Alcohol Abuser Alcoholic Cirrhosis of Liver Alzheimer's Disease Amyloidosis Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Aneurysms Angina Angioplasty Ankylosing Spondylitis Ankylosis Anticoagulant Medications Aortic Insufficiency Aortic or Mitral Valve Replacement Aortic Stenosis Aplastic Anemia Arrhythmia Arterial Embolism, Thrombosis (clot) Arterial Occlusion Arteriosclerosis Obliterans (A.S.O.) Arteriovenous Malformation Arthritis Arthritis, Rheumatoid Artificial Joints Artificial Valves Asbestos Exposure (Asbestosis) Asthma Atherosclerosis Obliterans Atherosclerosis Thrombotic Disease Atrial Fibrillation (chronic) Autism (infantile) Banti's Disease (Liver Disorder) Biliary Cirrhosis Bipolar Disorders Blastomycosis Brain Damage (Organic) Bright's Disease (Glomerulonephritis) Bronchiectasis Buerger's Disease (Thromboangitis) Bulimia Burkitt's Tumor Cancer (Breast or Prostate) Carcinoid Syndrome Cardiac Bypass Cardiomyopathy Cardiospasm, Achalasia Cerebral Palsy (Infantile) Charcot-Marie Tooth Disease Chrohn's Disease Chronic Glomerulonephritis Chronic Hepatitis Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Chronic Pulmonary Heart Disease Cirrhosis of the Liver Coarctation of the Aorta Colostomy Congestive Heart Failure Cooley's Anemia Cor Pulmonale Coronary Artery Disease (C.A.D.) Coronary Heart Disease (C.H.D.) Crohn's Disease (Ulcerative Colitis) Curvature of the Spine Cushing's Syndrome Cystic Fibrosis Cystic Kidney Disease Cystic Lung Disease Dementia Dentofacial Function Abnormalities Dermatomyositis Diabetes (all types) Disorders of Autonomic Nervous System Domestic Violence Down Syndrome Drug Abuse Illegal Drug Abuse Prescription Drug Psychosis Electroconvulsive Therapy Emphysema Encephalopathy Enlarged Liver Esophageal Varices Fabry Disease Factor VIII or IX Deficiency Fatty Liver Fertility Treatment Gastric Bypass/ Stapling Gilles De La Tourette's Syndrome Glomerulonephritis, Chronic Goodpasture's Syndrome Guillain Barre's Syndrome	Heart and/or Lung Transplants Heart attack Hemiplegia Hemochromatosis Hemolytic Anemia Hemophilia A or B Henoch's Purpura Hepatitis C, G, Non-a, Non-B Hepatomegaly Herniated Intervertebral Disc HIV Hodgkin's Disease Huntington's Chorea Hydrocephalus Hydronephrosis Hypersplenism Hyperthyroidism Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) Immunodeficiency Disorder Infertility Treatment Insulin Use Internal Cardiac Defibrillator Ischemic Heart Disease Kaposi's Sarcoma Kidney Failure Kidney: Polycystic Kidneys Kidney Transplant Klinefelter's Syndrome (Gonadal Dysgenesis) Legionella Pneumophilia Leukemia Leukoencephalopathy Lipisosis (Neiman-Pick Disease) Liver Failure Liver Transplant Lou Gehrig's Disease Lung Transplant Lupus, systemic (SLE) Lymphadenitis Lymphoma Malignant Melanoma Marfan's syndrome Medullary Sponge Kidney Mitral Insufficiency Mitral Stenosis Mixed Connective Tissue Disease Morbid Obesity Multicystic Kidneys Multiple Myeloma Multiple Sclerosis Muscular Dystrophy Myasthenia Gravis Myelopathy Myocardial Infarction (M.I.) Myocardial Ischemia (M.I.) Nephritis Nephrotic Syndrome Neurofibromatosis (Von Recklinghausen's) Neiman Pick Disease (Lipidosis) Neuropathy, Inflammatory Toxic Obesity Occlusion of Cerebral Arteries Organ Transplant Organic Brain Syndrome Organic Heart Murmur Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) Pacemakers Paget's Disease Pancreatitis Paralysis Paranoid Disorder Paraplegia Parkinson's Disease Pemphigus Peripheral Occlusive Arterial Disease (P.O.A.D.) Peripheral Vascular Disease Peroneal Peripheral Neuropathy Personality Disorders Pituitary Dwarfism Pneumoconiosis Pneumocystitis Carinii Pneumonia (P.C.P.) Polio Myelitis Polyarteritis Nodosa Polycystic Kidney Disease Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Polycythemia Polymyositis Polyneuropathy Porphyria Pregnancy Premature Ventricular Contractions Primary Pulmonary Hypertension Prostate Disorder Psoriatic Arthropathy Psychosis Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis Pulmonary Fibrosis Pulmonary Heart Disease Pulmonary Hypertension Pulmonary Insufficiency Pulmonary Stenosis Pyloric Stenosis	Quadraplegia Rape Raynaud's Syndrome Renal Failure Renal Hypertension Rheumatic Heart Disease Rheumatoid Arthritis Sarcoidosis Sarcoma Schizo Disorders (bipolar or depressive) Schizophrenia Scleroderma Seizures (recent) Senile Syndrome Serious Congenital Abnormalities Severe Childhood or Adolescent Disorders Sick Sinus Syndrome Sickle Cell Anemia Disease Silicosis Sjogren's Disease Sleep Apnea Smoking (long term, other factors) Spina Bifida Spinocerebellar Disease Spondylitis Stroke (indeterminate, ischemic) Suicide attempt Syndrome X Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Syringomyelia Tabes Dorsalis Takayasu's Disease Tay-Sach's Disease (Cerebral Lipidosis) Temporal Arteritis Testicular Dysfunction Tetrology of Fallot Thalassemia Major (Mediterranean Anemia) Thromboangitis Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura TIA Too fat Too thin Tourette's Syndrome Tracheostomy Transient Organic Psychosis Transient Ischemic Attack Transplants Transsexualism Tricuspid Insufficiency Tricuspid Stenosis Trisomy 21 Syndrome Tuberculosis Turner's Syndrome Ulcerative Colitis Undiagnosed Symptoms (Kaiser) Uremia Valve Replacement Ventricular Arrhythmias Ventricular Septal Defect Von Recklinghausen's Disease Von Willebrand's Disease (hemophilia) Wegner's Granulomatosis Werlhof's Disease
This composite list is by no means exhaustive. These are just SOME of the reasons for denial of medical coverage. It was compiled from conditions listed by Anthem (Blue Cross), Assurant, CIGNA, and Kaiser. "Undiagnosed symptoms" is my favorite. That covers everything.

Wedge Issues and Division

How do we see ourselves politically? Somehow we want to categorize each other in the most extreme ways. Why? Over the last few decades out view of the world is communicates by and to us in extreme ways, Vietnam, Cold War, War in Iraq I, War on Terrorism and Iraq II. Both sides of the polarization have been epitomized by extremes of demagoguery and like metal filings we have gravitated to the poles.

I find it amazing, when I step back and look objectively, that neither pole is as correct as they think and neither pole is as wrong as they see each other.

I was wondering aloud with my wife if it makes any difference to the extreme conservatives if a person is moderate, liberal, socialistic, and communistic if they are all considered extreme threats by those more conservative. I wonder if extreme liberals care if a person is either moderate, conservative, fascist before they call them wingnuts or "Big Business" thugs. All Tea Party folks are not the dangerous extremists they are made out to be but some are definitely a threat to society as are some left wing radicals.

Somehow we need to see our country as a United place not in thought necessarily but in purpose and that purpose is “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,” lest we learn that “divided we fall.” Perhaps we all need to give a little for the common good and stop name calling in the darkness of blind hatred and blind faith in those who are too selfish to understand we are not all the same and not all that different.

We all need to listen and read better and discover more than one point of view on every issue. We all need to better at understanding that there is more than one issue that is important in our lives. Common sense and knowledge are two different things and both are more effective when both are used. Education and experience provide only part of being right with energy and courage also being necessary for the common good.

Common good is not a dirty word and neither is social justice and while there is a "dog eat dog" does describe some aspects of life we are not cannibals. While it is true the victor gets the spoils at times it's a hallow victory when the spoils discontent and hate.

Obama's Fatal Flaw

Who would have believed the president hidden flaw would be his downfall.

"Eric Spiegelman, of the blog "Bus Your Own Tray," noticed something fabulous while scanning the State Department's flickr page: Barack Obama's smile is amazingly consistent.

On Wednesday, the Obamas hosted a reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and posed for over a hundred photographs with foreign leaders in town for the big UN meeting. His smile never changed." ~ Huffington Post

What kind of person would stoop to a smiling contest with utter disregard the decorum of the office of president. It was revealed that Rahm Emanuel whose secret Bolshoi dance fantasy was never realized per a wikipedia story.

Rahm saluting the "Just say no to smiling" Republican't Party

"Emanuel was encouraged by his mother to take ballet lessons as a boy and is a graduate of the Evanston School of Ballet. He won a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet but turned it down to attend Sarah Lawrence College, a liberal arts school with a strong dance program." ~ Wikipedia

Not Rahm's Mom

It was in a session with Nancy Pelosi that the group decided on playing the vicious "Smile Card"

John Boehner response to President Obama's Smile was "Hell no you can't" as he said without a smile. Then promised "Obama may be smiling less because he's been addressing the financial crisis, a situation that makes smiling often inappropriate."

One person noted, "What is behind the Barak Obama Smile?"

Undercover work by Eric Spiegelman discovered the sinisterness of Obama's consistent smile in his great video,

The pinko-commie, socialist,Fascist, Godlessness of the one true anti-Christ will always be the one without the S-M-I-L-E ...


From the emotionally two year old Rush Limpbaugh

Now wait. Drum roll please - dum dee dee dum. To ....... Glenn "baby face" Beck

Happy April Fools Day!