At LAT , ” Oil Platform Explodes off Louisiana “: The opening scene was all too familiar. Black smoke rising from a burning oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and workers plucked from the sea. But Thursday’s fire on an oil production facility 100 miles off the Louisiana coast appears to have ended without disaster. None of the 13 workers on board the platform was injured. The Coast Guard found no evidence of an oil leak, and by Thursday afternoon the fire was out. The accident — the cause is unknown and under investigation — happened a little more than four months after BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig blowout, which killed 11 workers and resulted in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Thursday’s fire sent shudders along the Gulf Coast, but Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc. reported that it was able to shut in the wells connected to the oil and gas platform, averting leaks. “Automated shutoff equipment on the platform safely turned off the flow of oil and gas from the platform’s seven producing wells before the fire occurred and the crew evacuated,” the company said in a news release. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said the company told officials that the fire burned an oil product stored on the platform — unlike the BP drilling rig blaze, which was fed by an uncontrollable gush from its blown-out well. “That’s a very important point,” Jindal said. Thursday’s accident occurred farther west than the BP blowout, on an oil and gas platform in shallow water south of Terrebonne Bay, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Coast Guard officials said they received a call at 9:18 a.m. Central time that the platform was engulfed in flames. Crews on a nearby oil facility reported seeing an explosion on the platform. The 13 workers, wearing red floatation suits, apparently leaped into the water, which is about 340 feet deep. They were picked up by a supply vessel and flown by helicopter to an onshore hospital. Mariner said were no reported injuries. See also Memeorandum .
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Another Offshore Oil Rig Explosion in Gulf of Mexico
**Written by Doug Powers Last month, a California Congressman distributed talking points among the ranks stressing Obama and the Democrats “unprecedented” support for Israel : The July 22 memo from Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, declared that the backing from Obama and the House Democrats have been unprecedented. “I think you will find [this document] useful to make the case that House Democrats and the President are as good if not better than any Congress or Administration that has come before,” Berman, who is Jewish, said in an e-mail to Democrats in Congress. Meanwhile, across the ocean : Washington is funding an ad campaign in Israel featuring billboards of Palestinian officials asking: “We are partners — what about you?” The campaign launched Sunday includes the faces of senior Palestinian Authority officials Saeb Erekat, Jibril Rajoub and Yasser Abed Rabo, and Riad Malki, Palestinian foreign affairs minister, Yedioth Aharonoth said. The aim of the campaign is to persuade Israelis that peace partners on the Palestinian side truly exist, and calls for support of a two-state solution, the Tel Aviv newspaper said. The campaign has raised a few eyebrows in Israel. “We are talking about a Palestinian Authority campaign funded by the American government,” an Israeli Foreign Ministry official was quoted saying. The UPI reports that about $250,000 US dollars have been spent on the billboard campaign in Israel (I’d ask how much is being spent to send the same “we’re your peace partner” message to the Palestinians, but I’m guessing I know the answer). (h/t Israel Matzav ) **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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US Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Pro-Palestinian Ad Campaign in Israel
The Christian Science Monitor – Imagine: You’re ready for a well-earned end-of-summer break, some golf, a dip in the ocean, ice cream with the kids. And oh by the way, you’ll be taking a bunch of people from the office with you.
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On Obama vacation, the job tags along
(The Christian Science Monitor)
For the past few months, I’ve been spotlighting the Obama administration’s War on the West, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s War on Jobs, and the White House land lock-up ( Part 1 , Part 2 ). Today’s column exposes the next Obama environmental power grab — into the sea. *** And now: The Stealth Obama Ocean Grab by Michelle Malkin Creators Syndicate Copyright 2010 It’s not enough that the White House is moving to lock up hundreds of millions of acres of land in the name of environmental protection. The Obama administration’s neon green radicals are also training their sights on the deep blue seas. The president’s grabby-handed bureaucrats have been empowered through executive order to seize unprecedented control from states and localities over “conservation, economic activity, user conflict and sustainable use of the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes.”_ Democrats have tried and failed to pass “comprehensive” federal oceans management legislation five years in a row. The so-called “Oceans 21″ bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Sam Farr of California, went nowhere fast. Among the top reasons: bipartisan concerns about the economic impact of closing off widespread access to recreational fishing. The bill also would have handed environmentalists another punitive litigation weapon under the guise of “ecosystem management.” Instead of accepting defeat, the green lobby simply circumvented the legislative process altogether. In late July, President Obama established a behemoth 27-member “National Ocean Council” with the stroke of a pen. Farr gloated: “We already have a Clean Air Act and a Clean Water Act. With today’s executive order, President Obama in effect creates a Clean Ocean Act .” And not a single hearing needed to be held. Not a single amendment considered. Not a single vote cast. Who gives a flying fish about transparency and the deliberative process? The oceans are dying! The panel will have the power to implement “coastal and marine spatial plans” and to ensure that all executive agencies, departments and offices abide by their determinations. The panel has also been granted authority to establish regional advisory committees that overlap with existing regional and local authorities governing marine and coastal planning. No wonder the anti-growth, anti-development, anti-jobs zealots are cheering. The National Ocean Council is co-chaired by wackadoodle science czar John Holdren (notorious for his cheerful musings about eugenics, mass sterilization and forced abortions to protect Mother Earth and for hyping weather catastrophes and demographic disasters in the 1970s with his population control freak pals Paul and Anne Ehrlich) and White House Council on Environmental Quality head Nancy Sutley (best known as the immediate boss of disgraced green jobs czar/self-avowed communist Van Jones). Also on the new ocean panel: – Socialista and energy/climate change czar Carol Browner, last seen bullying auto company execs to “put nothing in writing, ever” and threatening to push massive cap-and-trade tax hikes during the upcoming congressional lame duck session. – Dr. Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a former high-ranking official at the left-wing Environmental Defense Fund, which has long championed drastic reductions of commercial fishing fleets and recreational fishing activity in favor of centralized control. – Attorney General Eric Holder, who will no doubt use his stonewalling expertise to shield the ocean council’s inner workings from public scrutiny. – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar , who apparently doesn’t have enough to do destroying jobs through his offshore drilling moratorium, blocking onshore development and wreaking havoc on the energy industry. Given Salazar’s fraudulent book-cooking in support of the administration’s offshore drilling moratorium (Remember: Obama’s own appointed scientists blasted the Interior Secretary for unilaterally contradicting and misrepresenting their conclusions.), his comments on the new ocean grab are more threat than promise: “With two billion acres we help oversee on the Outer Continental Shelf, Interior is a proud partner in this initiative, and we look forward to helping coordinate the science, policies and management of how we use, conserve and protect these public treasures.” “Helping coordinate the science,” as interpreted by Obama’s Chicago-on-the-Potomac heavies, means doctoring, massaging and ramming through whatever eco-data is necessary “to reduce conflicts among uses, reduce environmental impacts, facilitate compatible uses, and preserve critical ecosystem services to meet economic, environmental, security and social objectives.” Translation: drastically limiting human activity from coastal areas to seabeds to achieve the “social objective” of appeasing the enviros and their deep-pocketed philanthropic funders. Even New York Sen. Charles Schumer slammed the administration’s junk science-based fishing limits at a meeting this week between NOAA’s Lubchenco and Long Island recreational fishermen. Draconian regulations, he said, according to the New York Post, “put the industry on death’s door.” Now, the same forces behind such job destroyers will have free reign over a national ocean policy established by administrative fiat. Viva la Summer of Wreckovery. *** Laura Curtis at Hot Air has more on the consequences of this stealth ocean grab: The formation of this new Council is a signal that offshore drilling will likely be regulated into nonexistence. The Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will also participate in the National Ocean Council. The Council is also specifically tasked to cede our maritime sovereignty to the United Nations via the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea; if this is ratified, the International Seabed Authority will be able to restrict or limit our access to undersea “solid, liquid or gaseous mineral resources” if it so chooses. Obama sees skyrocketing energy costs as a feature, not a bug, of his energy policies. If you recall he even said so before the election. He does not have the support of all Democrats. Mary Landrieu is fighting against the unnecessary and costly moratorium which is fueling the perfect economic storm Obama is inflicting on Louisiana. As she pointed out, this will cost us tens of thousands of jobs, and actually expose us to more environmental risks. See also: What the NOC means for anglers And Mike Johnson at the American Thinker: Wealth, Jobs, the Fishing Industry, and Obama
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And now: The stealth Obama ocean grab
Okay, Sharron Angle campaign. With a subject line like this, you've got my attention: For Immediate Release HARRY REID’S PLAN TO SAVE THE NEVADA ECONOMY: COKED-UP STIMULUS MONKEYS Nevada — In the face of the worst recession since the Great Depression, where has the money from Harry Reid’s stimulus bill gone to help our ailing economy? Cocaine-addled monkeys and a million dollars worth of exotic ants, according to a new report out this morning. “Harry Reid says ‘no one can do more’ for Nevada. We had no idea Harry’s plan of ‘more’ meant spending millions on coked-up monkeys and exotic ants while our state is ravaged by the worst foreclosure rate and highest unemployment rate in the nation,” said Jerry Stacy, spokesman for U.S. Senatorial Sharron Angle. Other examples of how the stimulus has squandered taxpayer dollars include $750,000 towards creating a YouTube-like computerized dance choreography program; $300,000 to study the effects of “integral yoga” upon hot flashes; and $60,000 to study public perception of stimulus spending. “Harry Reid promised his $787 billion stimulus bill would create jobs. Instead of creating jobs, this wasteful bill has piled on ‘more’ massive debt and ‘more’ unemployment in Nevada since the bill’s passage,” Stacy said. “Nevada needs a Senator who will fight for economic policies that fosters an environment which encourages real job creation and gets Nevada moving again. That’s Sharron Angle.” A New Report Out This Morning Highlights The Massive Amounts Of Waste In Harry Reid’s Stimulus Bill: A Few Examples Of The Waste Highlighted In The Report Include: ●
Okay, Sharron Angle campaign. With a subject line like this, you've got my attention: For Immediate Release HARRY REID’S PLAN TO SAVE THE NEVADA ECONOMY: COKED-UP STIMULUS MONKEYS Nevada — In the face of the worst recession since the Great Depression, where has the money from Harry Reid’s stimulus bill gone to help our ailing economy? Cocaine-addled monkeys and a million dollars worth of exotic ants, according to a new report out this morning. “Harry Reid says ‘no one can do more’ for Nevada. We had no idea Harry’s plan of ‘more’ meant spending millions on coked-up monkeys and exotic ants while our state is ravaged by the worst foreclosure rate and highest unemployment rate in the nation,” said Jerry Stacy, spokesman for U.S. Senatorial Sharron Angle. Other examples of how the stimulus has squandered taxpayer dollars include $750,000 towards creating a YouTube-like computerized dance choreography program; $300,000 to study the effects of “integral yoga” upon hot flashes; and $60,000 to study public perception of stimulus spending. “Harry Reid promised his $787 billion stimulus bill would create jobs. Instead of creating jobs, this wasteful bill has piled on ‘more’ massive debt and ‘more’ unemployment in Nevada since the bill’s passage,” Stacy said. “Nevada needs a Senator who will fight for economic policies that fosters an environment which encourages real job creation and gets Nevada moving again. That’s Sharron Angle.” A New Report Out This Morning Highlights The Massive Amounts Of Waste In Harry Reid’s Stimulus Bill: A Few Examples Of The Waste Highlighted In The Report Include: ●
**Written by Doug Powers John Kerry, who fights on behalf of the little people on whose backs the rich get richer by avoiding taxes most Americans can’t afford to dodge, is seeing to it that the little people aren’t burdened by an extra $500k in his home state’s tax coffers. From the Boston Herald : Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I. Isabel – Kerry’s luxe, 76-foot New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage – was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine. But instead of berthing the vessel in Nantucket, where the senator summers with the missus, Teresa Heinz, Isabel’s hailing port is listed as “Newport” on her stern. Could the reason be that the Ocean State repealed its Boat Sales and Use Tax back in 1993, making the tiny state to the south a haven – like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Nassau – for tax-skirting luxury yacht owners? Cash-strapped Massachusetts still collects a 6.25 percent sales tax and an annual excise tax on yachts. Sources say Isabel sold for something in the neighborhood of $7 million, meaning Kerry saved approximately $437,500 in sales tax and an annual excise tax of about $70,000. John Kerry said this in February of 2009: If you put a tax cut into the hands of a business or family, there’s no guarantee that they’re going to invest that or invest it in America. The $7 million dollar yacht on which the Kerrys avoided a heavy “sails tax” hit in their home state was constructed in New Zealand , so Kerry really went out of his way to prove himself correct. Update: Just because it fits so well, here’s Rep. Alan Grayson mocking the GOP for their “yachts and art collections.” Um, yeah, darn those Republicans and their yachts. **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
The Courier Post in my old home state of New Jersey has an intriguing investigative piece into the shady candidacy of a self-proclaimed “Tea Party” candidate — whose candidacy was sponsored and promoted by Democrats apparently in need of a spoiler. Everyone wants to know “Who the hell is Peter DeStefano?” Some answers (hat tip: JWF )… Peter DeStefano, the independent Tea Party candidate this fall, didn’t announce himself as a candidate. Rather, his name surfaced for the first time as a viable candidate in an internal poll commissioned by Rep. John Adler and released to several blogs. DeStefano has been attacking the Republican challenger, John Runyan, and avoiding face-to-face meetings with local Tea Party activists and the media. The Dems’ (incomplete) release of the internal poll including DeStefano raised eyebrows among veteran political observers in Jersey. Adler’s campaign would not release the complete poll to the Courier-Post, nor did the campaign respond to numerous attempts for information over the course of the week about the poll and why it was released. “This poll is not reportable in terms of the numbers,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “Really the issue is why they released it.” “Internal polls are notoriously unreliable, because often times, pollsters are going to skew data in favor of the candidate paying the bill,” said Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University. Buried at the end of the Courier Post story, some tell-tale ties: Republicans said it was troubling that longtime allies and donors to Adler had signed DeStefano’s petition. They include Marshall Spevak, who has worked for the Camden County Democratic Committee, pollster Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, Adler’s 2008 congressional campaign, and Adler’s state Senate office. He works on the campaign of Chris Coons, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate in Delaware. sked through a Facebook message last Thursday about his signature on the petition, Spevak wrote: “Yes, I signed that petition. I did so with regret because I was very disappointed in the Congressman’s (Adler’s) vote on health care.” Runyan campaign adviser Russell responded: “That’s the most ridiculous, dishonest political spin I’ve ever heard. Mr. Spevak is a professional political operative. He’s paid to run campaigns.” Christy Gleason, Spevak’s boss on the Coons campaign, declined comment through a spokesman. Gleason also worked for the Camden County Democratic Committee last year. Runyan aide Chris Russell has more: “We always knew that career politician John Adler would literally say or do anything to salvage his career in Congress and keep feeding at the trough,” said Runyan General Consultant Chris Russell. “But for Adler associates to get caught propping up a fraudulent third-party candidate in an underhanded attempt to hijack the tea party movement and split the Republican vote takes the cake. The fact that the Adler campaign and leading Democrats refused to talk to the Courier Post about the evidence linking them to Peter DeStefano, and DeStefano himself cancelled all interviews, tells you all you need to know. This is nothing more than political dirty tricks, and it’s going to backfire on them in a big way.” …“Marshall Spevak’s claim in the Courier Post, that he signed DeStefano’s petition because he was mad at Congressman Adler is preposterous,” said Russell, who pointed out that Spevak only recently deleted his facebook links to Adler and his LinkedIn profile detailing his many connections to Adler and South Jersey Dems, and that his family has close ties to Adler personally. “Mr. Spevak is a paid political operative who knew full well that a candidate running under the tea party banner in November could only help his old boss by splitting the Republican vote, not hurt him. Frankly, I wouldn’t doubt if his involvement in this petition drive didn’t go a lot further than just his signature. Given his grassroots campaign experience it’s more than plausible to believe that Mr. Spevak helped coordinate the petition drive itself. Don’t you have to wonder how Mr. DeStefano just magically wound up going door-to-door for signatures in Mr. Spevak’s neighborhood?” * The Notaries who signed off on Mr. DeStefano’s petitions both appear to be politically active Democrats in Burlington and Ocean counties, respectively. Leonard Niedermayer contributed to Jon Corzine’s re-election campaign and is a perfect Democrat voter, while his facebook page contains numerous references bashing House Republicans. He certainly doesn’t sound much like someone with an active interest in or affinity for Tea Party candidates for Congress. The other lawyer was Harold Hensel of Toms River. Also a Democrat, he has contributed campaign funds locally to Democrats in Lakewood. “Based on their backgrounds, I don’t see any other logical reason for two politically active Democrat lawyers from opposite ends of the district to help an unknown, self-proclaimed tea party candidate secure a position on the November ballot unless they were intentionally trying to aid Congressman Adler’s campaign,” said Russell, pointing out that notarizing a few petitions isn’t profitable legal work and is largely done by attorneys with a personal and political connection to the candidate. “The questions I have are: Did someone instruct them to help Mr. DeStefano? Were they paid for their work? If not, then what was their motivation for helping him? How did Mr. Hensel in Ocean County even meet Mr. DeStefano? Our campaign, for one, would love to get an answer to these questions.”
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Reports: Dems polluting Tea Party in New Jersey
At Politico , ” Obama: Oil disaster not over yet .” A day after BP temporarily capped its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama welcomed the development as “good news” but cautioned Friday that the largest oil disaster in US history is far from over. “It’s important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves here,” said Obama, speaking from the Rose Garden before departing to Maine. “You know, one of the problems with having this camera down there [in the Gulf] is that when the oil stops gushing, everybody feels like we’re done, and we’re not.” BP finally restrained the growing environmental catastrophe Thursday by placing a tighter sealing cap over the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig that’s been spurting oil into the ocean since April 20. After the cap was installed, the live video feed of oil and gas billowing from the broken pipe on the ocean floor showed the leak gradually slowing before it stopped completely. It’s doubtful that Obama political disaster is over yet, despite declining news coverage of the oil spill: Remember this week’s polling, ” Confidence in Obama reaches new low, Washington Post-ABC News poll finds .” And it’s off to the Maine vacation, and that’s after Michelle Obama’s exhortation that Americans holiday in the Gulf States. ” Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Michelle Obama Encourages Americans to Vacation in Gulf, Obama Family Takes Mini-Vacation to Maine .” Fail.
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Gulf Spill Cap Won’t Save Obama’s Political Disaster
