First GOP attacked Obama for the BP escrow account, now they're blaming Obama for taking credit for it - which is it?

From PoliticalCorrection.org:

Earlier in the week, the Republican Study Committee (the caucus of House conservatives) issued a press release calling BP's decision to open a $20 billion escrow account to compensate Gulf residents hurt by the BP spill a "Chicago-style political shakedown." Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), chairman of RSC, commented, "in an administration that appears not to respect fundamental American principles, it is important to note that there is no legal authority for the President to compel a private company to set up or contribute to an escrow account."

Now, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), another member of the RSC, is attacking President Obama from a different angle. In a press release, Franks does not accuse the White House of a "shakedown," but rather blasts the president for his supposed dishonesty in taking credit for the creation of the escrow account.

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Is the Deepwater Horizon leak a 'natural disaster' as the GOP says?

Hardly. Why are the Republicans referring to this as a "natural disaster"? Someone needs to ask Boehner and the GOP why they're making this mistake because it sounds like yet another Republican effort to shield BP. Why is it so hard for the Republicans to accept responsibility? Read More......

White House warns of GOP Congress

Halle-freaking-lujah. The White House has been loathe to criticize the Republicans, especially by name (usually they allude to "some people"). This time, they're actually naming names, and warning what would happen should the Republicans take control of the Congress - something, again, they haven't done nearly enough of. This is great. More of it, please. Read More......

Harry Reid's opponent, Sharron Angle, wants to eliminate Social Security, Medicare, EPA

Good luck with that.

As Sharron Angle greeted supporters at Stoney's Restaurant in Las Vegas, 8 News NOW Reporter Nathan Baca approached her to ask about her Social Security plan.

Her website calls for "transitioning out" Social Security and Medicare.

"Why do you want to eliminate (Social Security) for younger folks, because your plan calls for transitioning out," Baca asked.

"You believe the Harry Reid lie," Angle replied.

When asked to define "transitioning out", Angle said, "Transition into a personalized account… personalized Social Security accounts that they can't raid."

The stock market, Baca countered, almost crashed in 2008, meaning millions of seniors would have had their savings accounts wiped out.

Angle replied, "Now, you're putting words into my mouth from Harry Reid. I want you to be very clear on this. I'm here to save Social Security… Harry Reid is here to bankrupt Social Security."

Baca then asked Angle about her quote calling for the elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency. "Why do you want to eliminate the EPA when we're in our worst environmental disaster in this country," Baca asked.

And of course, there's video:

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Limbaugh thinks child poverty and hunger is a joke

Dumpster dive? Really? Apparently that's what the leader of the Republican party thinks is an option for hungry kids in the US. It's hard to believe compassionate conservatism never really caught on. Read More......

Church confirms GOP IL Senate candidate Mark Kirk lied about teaching credentials

Is his name even Mark?

From the NYT:

A leader of the church in upstate New York where Representative Mark S. Kirk of Illinois claimed he worked as a nursery school teacher said on Friday that he had overstated his role there.

The leader, Sally Grubb, a member of the administrative council at Forest Home Chapel, said Mr. Kirk, a Republican candidate for the United States Senate, had a limited role as a student while working part-time in a work-study program at Cornell University.

“He was never, ever considered a teacher,” Ms. Grubb said in a phone interview after spending two days researching the history of Mr. Kirk’s association with the nursery school. “He was just an additional pair of hands to help a primary teaching person.”

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Help send our friend, Judd Legum, to the Maryland House of Delegates

One of our good friends, Judd Legum, is running for the State Delegate in Maryland. Last week, he sent an email with this update:

Every day since Tuesday, my 92-year-old grandfather Mo has been on the phone five hours a day calling other seniors in the district and urging them to support my candidacy for Maryland State Delegate. He does this every weekday. Every day since Tuesday, with the help of our volunteers, I've been knocking on doors and talking to voters one-on-one. I do this 6 days a week.

Okay. If Judd's 92-year-old grandfather is helping, John and I decided we'd do another pitch for Judd's campaign. John's earlier pitch, which lays out the reasons to support him, is here.

This is an opportunity to invest early in the career of a true progressive. That's important. But, in this race, it helps to know the opponent, incumbent Delegate Ron George. That guy is a true homophobe. A couple months ago, he wanted to impeach the State's Attorney General, Doug Gansler. Why? Because, in February, Gansler issued a legal opinion arguing that the Maryland should recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

In Maryland's House of Delegate races, the three candidates who receive the most votes win. Four years ago, Democrats were the top two vote-getters. But, George won by 53 votes over the third Democrat.

Judd can win. We've got an ActBlue page for him here. In state races, every dollar goes a long way.

A difference of 53 votes gave us one of the worst homophobes in Maryland. Do what you can to help Judd win. Read More......

Joe Barton Would Like To Apologize

He's very, very sorry. Read More......

Report: BP well was cracked in February

Bleeding stories like this daily certainly does not help BP's already damaged reputation. Bloomberg:

BP Plc was struggling to seal cracks in its Macondo well as far back as February, more than two months before an explosion killed 11 and spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

It took 10 days to plug the first cracks, according to reports BP filed with the Minerals Management Service that were later delivered to congressional investigators. Cracks in the surrounding rock continued to complicate the drilling operation during the ensuing weeks. Left unsealed, they can allow explosive natural gas to rush up the shaft.

“Once they realized they had oil down there, all the decisions they made were designed to get that oil at the lowest cost,” said Peter Galvin of the Center for Biological Diversity, which has been working with congressional investigators probing the disaster. “It’s been a doomed voyage from the beginning.”

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Big Oil fights to maintain regulatory status quo

It's a pitch that only someone such as Joe Barton could believe. Big Oil lobbyists have adopted the position that mistakes happen and more regulations couldn't help. Deep water drilling in other countries such as Norway and Canada (where Big Oil is lobbying for US-style self regulation) require more safety precautions but the oil industry prefers the US model because it helps provide more profits since there's little oversight. LA Times:

Oil and gas companies have told the Obama administration that environmental regulations for deep-water drilling rigs do not immediately need to be toughened because the Deepwater Horizon explosion was an unforeseeable event, not a failure of federal oversight, according to documents filed last week with the White House.

The industry's chief lobbying arm, the American Petroleum Institute, submitted written comments to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The council is reviewing whether the federal Minerals Management Service — the now-splintered and much criticized agency charged with regulating oil drilling — has appropriately conducted reviews mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, known as NEPA.

"One accident does not mean that the practice and procedures of MMS are inadequate to implement NEPA's requirements, especially when the cause of the accident has yet to be determined," wrote the lobbying group, which represents 400 oil and gas companies, including BP.

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Nevada's GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle finally and begrudgingly talked to non-right wing media

Jed Lewison posted a clip of Nevada GOP/Teabagger Senate candidate Sharron Angle finally talking to a non-right wing media outlet. She clearly didn't want to talk to the Las Vegas reporter and this clip explains why she doesn't talk to the press. Wow:
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Joe Barton has received $1.7 million from Big Oil and Gas

He's not only in bed with Big Oil, but he's had a candlelight dinner and is filling a bubble bath with rose petals on top and asking them if the water temperature is just right. I almost thought he was going to ask Hayward if he needed a soft pillow or a La-Z-Boy so he could relax. It's too bad people like Joe Barton care so little about corporate responsibility or the impact on us "little people" who aren't in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies. What a disgrace.

Republican Joe Barton, who accused the White House Thursday of a $20 billion "shakedown" of BP, is the biggest recipient of oil and gas money in the House of Representatives.

The 60-year-old Texas lawmaker, who later apologized for using the word "shakedown," has collected at least $1.7 million in political contributions from oil and gas interests over the past two decades, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Barton, a former oil company consultant, used his seat on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations to apologize to BP CEO Tony Hayward and castigate the White House for pressing BP to finance a $20 billion fund for damage claims from its Gulf of Mexico oil spill. He also later retracted his apology to the company.

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Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The President is heading to Columbus, Ohio to give a speech at what we're told is "the site of the 10,000th Recovery Act road project to get underway." I still think we need Recovery Act II, but that's not the prevailing sense here in DC. As you can imagine, most members of Congress aren't directly impacted by the recession. And, they're more worried about reelection than the economic well-being of their constituents. Sad, really. Beyond sad.

How about that Joe Barton? He really stole the show yesterday with that apology to BP -- and, despite his later recanting of said apology, you know he meant it. Just watch again:
Yep, Barton so meant that apology.

Barton almost stole the show from Tony Harward. His opening statement was almost a verbatim recitation of BP's t.v. ad. Huffington Post did a mash up to prove it. Watch it.

So, lots of political theater yesterday. But, the oil is still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. And, political theater won't stop that... Read More......

Jean-Michel Cousteau ready to deploy environmentally friendly skimming machines in Gulf

It's still not clear why it's taken two months to get to this point where people are begging on TV to help. Speaking of outside help there was a wave of push back yesterday about the US accepting foreign help. The coordinated effort misses the point that while perhaps the administration eventually came around to accepting help from foreign countries, the timeline appears to be the issue. Only someone with blinders on could miss that the fact that yes, the administration did ignore the initial requests. Acceptance of the foreign (and domestic) offers seems to have taken nearly one month. Anyone who knows anything about logistics knows that something being sent from overseas takes time to deliver. Fortunately Obama has woken up to the seriousness and his negotiation with BP is something to be respected and appreciated.

What is potentially interesting here is that no chemicals are being used. Yes, he has a financial interest in this solution but there is hardly a lack of opportunity to try various solutions to see what works and what doesn't. The oil slick is massive so why not try a few solutions in different areas and see what works the best? There's a video inside the link where Cousteau explains more about the solution he has waiting on standby to deploy.

Machines that separate oil from water—even allowing the oil to be refined later—can be on-site in the Gulf of Mexico within days, Jean-Michel Cousteau, president and founder of the Ocean Futures Society, told CBNC Thursday.

Cousteau, who is backing the use of the machines, or units, is on the advisory board of Ecosphere Technologies, which makes them.

Cousteau, the son of legendary sea explorer and ecologist, Jacques Cousteau, said there are 24 to 26 units that are ready to go and in the region.

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UN report: up to 400,000 displaced in Kyrgyzstan

The stories from this small country of barely more than 5 million people are horrible. The Independent:

As many as 400,000 people have been displaced by ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, the United Nations announced yesterday, dramatically increasing the official estimate of the impact of a crisis that has left refugees without enough food and water in camps on the Uzbekistani border.

Meanwhile, Uzbeks in the southern city of Osh claimed Kyrgyz men had sexually assaulted and beaten more than 10 Uzbek females – including pregnant women and girls as young as 12 – on a single street during the unrest.

In the Cheryomushki district, Matlyuba Akramova, a resident, showed journalists a 16-year-old relative who had been hiding in the attic of the family home while a Kyrgyz mob beat her father downstairs. At some point, Mr Akramova said, the girl tried to help her father and was sexually assaulted in front of him. However, Kyrgyz have denied accusations of such brutality and say Uzbeks have raped Kyrgyz women.

While many Kyrgyz were killed in the unrest, the majority of victims appear to have been Uzbeks – farmers and traders who have traditionally been more prosperous than the Kyrgyz, whose background is nomadic.

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