Obama Says Drill, Baby, Drill (Updated)
[Guest post by DRJ]
Barack Obama announced he plans to open up millions of offshore acres to oil and gas drilling:
“President Obama took a gamble with the environment and his political base yesterday, opening up 167 million acres (67 million hectares) of coastal waters to oil drilling, in an attempt to limit America’s dependence on foreign energy and to win Republican backing for a stalled climate change Bill.
In a reversal of policies that have protected American shorelines since the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989, Mr Obama paved the way for a new energy rush off the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts by allowing exploratory drilling for trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and oil reserves that could exceed eight billion barrels.”
So what’s Obama doing? For one thing, he’s angered his environmental base and no matter what his supporters claim, he validated Sarah Palin’s “Drill, Baby, Drill.” (I think that proves Obama doesn’t see Palin as a 2012 opponent.)
Obama also undermined his June 2008 claim that drilling won’t help solve our energy problems and went back on his campaign promise not to allow offshore drilling:
OBAMA: “So let me just repeat. John McCain’s proposal, George Bush’s proposal, to drill off-shore here in Florida and other places around the country would not provide families with any relief — this year, next year, 5 years from now. Believe me, if I thought there was any evidence at all that drilling would save people money who are struggling to fill up their gas tanks by this summer or next year or even the next few years, I would consider it. But it won’t. *** When I’m President, I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida’s coast.”
Like Johanna Neuman at the Top of the Ticket, I think Obama is laying the groundwork to peel off some GOP support for climate change legislation by repositioning himself on offshore drilling — something championed by McCain-Palin, not Obama-Biden. Given the Republicans’ reaction, I bet it will work.
— DRJ
UPDATE: In the comments, Beldar takes me to task (here and here) for describing Obama’s announcement as “Drill, Baby, Drill.” He makes a convincing argument that this is Obama’s typical empty rhetoric by which he bans drilling in Alaska’s Bristol Bay and issues vague promises to allow drilling elsewhere. My point is that if Americans think Obama is allowing drilling, it doesn’t matter whether he actually does or not.
Don’t hold your breath. He’s just tossed it over to the Dept. of the Interior and it will be tossed back and forth between them, the Sierra Club, etc., and the courts. He’s just trying to position himself as a reasonable man who wants to do what’s obviously the right thing to do. It won’t get done.
America will continue to hamstring its future, while the Chinese, Indians, etc., make deals to secure as much of a diminishing world supply of oil as they can.
GeneralMalaise (c1b78b) — 3/31/2010 @ 4:52 pmIs this the triangulation method or the Chicago back-scratcher method?
John Hitchcock (3b0943) — 3/31/2010 @ 4:57 pmYep, it’s all about the ‘cap and trade’ bill. Giving a phony concession in return for support of the bill. If you look closely at the offshore drilling announcement, I bet no new offshore drilling will really be permitted.
Brad (2886da) — 3/31/2010 @ 4:58 pmThe proffered leases are worthless. No oil there and Obama knows it.
PCD (764b98) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:00 pmDon’t hold your breath until any actual auctions of leases or drilling takes place. I think we’ve heard this song before.
daleyrocks (718861) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:05 pmThis isn’t “Drill, Baby, Drill” — it’s another kabuki dance where the White House decrees that day is now night and the press all oooh and ahhhh in amazement.
Ignore the press release, and ignore promises about what might happen more than 12 months out. By definition, nothing that the Obama Administration about what’s going to happen more than 12 months out can ever be trusted, because everything they say has a much shorter expiration date than that.
What this was, was a decision to stop development in Alaska that was already on track. When Obama’s far-left base starts to freak out over the optics (the way the networks are, even Fox), Obama’s representatives will point out to them that the ban is the only thing actually certain from what was just announced, and it’s immediate.
I will give the Administration credit for a nice bit of trickery — it’s been good enough to dupe even some who ought to know better.
Beldar (7549b8) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:17 pmThis is the sort of thing what gets Princess Lindsey moist.
happyfeet (71f6cb) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:24 pmConsidering so many people say it means “nothing” he sure has–at least temporarily– ticked off a bunch of the environmentalists in his party. Sen. Cardin from Maryland was on the News hour and he was spitting fire. He spouted every Dem talking point known to man re: clean energy, cleeeen energeeee! (And I don’t think he was feigning it. He looked like he was going to have a stroke on air.)
elissa (0b5e29) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:26 pmI agree, Beldar, primarily because this opens up mostly middle and southern Atlantic areas and there isn’t much oil and gas there. That makes this the ultimate empty gesture.
But like it or not, politics is all about appearances these days. If it looks like it and sounds like it, then this is “Drill, Baby, Drill” whether that ever happens or not.
DRJ (daa62a) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:27 pmSo true, Beldar. The press will coo and pronounce it as just one more act of political genius and ignore the cynical mendacity that lies at the heart of it.
GeneralMalaise (c1b78b) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:28 pm“America will continue to hamstring its future”
So the way to guarantee America a prosperous future is to drain all its oil reserves today?
snips (6a0094) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:30 pm@snips WTF??
elissa (0b5e29) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:33 pmDon’t hold your breath. He’s just tossed it over to the Dept. of the Interior and it will be tossed back and forth between them, the Sierra Club, etc., and the courts. He’s just trying to position himself as a reasonable man who wants to do what’s obviously the right thing to do. It won’t get done.
Absolutely. The plan isn’t to drill, the plan is to make appear as if he is trying his darndest to reach out to the angry masses and simultaneously quell the angry masses, etc. He does not have the best interest of the American people at heart, rather he is the same ideologue he’s always been and is being consistent with that…
snips @ 5:30, I don’t believe our president wants to guarantee America a prosperous future – at least not in the sense that most of us understand it anyway…
Dana (1e5ad4) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:41 pmSo…snips. I heard that our quantity of oil reserves is...rock solid. Didn’t you?
You are such a little partisan hack.
In the meantime, what are our reserves? Please state. Give amounts and locations, and cite your sources. USGS might help.
Why? Because you are the one popping off about “draining all” the oil reserves.
My guess? You know as much about petrochemistry and geology as you do about polling statistics.
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:47 pmAfter over a year of his lying, there’s no reason to trust anything Obama says.
Apogee (e2dc9b) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:50 pmI haven’t seen the underlying documents, which I presume number into the hundreds of thousands of pages from the Department of Energy, probably published or to be published in the Federal Register. But here is exactly how Obama described what they are and aren’t going to do with respect to drilling, anywhere:
As always with Obama, you have to parse very carefully. He’s committed to “consider[ing] potential areas for development.” That is in no way a commitment for development of anything. It’s, “We might, we’ll think about it after you do some more surveys and seismic work, and depending on how the issue polls in October 2012, we might or might not actually permit someone to put some drill pipe in the water.” It’s nothing, it’s utterly meaningless except as an incentive for private companies to spend more money on preliminary work-ups (which, yes, need to be done, but which don’t guarantee that a drop will be put in anyone’s gas tank).
Now, the “studying and protecting sensitive areas in the Arctic” means a ban on something that was already in the works. And of course, during the ban (which will be indefinite), they’ll “study” the project to death, or at least until they find some species of mutant Asian dung beetle whose habitat might be troubled.
It’s not “Drill, Baby, Drill” because there’s no prospect of anyone actually drilling anything new, but there’s a guarantee that nobody is going to be drilling in Bristol Bay.
It’s nothing but lies and big government, all spun into candy for the rubes.
Beldar (7549b8) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:56 pmSo maybe it is “think, baby, think”?
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 3/31/2010 @ 5:59 pm==After over a year of his lying, there’s no reason to trust anything Obama says==
You’re right Apogee. He has said things and reneged, or changed his mind, or flat out lied, or over promised, or mis-spoken so many times that basically *nobody*, including those in his own party, can take him at his word for much of anything. It must be getting harder and harder for people to function within his talking points factory.
elissa (0b5e29) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:07 pmI wonder if snippy could tell us how many times the announcement has been made that the U.S. and/or the World will run out of oil in x years.
As I recall, that claim was first made about 90 years ago for a time 10-20 years in the future, and yet, here we are, still producing oil with proven reserves that were unknown 50 years ago still untapped.
It’s also really amazing that those who say that oil is a finite resource are also utterly adamant in their oppostion to further expansion of nuclear power (except in Iran, of course).
AD - RtR/OS! (6f84de) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:07 pmI learned something from the health care debate that I think applies here, and more important I think Obama learned something. Americans are smart people but as our lives have grown increasingly more complex, we depend on experts for guidance. In the health care debate, we depended on health care providers — especially doctors — to provide us with relevant information. The AMA stepped forward but they represent only a fraction of America’s doctors. As far as I could tell, most doctors did little to expose the fallacies of ObamaCare and instead planned their exit strategies.
I don’t blame them for that and maybe there is nothing they could do. But neither do I expect America’s oil and gas companies and entrepreneurs to expose Obama’s machinations. Obama can demonize oil and gas executives much easier than he could have attacked doctors. So I suspect oil and gas companies are planning their exit strategies, too, and the message won’t be lost on other industries.
Whether it is repealed or not, the passage of ObamaCare marked the day America and Americans were condemned to learn a lesson the hard way, and it will be a very hard lesson indeed.
DRJ (daa62a) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:07 pmThe biggest issue about this is that it isn’t even definate. It’s all “May consider” and “If they decide” and regardless there won’t be anything up for bid until 2012 at the soonest.
This is promising something imaginary in the future in exchange for getting something real today.
And people are going to be stupid enough to fall for it.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:07 pmAs Beldar states, this is all BS. There has been talk earlier in the administration from Interior Secretary Salazar about opening up natural gas production but the real actions from the Interior department are delay and obstruction.
This is just more of the same. What’s odd is that Obama feels willing to overtly break another of his campaign promises ( does anyone have a list of what’s left unbroken? ) for no real advantage.
SPQR (26be8b) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:08 pmBy the way, I entirely agree, DRJ, that appearances count. But that just makes me madder here. I agree with you that Obama, aided and abetted by the media, just gave the appearance to 99.98% of the American public that he’s undertaken a reasonable re-balancing of priorities and that he’s shifted the dial a bit more in favor of development, as though he’s “grown in office.”
Now, he’s not going to lose a single damned Save the Whales voter to his GOP opponent on this in 2012. First off, their memories aren’t that long. Second, for those whose memories are long enough, it will be pointed out that gee, as things have turned out, nothing got drilled, wink-wink he was always just pulling the wool over the fascist-capitalists’ eyes anyway. Third, even the one in a hundred radical who still holds it against Obama won’t defect to the GOP, but to the Moonbat Party or some other crank crowd. So no, there will be no harm to Obama with his base from what looks — to those of us who are still stupid enough to believe anything he says — as a partial sell-out to the Right.
No, he’s having his cake and eating it on this. He had to announce the ban. That’s the turd that’s going to be in the middle of the sandwich for America, so the question is whether the buns and side dish can distract most of the attention — and they have, with the entirely illusory suggestion that he’s moved in a pro-development direction.
Oh, it’s wicked clever politics. And it’s also just … wicked.
Beldar (7549b8) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:12 pmThis is truly cynical. Given all the ifs, maybes, delays and caveats it’s just for show. Just like the nuclear plants that will never get started.
Consider: if Obama removed a rule barring me from getting a $1 billion tax refund that does NOT mean that I am going to get one — first I have to prove I deserve one, which is unlikely. The fact it would no longer be illegal is of little help.
Kevin Murphy (3c3db0) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:14 pmThis is a political decision for international consumption, not an energy decision for domestic consumption. A card well played, but short-sighted. What little oil and gas deposits exist is open to speculation and exploration might reveal more in ‘hurricane alley’. The leases will go fast. Still petroleum products are ubiquitous and a decade from now if and when any begin to flow into the hands of the multinationals it will be sold and refined to the highest bidder in the marketplace. But the list of contractors with the experience put the infrastructure in place to explore and exploit the resources should make oily and oil-friendly Republicans giddy. And satisfy all who worship the ‘Corporate Cosmology of Arthur Jensen’ as well. Until a Nor’easter or a hurricane surfs up a disaster along the Eastern seaboard. But then, Americans who long for the Jersey Shore life can look forward to one day vacationing along the beaches of Seaside Heights and points south, awash with the familiar scent of Perth Amboy, N.J.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:16 pm…on the surface, its also another distraction from the health care bill mess. After this, Cap and Trade, VAT …keep piling it on, keep the rube’s heads spinning, and while they look the other way, stick it to them.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:18 pm“…So I suspect oil and gas companies are planning their exit strategies…”
I’m sure Halliburton will have new neighbors near their HQ over in the Gulf Emirates – guys like Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, and whoever else is left from the U.S. branch of the Seven Sisters.
AD - RtR/OS! (6f84de) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:18 pmBeldar:
Absolutely true. The only silver lining is that even though we can’t stop him now, we know his policies won’t work in the long run. Unfortunately, it may be the very long run.
DRJ (daa62a) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:19 pm“Until a Nor’easter or a hurricane surfs up a disaster along the Eastern seaboard. But then, Americans who long for the Jersey Shore life can look forward to one day vacationing along the beaches of Seaside Heights and points south, awash with the familiar scent of Perth Amboy, N.J.”
Right, DCSCA, since that’s happened every time that a CAT 4 hurricane crosses the Gulf of Mexico … except that we’ve not had such disasters when that happened.
Grow up and spare us the fatuous whining.
SPQR (26be8b) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:22 pmhttp://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2010/03/31/palin-to-take-on-obama-on-energy-in-new-orleans/
ian cormac (349188) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:24 pm@snips WTF??
Just pointing out that America’s children and their children might appreciate it if our generation left them a little oil in the ground.
I know, what a crazy idea.
snips (6a0094) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:24 pmnot true: if Ear Leader is talking, i can trust that, no matter what he says, he’s lying. 😀
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:29 pmYou know what would be crazy, Andrew? For you to actually, you know, research a subject before you knee-jerk yourself toward your beloved progressive causes.
But that would take—gasp—work.
You would rather…snipe.
Again: what are the proven petrochemical reserves in the US and surrounding territorial waters? References? Pros and cons?
You won’t do any of that. You would rather cheerlead.
But it would hurt you to use your brain, instead of your mouth.
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:31 pmthat’s the first thing i’ve seen you post that i can agree with.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:31 pm(and i doubt i’m alone in that category…. %-)
Hey, red! I heard that proven reserves have gone down by 5%, but that would be…rock solid…levels of oil!
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:32 pmThere are off-shore drilling platforms off the Atlantic Seaboard, and they have been there since the Fifties.
How many have been damaged by hurricanes causing oil spills?
How many tides of oil have washed ashore along the North Sea Coast of Britain from the platforms there?
DuckCrap is just expectorating, again.
And snippy still has no idea how much oil is underground in North America in proven reserves.
AD - RtR/OS! (6f84de) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:34 pmWe’re seeing triangulation trying to soften Obama’s role as a socialist etc. The Republicans and the Tea Party folks need to focus on Obama’s credibility. We need to see the tape rolling showing the infamous Obama expiration date on his word. Marginalize this SOB until it doesn’t matter what he says, it just loops back to another broken promise.
Amused Observer (7fb53d) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:49 pmComment by DRJ — 3/31/2010 @ 6:19 pm
Look, I get what you’re saying about appearances. But aren’t you forgetting something regarding at least one set of appearances? Namely, the appearance of nearly 10% official unemployment? As long as the MEMORY of that hangs out there, anything Obama does to play all sides of the street will not last.
I swear, I get the impression that a lot of conservatives operate under the presumption that Dems/Left will ALWAYS beat them on economic issues, and that there’s no point in trying to challenge them on it. Too bad, since the Dems are leaving their economic bona fides out there to be snatched from under them.
Brad S (cf15cd) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:50 pm“And snippy still has no idea how much oil is underground in North America in proven reserves.”
Yes I do…and now everyone can know!
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=RCRR01NUS_1&f=A
snips (6a0094) — 3/31/2010 @ 6:59 pmAll the polls I have read ask if people agree with Obama’s decision to drill, yes or no. None of them ask if simply opening up to exploration will result in anything. Wake me up when the first gallon of gas is brought in from any of this.
kansas (6c5a8d) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:06 pmI didn’t know Rip van Winkle is alive and well and sleeping in Kansas.
John Hitchcock (3b0943) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:17 pmSo… Eric Blair is pretending to be an expert on something while hiding behind his garbage degrees. Ho hum… I guess it is a Wednesday.
Intelliology (00d844) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:19 pmThe serial fabricator returns.
SPQR (26be8b) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:21 pmYup, introlliology has been caught in so many lies to date, that I can only presume he is in some sort of sorority challenge. Is he a sorority plebe?
John Hitchcock (3b0943) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:23 pmIntelliproctology… extract your cranium from your lower digestive tract and drill, baby, drill.
GeneralMalaise (c1b78b) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:32 pmYou will never obtain any credibility if you continue to suggest that anybody who disagrees with your opinions is a liar.
Intelliology (00d844) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:38 pmIntelliology, that’s true. Its a good thing that has nothing to do with why you are a liar.
SPQR (26be8b) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:39 pmBrad S:
I will never satisfy everyone’s litmus test for how to respond to liberals or how conservatives should view issues. But you know what? Neither will you.
DRJ (daa62a) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:42 pmOver at PowerLine they quote the “Institute for Energy Research” as being along Beldar’s line of reasoning. This is much more of a “NO” to Alaska and other promising areas than a yes to anything it sounds like a yes to.
If you hear Obama say something that sounds reasonable, pinch yourself, hard, he’s either lying outright or covering up/ misdirecting what he really means.
Appearance is important, as it is what people think they know that they use to decide on an issue. Funny that many of the Left haven’t caught on (or have they?) that when Obama says something that sounds like a concession to conservatives he’s also winking at them to just shut up and see what’s next.
MD in Philly (59a3ad) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:43 pmHeh. This might get confusing: Either the Dems then just putting on a good show with the fracas they’re raising, or they believe this is a very real possibility (drilling). Who knows at this point…
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), one of the leading Senate opponents of offshore drilling, has blasted Obama’s plan.
But Virginia Democratic Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner are on board, urging Obama to move quickly to open mid-Atlantic shores for oil and gas exploration.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (N.J.) also took a strong stance against Obama’s proposal Wednesday.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:53 pm“I have let the administration know that offshore drilling is a non-starter for me,” Menendez told The Newark Star-Ledger. “A spill in Virginia ends up in Cape May, New Jersey.”
They are ‘the reality based community’ not the community based in reality, so of course Yglesias
ian cormac (349188) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:55 pmBenen, et al all fall for it, or not
Hi Intelliology. Nice to see you continue your usual nonsense.
A few things:
1. I am delighted to compare my “garbage” degrees to your education. And I will pay 100 dollars to the charity of your choice if you have more degrees than I do. Of course, you have to do the same for me, if I trump you. My charity? Wounded Warriors. Patterico can mediate. Let’s go! Of course, you will have to prove your degrees. I have diplomas. You?
2. I think it is amusing that you even bring up the term “lies,” given your background.
3. And were you not banned previously? Is that correct or not? I keep asking, and you keep not responding. Why is that?
You are just a troll. But I am de-lighted to compare degrees. Of course, you…lied…the last time that came up. So some proof will be necessary. You won’t do it.
Eric Blair (ea0564) — 3/31/2010 @ 7:55 pmIf we started building oil-rigs TODAY, you’re in for a five-year nap. Minimum.
That’s how long it takes to go from Start of rig-construction to producing oil.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 3/31/2010 @ 8:01 pmComment by snips — 3/31/2010 @ 6:59 pm
So, we have the same level of proven reserves as we had in 1940?
AD - RtR/OS! (6f84de) — 3/31/2010 @ 8:19 pmHow did we survive the intervening 68 years?
Oh, wait, I guess we must have found more oil?
But, how can that be, the world’s been running out of oil for a hundred years?
Remember, Bubba vetoed the opening of ANWR to oil drilling because (he said) that we wouldn’t get a drop of oil for ten years – in 1984!
Good planning, Bubba.
AD - RtR/OS! (6f84de) — 3/31/2010 @ 8:22 pmAmused Observer,
That’s how I feel, too. We need to concentrate on how flexible his promises and facts are.
DRJ (daa62a) — 3/31/2010 @ 8:31 pmScott #53 – that’s the main tactic, it seems, of the latter-day luddites …
“Oh look, it’s going to take 5/10 years before the first drop of oil/first park of electricity can be produced!” – and they kjeep saying it for decades …
And their supporters keep falling for it !
Alasdair (205079) — 3/31/2010 @ 9:38 pmSigh. My intent was to take Obama to task, not you, DRJ. That’s why I’ve cut back on my own blogging: The guy has me so damned grumpy that I become careless, and inflict (or am reasonably perceived to have inflicted) collateral damage on friends and allies.
I think you and I are actually in complete agreement on this, even with respect to our predictions as to how Obama’s spin might play among its intended targets, those being the (so-called) conservative Democrats, the independents, and the guilt-drenched Republicans who voted for Obama in 2008 but are having buyer’s remorse. I think there are some number of those who will still be fooled, as he is hoping, into thinking he’s moderated his position and moved toward a more reasonable balance between conservation and development of natural resources. I don’t think you disagree, with that, do you? It’s implicit in your saying that “if Americans think Obama is allowing drilling, it doesn’t matter whether he actually does or not.” I think we’re both lamenting that the appearance of being reasonable and statesmanlike will help Obama politically even though he doesn’t deserve that help.
Anyway, sorry if I gave any offense or even seemed particularly argumentative. I didn’t mean to be. Now excuse me while I go yell at the neighbor kids on my lawn.
Beldar (7549b8) — 3/31/2010 @ 9:39 pmBuck up Beldar, eight years of Obama will make you a better person.
snips (6a0094) — 3/31/2010 @ 9:46 pmI will never satisfy everyone’s litmus test for how to respond to liberals or how conservatives should view issues. But you know what? Neither will you.
Well said.
The guy has me so damned grumpy that I become careless, and inflict (or am reasonably perceived to have inflicted) collateral damage on friends and allies.
Having been in that position in 2005, I can empathize. From my perspective, you are disagreeing strongly without being disagreeable, which is a credit to you.
aphrael (4e93b5) — 3/31/2010 @ 9:46 pm#28 DRJ:
Sadly, the cloud with that silver lining is enormous. After all, the O!nes policies didn’t work in the Soviet Union or East Germany either. I just hope we don’t have to go as far as they did to figure that out.
#58 Beldar:
Give ’em a shout for me, too, while you’re at it. But I think DRJ was responding to somebody else.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 3/31/2010 @ 10:11 pmDRJ – I would like to see some companies reincorporating outside the U.S. hauled in front of Waxman to explain their reasoning. That would be some good entertainment!
daleyrocks (718861) — 3/31/2010 @ 10:36 pmBeldar,
We are in agreement (as usual) but on the task comment, what we have is a failure to communicate. I don’t think of “taking me to task” as a bad thing. It’s like “holding my feet to the fire” or, in non-Texas terms, holding me accountable for or asking me to explain what I say. That’s a good thing to me.
DRJ (daa62a) — 3/31/2010 @ 10:48 pm.
> Consider: if Obama removed a rule barring me from getting a $1 billion tax refund that does NOT mean that I am going to get one — first I have to prove I deserve one, which is unlikely. The fact it would no longer be illegal is of little help.
Oh, Kevin, Kevin, Kevin…
There IS a billion dollar tax refund in your future.
Offhand, I estimate you will have one in 2015.
With it you might even be able to buy a cup of coffee.
Remember to thank The One for it when you do get it.
He’s a great man, he is…
.
IgotBupkis (79d71d) — 3/31/2010 @ 11:12 pmThe Houston Chronicle now has specific details. With the exception of green-lighting four Gulf drilling sites that were already planned, it’s all ban and no actual plan. And there will be more hoops to jump through than Carter had little liver pills.
Beldar (7549b8) — 4/1/2010 @ 1:41 amOh, and more details here, plus industry reactions (negative).
This isn’t just spin. This is Broadway-quality play-acting.
Beldar (7549b8) — 4/1/2010 @ 1:46 amYou first Eric Blair. Post a video on youtube in which you hold up your degrees to the camera, smile, and say “Look at me go, I’m a moron to the Nth degree!” (where you replace ‘N’ with the number of your degrees). Title the video “Moron with degrees” and I will pay your hundred bucks. Also, wear a clown suit.
Intelliology (00d844) — 4/1/2010 @ 2:14 am#50– “Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (N.J.) also took a strong stance against Obama’s proposal Wednesday.
“I have let the administration know that offshore drilling is a non-starter for me,” Menendez told The Newark Star-Ledger. “A spill in Virginia ends up in Cape May, New Jersey.”
He’s right.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 4/1/2010 @ 4:11 amHow about we stop using gas cause we might spill it too?
Mr. Pink (ed8269) — 4/1/2010 @ 5:11 am58, Beldar, are you going to do a Walt Kowalski?
PCD (1d8b6d) — 4/1/2010 @ 7:56 amDCSCA, how much oil was spilled when multiple CAT 4 hurricanes and two CAT 5 hurricanes passed through the oil-producing regions of the Gulf within a couple of months of each other?
SPQR (26be8b) — 4/1/2010 @ 8:27 amIt is a simple question, DCSCA, given your extraordinary expertise.
SPQR (26be8b) — 4/1/2010 @ 8:57 amEric – Don’t waste your breath on people like that lying asshat.
IMP maintains its near perfect record of being an abject idiot 100% of the time.
The Barcky contingent and their media cheerleaders should be ashamed of such abject dishonesty. Unfortunately, it is a feature, not a bug.
JD (3b62be) — 4/1/2010 @ 9:02 am#67: First, you demonstrate again, Intelliology, your immaturity. Personally, I like it when you act like a fool. Because you keep getting more and more extreme, and then sooner or later, you will tick off Patterico. Because you can’t help it.
So the fact that you are avoiding my challenge is not surprising. You and I know perfectly well your educational status, don’t we? And by education, I don’t just mean college or graduate school.
Silly little prat.
But more importantly: Were you recently banned from this website, and if so, for what?
Why don’t you answer that question? It’s easy: It might be “No, I have never been banned from this site.” But then, if you, well, lied, it could be a big deal.
Or it might be “I was a jerk to Patterico and had to apologize so that I could post again.”
And I think everyone would like to read that.
I mean, given your general demeanor around here.
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 4/1/2010 @ 9:29 amJD, given what I do for a living, I am pretty sure I know this character’s real situation. I just want him to answer whether or not he has been banned.
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 4/1/2010 @ 9:30 amGood luck. Serial liars tend to not be overcome with bouts of honesty very often, though.
JD (3b62be) — 4/1/2010 @ 9:40 amHe’s clearly just a kid.
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 4/1/2010 @ 10:58 amHave you never met an immature adult in your life?
Leviticus (35fbde) — 4/1/2010 @ 11:59 amI tried to act immature once, but nobody noticed.
Corwin (ea9428) — 4/1/2010 @ 12:55 pm78.Have you never met a
immaturemature adult in your life?(Pardon my editorial license, Leviticus)
On occasion. Not as frequently as I would like, self included.
MD in Philly (59a3ad) — 4/1/2010 @ 1:00 pmGulf oil spill gives Fla. gov pause over drilling
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. [April 27, 2010] – Florida’s governor says an oil leak fouling the Gulf of Mexico has him rethinking whether drilling off his state’s coast is a good idea.
Tens of thousands of gallons a day are leaking from the site of a drilling platform that exploded last week off Louisiana.
Republicans in Florida have been pushing the idea of drilling within 10 miles of the coast. GOP Gov. Charlie Crist has said he’s willing to listen as long as drilling is far enough, clean enough and safe enough to protect the state’s beaches.
But Crist said Tuesday that something is wrong if the explosion doesn’t give people pause.
The oil slick is now within about 90 miles of Pensacola’s beaches. -source, news.yahoo.com 4/27/10
This oil spill can now been seen from space. “Four hundred miles out in space, NASA’s Aqua satellite has taken pictures of the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. In this image from Sunday, the center of it is about even with the mouth of the Mississippi River. We’re told it covers 400 square miles. Take a look.” – source, abcnews.com 4/27/10
http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2010/04/gulf-oil-slick-visible-from-space.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/us/28spill.html
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 4/27/2010 @ 9:50 pmNever did get around to this one, did you?
JD (c1a2b8) — 4/27/2010 @ 10:01 pmGovernment sends skimmers, other gear to oil spill
VENICE, La. [april 29, 2010] – The government has sent skimmers, booms and other resources to clean up a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that’s become far worse than initially thought and threatens the fragile marshlands along the shore, a Coast Guard official said Thursday.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara said at the White House that the government’s priority was to support the oil company BP PLC in employing booms, skimmers, chemical dispersants and controlled burns to fight the oil surging from the seabed.
An executive for BP PLC, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said earlier in the day on NBC’s “Today” that the company would welcome help from the U.S. military.
“We’ll take help from anyone,” said Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP Exploration and Production.
The Coast Guard has urged the company to formally request more resources from the Defense Department. President Barack Obama has dispatched Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson to help with the spill. The president said his administration will use “every single available resource at our disposal” to respond to the spill.
But time may be running out: Oil from the spill had crept to within 12 miles of the coast, and it could reach shore as soon as Friday. A third leak was discovered, which government officials said is spewing five times as much oil into the water as originally estimated — about 5,000 barrels a day coming from the blown-out well 40 miles offshore.
Suttles had initially disputed the government’s estimate, and that the company was unable to handle the operation to contain it.
But early Thursday, he acknowledged on “Today” that the leak may be as bad as the government says. He said there was no way to measure the flow at the seabed and estimates have to come from how much oil makes it to the surface.
If the well cannot be closed, almost 100,000 barrels of oil, or 4.2 million gallons, could spill into the Gulf before crews can drill a relief well to alleviate the pressure. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez, the worst oil spill in U.S. history, leaked 11 million gallons into Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989. -source, yahoonews.com, 4/29/10
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100429/ap_on_bi_ge/us_louisiana_oil_rig_explosion
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 4/29/2010 @ 12:43 pm