OMG!!! Obama Administration pushing for a deal to settle home foreclosure claims

Glory, Hallelujah!!!

I am speechless!! This is great!!!

Well, until you really read the information a big thud comes upon you. As in, business as usual, as in no accountability but all deniability by banks, as in wrap this up because it can become a sore thumb in any re-election bid.

But, I was excited for a hot minute!! Now, not shocked at this deal, it is what we have witnessed the past 2-1/2 years from the Obama Administration.


The premise of this deal sounds solid, good but as you read it, if you were one of these homeowners is this good enough?

The bottomline is this:

Described as a "shock and awe" approach, the deal would accomplish the four goals set out by state and federal policy makers and regulators as part of their multi-agency investigations into abusive mortgage practices by the nation's largest financial firms: punish banks for violations of state law and federal regulations; provide much-needed assistance to distressed borrowers; stabilize a deteriorating housing market; and dissuade firms from abusing homeowners in the future.

The modified mortgages could cost the five financial behemoths -- Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial -- as much as $30 billion, according to sources. Combined, the five firms handle three out of every five home loans, according to newsletter and data provider Inside Mortgage Finance.

It also could lead to reduced mortgage payments or lowered loan balances for nearly two-thirds of the 4.7 million delinquent homeowners who have yet to fall into foreclosure, according to data provider Lender Processing Services.

Forget those who have lost their homes due to malfeasance, fraud, trickery and theft by these financial institutions. Your loss will remain ignored, not recognized and part of collateral damage in the art of "CYA", Washington, D.C. style. Sorry, but that is what is going to happen.

What this deal WILL DO is to help homeowners who are delinquent modify their mortgages, forgive the principle and any balances on second mortgages/home equity loans will be written down or possibly eliminated.

All of this has to be ok'd by the federal government/agencies, banks, financial institutions, along with the states. Why the states? Well, many states have started legal processes against many of these financial institutions on behalf of their constituents.

In the meantime, the financial institutions, along with the federal government want this over and done with. Why? Well, the public dislike and mistrust of banks is clear, especially since these thieving robber barons was directly responsible for the fall of this country's economy. This the public understands VERY WELL. For the Obama Administration, they want this continuing talking point OFF THE TABLE. Their position will be, "see we have held the banks accountable and are helping millions of Americans to restructure their loans in a fair and timely manner." Not having this deal will continue to be a black eye to the Obama Administration, as they will be perceived as doing nothing and "In Like Flynn" with the banks. Remember, the public don't like the banks.

Meanwhile, banks, while eager to put the controversies over wrongful home repossessions and "robo-signing" behind them, do not want to be the only firms that pay for what could be a mass mortgage principal forgiveness scheme. They want government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee more than half of all home loans, to participate in any initiative that calls for lowering homeowners' loan balances. Fannie and Freddie's regulator has been reluctant to allow them to participate, citing his responsibility of minimizing the cost of the bailout to taxpayers, people involved in the talks said.

The Obama administration wants a quick resolution to the probes, and is putting pressure on the small group of state attorneys general leading their investigation to wrap it up, sources said. On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a Senate committee that "all parties have a stake in bringing this to resolution as quickly as possible."

"It's very important that we try to bring this to bed as quickly as we can," Geithner told the Senate Banking Committee.

If all goes well, this could go over well with the voters, maybe. But for those wanting an investigation from this Administration, IT AIN'T HAPPENIN'.....

Investors, homeowner advocates and law enforcement officials hoping for a deep investigation into allegedly widespread mortgage abuses by the nation's largest financial firms may ultimately be disappointed.

Lastly, the banks are still in charge where D.C. is concerned. They definitely will not sign any agreement with new rules and procedures attached, nor will they pay any new penalty fees that will not clear their name (I am not kidding about this).

But the banks won't sign any agreement that forces them to abide by new rules and pay substantial penalties that doesn't clear them of liability or at least significantly lessen the chance of a state-brought lawsuit, sources familiar with their position said.

In fact, the banks are crafting their own proposal. Did we think this would not happen?

In the long run, the Obama Administration must show that they have done something in regards to the financial institutions because this continues to be an anger point with voters out here. The banks don't want a full investigation and all their dirty laundry out for us to sniff and become even angrier, especially since that dirt will be legal documents with legal signatures, with financial executives still bringing in billions and no accountability like "hand cuffs" on these crooks. Oh, no, don't expect that to happen.

This is about the best that will come of a preliminary deal and I mean preliminary because as we know, deals change, whether we like it or not. This will be a public slap to the banks, while the banks will continue business as usual, which in the end is a sad state of affairs for government working and not protecting the public. The government does not work for the people, they work for the status quo and we all know who they are.

Elizabeth Warren says it the best about this mortgage mess:

“If there had been a cop on the beat with the authority to hold mortgage servicers accountable a half dozen years ago, if there had been a consumer agency in place, the problems in mortgage servicing would have been exposed early and fixed while they were still small, long before they became a national scandal,” Warren said in testimony before a House Financial Services subcommittee. She is point person for setting up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

If the Financial Regulation Bill had real teeth in it, we would have started to see real change. But, again, the status quo always win.

Cross-posted @ Daily Kos

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Unemployment's ugly number rose to 9.8%, bad news all around

Well, if the Obama Administration did not know that JOBS, JOBS, JOBS is what this country wanted and put them in charge to head, they know now.

This economy is not getting better and no amount of spin will help. Oh, U.S. just added 39K jobs last month and that is pathetic.

And extending unemployment is a non-brainer, including adding another tier. If congress, on both sides of the aisle, fail to do this, there will be hell to pay down the road.

Employers added fewer jobs than forecast in November and the unemployment rate unexpectedly increased, underscoring the Federal Reserve’s decision to pump more money into the economy to spur growth.

Payrolls increased 39,000, less than the most pessimistic projection of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, after a revised 172,000 increase the prior month, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The jobless rate rose to 9.8 percent, the highest since April, while hours worked and earnings stagnated.

Read more here
Bloomberg News

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Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on the idiot called Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

I guess the DNC, DCCC, DSCC don't need my time or money. To trash members of your own party is totally over the line.

Barack Obama you got a scummy White House and until YOU GET IT, you will continue to bleed support.

Mid-term elections less than 90 days away....

Read it all here.


First, Keith Olbermann with Michael Moore:



Keith Olbermann's Special Comment:



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And the "Stupid Crown" goes to...

The Obama Administration.

The Maureen Dowd op-ed and the Frank Rich op-ed has hit this Shirley Sherrod fiasco out of the park.

The White House continue to straddle the fence by having totally insensitive individuals making decisions that continues to make this administration look like jackasses.

If Barack Obama does not change, do you think people will continue to support him?

That is the real question here. And we need to look at it totally.

I was at the beauty salon on Friday and all the African American women were talking about how the Obama Administration just threw Shirley Sherrod under the bus without any investigation based on FOX NEWS, which the African American Community do NOT LIKE.

Also, many stated that he does need more Black People in his administration. I don't know about that, but he does need some people in that administration that know how to use GOOGLE, because the name Sherrod is legendary in the Civil Rights History.

The West Wing white guys who pushed to ditch Shirley Sherrod before Glenn Beck could pounce not only didn’t bother to Google, they weren’t familiar enough with civil rights history to recognize the name Sherrod. And they didn’t return the calls and e-mail of prominent blacks who tried to alert them that something was wrong.

Charles Sherrod, Shirley’s husband, was a Freedom Rider who, along with the civil rights hero John Lewis, was a key member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee of the ‘60s.

As Lewis, the longtime Georgia congressman, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he knew immediately that something was amiss with the distorted video clip of Sherrod talking to the N.A.A.C.P.

The sad thing about this is that many prominent BLACK FOLK in the KNOW on Civil Rights history did call this White House and they like Sherrod was tossed aside.

And who ended up with egg on its face?

Many on this site has tried to say this is not Obama's fault, but when many look at this it is his fault, along with others to eat crow. Why? He put former Governor Vilsack of Iowa in charge, he hired him. Vilsack nor the White House did not even view the clip before the truck marks was on the back of Shirley Sherrod. How dumb is that one? And then we have Jim Messina from the White House, ELATED for a job well done in throwing Shirley Sherrod over the bus, only to have that bus come back to haunt him.

But three Democratic sources said deputy chief of staff Jim Messina singled out the White House's initial response to the incident for praise in the regular 8:30 a.m. staff meeting Tuesday morning. The sources differed on the substance of Messina's praise, but concurred that he had praised the speed of White House communications in response to the flap, which was driven by a misleadingly edited video posted to Andrew Breitbart's Big Government website.

One source, who is unhappy with the administration's handling of the incident, paraphrased Messina's remarks: "We could have waited all day — we could have had a media circus — but we took decisive action, and it’s a good example of how to respond in this atmosphere."

I have worked on quite a few projects and held a few jobs, but never have I witnessed someone being fired on "hearsay", without a proper investigation. And for the Obama White House, this is what African Americans are mad about.

Shirley Sherrod could have been my mother, your mother, your grandmother. A woman who never asked for anything, worked hard through college, graduate school who decided to make a difference for her community by coming back to live there and be part of it. She could have gone anywhere in this country, but decided to come back home, even after all that has happened to her.

Lastly, Congressman Jim Clyburn is right here:

“I don’t think a single black person was consulted before Shirley Sherrod was fired — I mean c’mon, “ said Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, a black lawmaker so temperate that he agreed with an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal on Friday by Senator James Webb of Virginia, which urged that “government-directed diversity programs should end.”

“The president’s getting hurt real bad,” Clyburn told me. “He needs some black people around him.” He said Obama’s inner circle keeps “screwing up” on race: “Some people over there are not sensitive at all about race. They really feel that the extent to which he allows himself to talk about race would tend to pigeonhole him or cost him support, when a lot of people saw his election as a way to get the issue behind us. I don’t think people elected him to disengage on race. Just the opposite.”

Again, I don't know if he needs more Black People, but he needs cooler heads over there who are not afraid because FOX NEWS comes calling. And there are people in that White House who are not sensitive about race, they have shown that card repeatedly and continues to get burned.

I hope Shirley Sherrod thanks the Obama Administration for a job offer and passes. She should not be used as a token for all the problems the USDA has on discrimination, that is not what she wants. She loved her job that she had with staff, budget and outreach. That was taken away from her. And though she clearly respects the President, she strongly believes that it was pressure from the White House to toss her and most Americans believe that too. For that, thanks but no thanks to the USDA job.

Cross posted @ Daily Kos

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Barack Obama when are you going to WAKE UP....

Listen to Keith Olbermann. Obama White House, FOX NEWS ain't into you, will never be into you, and you continue to fall for their bullshit. When are you going to get it, understand it, and FIGHT IT.....not run away from it by throwing folks under the bus...that tact is MASSIVE FAIL....



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Shirley Sherrod wants a talk with Barack Obama

First off, she does not want an apology, she wants a conversation.

She deserves it. If you know anything about the Civil Rights Movement, you will know the name, "Sherrod" is legacy in the South. Which is a travesty on the failure of the NAACP and the Obama White House. And a note, when the NAACP found out about Shirley Sherrod and found the WHOLE VIDEO they were quick to apologize and hit the news waves. For that, I am appreciative but their initial reaction to a far right wing blogger, Andrew Breitbart should have been a light bulb for ALL parties involved.

Next, the white farmers who came to Sherrod's defense shut this story down from the FOX perspective, put egg on USDA's face and made the Obama Administration look totally ineffective.

I don't blame Sherrod for not wanting to take a job from the Obama Administration, in fact I hope she sue all parties involved and she does have a valid law suit. As we see Braitbart is starting to change his story and FOX NEWS is now taking a totally different attack on this story.

Lastly, The White House has massive explaining to do, not to us, but to HER. And Barack Obama, step it up because you and your team look like colossal jackasses right now.

Shirley Sherrod from The Today Show:



From morning joe:



Willie Nelson's Op-Ed on his friendship with Shirley Sherrod, he is founder of FARM AID

Full story on Shirley Sherrod, here.

L.A. Times Timeline on the Sherrod Controversy

New York Times

July 21, 2010 White House Press Briefing all about Shirley

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Obama White House, "Stop believing the RIGHT WING media" (Maddow video)

I waited for the full story on the firing of USDA Shirley Sherrod because I BELIEVED that the Shirley Sherrod story was not accurate.

This is a grave reminder to not believe what the conservative media states. A reminder that you must always read between the lines and get to the solid truth.

But this goes even deeper....

The media, reporters, in print and video have repeatedly reported the WRONG STORY or evidence of many stories. This also proves that these organizations don't even do the basic of tasks, as in, picking up a fucking phone to perform basic FACT CHECK. This continues because the public does not demand the full facts and are trained to the "sound bite". That is our fault for not demanding the truth.

This is the continuous problem with both sides of the media, conservative or progressive. It also shows how these outlets who are in the "NEWS BUSINESS" have cut costs drastically, go along with "rumor to make fact" and continues to get the story WRONG.

Shirley Sherrod was just on Anderson Cooper and said the forced resignation was at the behest of the White House. And on Anderson Cooper the White House is blasted for rush to judgment, without looking at the evidence. Shameful.

THIS SHIT NEEDS TO STOP.

We saw what happened in the Van Jones incident. What Jones said about Glenn Beck was not only accurate but TRUE. But because of the pressure by FOX NEWS, we saw Jones tossed.

The White House knows that FOX NEWS is full of shit, skews the actual news and doctor video clips. They do that shit 24/7, why the WH would BELIEVE what FOX NEWS put up in a very heavy, edited video should have put them on pause. The Andrew Braitbart video totally took the speech of what Shirley Sherrod said out of full context. Obama White House stop running scared of the conservative media, because by jumping the gun that is what you look like.

Lastly, Sherrod needs to be reinstated. Listening to this woman puts FOX NEWS and the White House in the column of WRONG. Stop jumping the gun just because it is fired. In the end, the target hit is not always the correct one.

This is a hard lesson for us all.

More information on Shirley Sherrod in this diary. Worth a read.

Rachel Maddow takes it to the White House:



Full video of Shirley Sherrod's speech:



NAACP President Ben Jealous on Rachel Maddow:



Update [2010-7-21 0:49:5 by icebergslim]:

She insisted she "went all out" to help the man keep his farm and said she resigned only under pressure from the Obama administration, telling CNN she received four phone calls Monday telling her the White House wanted her to step down.

"They asked me to resign, and in fact they harassed me as I was driving back to the state office from West Point, Georgia, yesterday," she said. The last call "asked me to pull to the side of the road and do it [resign]," she said.

For those who insist the White House had nothing to do with this, think again. This is politics. Let's be REAL HERE and live in reality. The most basic of questions is this, "Why would Shirley Sherrod LIE?" She is trying to clear her reputation, lying about all this at this point would not help her. And if you were the White House, of course the words as usual is DENY, DENY, DENY. And Sherrod sticks to her story that the White House wanted her gone. CNN, video in the link.

No one writes it like The Field Negro:

And, speaking of fire, the story of how this poor woman got fired is unbelievable. Because the administration was afraid that her story was going to be on Captain Jack's show? (You might have to think about that one for a minute, but it will come to you) Shame!

"Sherrod said she first heard of the possible controversy when someone e-mailed her Thursday to taunt her about her comments. She immediately forwarded the e-mail to the USDA so the agency would be aware. She was told that someone would look into it.

She said it wasn't until Monday that she heard back, and by then, she was being asked for her resignation.

Class Act....

And Oliver Willis: President Obama: Time To Man-Up & Rehire Shirley Sherrod. And Apologize.

Mr. President,

You screwed up. Secretary Vilsack may have been the one who executed the decision, but the buck stops at your desk. Cabinet secretaries don’t work in a vacuum. Even if you were never consulted on a decision, the decisions shirley sherrodthey make are done with the full imprint of your office. The decision to fire Shirley Sherrod was a mistake, and it happened with your authority.

The clear mistake made was believing the lies and presentation of serial liar Andrew Breitbart and his allies at Fox News Channel. Bluntly, this was stupid. You should know better. The right wing is built on a foundation of lies and deception. If a figure on the right is speaking, it’s safe to assume that they are not telling the truth. I understand your belief in bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle, and I even support it (within reason) but especially when it comes to right-wing media figures, it is a fools errand of the worst sort for you or your cabinet to have invested anything in their words.

This was wrong, sir. This video and your actions smeared a public servant’s name. Shirley Sherrod is the kind of person whose service deserves reward, not to have her name dragged through the right wing mud with the aid of the highest office in the land.

On that note, AMEN and Good Night....

[UPDATE]

Final update, USDA reconsidering ousting Sherrod. That did not take long, it should not take long and this story needs to move off the radar.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said early Wednesday that his department will reconsider the ouster of an employee who resigned over alleged race comments.

His statement came after civil rights leaders said they were "snookered" into believing a conservative website's charges of racism against employee Shirley Sherrod were true.

Vilsack said that he will "conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts" about his decision to ask Sherrod to resign.

In the end, this is about a White House, Secretary Vilsack, USDA running scared because of a heavy edited video clip using reverse racism which was going to be shown on the Glenn Beck Show. These actions have given more props to FOX NEWS and have diminished the strength of this White House, especially when President Obama constantly states he does not respond to cable news and this is just what the White House did, panicked and responded by firing Shirley Sherrod without having all the facts.

Throwing people under the bus: Van Jones, ACORN, Shirley Sherrod...who is next? Priceless.

Cross-posted @ Daily Kos

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What the hell is the Obama White House doing?

Yes, what the hell are they doing?

This stance on cutting deficits will wipe us out, totally in November.

Why?

This country wants the government to SPEND MONEY FOR JOB CREATION, but the Obama White House is on the side of Republicans for cuts.

This is totally, fucking, STUPID amidst 9.5% unemployment and close to 20% underemployment. I mean fucking stupid.

All this cutting will throw policemen, firemen, teachers, in the pile of unemployment.

All this cutting will blow the unemployment numbers up even more.

All this cutting will double and triple classrooms across this country, along with massive school closings. These cuts should anger ALL AMERICANS across this country for schools.



Look, it is nice that Washington, D.C. is full of rich ass people, yes, RICH ASS PEOPLE. They are so far removed from what is happening out here that they don't get it. The Obama White House is starting to look like that.

It is very dangerous to keep very mum while millions of Americans checks are being revoked due to fucking games being played in Washington, D.C. It is even more dangerous to try to frame the unemployed Americans as lazy bums or "Welfare Kings or Queens". Many of these folks have worked ALL THEIR LIVES and have lost or are losing everything that is equal to the American Dream. Playing around with this is a political bomb that the Democrats need to be in front of. And I mean 24/7.

Also, being bold means bringing plans, ideas to get this country BACK TO WORK. Even if it means SPENDING. If you have a solid idea that can get this country back to work, the American Public will stand with you. They will not stand with you if you are perceived as not knowing what the hell to do about it. It also does not mean to play into the Republican meme of cutting the deficits. Not when this country is sinking into the abyss.

Want to cut something that will bring big time revenue? What about that fucking defense budget? What about getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan? What about that? What about nation building HERE in this country instead of in Afghanistan and Iraq? What about plugging the corporate loop holes for companies off shore? We are arguing over keeping teachers and first responders who are NEEDED in this country, but just let that defense budget continue to bloat. But cutting money to educate our kids, our future leaders is just OK.

We need to stop this shit.

As long as folks are not working, as long as the the unemployment roll continues to rise, as long as this White House is acting clueless on what to do about it, we lose in November. ****And if the Obama White House has a massive program to get folks back to work, SHARE IT, I have not seen or HEARD IT. Just putting that out there....****

Barack Obama needs new advisers and a new White House. The ones he has now are unimpressive and clueless as to what is going on out here. If the Democrats lose massive in November, expect messaging and communication to be key here. This White House is the worst White House for making sure the public understands what they have accomplished, because many believe they have not done ANYTHING. How is that? The right track/wrong track numbers. This is about the public not understanding what this White House has done and that is an Obama White House problem.

Finally, the deficit is #4 of what Americans care about, behind the economy/jobs, oil spill and health care. That should tell the Democrats something, but it seems they are just ignoring this.

From The Dylan Ratigan Show:



President Obama touting his economic policies, which is all nice, but what about talking about JOB CREATION IN THIS COUNTRY:



Update [2010-7-7 17:56:28 by icebergslim]:

Usual suspects are angered and good. Let it ALL OUT. We all should be angry because November can be a slaughter house. We don't have the juice, excitement on our side. If we lose massively, the question is this, "Why?" And many can write a book on that one.

Update [2010-7-7 20:16:17 by icebergslim]:

To be clear, in case you forgot or did not know, President Obama asked congress for 50 billion dollars for the states to save the SAME JOBS he saved last year from the stimulus bill. If President Obama had 50 billion lying around, he surely would have sent it to the states from the stimulus package, but he does not. The Republicans are stating to get it from the stimulus money and asking for more money in their eyes is a second stimulus.

President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid "massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters" and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama defended last year's huge economic stimulus package, saying it helped break the economy's free fall, but argued that more spending is urgent and unavoidable. "We must take these emergency measures," he wrote in an appeal aimed primarily at members of his own party.

The letter comes as rising concern about the national debt is undermining congressional support for additional spending to bolster the economy. Many economists say more spending could help bring down persistently high unemployment, but with Republicans making an issue of the record deficits run up during the recession, many Democratic lawmakers are eager to turn off the stimulus tap.

Since D.C. is all about "deficits" does anyone believe that congress will actually save all these jobs? The only jobs congress cares about is their own, certainly not ours.

Update [2010-7-7 22:5:8 by icebergslim]:

Arguing about points in the diary is warranted and wanted, but personal attacks as some are doing do nothing but discredit you. Don't like what was written, you write a diary explaining, the Obama Administration's JOBS PROGRAM. We all are waiting, along with millions who need a job, but as long as we continue to see this administration kowtow another point AGAIN, this time for the deficit in one of the worse recessions if not DEPRESSIONS ever, then they deserve to be criticized.

Update [2010-7-7 22:56:5 by icebergslim]:

Final update and h/t to divineorder on this administration's mixed messages:

During the recent G20 in Toronto, more mixed messages emerged, with our President encouraging member nations to spend more to prop up their failing economies while his administration seeks to gut Social Security and Medicare at home. Europe is also cutting back on public programs, hitting the most vulnerable. The major world economies, including us, need to pump money into jobs, new technologies, infrastructure and manufacturing to increase revenues, not cut services. Instead, the G20 ended on a down note, with little accomplished and governments throughout the world agreeing to shirk their responsibilities to their citizens all at once by withdrawing stimulus.

How encouraging.....while we have congress just press the mute button on the jobless....

An international economic organization criticized the U.S. Congress on Wednesday for allowing extended unemployment benefits to lapse at the end of May, a move that thus far has denied more than 2 million Americans a critical lifeline during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

In its report on the global employment outlook, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development noted that a "particularly worrisome feature" of America's deep recession is the high number of workers who have been unemployed for more than six months.

Cross-posted @ Daily Kos

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Expect General McChrystal to be FIRED, an explosive on the record article by Rolling Stone...

Damn the Rolling Stone has been scooping EVERYONE....

It is not on line but politico.com has it here in PDF format.....

Expect Obama to fire him or he gives his resignation. McChrystal and his aides put this all down to a Rolling Stone reporter, ON RECORD.

All I can say is this, for a career man totally irresponsible and undisciplined on his part.

Anyway, enjoy!!!!

[UPDATE]

And McChrystal being summoned to the White House to explain these comments to the Commander in Chief. Show down, tomorrow.

The move comes a day after General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, apologized for comments by his aides insulting some of President Barack Obama's closest advisers in an article to be published in Rolling Stone magazine.

The controversy comes at an inopportune time for Obama, who already is dealing with huge BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, trying to get financial industry reform legislation through Congress and hoping to prevent Republicans from taking back control of Congress in November elections.

An Obama administration official said McChrystal had been directed to appear in person at Wednesday's Afghanistan meeting at the White House "to explain to the Pentagon and the commander-in-chief his quotes in the piece about his colleagues."

From Wall Street Journal:

In the eight-page article, released to reporters on Monday ahead of publication, McChrystal appears to belittle Vice President Joe Biden and accuses Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador to Kabul, of undermining his war plan within the administration.

Asked by the Rolling Stone reporter about what he now feels of the war strategy advocated by Biden last fall – fewer troops, more drone attacks – the article reports that McChrystal and his aides attempted to come up with a good one-liner to dismiss the question. “Are you asking about Vice President Biden?” McChrystal reportedly jokes. “Who’s that?”

Later in the article, McChrystal turns more serious when asked about cables sent last fall to Washington by Eikenberry. The cables called into question the major troop increase advocated by McChrystal’s team and the U.S.’s backing of Afghan President Hamid Karzai – views that the ambassador had not previously raised with McChrystal or his staff.

“I like Karl, I’ve known him for years, but they’d never said anything like that to us before,” McChrystal is quoted as saying. “Here’s one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, ‘I told you so.’”

The article, titled “The Runaway General,” has already caused nervousness inside the Pentagon, where memories are still fresh of another blistering profile that got a top commander in hot water: an August 2008 cover story in Esquire on Adm. William “Fox” Fallon, then commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia. The article eventually played a part in Fallon’s resignation two years ago.

Huffington Post

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When will Ken Salazar be given the "don't let the door knob hitcha'" treatment?

Ah, wake up call!!! That is what the worst environmental catastrophe will do to you!!!

And we have a horrible piece by Rolling Stone towards the Obama Administration and their practically business as usual attitude....

But before we go ballistic on Rolling Stone for writing such an article, remember they were our FRIENDS...


This Week With Barack Obama and Daily Kos

I have to put that up there because Rolling Stone, prior and during the 2008 election has been PRO-OBAMA. And this is to give Rolling Stone cover because as Huffington Post, which has gotten demonized from some on this site, we have to remind people that publications as Rolling Stone, hire journalists to perform independent journalism. Whaaaaaa? That is not happening anymore? No, not really. Not in the age of 30 second sound bites and opinion cable shows. Sad, but true, so when a magazine like Rolling Stone hire folks, they do expect them to bring the facts to the table, whether we agree or not.

For those who believe nothing can be done wrong by this or any administration (LOL), click on that comment link and call me everything but the Mother of God. The others, it is just part of an on-going dialogue of what the Obama Administration has to deal with and right now, very clumsily.

After you read the Rolling Stone article and believe that Ken Salazar served our President to the best of his ability knowing what he did, prior to the election and since he has been in office, then so be it. But, many others think he has put Barack Obama where he is at now, scrambling to the American Public to make them believe he is in charge of all of this. When the facts are, he was not until recently and for some he still is not.....

Now, however, the president was suddenly standing up to take command of the cleanup effort. "In case you were wondering who's responsible," Obama told the nation, "I take responsibility." Sounding chastened, he acknowledged that his administration had failed to adequately reform the Minerals Management Service, the scandal-ridden federal agency that for years had essentially allowed the oil industry to self-regulate. "There wasn't sufficient urgency," the president said. "Absolutely I take responsibility for that." He also admitted that he had been too credulous of the oil giants: "I was wrong in my belief that the oil companies had their act together when it came to worst-case scenarios." He unveiled a presidential commission to investigate the disaster, discussed the resignation of the head of MMS, and extended a moratorium on new deepwater drilling. "The buck," he reiterated the next day on the sullied Louisiana coastline, "stops with me."

[snip]

Like the attacks by Al Qaeda, the disaster in the Gulf was preceded by ample warnings – yet the administration had ignored them. Instead of cracking down on MMS, as he had vowed to do even before taking office, Obama left in place many of the top officials who oversaw the agency's culture of corruption. He permitted it to rubber-stamp dangerous drilling operations by BP – a firm with the worst safety record of any oil company – with virtually no environmental safeguards, using industry-friendly regulations drafted during the Bush years. He calibrated his response to the Gulf spill based on flawed and misleading estimates from BP – and then deployed his top aides to lowball the flow rate at a laughable 5,000 barrels a day, long after the best science made clear this catastrophe would eclipse the Exxon Valdez.

Many are saying that the Obama Administration kept the public in the loop, continued to inform the public as in what was going on. But the fact is they gave minimum information, whatever was going on was behind the scenes, thus chaos of which entity was in charge was the big question through the Gulf. Remember, if the information was so rampant, why has the President gone down twice in two weeks due to pressure and now will do a stay over in LA, MS, AL and FL next week? Talk about running to catch your message?? We all know that Thad Allen was not a permanent presence until recently, along with daily updates of what is really going on, and the constant question of how much oil is really being pumped in the Gulf is the biggest question that has not been answered totally by BP, the Coast Guard or the President.

Now, BP is challenging there are NO OIL PLUMES when in fact the plumes are there in full force, from Countdown with Keith Olbermann:



And this the mother phucker of all, if you care about the environment:

Even worse, the "moratorium" on drilling announced by the president does little to prevent future disasters. The ban halts exploratory drilling at only 33 deepwater operations, shutting down less than one percent of the total wells in the Gulf. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the Cabinet-level official appointed by Obama to rein in the oil industry, boasts that "the moratorium is not a moratorium that will affect production" – which continues at 5,106 wells in the Gulf, including 591 in deep water.

Most troubling of all, the government has allowed BP to continue deep-sea production at its Atlantis rig – one of the world's largest oil platforms. Capable of drawing 200,000 barrels a day from the seafloor, Atlantis is located only 150 miles off the coast of Louisiana, in waters nearly 2,000 feet deeper than BP drilled at Deepwater Horizon. According to congressional documents, the platform lacks required engineering certification for as much as 90 percent of its subsea components – a flaw that internal BP documents reveal could lead to "catastrophic" errors. In a May 19th letter to Salazar, 26 congressmen called for the rig to be shut down immediately. "We are very concerned," they wrote, "that the tragedy at Deepwater Horizon could foreshadow an accident at BP Atlantis."

I expect the Obama Administration to recommence with oil drilling in the Gulf and deep water drilling at that. Just read what Secretary Ken Salazar stated:

US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told lawmakers Wednesday that offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will continue "in a safe way" in the wake of the massive Deepwater Horizon accident.

Salazar told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that a range of new regulations implemented following the accident at the BP-operated well would protect against new spills.

"Offshore drilling will continue... it has to be done in a safe way," he told the panel.

[snip]

"The importance of the jobs is very much on the mind of the president and on my mind as well," Salazar said.

Another factor that must be addressed is the jobs. Those folks in the Gulf Region want those jobs and want to keep drilling even though we don't. So, the pressure is on to do a report, quick, fast and in a hurry and then to God Bless the continuing of drilling there. In other words, "Do I expect a real long moratorium or do you?" Absolutely not. Corporations run this country. We the people? Not so much.

Still we will continue to see the Gulf crying about cleaning up the Gulf (as they should), angry at BP (who would not be), pointing a finger at government for not moving fast enough (that comes with whomever is at 1600 PA AVE), while wanting drilling to continue and we witness at minimum 20,000 barrels of oil being pumped in the Gulf of Mexico, daily. What else should happen, but business as usual. Even after all the information shows what drilling does, it will continue to be business as usual. And me? No food from the Gulf of Mexico and I mean even from MEXICO....

When you need Senator Mary Landrieu to SHILL for OIL and GAS and to start drilling, she is the best....



Again, why was BP given a green light to drill? Did anyone read their application? And YES, under the Obama Administration:

Nowhere was the absurdity of the policy more evident than in the application that BP submitted for its Deepwater Horizon well only two months after Obama took office. BP claims that a spill is "unlikely" and states that it anticipates "no adverse impacts" to endangered wildlife or fisheries. Should a spill occur, it says, "no significant adverse impacts are expected" for the region's beaches, wetlands and coastal nesting birds. The company, noting that such elements are "not required" as part of the application, contains no scenario for a potential blowout, and no site-specific plan to respond to a spill. Instead, it cites an Oil Spill Response Plan that it had prepared for the entire Gulf region. Among the sensitive species BP anticipates protecting in the semitropical Gulf? "Walruses" and other cold-water mammals, including sea otters and sea lions. The mistake appears to be the result of a sloppy cut-and-paste job from BP's drilling plans for the Arctic. Even worse: Among the "primary equipment providers" for "rapid deployment of spill response resources," BP inexplicably provides the Web address of a Japanese home-shopping network. Such glaring errors expose the 582-page response "plan" as nothing more than a paperwork exercise. "It was clear that nobody read it," says Ruch, who represents government scientists.

OK, I know you are either laughing in shame or jaw dropped as unbelievable....

And does anyone on this site REALLY BELIEVE that BP will make the Gulf Coast whole? Or if that oil gets into the loop current, make the Eastern Seashore of the United States whole? No, I think they only care about plugging that hole and getting out of fucking dodge. After that, no more press conferences, no more nice smily ads on television of apology, all of that will be replaced with corporate attorneys from here and across the pond and the REMINDER that they are only liable for 75M due to the laws here for oil spills. Even though BP CEO said this:

"We believe claims related to this event will exceed the limit. We are prepared to pay above $75 million on these claims and we will not seek reimbursement from the U.S. government or the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund," wrote BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar seen by Dow Jones Newswires.

But when you are battling money in court that thing called, "selective memory", always pops in and WATCH how BP's corporate lawyers will minimize all of this to crumbs, stating their CEO did not have the jurisdiction nor understanding to what BP's obligation was and this shit will go on like Exxon Valdez, for decades. (and I know many will say no it won't, but remember we all said that after the Exxon-Valdez was the worst environmental disaster.....we all know how that turned out....)

Remember, a lawyer from Exxon Valdez stated: Louisianans, 'To Use A Legal Term,' Are 'Just F--ked' sigh.

Finally, this is the real Ken Salazar:

...Salazar did little to tamp down on the lawlessness at MMS, beyond referring a few employees for criminal prosecution and ending a Bush-era program that allowed oil companies to make their "royalty" payments – the amount they owe taxpayers for extracting a scarce public resource – not in cash but in crude. And instead of putting the brakes on new offshore drilling, Salazar immediately throttled it up to record levels. Even though he had scrapped the Bush plan, Salazar put 53 million offshore acres up for lease in the Gulf in his first year alone – an all-time high. The aggressive leasing came as no surprise, given Salazar's track record. "This guy has a long, long history of promoting offshore oil drilling – that's his thing," says Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity. "He's got a highly specific soft spot for offshore oil drilling." As a senator, Salazar not only steered passage of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which opened 8 million acres in the Gulf to drilling, he even criticized President Bush for not forcing oil companies to develop existing leases faster.

The big question is this, "If that is Salazar, is this Obama, too?" Got to ask the question when you read this from Barack Obama:

"We are making decisions based on sound information and sound science." The president, for his part, praised Salazar as "one of the finest secretaries of Interior we've ever had" and stressed that his administration had studied the drilling plan for more than a year. "This is not a decision that I've made lightly," he said. Two days later, he issued an even more sweeping assurance. "It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally don't cause spills," the president said. "They are technologically very advanced."

Ken Salazar, you need to be fired. But, we know Salazar won't be fired. It is not politically correct to fire Salazar now, so we just have to deal with his scared to death looks in all of these hearings on the hill. But if Salazar had PERFORMED HIS JOB, maybe this would not have happened. Well, that is coulda, shoulda, woulda talk, we have to deal with the here and now. And though Salazar really need to go, it won't be anytime soon. At least, in the end we know what Salazar is really like:

"And what we've seen with Salazar is that when the oil industry squeaks, he retreats."

Read the LONG article here at Rolling Stone.

Cross-posted @ Daily Kos

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Reality is sinking in for the Gulf Coast Region

First off, the BP Oil Disaster on the Deepwater Horizon is British Petroleum's fault at the end of the day. Now BP can continue to point fingers at Transocean or Halliburton, but at the end of the day, it was BP who was drilling in deep ocean water for crude oil.

Next, this is not Barack Obama's fault. This was a man made disaster caused by greed, in my opinion. Greed of a company to make more money, and greed of the money received to allowe BP to drill by the United States of America.

Finally, the reality is that this oil will probably spill until the relief wells are on line, the earliest late July and the latest late August. So, for another solid 60 days, we have the glorious opportunity to continue to view the toxic oil dumping into the Gulf Coast.

We all are angry, no one more than, I.

I am angry at this country for its dependence on oil and even after this catastrophe, 49% still want off shore drilling.

I am angry at the Obama Administration who has walked slower than turtles during this disaster. I said during the campaign when something happens, only then does Barack Obama move. Well, I am glad that he is moving now with more presence (from him), more comunication (from the White House and Louisiana), and sending Attorney General Eric Holder to the region.

Over the weekend, the Obama administration tossed some harsh words in the direction of BP. And it’s dispatched its top cop, Attorney General Eric Holder, to the Gulf Coast to meet with top federal prosecutors for the states most affected by the spill.

Also joining Holder: Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources Ignacia Moreno and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Tony West.

I am glad that movement from the Obama White House is finally being seen. I state this because this region, more than any other in the United States, has been through the fire and walking through a furious one now. This region has every right to be skeptical about the intervention of government. Government did not do a very good job after Hurricane Katrina, still has not made that region whole and bitter remenants are left from government in this region.

Now we have the Obama Administration who was given a golden opportunity about what government CAN DO, but was slow as turtles in communicating it and delivering it. I liked that President Obama made the original statement in Louisiana after the Deepwater Horizon blowout informing us that this is "BP's spill and BP's bill", but his presence was needed repeatedly in that region with back up of ACTION from his words. That is just happening.

I don't know if Barack Obama's friends, staff are being honest with him and I mean about the perception of all of this. I state this because if I was in charge of watching the fallout from the news, I would tell him to dump repeating Steven Chu being a Nobel Peace Price recipient. That is important to whom? Right now, when you are worried about your life as you know it, knowing that is not more important than how much BOOM is in my backyard. That is perception. The perception for me hit, when I was able to see live video feed of that oil continuously pumping with no stoppage in sight. If I saw this, I know everyone in the White House did, too.

Reality is sinking into the Gulf Coast Region. They know that this oil will probably continue to pump its toxins into the region. Mississippi and Alabama will probably see this oil coming to their shores, a most certainty. And Florida? They are getting hammered because they are in the vicinity. Perception is a thing that can contaminate all these states. I don't know if the perception train has left in regards to the Obama Administration, but they finally found a clue that people are angry about this and distancing themselves from BP.

With Attorney General Eric Holder now huddling with Gulf states attorneys general, the uneasy relationship between BP and the Obama administration is taking the ugly but inevitable "see you in court" turn. The White House is so anxious to separate itself from the BP stink that from now on only Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen will do daily briefings on the spill, with no BP exec in sight.

And yet, as The Washington Post's Joel Achenbach and Jerry Markon point out, this creates quite the awkward situation. Obama desperately needs BP to succeed. His status as a leader erodes with each day of gushing-oil webcasts from the sea bottom.

The reality is sitting in for everyone around here. We have the privilege, opportunity to continue to see black crude oil pump its toxins into our Gulf Coast waters until August. This is going to be a long, hot, summer for all of us.

Lastly, we need a shake up in that White House. I am watching Robert Gibbs painfully answer questions about BP and it does not look good. Put it like this, he does not wear answering BP questions well and someone needs to be at these pressers that CAN ANSWERS BP QUESTIONS WELL. David Axelrod was a wonderful strategist for the campaign, but in this White House he has been horrific. And Rahm? You all know the answer to that question.

Videos:

Carol Browner letting the public know, again we are preparing for the worst and BP has an interest for low balling the flow rate of oil into the Gulf:



President Obama introducing his Oil Spill Commission:



Conservationist Rick Steiner gives a great explanation of this blowout on Friday and why he believed the top kill was not working (at the time):



Keith Olbermann's comment on President Obama:



This is why BP needs to keep their CEO away from a mic, more importantly to just fire his ass.

And isn't wonderful that BP's CEO states that, "He wants his life back." How selfish, vain a statement. What about the Gulf Coast region and how the oil is expanding to other states DAILY? What about their lives, livlihood, etc.? They just want their lives back too!!! But you, Mr. Hayward will be ok. You will continue to fly down to the South of France and live life the way you want. You can just turn the whining of the Gulf Region and its U.S.A. citizens off, because you don't have your life staked in this catastrophe. WE, the U.S.A. do.



Cross-posted @ Daily Kos

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Oil Spill confirmed far bigger than the Exxon-Valdez

I don't know if people understand the magnitude of this, but we are talking about no seafood from the Gulf (and the Gulf is responsible for 18-22% of the seafood consumption in the United States), ecological damage for years to come, economic disaster and very angry people in the Gulf Coast Region.

New oil flow estimates by scientists studying the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico would make the leak the worst in the nation's history, far bigger than 11 million gallons that spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster.

U.S. Geological Survey Director Dr. Marcia McNutt said the results are preliminary, but that two teams using different methods determined the well that exploded April 20 and sank two days later has spilled between 17 and 39 million gallons.

Earlier, more conservative estimates put the amount of crude oil at 7 million gallons.

The USGS estimates are bad news for President Barack Obama's administration and BP, which have taken a public relations beating as a result of the spill.

BP is trying to stop the leak by flooding the well with mud and then capping it with cement, a procedure known as a "top kill."

Video of the spill site appeared to show mud, and not oil, flowing from the blown-out well, hours after BP started the operation.

"It wouldn’t be reasonable for anybody to draw a conclusion from that until we’ve killed the well for good," BP managing director Bob Dudley told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira.

"The operation continues," Dudley said, but it is "too early to draw conclusions from it."

Source

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Movement, MMS Director Elizabeth Birnbaum fired

Well, somebody had to go over that pimped out department called Minerals Management Services or MMS under the Interior Department. President Obama fires her. Well, he should and I say, get rid of Secretary Ken Salazar while you are at it. This alone is offensive and worth firing, though Birnbaum is after the fact.

CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports inspectors even went so far as to let oil companies literally fill out their own inspection reports using pencils. MMS inspectors would write on top of the pencil in ink and turn in the completed form.

And we won't talk about all the bribes, sex, drugs for oil leases to the mighty oil companies. Talk about too close for comfort? It is utterly disgraceful and due to all of this we have the worst environmental disaster, EVER, worse than the Exxon-Valdez.

The Obama administration has fired the head of the U.S. Minerals Management Service in response to blistering criticism over the federal government's lax oversight of BP and the rest of the offshore oil industry, Democratic sources told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The decision about Elizabeth "Liz" Birnbaum, who has run the service in the Interior Department since July 2009, was among the announcements being made Thursday by President Barack Obama.

The president's response to the five-week-old spill has prompted growing criticism about leadership from the White House, even as BP's efforts to stanch the leak are finally showing some promise.

Source
CBS

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The Sense of Urgency is needed NOW, Obama White House

I am going to repeat what one diarist wrote this evening:

What the f**k is the White House thinking?

Do they understand the magnitude of this unfolding disaster?

Do they realize that they look and sound like the keystone cops, or worse, the Bush Administration?

And none of this is laughable....

The interview below is from Rachel Maddow with Energy Secretary, Steven Chu. I want everyone to understand something, perception matters. Ask former Prime Minister Gordon Brown after calling a constituent a "bigot". That one liner sealed the deal for many Brits who voted for the other guy. Chu's demeanor is that of academia, but when you have the public starting to fester in anger with people that DEPEND on their livelihood in conjunction with the BP Oil Spill disaster, I would THINK emotions of empathy is warranted. First video is with Ann Thompson, the second with Steven Chu. And the part from Chu that he only knows what he reads in the papers, is well, flabbergasting.





As Donna Brazile stated to Howard Fineman, "Where is the Fierce Urgency of Now". This from Countdown with Keith Olbermann:



The problem with all of this is that when you have a spill that is uncontrollable and the public SEES IT live daily, the reality really starts to sink in. The reality is that the Gulf Coast may not ever recover from this for DECADES. Then we have to witness ineptness and dishonesty of BP in relations to the TRUTH of what is actually happening, we know that the Obama Administration has very little if any solutions to fix this problem. It means that the Obama White House relies on BP for getting this spill capped and so far, BP gets an "F" in everything associated with this disaster.

Remember, George W. Bush was refuted by the public and it started with his handling of Hurricane Katrina. Bush's claim to fame photo of him flying over the Katrina disaster will be remembered for years to come. A photo of the leader of this country looking not engaged. Barack Obama appearing to be "MIA", is not good EITHER. Natural and man made disasters happens EVERY DAY, but people of this country elect individuals, parties, and presidents to be on the ball to fix it. Most importantly the public expects the truth as it become known, UP FRONT. BP did not do this and many, if you asked on the street, could not tell you what the hell the Obama Administration is doing about it. That is just the truth. Yes, you will post links, etc., but don't do it for me, this administration needs to CONSTANTLY communicate this to the public. That is not happening on the ground, but miscommunication and perceptions are starting to take place.

I know, another faux outrage diary, but the reality is that on the communication tip, the Obama White House gets an "F" as well. The "F" is for AGAIN, losing the narrative of this oil spill. We saw this last summer with the health care bill, which is now law.

Lastly, Obama White House please put people on television that one can at least, BELIEVE what they are saying? Just as the lack of communication is a killer, the belief that BP will make the Gulf Coast "whole again" is not just believable, as we all are reading this KNOW IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

This oil spill will destroy the Gulf Coast as we know it and that is the DAILY FEAR that people of this region is coming to grips with. They have every right to be angry because it not only affects them but every person in the United States of America.

Update [2010-5-25 14:21:54 by icebergslim]:
Glad to see people ENGAGED, now we need to get the WH engaged. I don't like that Obama is flying around for fundraisers and coming back to CHI, my home city, Chicago. But he needs a break and the Chicago Police needs more to do, other than having gun shootouts which is happening daily here. But for those who want David Axelrod out, here he is on several news programs. Click on the link when he was on Hardball, it was then that I knew this man needs to be sent packing. Videos, links here....

Update [2010-5-25 15:55:59 by icebergslim]:
As I predicted, President Obama will be in the Gulf Coast on Friday before he jets to Chicago for the Memorial Day Weekend. My advice to POTUS, cop a squat on a cot and keep RETURNING to the Gulf Coast, WEEKLY...

Cross-posted @ Daily Kos

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No one is chanting, "Drill, Baby, Drill", are they?

Well, Barack Obama has a full blown environmental disaster on his hands. And from this, I hope he has learned something from his pandering to drilling of the shores of America. I hope he has awaken to what a real disaster LOOKS LIKE off the shores of many Americans homes.

NO DRILLING OFF THE COAST. PERIOD. STOP WITH YOUR PANDERING. HALT OFF SHORE DRILLING.

Experts say it's not clear yet how much the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will harm the environment along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and other gulf states. But they say it is clear the harm will be great.

That stretch of coastline is full of marshlands, replete with reeds and piles of dead grass that could soak up oil like a sponge. Unlike fish, the area's famous populations of blue crabs and oysters won't be able to outrun the slick. And, precisely at this time of year, the region is host to vast numbers of migratory birds returning from their wintering grounds in South America.

Besides the damage to fish and wildlife, even the land itself could be a victim of the spill. One scientist said if the oil kills marsh grasses, it could eliminate a key natural barrier that keeps Louisiana's precious coastline from eroding.

Add all that up, and one environmental activist described the range of possibilities as "bad to very bad."

Drill, Baby, Drill? Shit, even the Republicans are quiet on that one. I mean, who wants to go vacation on an "oily beach"? Do you? The winds are blowing this oil to some of the most pristine beach areas in this country. Can you say, "catastrophe"? And don't worry, folks are going to be heated and hot on the reaction of the Obama Administration as the damage tolls continue to come in.

Source

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If Karzai's mental capacity is questioned? (Video) What next?

Obama Administration is now re-thinking meeting Karzai in May. The White House should, the man said he is tempted to join the Taliban because he is tired of U.S. intervention. Now, Karzai may have a substance abuse problem from his own country's "number one" product? If Afghanistan don't want us there, can we bring the troops home? The number one product is heroin....



Now the White House may cancel their May meeting with Karzai in Washington, D.C.

On the surface, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's angry, anti-Western flare-up after last week's visit by President Barack Obama might be dismissed as a minor glitch, a verbal clash of political cultures.

But Karzai lost face during Obama's lightning visit. Now, he must show the Afghan people that he is not a puppet of Washington, his protector in the intricate mire of Afghan politics.

This does nothing to help close fissures that are deep and serious. Obama and Karzai are at odds over the way forward in Afghanistan. The U.S. soon will have 100,000 troops battling militant Taliban insurgents and their al-Qaida allies across the border with Pakistan. Karzai wants to open negotiations with the Taliban.

A string of testy and threatening statements issued by Karzai has the White House reconsidering the Afghan leader's Washington visit on May 12.

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162,000 new jobs added, unemployment rate still at 9.7%

A start, but we need millions of new jobs created with the millions out of work. Remember, Secretary Treasurer Timothy Geithner said it will take a long time before the unemployment rate goes down. Also, a great insight and read on this from The Bonddad Blog.

After more than two years in which more than 8 million jobs were lost, the country’s nonfarm payrolls surged in March.

Employers added 162,000 jobs last month, and employment numbers in the previous two months were revised upward. Nationwide, the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent.

To many ordinary, out-of-work Americans, the recovery may finally start to feel real.

“The key message from this report is that we’ve finally turned the corner,” said Nigel Gault, chief United States economist at IHS Global Insight. “Going forward, we should expect things to strengthen further over the rest of the year.”

Source

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Obama's greatest failure was to explain health care insurance reform to all of us (Video)

"....looking for people to blame because they don't want to blame Obama himself...."

That is the problem. Who put the Obama White House together? Who hired all these people? Barack Obama. In the end, if the Democrats lose in November, it will all be laid at his feet and to keep it real, it should be. Barack Obama wasted all his political capital and 2009 on doing nothing in regards to health care, jobs. He has saved everyone but us, the people out here with no jobs, health insurance, etc. Wall Street and the banks made more money from our money than ever before, but they sure as hell are not hiring or lending to us, are they? This is a real problem out here and why many independents are very skeptical about Barack Obama right now, and they should be.



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Obama's 3T budget, a Democrat's nightmare (Video)

What is going on out here are two fold. One, people are white hot in anger on bailing out these banks, financial institutions with no regulatory restraints on the very industry that helped to put us in this mess. Two, jobs. People are unemployed, seeing massive tax cuts for the wealthy (which the Obama Administration will allow to expire), but no jobs for them, along with the continued help for the financial industry. Transcript

This is tough for the Obama Administration. Read the proposed budget, here.



OMB Director Peter Orszag and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer speak and answer questions from the press about the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget. Transcript



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Barack, Barack, Barack, a big pander to the independent voters, if it works (Video)

First a must read, Obama Embraces Hooverism



Unimaginable stupidity

So the Obama Administration is preparing to announce a freeze on Federal discretionary spending through 2013.

And they are proposing it in the middle of a the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

Apparently, it's a political decision made in response to a single election. Great. A single U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts is now dictating fiscal policy for the next three years.

It might at least make some sense if it were a smart political decision. But there's nothing to suggest that it's anything but unalloyed idiocy.

In 1937, FDR followed the same course, pulling back his stimulus programs that had been boosting the economy. The results were catastrophic. The economy tanked. And so did the fortunes of the Democratic Party. Predictably, Republicans won 79 seats in the 1938 midterms.

Fortunately, FDR recognized his mistake and reversed course, increasing spending and boosting the economy -- even before the start of World War II.

Flash forward seventy years, and President Obama is making the same mistake, probably with the same consequences.

Except this time he's got the benefit of history. But he's refused to learn history's lesson.

It seems impossible to believe, but there it is. One of the worst decisions -- if not the worst decision -- that the administration could make. And they've made it.

Such a waste.

This move can lose his base, like they are happy with this administration, anyway. Oh, and this great, fantastic idea from none other than Senator Evan Bayh from Indiana.

P.S., Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) has a big announcement tomorrow, probably to say, "It's been one", and I am not sorry to see HER GO.

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