Ken Salazar gets an ass-kicking. Over to you, Capitol Hill. 6/24 update: Judge refuses White House drilling ban stay request; judge gets death threat

By Michelle Malkin  •  June 23, 2010 02:41 AM

Scroll for updates…


Git along, little dogie…

My syndicated column follows up on federal judge Martin Feldman’s decision yesterday overturning the Obama drilling moratorium. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has now signaled that he will push for another drilling ban — with brand-spanking new, wholly manufactured evidence, no doubt. Salazar is scheduled to testify to a Senate subcommittee on Capitol Hill later today at 11:00am. He better get the grilling he deserves over his junk science zealotry.

Info on today’s hearing. Gear up:

Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and newly appointed Bureau of Ocean Energy Director Michael Bromwich will testify before the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee regarding reforms to strengthen offshore oil and gas oversight and enforcement.

Who: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Director Michael Bromwich, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement

What: Testimony before the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee regarding reforms to offshore oil and gas oversight and enforcement

When: 11:00 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Where: Room 124, Dirksen Senate Office Building, 1st Street and Constitution Ave. NE, Washington, D.C.

***

Ken Salazar gets an a**-kicking
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2010

For all his John Wayne rhetoric on the BP oil spill, President Obama has failed to administer a swift kick to the ample, deserving rump of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. No matter. Federal judge Martin Feldman has now done the job the White House won’t do.

In a scathing ruling issued Tuesday afternoon, New Orleans-based Feldman overturned the administration’s radical six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling – and he singled out Salazar’s central role in jerry-rigging a federal panel’s scientific report to bolster flagrantly politicized conclusions. In a sane world, Salazar’s head would roll. In Obama world, he gets immunity.

The suit challenging Obama’s desperately political ban was filed by Covington, La., rig company, Hornbeck Offshore Services, which spoke on behalf of all the “small people” in the industry whose economic survival is at stake. As the plaintiffs’ lawyer argued in court, the overbroad ban promised to be more devastating to Gulf workers than the spill itself. “This is an unprecedented industry-wide shutdown. Never before has the government done this,” attorney Carl Rosenblum said.

Scientists who served on the committee expressed outrage upon discovering earlier this month that Salazar had — unilaterally and without warning — inserted a blanket drilling ban recommendation into their report. In fact,seven panelists explicitly opposed a blanket ban as “punishing the innocent.” As Feldman recounted in his ruling:

In the Executive Summary to the Report, [Salazar] recommends “a six-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigs.” He also recommends “an immediate halt to drilling operations on the 33 permitted wells, not including relief wells currently being drilled by BP, that are currently being drilled using floating rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Much to the government’s discomfort and this Court’s uneasiness, the Summary also states that “the recommendations contained in this report have been peer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.” As the plaintiffs, and the experts themselves, pointedly observe, this statement was misleading. The experts charge it was a “misrepresentation.” It was factually incorrect.

Allow me to be more injudicious: Salazar lied. Salazar committed fraud. Salazar sullied the reputations of the experts involved and abused his authority.

And for what purpose? To exploit the Gulf crisis, appease the eco-extremists, and stymie the economic recovery to which the Obama White House pays oily lip service.

The scientists whose views were misrepresented reportedly received an apology from the evidence-doctoring Salazar, but where are the consequences? Where is the accountability? Terrific news: Salazar, the report-rigger, is in charge of overseeing the new overseer. That’s right. The Teflon Interior Secretary spent Monday afternoon swearing in another bureaucrat, litigator Michael Bromwich, who will head the newly-named “Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement” (formerly the beleaguered Minerals Management Service).

According to Salazar, Bromwich “will be a key part of our team as we continue to change the way the Department of the Interior does business.” Present company exempted, of course.

Judge Feldman soberly illuminated the way the Department of Interior does business in concluding that Salazar’s “invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths of over 500 feet simply cannot justify the immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country.” Salazar, with his boss’s blessing, imposed the blanket moratorium on Hornbeck and 33 permitted rigs without a shred of threat/safety analysis. Of course, Hope and Change have always been exercised with Arbitrary and Capricious power.

The White House immediately announced plans to appeal the ruling. But for once, Chicago-on-the-Potomac has run smack in the rule of law and lost. For all the other small people over whom the Obama administration has run roughshod, let’s hope it sets a lasting precedent.

***

6/24 Update: This afternoon, Judge Feldman refused the White House request to stay his order striking down the drilling moratorium>:

The Obama administration lost another legal skirmish on Thursday when a judge refused to put on hold his decision lifting a ban on deepwater oil drilling imposed after the worst spill in U.S. history.

After striking down the moratorium on Tuesday, a federal judge in New Orleans rejected an administration request to allow the six-month ban to stand while the government appeals his decision.

Judge Martin Feldman issued a brief order denying the stay request, pointing to his previous ruling that criticized the ban as arbitrary, too far-reaching and not justified given the impact on thousands of oil industry workers and communities.

The government has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and can ask it to stay Feldman’s decision.

And now: Death threats for Judge Feldman.

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Comments


  1. #1
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 4:08 am, Danceswithdachshunds said:

    Comeuppance

    The hope I have, the change we need.

  2. #2
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 6:02 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    Allow me to be more injudicious: Salazar lied.

    Thank you for saying it. All too often we couch the truth to protect the guilty. Under anything close to an honest administration Salazar would be fired for the fake report-at least for getting caught. But with this “the ends justify the means” thugocracy we can expect nothing good or honorable.

    Hopefully federal judge Martin Feldman’s decision will put a crimp in George Soros’ Petrobras scheme and Bambi’s two billion dollar loan to Brazil for their deep water drilling.

    And again: thank you for Salazar lied.

    ===
    Let your sidearm be like Master Card:
    Don’t Leave home without it.

  3. #3
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 6:19 am, Ralph Gizzip said:

    Too bad that oily stain won’t be Salazar’s hide.

  4. #4
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 6:25 am, Lockstein13 said:

    O.T. except for her closing remark on “the rule of law”:

    http://www.numbersusa.com/content/news/june-21-2010/senators-challenge-pres-obama-rumors-executive-order-amnesty.html

    Were this true, impeachment would be appropriate.

  5. #5
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 7:24 am, beachmom said:

    The Obama administration wants this spill to continue.
    They have to.
    Obama could have waived the Jones Act as soon as foreign countries offered to help…3 days after the explosion. And, he could have told the states’ governors to go ahead and do what they need to without waiting weeks on end for permits. Most of the oil would never have reached shore.

    This plays into Obama’s cap and tax and nationalizing the oil industry and his greeny plans.
    Not to mention the huge profits for George Soros.
    C’mon. These people have no honor and are self serving.

  6. #6
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 7:32 am, Sea_Dog said:

    Obama can always make it an Executive Order, thus bypassing those pesky congressional, constitutional and court types, or perhaps get a change of venue on the appeal to the 9th Circuit. This administration’s history is a Three Card Monte, constantly moving the crises so the the pea’s movement goes un-noticed.

    Given the time line of the Sock Puppet’s ascendancy to Anointed status, has anyone but me noticed that prior to linking with Michelle O, he was by all accounts of those who knew/worked with him, primarily a low achieving schlep (a black Harvard Law graduate with top grades, etc. – every NY or Chicago Law Firm would be kicking each other out of the way to get him on their firms letterhead – and the best he can get is a forced hire as a law clerk?). Enter Michelle O, and Board Appointments, etc., fell out of the wood work. Michelle’s appearance, prior to the DNC Makeover was that of a wild eyed inner city radical. The Manchurian President espouses the premise that he is being controlled by Soros’ handlers – I think that handler, and the power behind, is Michelle O. Sort of explains the reliance on Teleprompters, can’t go off script since the thoughts/words are not his.

  7. #7
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 7:46 am, Sea_Dog said:

    Another interesting link, http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/a_shrink_asks_whats_wrong_with.html which may explain his thinly veiled dislike/hatred of this country and which it stands for. A cautionary note from my wife who is a Psych RN, take the article and it’s comments as background information, good information and in some case spot-on, but still, not a diagnosis. I believe that Obama took the office of the President not expecting to last more than one term, and in fact, fully expected not to be overly effective past the first two years, which explains why he and this Congress is trying to ram every radical socialist/marxist law/policy through before January. Beware of the Lame Duck Congress – there are may surprises waiting just below the surface.

  8. #8
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:04 am, RobM1981 said:

    They ran on Hope and Change.

    They delivered Hubris and Incompetence.

    As we can see by the ongoing damage they do to our economy, our shoreline, and our culture, this is a dangerous combination.

  9. #9
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:20 am, orlandocajun said:

    “But for once, Chicago-on-the-Potomac has run smack in the rule of law and lost.”

    And for once they ran smack dab into a southern conservative judge who actually imposes law instead of making it up on the bench. The corruption of Obama’s administration is being exposed every day.

  10. #10
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:20 am, pakurilecz said:

    “Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement” aka mineral management service

    with the name change does this mean that this agency will no longer be responsible for onshore issues? MMS was responsible for both on and offshore drilling

  11. #11
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:22 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    Federal judge Martin Feldman has now done the job the White House won’t do.

    Heh!

    Allow me to be more injudicious: Salazar lied. Salazar committed fraud. Salazar sullied the reputations of the experts involved and abused his authority.

    And for what purpose?

    Obama and his administration are not “Freedom Fighters”,
    they are “Empire Destroyers”:

    But my journey is part of a larger journey – one shared by all who’ve ever sought to apply the values of their faith to our society. It’s a journey that takes us back to our nation’s founding, when none other than a UCC church inspired the Boston Tea Party and helped bring an Empire to its knees.

    - Barack Hussein Obama

  12. #12
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:29 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    Section 3 of the 14th Amendment:

    3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

  13. #13
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:29 am, MarkD said:

    The man is a liar and should be shunned. Everything he says is to be distrusted.

    The choice of associating with known prevaricators is a conscious one. Salazar is dead to me. You can choose differently, but you know what you are accepting.

  14. #14
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:35 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    Has anyone in the Obama administration given aid or comfort to the enemies of the Constitution of the United States?

    I’d say yes.

    And per the 14th Amendment, they cannot hold office unless they receive a vote of two-thirds of each House of Congress, to remove such disability.

  15. #15
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:36 am, stillontheroad said:

    I was just reading where the Feds have halted dredging for sand berms in LA. If anyone thinks this is not deliberate they are nuts. This is hopey changey Libtards and I hope you choke on it.

  16. #16
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:38 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    It also seems that this would be a good time to bring a Quo Warranto case in the D.C. Court.

    In the United States today, quo warranto usually arises in a civil case as a plaintiff’s claim (and thus a “cause of action” instead of a writ) that some governmental or corporate official was not validly elected to that office or is wrongfully exercising powers beyond (or ultra vires) those authorized by statute or by the corporation’s charter.

  17. #17
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:44 am, RedDog said:

    It looks like this Administration is setting itself up for a raft of lawsuits. Ongoing Executive orders and regulatory excesses designed to circumvent state and federal laws, and the legislative process, are about to get some serious scrutiny. This, on top of the criminal investigations that are bound to come will cause the Marxists a lot of trouble.

  18. #18
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:53 am, RedDog said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 7:46 am, Sea_Dog said:

    …I believe that Obama took the office of the President not expecting to last more than one term, and in fact, fully expected not to be overly effective past the first two years, which explains why he and this Congress is trying to ram every radical socialist/marxist law/policy through before January. Beware of the Lame Duck Congress – there are may surprises waiting just below the surface.

    The Marxists are like a Komodo dragon that bites it’s victim and then patiently stalks it, waiting for it to die from the bite infection.

    You’re right on the mark. They will take all they can steal as fast as they can, then consolidate their gains and bide their time for the next opportunity. This is assymetrical warfare on a political level. Classic Communist playbook strategy.

  19. #19
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:58 am, RedDog said:

    And for what purpose? To exploit the Gulf crisis, appease the eco-extremists, and stymie the economic recovery to which the Obama White House pays oily lip service.

    I’m not sure why anyone, Democrats included, really needs to appease kooks. Most if not all of their hysterical claims and “crises” have been debunked over the years. It must be the power of the cocktail party guest list. Everyone wants to be part of the “progressive thinker” clique.

  20. #20
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:01 am, Ragspierre said:

    http://hindenblog1.blogspot.com/2010/06/burn-was-today-dawning-of-day-of-court.html

    Just a quick reminder…

    Salazar’s lie appears to be a felony.

  21. #21
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:03 am, stillontheroad said:

    RedDog said:
    The way I see it anyone who appeases the Kooks is a kook themselves. These people are the fringe and want to destry the government and way of life that we have today. They are a minority but they are a minority with the power to destroy us, and thats the end game here.

  22. #22
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:06 am, Sea_Dog said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:53 am, RedDog said:

    They will take all they can steal as fast as they can, then consolidate their gains and bide their time for the next opportunity. This is assymetrical warfare on a political level. Classic Communist playbook strategy.

    Does the term “swim like a fish in the sea” ring a bell? The only thing they didn’t expect is the outrage from the left for not moving fast enough.

  23. #23
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:07 am, Rogue Cheddar said:

    Al Capone, allow me to introduce you to Elliot Ness.

  24. #24
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:13 am, Sea_Dog said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:01 am, Ragspierre said:

    Just a quick reminder…

    Salazar’s lie appears to be a felony.

    And the definition of “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” as framed in the Constitution, “perjury (lying) of The President, the President’s staff, or any appointee of the President shall construe a charge of perjury”.

  25. #25
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:20 am, Truesoldier said:

    The sad thing is that instead of the news leading with a story about Salazar’s fraduelent lie it will lead with a story about the judge:

    The Louisiana judge who struck down the Obama administration’s six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has reported extensive investments in the oil and gas industry, according to financial disclosure reports. He’s also a new member of a secret national security court.

    When you couple this with the plan for appeal (my guess is they will claim the judge should have recussed himself) as well as the plan for a new ban (in which they will make sure that Judge Feldman wont be able to hear the next lawsuit) you see Chicago tactics at play once again. Makes me wonder if the administration had the IRS leak his investment info to AP.

  26. #26
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:27 am, Ron said:

    What’s interesting to watch is how the Obama administration is taking a multi-pronged approach to kill drilling in the Gulf. They will appeal yesterday’s ruling, but at the same time Sanchez will go forward with a new moratorium with “new” manufactured evidence — presumably not involving his last set of experts, who are certainly personae non gratae for not going along with the last moratorium.

  27. #27
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:32 am, txvet2 said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:01 am, Ragspierre said:

    He’s a Democrat. Felonies don’t count.

  28. #28
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:32 am, Ragspierre said:

    Truesoldier;

    Don’t worry too much about the appeal. The Fifth Circuit is one of the nation’s best. And Feldman is a judge of long-standing and solid rep, so the “conflict of interest” crap will not fly. Feldman very likely sees the Fifth Circuit folks regularly in social settings, as well, so they know the guy; he knows them; and they likely respect each other.

    Reclusal is MUCH more rare than most would imagine, and takes some really strong facts to show cause for.

  29. #29
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:36 am, Ragspierre said:

    presumably not involving his last set of experts, who are certainly personae non gratae for not going along with the last moratorium.

    But that’s the beauty part…you live by the expert, you die by the expert.

    Salazar now has that first panel of experts hung around his neck for all time, which is why I think the “new” ban will be struck down post haste. I mean, talk about blatant BS…!!!!

  30. #30
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:37 am, tarpon said:

    Incompetent Obama gets his ears boxed.

  31. #31
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:45 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:37 am, tarpon said:

    Incompetent Obama gets his ears boxed.

    :-) Big targets.

    Hopefully the Salazar affairs/can of worms/can be opened and examined.

  32. #32
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:51 am, Patronedheart said:

    Take the cowboy hat off that baboon. He isn’t fit to wear it.

  33. #33
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:13 am, thejim said:

    Once again; OBambi & Crew are America’s sworn enemies. They are doing all they can to destroy this great Nation with the help of the media and every Democrat, aided and abetted by the RINOs. They are doing serious damage on every front.

  34. #34
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:14 am, Pasadena Phil said:

    Feds just shut down the dredging of sand berms. Let’s face it, the Obama administration is at war against America.

  35. #35
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:16 am, Rogue Cheddar said:

    Salazar: Tell me, when the first show is over, will you still love me when I’m an incredibly humungoid giant star?
    Obama: Yeah.
    Salazar: Will you still love me when I’m in my hanging-out-with-Ravi-Shankar phase?
    Obama: Yeah.
    Salazar: Will you still love me when I’m in my carbohydrate, sequined-jumpsuit, young-girls-in-white-cotton-panties, waking-up-in-a-pool-of-your-own-vomit, bloated-purple-dead-on-a-toilet phase?
    Obama: Yeah.
    Salazar: Okay, party. Bonus.

  36. #36
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:18 am, Speakup said:

    We keep learning of Salazar and the President being apprised of serious issues with the Deep Water Horizon well earlier and earlier.

    Now its shown to be at least back in the middle of February an inspector sent a message that while he was there, that said “they damn near blew the well up”.

    Perhaps an environmentally conscientious President would have shut the well down then and not waited for a mile under water well to go ahead and blow, killing eleven people and putting millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.
    Maybe BP understands ‘saving the well’, will turn out to be the wrong, very costly, attitude.

    My understanding is fissures in the rock weren’t responding to the mud used to plug them up and methane gas pockets had been shooting up the column.
    A very bad deal, big red flags.
    And BP is getting it handed to them.

    Plenty of blame to go around, its just that, who’s holding our incredibly childish Congress and administration accountable?
    Not the media.

    And who’s holding an exaggerating, gold digging media accountable?
    Not the public.
    The MSM hasn’t a leg to stand on the next time they accuse anyone of greed.
    The networks don’t seem to mind killing tourism jobs to elevate their bottom line.

    The public could stand to take a deep breath, they know the media wants them whipped up into a frenzy and yet they’re falling for it.
    And aiding and abetting the President in his, who needs congress the police or a judge routine, wasn’t cool at all.
    If the President or the Congress can usurp due process to punish BP, they can usurp due process to punish you too.

    Yes its bad though I predict not as bad as its portrayed to be and it’s not an excuse to have a hemorrhage.

    Watching them all act out like they need a diaper change is sickening, to say the least.

    Sorry for the long post.

  37. #37
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:22 am, cheapseat said:

    Yo Ken, Get off your dead (_!_) and get people skimming the oil out of the water before this mess spreads to the seven seas and beyond. Quit the blame crap and the agenda crap and start helping clean up instead of hindering the clean up!

  38. #38
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:30 am, Truesoldier said:

    presumably not involving his last set of experts, who are certainly personae non gratae for not going along with the last moratorium.

    How much you want to bet that this set of experts will be more “cooperatable”?

  39. #39
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:33 am, Ragspierre said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:18 am, Speakup said:

    http://hindenblog1.blogspot.com/2010/06/crash-deepwater-horizon-known-problem.html

    That may help to understand the deal with the well. Read the links, too.

    Taking gas kicks while drilling a well is not uncommon. That’s what the “choke” sector on the BOP is designed to deal with, and make more or less harmless. But that generally presupposes you still have a functioning mud column in the well-bore, which is your first line of defense against over-pressure down-hole.

  40. #40
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:34 am, sbw999 said:

    We can only hope that all of the continued exposure of seedy corruption is liberalism in its death throes in American politics. Remember in November.

  41. #41
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:36 am, Dimsdale said:

    At least we (the generalized form) are calling it what it is: lying.

    If BP has to pay for its role in this disaster, will the Øbama admministration have to pay for their part in it? (with our money, of course) You know, the prolongation, the refusal to accept foreign aid (Jones act waiver), the approval of the BP permits by the administration’s tool in the MMS?

    Someone should slap that silly hat off of Salazar. And maybe miss and b-slap him.

  42. #42
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:40 am, Ragspierre said:

    The Obami are steadily screwing the pooch on the Gulf coast…and in the nation at large.

    OPERATION OVER-REACH is spinning like a top, and it won’t last too much longer. I greatly fear what might happen this summer as thugs around the world step into the opening these fools have made.

  43. #43
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:55 am, Rorschach said:

    Rogue, just remember that it was tax evasion that eventually did Capone in….

  44. #44
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 11:06 am, Truesoldier said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:55 am, Rorschach said:
    Rogue, just remember that it was tax evasion that eventually did Capone in….

    Yeah, but nowadays tax evasion just gets you a high paying administration posistion.

  45. #45
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 11:26 am, rambler said:

    Salazar looks like a deer in the headlights. This administration is filled with people working above their capabilities. Why isn’t the director of EPA not on the hot seat?

  46. #46
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 11:27 am, gus said:

    Salazar is doing exactly what Obama wants him to do.
    Obama NEVER tells the truth.
    Can anyone point to ONE positive accomplishment in Obama’s life?

    One?

  47. #47
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 11:41 am, Flyoverman said:

    Pain train’s coming!

    I love the old adagae that says, when you tell the truth you don’t need a good memory.

    Time will be their undoing.

  48. #48
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 11:52 am, Pat said:

    Wow, they changed the name of the agency. I’m impressed!
    /sarc

    Hornbeck sounds like a courageous company. Think I’ll buy some stock.

  49. #49
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 11:56 am, rocketman said:

    ***
    The real unanswered questions on the BP well blowout have not been answered yet. What went wrong with the blowout preventor? Was it a design or construction flaw? Was the well casing, cementing, or installation defective? What caused the explosion and fire–what lit off the gas?
    ***
    Until these questions are answered–with real data–it is premature to shut down other wells. But like Rahmbo said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste!”
    ***
    Comrade Obama’s (PBUH) goal is making the U.S.A. into the new United Socialist States of Amerikka. And he is right on track to succeed before he and his ilk can be voted out of office in the 2010 and 2012 elections. Jobs, oil spills, terrorist attacks, illegal alien amnesty, financial meltdowns, etc. are just distractions from the real agenda–except when they can be used to advance the takeover.
    ***
    Vote them into FUNEMPLOYMENT at every opportunity. Send bucks to good conservative candidates.
    ***
    John Bibb
    ***

  50. #50
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:04 pm, Southpaw said:

    OT: Goooooaaaaaaaallll!!!

    Man, what a finish.

  51. #51
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm, Ragspierre said:

    The real unanswered questions on the BP well blowout have not been answered yet. What went wrong with the blowout preventor? Was it a design or construction flaw?

    True that. PLUS, a lot of the crap in the MSM is counter-productive. It is typical reporting by technical idiots writing authoritatively, never BEGINNING to understand their topic.

    A BOP is NOT a fail-safe. It is wonderfully designed, reliable, and redundant technology, but you STILL have wild wells. For one thing, it takes time to activate a BOP, and sometimes you just don’t have that commodity.

  52. #52
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm, Regulus said:

    For all the other small people over whom the Obama administration has run roughshod, let’s hope it sets a lasting precedent.

    You dream, my good lady:

    They’ll just do an end-run around the court

    The only thing that will stop these people is to wrest their cloven hooves off of the levers of power. Nothing short of that will have any effect on them, or their plans to drive this country to ruin.

  53. #53
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm, Flyoverman said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:04 pm, Southpaw said:

    Okay, how can someone with a classic baseball handle of “Southpaw” get excited about a soccer match?

    Its enough to make a fan embrace the DH concept. ;)

  54. #54
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:15 pm, Southpaw said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm,

    Flyoverman said:
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:04 pm, Southpaw said:
    Okay, how can someone with a classic baseball handle of “Southpaw” get excited about a soccer match?

    Its enough to make a fan embrace the DH concept.

    Well, I would use “Goofyfoot”, but it doesn’t quite have the right ring to it. Besides, I chose Southpaw in deference to Michelle Malkin, and I’m not sure if she’s goofy foot or not. :?:

  55. #55
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:32 pm, right_on said:

    Bureau of Ocean Energy Director Michael Bromwich will testify perjure himself before the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee regarding reforms to strengthen stiffle offshore oil and gas oversight and enforcement production.

    …the real intent!

    He will undoubtedly use the same “experts” and “scientists” that AlGORE used (to spread disinformation) regarding Global Warming Global Climate Change….because they are, and were so credible.

  56. #56
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:32 pm, Danceswithdachshunds said:

    The Louisiana judge who struck down the Obama administration’s six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has reported extensive investments in the oil and gas industry, according to financial disclosure reports.

    As do many people with 401K’s. Investing in energy used to be looked upon as bullish on the future of our country. Now these stinking commies/liberals want people to view that as somehow a ‘bad thing’.

    Truesoldier said: Makes me wonder if the administration had the IRS leak his investment info to AP.

    You got me thinking.. maybe we should not be paying politicians directly in cash? How about if they were paid, (via some formula), ONLY from Fortune 500 companies’ dividends? Then they’d ALL sure be singing a different tune.

  57. #57
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:34 pm, Flyoverman said:

    Touche!!!, Southpaw….. touche…. ROTFL

  58. #58
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm, T-Bone said:

    You Lie!

    And so does your boss!

  59. #59
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm, Truesoldier said:

    Hot Air has a posting about how Obama told a Florida Sen that they cant bring in oil skimmers from other parts of the country, because they might need them there

  60. #60
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm, Rogue Cheddar said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:04 pm, Southpaw said:
    OT: Goooooaaaaaaaallll!!!

    Man, what a finish.

    (yawn) is it NFL time yet? Who cares about some silly soccer tournament? What’s it called again, World what, Jockstrap?

  61. #61
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:41 pm, Teddy Kennedy said:

    Errah, where’s James Watt when you need him??!! Can’t we just stuff a bunch of baby seals spotted owls, california condors and a unicorn or two down the pip and stop the leak and all this nonsense??!! At least take a giant redwood with a pointy end and jam it in the hole . . . . I bet Beavis and Butthead would have a better solution to plugging the dam hole than these aszhatz! Maybe stuffing the federal registry with the volume of regulations in the hole is our best hope!

  62. #62
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:48 pm, Teddy Kennedy said:

    Errah

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:32 pm, Danceswithdachshunds said:
    How about if they were paid ONLY from Fortune 500 companies’ dividends? Then they’d ALL sure be singing a different tune

    Last time I checked that’s how most of them are paid, their salary was just walkin around money.

  63. #63
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 12:50 pm, Teddy Kennedy said:

    Errah, Obama to Salazar . . . “Greenie, You’re doin a great job!!!”

  64. #64
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:09 pm, happyscrapper said:

    So, the moratorium was put in place for safety reasons…right? I assume, then, that Obama has already sent scores of safety inspectors out to those rigs to go over them with a fine-tooth-comb. That is, after all, the reasoon for the moratorium. Has anyone heard about this happening? If not, what are they waiting for? Oh wait… never mind.

  65. #65
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:17 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Ragspierre said:
    Just a quick reminder…

    Salazar’s lie appears to be a felony.

    Well to be fair, only in a nation where the law still applies…

  66. #66
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:22 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    So, the moratorium was put in place for safety reasons…right?

    The safety of Soros’ investment in the Brazilian oil company? Correct. The Brazilian oil company that has billions of your tax dollars courtesy of Obama – interest free I believe – so they can build windmills drill offshore and line Soros’ pocket. By a strange coincidence, Soros invested in that company a week or so before the billions arrived (going off memory here).

    Obama doesn’t give a $h&t about you, the environment, or the U.S. Anyone who thinks he’s green is an idiot.

  67. #67
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:26 pm, babiesgrandma said:

    Teddy Kennedy said:
    Errah, Obama to Salazar . . . “Greenie, You’re doin a great job!!!”

    Actually, Teddy, THAT was quite funny!!!!!!!

  68. #68
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:36 pm, happyscrapper said:

    http://www.wdsu.com/news/23997498/detail.html

    Check this out, in case you have any doubts whatsoever that this POTUS doesn’t want the oil to be cleaned up! He wants this to be such a huge disaster that no one will ever want oil drilling off-shore again! And just in case you are still undecided…wait until they find out exactly how that rig blew up. Conspiracy theory? Yup!

  69. #69
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:50 pm, hawkeye54 said:

    He wants this to be such a huge disaster that no one environmental loonie will ever want oil drilling off-shore again!

    And the Chinese, Venezuelans, Cubans, et al, will be laughing all the way to the bank as they expand their Caribbean drilling operations and watch rigs leave US waters.

  70. #70
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:50 pm, J S Ragman said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:16 am, Rogue Cheddar said:

    Salazar: Will you still love me when I’m in my carbohydrate, sequined-jumpsuit, young-girls-in-white-cotton-panties, waking-up-in-a-pool-of-your-own-vomit, bloated-purple-dead-on-a-toilet phase?

    Party on, Rogue.

  71. #71
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:50 pm, T-Bone said:

    A felony? Yeah, just like Bill Clinton committed a felony. Do you see how many people still supported that guy while trashing the good minded people that don’t support felony activity?

    If its good for Dems, they don’t care if its illegal. By any means neccesary is their motto. Bills Clintons breaking the law and being supported for it because of political idealogy is what started the whole political devisiveness that we see today.

    GW Bush took the brunt of it as they tried to trash him as payback for trashing Clinton. Difference was, Clinton was in the wrong and deserved what he got. They don’t see it that way. Republicans were wrong. Its only about sex, remember? Well, it wasn’t. It was about a felony.

    They will support the criminal Salazar because he is a Dem. Remember cold cash Jefferson, et all?

  72. #72
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 1:52 pm, hawkeye54 said:

    Anyone who thinks he’s green is an idiot.

    Green is the new Red. Take a look at financing the organizations behind the Green Revolution.

  73. #73
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 2:01 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    He wants this to be such a huge disaster that no one will ever want oil drilling off-shore again!

    Off our shores anyway. That satisifes the eco-idiots who vote Dem, and leaves the rest of the world available for drilling by his buddy Soros and ideological shower-buddies like Chavez. Make your buddies rich and screw the country you hate.

    Too harsh?

  74. #74
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 2:25 pm, T-Bone said:

    Too accurate?

  75. #75
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 2:26 pm, Freddy said:

    And now, somehow today, we get another ‘mistake’ and the cap is knocked off.

    I really, really, really hate to think this is being staged, but the coincidences are really starting to add up.

  76. #76
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 2:28 pm, Cogs said:

    BP cut corners and deserves blame; but once again, Obama takes a bad situation and makes it much, much worse. Turning down the Dutch offer of help was so stupid it was simply unbelievable. The Dutch are the best in the world at this stuff; they have more equipment than anybody in the world – and the most experience too. They are used to solving big problems in the North Sea; the Gulf would be a walk in the park for them. Obama must be doing this simply for his political agenda; he is a worthless idiot.

  77. #77
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 2:32 pm, Truesoldier said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 2:26 pm, Freddy said:
    And now, somehow today, we get another ‘mistake’ and the cap is knocked off.

    That was the initial report, but I hear a news report just the last hour that said it was removed on purpose due to gases backing up into the pipe that could have caused a bigger blowout making things worse.

  78. #78
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 3:57 pm, rambler said:

    I have never seen the logic of pressing for a cleaner environment by allowing eco-nuts to destroy the environment with their activities. Burning homes to stop home construction; not allowing control burns for forest management which later results in damaging forest fires; allowing the oil to ruin the environment so that we can’t drill. What are they really after? The ends justify the means? Do any of these people really understand the consequences of their stupid ideas? Do they really want us to be living in a pile of rubble? How do they think that they will maintain their lifestyle while there is no fuel for the economy? We all would chose alternative energy if it were available, affordable and efficient. We can’t take the oil away and then – pouff – there will be an alternative. I think that none of these idiots really understands what will result from their actions. They are simply not all that smart. What goes around will come around.

  79. #79
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 4:25 pm, spaceycakes said:

    Why isn’t the director of EPA not on the hot seat?

    ’cause she’s using the hot sauce!

  80. #80
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 6:20 pm, Ragspierre said:

    We all would chose alternative energy if it were available, affordable and efficient. We can’t take the oil away and then – pouff – there will be an alternative. I think that none of these idiots really understands what will result from their actions.

    Shoot, when you are the Engineer Delux, you simply MANDATE stuff…those laws of thermodynamics don’t matter…

  81. #81
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 7:10 pm, happyscrapper said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 2:26 pm, Freddy said:
    And now, somehow today, we get another ‘mistake’ and the cap is knocked off.

    I really, really, really hate to think this is being staged, but the coincidences are really starting to add up.

    I agree. None of this passes the smell test. That is what I said when we had an economic melt-down right before the Presidential election of 2008. And I think we are all agreed that it was orchestrated largely by Soros. Now we have this “convenient” oil rig disaster. Would a U.S. President actually orchestrate such a foul deed? I never would have thought so in the past. But we are talking about Barack H. Obama, the sock puppet of George Soros and an obvious radical revolutionary progressive. And just look at how he is sabbotaging the clean-up. You be the judge.

  82. #82
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 7:17 pm, rambler said:

    Thermodynamics don’t matter…. The Chicago machine has been spewing hot air for generations. We need harness that…in more ways than one.

  83. #83
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 7:27 pm, Member-VRWC said:

    Hey Ken –

    Your stetson look doesn’t cut it. You’re not worthy. Leave the cowboy hats to real cowboys. You look as ridiculous as Dukakis did sitting in that tank.

  84. #84
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 8:52 pm, Rogue Cheddar said:

    On June 23rd, 2010 at 7:27 pm, Member-VRWC said:
    Hey Ken –

    Your stetson look doesn’t cut it. You’re not worthy. Leave the cowboy hats to real cowboys. You look as ridiculous as Dukakis did sitting in that tank.

    Heh. He looks like Henry Gibson (from Laugh-In) asking “What about the buffalo?”

  85. #85
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:14 pm, BrianNY said:

    …Salazar’s central role in jerry-rigging a federal panel’s scientific report to bolster flagrantly politicized conclusions.

    Isn’t this:

    1. similar to what the CRU emails at the University of East Anglia showed Liberal “global warming experts” to have been doing?
    2. similar to what Sandy Berger was doing in our National Archives?
    3. similar to what Democrats have been falsely accusing (for 9 years and counting) President Bush of doing to dupe Congressional Democrats into granting authority to invade Iraq in March of 2003?

    Somebody please give me a valid reason why anyone would vote “Democrat” in today’s age? (Mental illness doesn’t count.)

  86. #86
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 9:24 pm, BrianNY said:

    If anyone cares, my top three explanations as to why anyone votes “Democrat” in today’s age are:

    1. jealousy and spite
    2. “groupthink” or, the intellectually lazy/ignorant need to belong
    3. an exaggerated need to control the thoughts and actions of others

  87. #87
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:21 pm, BruceB said:

    Since this is a Federal case, could anyone anywhere institute a citizen’s arrest?

  88. #88
    On June 23rd, 2010 at 10:40 pm, Republicanvet said:
  89. #89
    On June 24th, 2010 at 7:32 am, MacEamonn said:

    If Salazar issues another drilling ban can Judge Feldman find him in contempt of court and toss him in jail?

  90. #90
    On June 24th, 2010 at 10:17 am, Ragspierre said:

    It’s important to remember the role of the government in this mess. It is both an active and passive role…most of it to the bad.

    As I show today, far from being the unregulated wild west show Obama depicts, the drilling industry in American is regulated to stupid.

  91. #91
    On June 24th, 2010 at 11:18 am, hawkeye54 said:

    the drilling industry in American is regulated to stupid.

    Regretably, thanks to overbearing government and unions, that would describe most remaining industry in the USA. Which also explains why much of our industry has relocated overseas.

  92. #92
    On June 24th, 2010 at 11:52 am, swede said:

    Ragspierre said:

    Posted also at rags’ link above. Hindenblog

    Salazar’s problem was obvious. He was working with rational, qualified, experts in the field – so he had to manipulate their conclusion to fit the greeny meme. Not to worry – Barry’s spiffy new commission is co-chaired by Lindsay Graham, who not-so coincidentially led the movement to ban safer, shallower, cheaper, more productive drilling on the shelf – the regs that caused this disaster! So the regs on oil will now be “evaluated” by a commission selected for their idealism rather than any rational/scientific/engineering expertese. Krauthammer nailed it. The conclusion is already written. They just need folks to write it. Other notable clueless, oil-challenged, tree-hugging, greeny/weeny folks on the teamvia Boston Globe:

    –Co-chairman: William K. Reilly, former Environmental Protection Agency administrator
    –Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
    –Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science.
    –Terry Garcia, a National Geographic Society executive and former chief lawyer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under President Bill Clinton.
    –Cherry Murray, dean of Harvard’s engineering school and former president of the American Physical Society.
    –Frances Ulmer, chancellor of the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and former Democratic lieutenant governor of Alaska.
    –Fred Gorski, Janitor at Chicago City Hall.

    OK, I made up the last one. But he may be the most qualified to make a rational evaluation. At any rate, Salazar now has the folks needed to write is pre-determined solution. Wind and solar. Cap and Tax. Goverment controlled energy sector…yada yada.

  93. #93
    On June 24th, 2010 at 12:00 pm, FruNobulux said:

    Hey Ken –

    Your stetson look doesn’t cut it. You’re not worthy. Leave the cowboy hats to real cowboys. You look as ridiculous as Dukakis did sitting in that tank.

    All hat and no cattle — the hallmarks of a Harvard man.

  94. #94
    On June 24th, 2010 at 12:05 pm, Ragspierre said:

    –Fred Gorski, Janitor at Chicago City Hall.

    Who…just maybe…has more expertise in the oil exploration process than any all of the others named.

    A-FREAKING-mazing!!!!

    Happily, in court there is a standard for qualifying experts, and I doubt a new moratorium will last long when brought before the court.

    And, as I noted before, the old panel of experts are on record, and HAVE REAL expertise in drilling, which is the sole area or relevance.

  95. #95
    On June 24th, 2010 at 1:26 pm, BruceB said:

    Just talked to Fred Gorski and he said no way was he going to take a pay cut to work for the Government.

  96. #96
    On June 24th, 2010 at 1:32 pm, California Red said:

    Bureau of Ocean Energy

    Thank God we now have this department. I don’t know how the republic survived this long without it.

  97. #97
    On June 24th, 2010 at 1:59 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

    Michelle,

    I saw the clip of you on Hannity. You did a great job. Please address something that Sean said. He said that the drilling ban was a result of the Obama administration giving in to “far-left environmental groups”.

    If that were true, then who is allowing close to 1 Million gallons of the highly toxic dispersant Corexit to be dumped into the gulf?

    Corexit makes the sitation worse, not better.

    Without Corexit, the oil would come to the surface, where we could gather it up and send the oil to a refinery.

    With Corexit, the oil film gets dispersed into small droplets which intermix with the seawater. The oil is then not only distributed in two dimensions but is dispersed in three. That disperses the oil underwater over a much larger volume and distance, which makes cleaning up the oil much more difficult, all the while spreading toxic chemicals… polluting and killing sea life.

    Where are the “environmentalists” calling for the end of Corexit use in the Gulf? Why aren’t they up in arms about the sea life that is being killed by Corexit?

    Who wants to eat seafood that comes from Corexit-polluted waters?

    Doesn’t it seem that using Corexit is the wrong thing to do?

    Doesn’t it seem that using Corexit, a highly toxic chemical, in massive quantities, qualifies as chemical warefare? Isn’t Corexit, in massive quantities, a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD)?

    Why the Hell are they doing this?
    Who made this call?

  98. #98
    On June 24th, 2010 at 2:17 pm, hawkeye54 said:

    Bureau of Ocean Energy
    Thank God we now have this department. I don’t know how the republic survived this long without it.

    You probably don’t realize that the Bureau of Inert Energy exists as well. Its continued mission is to measure, monitor and report on the effectiveness of all government workforces nationwide.

  99. #99
    On June 24th, 2010 at 2:39 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

    Allow me to be more injudicious: Salazar lied. Salazar committed fraud. Salazar sullied the reputations of the experts involved and abused his authority.

    And for what purpose? To exploit the Gulf crisis, appease the eco-extremists, and stymie the economic recovery to which the Obama White House pays oily lip service.

    What do the “eco-extremists” have to say about Corexit?

    The purpose of this action is not to “appease the eco-extremists”, but it is “To exploit the Gulf crisis… and stymie the economic recovery”. The purpose is to cripple U.S. oil production and make us even more dependent on hostile foreign governments for our oil needs. We have, by far, the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but the Marxist left wants to bring this country to its knees. We are being held hostage by the current administration.

  100. #100
    On June 24th, 2010 at 4:09 pm, hawkeye54 said:

    but the Marxist left wants to bring this country to its knees. We are being held hostage by the current administration.

    And so far, they’ve been doing a bang-up job. Gird your loins, the worst may be yet to come.

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