Report on major oil spill has already been written -- and ignored

Yesterday, I wrote a post about Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu who is one of the biggest cheerleaders for the oil industry. That's no small feat. She wants more drilling now. That oil spill destroying the Gulf of Mexico doesn't seem to faze her.

Landrieu and other elected officials have protected the oil industry. And, the oil industry hasn't had to be responsible. We know that now. But, our leaders have clearly failed us. This could have been prevented or mitigated. Because, what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico has a precedent: The Exxon Valdez disaster. What lessons were learned? None:

But the full story of the Exxon Valdez wreck is far more complex, and it offers striking parallels to today's events in the Gulf of Mexico -- including a central role played by a consortium led by British Petroleum, now known as BP.

A commission that investigated the Alaska spill found that oil companies cut corners to maximize profits. Systems intended to prevent disaster failed, and no backups were in place. Regulators were too close to the oil industry and approved woefully inadequate accident response and cleanup plans.

History is repeating, say officials who investigated the Valdez, because the lessons of two decades ago remain unheeded.

"It's disappointing," said 84-year-old Walt Parker, chairman of the Alaska Oil Spill Commission, which made dozens of recommendations for preventing a recurrence. "It's almost as though we had never written the report."

Marine experts predict that the many panels investigating the Deepwater Horizon blowout -- including a presidential commission that began work this week in New Orleans -- will produce reports with numerous findings that could have been cut and pasted from the 20-year-old report written by Parker's commission or another body that examined the Valdez accident. They also fear those findings may have no more impact than the Valdez conclusions have.

With leaders like Landrieu protecting the oil industry, it's probably true that nothing will change. They just want more drilling without regard for the consequences. Read More......

NOAA hoarding data away from researchers but BP receives it immediately

To be fair to NOAA, Tony Hayward is the president, after all. More from Dan Froomkin at the Huffington Post:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is hoarding vast amounts of raw data that independent marine researchers say could help both the public and scientists better understand the extent of the damage being caused by the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In most cases, NOAA insists on putting the data through a ponderous, many-weeks-long vetting process before making it public.

In other cases, NOAA actually intended to keep the data secret indefinitely. But officials told the Huffington Post on Tuesday that they have now decided to release it -- though when remains unclear.

BP, incidentally, gets to see all this data right away.

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Bastille Day (my small contribution)

My small contribution, on Bastille Day, à la Résistance. This is one of the best political anthems I've ever heard. It's stirring, even if you know not an ounce of French. Damien Saez wrote this in 2002, as a response to the election that saw Jean-Marie Le Pen, the super-rightwing racist, place second in the French national elections.

But the song is universal — it works for all who believe in the rights of man, and in resistance. The inactive and disconsolate need not apply.

First the clip, then my small translation, for those who wish to follow along.

Sons of France
Damien Saez

"40% of voters 18-25 years old didn't vote. Unimaginable!"

I saw, with tears in my eyes, this morning in the news
20% for the horror, 20% for the fear.
Drunk with unawareness, all of them sons of France
In the land of Enlightenment, suicidal forgetfulness.

No-no-no no no
No-no-no no no

We are, we are . . . the land of the Rights of Man
We are, we are . . . the nation of Tolerance
We are, we are . . . the land of Enlightenment
We are, we are . . . at the hour of Résistance

For all the dreams we had, for those that we will dream
For the fist that we have lifted, and the fist that we will make
We march for utopia, we march for a better we,
Allons marchons together, enfants de la patrie.
Sons of France!

. . .

Behind us there are shadows, traitors and their plots
The banners that they fly, their anthems and their shouts.
And then there is you, my brother — you, who believes no more
And there are all our prayers, and our lost causes too.

Shame on our country, shame on our patrie
Shame on us, the young, shame on the tyranny
Shame on our country — look, the old enemy!
Allons marchons together, enfants de la patrie.

We are, we are . . . the land of the Rights of Man
We are, we are . . . the nation of Tolerance
We are, we are . . . the land of Enlightenment
We are, we are . . . at the hour of Résistance !

An alternate version, from an all-live performance:



Powerful stuff. À la Résistance !

GP Read More......

As House leaders head to White House, Pelosi calls Gibbs 'politically inept'

This morning, eight House Demcoratic leaders are heading to the White House to meet with President Obama. Among the attendees are Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the Chair of the DCCC, Chris Van Hollen. They're going to be talking about the legislative agenda, but as I said in the open thread, they really need to talk about the upcoming elections. This meeting plays out against the backdrop of the comments from Robert Gibbs that Democrats could lose the House this fall.

Apparently, those comments didn't sit well with the House Democratic caucus -- and the Speaker:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slammed White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during Tuesday night’s House Democratic Caucus meeting for saying Sunday that Democrats could lose control of the House in November.

Several Democratic sources in the room described a testy scenario that started with Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (N.J.) criticizing Gibbs for saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there is “no doubt there’s enough seats in play” to allow for a House GOP takeover in 2012. Things heated up as Pelosi jumped in and blasted Gibbs for making “politically inept” comments, according to one source.

“It was bad,” another source said. “She was like: ‘I don’t appreciate it. I don’t know who this guy is. I’ve never met him before. And he’s saying that we’re going to lose the House.’”

The House has delivered on the Obama agenda. House Democrats have fought harder for the agenda than Obama's White House has.

Gibbs and the White House crew should be trying to figure out how to win in the fall, not giving ammo to the GOPers.

I have no doubt that some politicos think it might be easier for Obama to run for reelection if the GOPers control the House. But, we didn't elect Obama so he can run for reelection. We elected him to enact an agenda. It's been hard enough with Democrats in control. Nothing will happen if the GOPers have real power. Nothing. And, the White House will spend all of its time responding to subpoenas from Darrell Issa. Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

As Chris already noted from Paris, it's Bastille Day.

Yesterday, Obama met with Senate Democratic leaders. The Senate intends to focus on passing several bills related to the economy, including the Wall Street reform conference report and an extension of unemployment benefits. Today, he's meeting with top Democrats on the House side to talk about their agenda before the August recess. The House has already accomplished much of Obama's agenda. They should be talking about how to keep the House under Democratic control in the November elections, too.

This morning, Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo are on trial in DC Superior Court facing charges of “Failure to Obey a Lawful Order." The charges stem from their civil disobedience on March 18 and April 20 -- handcuffing themselves to the White House fence to protest the President's failure to act on the repeal of DADT.

Never a dull moment.... Read More......

Study: UK Conservative budget 'has increased chance of double-dip recession'

Of course it did. The Tories haven't even finished yet either. They're now talking about "injecting the free market" or some nonsense that really means "privatize" the National Health Service. What this always does is help a few select people cash in and the government no longer carries the numbers on their books so they can happily talk about the money saved. Sure, the government may save but the actual consumers will be crushed again with higher charges. Great savings there, boys. So the higher costs will be a great help for those suffering because of yet another recession. How much more savings can an already beaten down public take?

George Osborne's budget has increased the likelihood of a double-dip recession, the government's tax and spending watchdog told a powerful group of MPs today.

Cuts in public spending and higher taxes will have cut the forecast for growth and "logically increased the possibility of a double dip", said Geoffrey Dicks, one of three officials at the Office for Budget Responsibility, at the first meeting of the Treasury select committee in the new parliament.

The admission will be a blow to the chancellor who has denied his drastic austerity package increases the risk of the economy falling back into recession.

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It's Bastille Day

A great ending to an excellent movie (Danton) about the French Revolution. The little boy reads The Rights of Man to Robespierre on the day Robespierre had Danton executed. Thomas Paine lived about ten minutes away from where I live today. He also was lucky to survive "the terror" because he voted against executing the king. Paine was sent to prison in the Luxembourg (today it's the Senat) and survived only because the chalk line that was supposed to be in front of his door (indicating he was to be executed) was incorrectly placed inside the doorway when it was open. When the door was closed, the line was hidden. That mistake provided him with an extra day which was enough for someone to save him. If you have the opportunity to see the movie Danton, it's definitely worth viewing. Read More......

Can even the GOP make this many 'gaffes'?

This piece assembles a number of recent news events and attempts to make sense of them.

Joe recently pointed to something that's more than a little concerning. He quotes a Wash Post article that says the BP oil spill hasn't really impacted either public opinion or public policy regarding fossil fuels. After a list of all the ways nothing has budged, the article concludes:

The Senate is still gridlocked. Opinion polls haven't budged much. Gasoline demand is going up, not down.

Joe comments:

[W]e've heard mixed messages from elected officials from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. On one hand, they want more federal aid. On the other hand, they want more drilling, even though we now know that it's not safe.

Shamelessly in bed with BP, and three crisp hundreds on the night stand. Oops. Couple that with recent GOP "mistakes" like this one from John Kyl:

You do need to offset the cost of increased spending. And that’s what republicans object to. But you should never have to offset cost of a deliberate decision to reduce tax rates on Americans.

Make that four crisp hundreds. Or the Joe Barton BP apology. Or Sharron Angle calling the $20 billion in BP escrow cash a "slush fund", something Time's Swampland called "Sharron Angle's latest gaffe" (emphasis on "latest"). Or any of the countless attacks on the unemployed that stream over the transom and under the GOP door these days.

So many — can they really be gaffes? What if all of these "mistakes" aren't mistakes at all, but careful calculations? If so — and here I return you to Joe's point at the start of this post — it's working. No needle of outrage has moved; no Obama policy has been nudged toward change I can believe in. (In fact, "Team Change You Can Believe In" has managed to rebrand itself — "Team No Change You Can Notice" is sadly closer to the mark.)

A strategy this successful (admit it — it really is successful) is neither a series of "gaffes" nor the product of idiots. So best be prepared. I think we need to batten down, folks.

I've said a million times — Big Money enables Republicans and neuters Democrats. Money is handing a fortune to Republicans for this next election, and threatening Dems if Dems don't toe the line.

Money has all the bases covered. Money controls both opponents and the media who report the contest. (If you have time, check out this from Digby — I think Jon Alter has seriously soiled himself here. I wish I had the video.)

And the people? They seem to be passing through this staged event like Disney patrons in super-size shirts and shorts moving to the next faux presentation. (And it probably won't surprise you to learn that, according to this new study, the only effect that facts have on the already-cemented-in is to harden the cement.)

Yes, it may be a seriously bumpy night.

But I don't want to focus on the feeling of impotence — that's really part of the plan, isn't it — but on the need for planning and action. This note is not about them, but about you, about us, and our response to the rest of our school year with Team Change You Can Wait For.

Money's plan for them is to cave. Money's plan for you is to grumble and take it. My suggestion — cross them up. Do the first; don't do not the second. (Some suggestions here.)

GP Read More......

Confidence in Obama reaches new low in ABC/Wash Post poll

Wash Post:

Public confidence in President Obama has hit a new low, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Four months before midterm elections that will define the second half of his term, nearly six in 10 voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country, and a clear majority once again disapproves of how he is dealing with the economy.

I do think the President has finally realized that he needs to fight, at least use fighting words, which is a step forward. But the albatross around his neck is the economy, and specifically, the unemployment rate. That rate is directly attributable to the President's decision not to push for a full stimulus, but rather cut the stimulus in half and then give 35% away to the GOP in the form of useless tax cuts. The result is exactly what Krugman and Stiglitz predicated at the time: high unemployment and a limping recovery, mixed with a threat of a double dip recession.

It may seem like beating a dead horse to note that we're in this current mess because the President screwed up, but until he shows that he's learned his lesson, and is willing to fight for things, from the beginning, and full-bore, it's worth repeating. Bad decisions have consequences, and they tend to come back and bite you in the ass. Read More......

The first octopus millionaire?

Why not? Many have done much less for much more so good for the little guy. I hope he gets some tasty meals out of this.

Before the World Cup started, few could have foretold that one of the biggest winners of the tournament would be a psychic octopus. But now Paul, who correctly predicted the outcome of eight matches in a row, is on course to be the world's first millionaire octopus.

The mystic mollusc is retiring from the prediction business while he's ahead, his owner Sea Life announced on Tuesday. But as the company considers offers to "spread Paul's fame even further, without involving the canny cephalod directly" marketing experts say it could earn millions by selling his image for advertising products and services.

PR guru Max Clifford, best known for generating tabloid headlines such as "Freddie Starr ate my hamster," believes Paul, who was born in England, has ended his soothsaying days at exactly the right time. "Obviously his 100 percent record is remarkable but the minute he gets it wrong it all disappears," Clifford told CNN.

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Connection between BP and release of terrorist convicted of bombing Pan Am flight 103?

Just when you honestly thought things couldn't get any worse for BP. This is disgusting, if true. From Mother Jones:

Is there a connection between BP and the terrorist convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103? Four senators want to know what sway the oil giant may have had in securing the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in exchange for a $900 million offshore oil drilling deal with Libya.

Megrahi, the only person convicted of bombing that killed 270 people in 1988, was released from prison in Scotland last August. A Scottish court granted the release after doctors claimed that Megrahi was terminally ill from prostate cancer and had only three months to live. The release, of course, prompted plenty of outrage. The bomber is still alive, and just this week one of the doctors that gave that dire prognosis last year came forward to assert that the Libyan government paid him to make that claim. Now four senators–Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)—are calling on the State Department to investigate whether the oil giant was involved in the deal-making, and whether "BP might use blood money" to pay for damages in the Gulf of Mexico.

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The rules of engagement in rural Georgia

The rules of engagement in rural Georgia — from Monday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

[On April 26] Janice Wells called the Richland Police Department when she feared a prowler was outside her clapboard house in the rural west Georgia town.

The third-grade teacher had phoned for help. But within minutes of an officer coming to her backdoor, she was screaming in pain and begging not to be shocked again with a Taser. With each scream and cry, the officer threatened her with more shocks.

"All of it's just unreal to me. I was scared to death," Wells said in an interview with the AJC. "He kept tasing me and tasing me. My fingernails are still burned. My leg, back and my butt had a long scar on it for days."

The officer in question is Ryan Smith of the Lumpkin Police Department. Smith was called to back up an officer from the Richland Police Department because the sheriff's office in the county, Stewart, had no deputies to send.

Smith resigned as a result of the incident. The other officer involved, Tim Murphy of Richland PD, was fired for using pepper spray while trying to arrest Wells. . . . Stewart County Sheriff Larry Jones, who came to the house seconds after the last electric shock was administered, suspects the outcome would have been different if the woman had been white and the officers black. [my emphasis]

Makes you feel all tingly and post-racial, doesn't it? Digby, who covers these stories regularly, has more, including this:

Smith resigned just as Ogle started the process to fire him, the chief said. Smith now works for the Chattahoochee County Sheriff's office.

But it's not like he didn't have options. I hear Blackwater's hiring.

The rules of engagement.

GP Read More......

Landrieu wants more drilling. Now.

Senator Mary Landrieu is a wholly owned subsidiary of the oil industry. I heard her on NRP this morning complaining about the Commission that's investigating the BP oil spill. She doesn't want anything to impede drilling.

The Gulf of Mexico is being destroyed by the BP oil spill. We know that the oil industry had no plan to deal with massive spills -- and still doesn't. Landrieu and her allies have protected and coddled the industry. And, she wants more drilling:

But Landrieu, an ardent supporter of drilling, was clear Monday that the government's decision is not one she can endorse, regardless of how it has been tweaked.

“Whether you call it a moratorium, a suspension, or a pause, the result will still be a substantial loss of jobs. Even the revised moratorium will force thousands of hard-working Louisianians and others along the Gulf Coast into the unemployment lines," Landrieu continued. “We know what these suspensions will do to Gulf Coast families and to our economy. Yet, it seems that the Administration has ignored this data and failed to conduct its own economic analysis."

Maybe destroying the Gulf was the oil industry's plan all along. Maybe if they destroy all wildlife in the Gulf and wipe out the fishing industry, there would be no environmental impediments to their work. Then, they could just drill, drill, drill.

That sounds diabolical, but it's probably something Landrieu would get behind. Because, a Senator who wasn't owned by the oil industry might say something like “We know what these spills will do to Gulf Coast families and to our economy." But, she ignores the data and the reality.

Makes it hard to have empathy for the losses in the gulf region when the region's leaders don't seem concerned about preventing future disasters -- and sure didn't do anything to prevent this one. Read More......

GOP Senator candidate Rand Paul suggests the poor don't have it that bad

He actually said we should be proud of the way our poor live:

"They filmed a building in the poorer section of New York with some broken windows and they said, `Oh, this is how the poor in America lives,'" Paul said at last week's forum. "But it backfired on them because the Soviet citizens looked at that video closely and they saw flickering color television sets in all those windows."

Paul went on to say that "the poor in our country are enormously better off than the rest of the world. It doesn't mean we can't do better. But we have to acknowledge and be proud of our system of capitalism."

Who can argue with a movie? Read More......

Media ban lifted in Gulf spill region

What is a possible concern is who will decide who represents the media. Some of the best reporting of the events has come from independent sources online so hopefully they will be given equal access like the larger media outlets. Now we only have to count on BP security to accept this media ban since we all know how much they have respected the previous announcements.

The Coast Guard has modified a policy on safety zones around boom deployed on oiled coastlines, a policy news organizations had said unnecessarily restricted coverage of the impact of the BP oil spill and efforts to clean it up.

In a statement Monday night, the government's point man for the spill, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said new procedures permit credentialed news media free travel within the boom safety zones.

"I have put out a direction that the press are to have clear, unfettered access to this event, with two exceptions — if there is a safety or security concern," said Allen. "This boom is critical to the defense of the marshes and the beaches."

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