Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is planning a trip to London and a visit with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, her staff has confirmed to POLITICO.
In a Facebook post scheduled to go up Monday, Palin writes: “I have received an invitation for a visit to London, and part of that invitation included the offer of arranging a meeting between myself and one of my political heroines, the ‘Iron Lady,’ Margaret Thatcher.”
“I would love to meet her and hope I’ll be able to arrange the trip in the future,” Palin writes of the former conservative leader whom the former governor frequently cites in speeches. (read more)
She is suffering from dementia and I won’t say who.
This is our open thread. Speak your mind.
TheZoo 
Run Margaret run!
Why on earth would Maggie see Sarah? Has she gone so senile that she has no idea what a buffoon Sarah is?
EV, today is June 15th, you have 16th in the thread title.
Fun Movie Trivia.
You may or may not already know about this, but it was a surprise to me. Jane and I were watching “The Fugitive” (with Harrison Ford and Al Gore’s Harvard roommate, Tommy Lee Jones). In the scene where Richard Kimble tries to get away from the jail by slipping into a St Patrick’s Day parade, just as he starts to join the marchers, you can see a black man (marching in the parade) waving enthusiastically to the crowd. Look closely at that man because he’s only there for about a second. It’s Roland Burris.
Who?
Roland Burris. African-American Trailblazer from Illinois. The man who Rod Blagojovich appointed to replace Barack Obama in the US Senate.
Wayne, are you sure about that?
Well, I only glanced at him for about a second, but it sure as hell looked like him. And he was probably the Sec of State of Illinois at the time, so it doesn’t surprise me that he managed to get a
part in the movie.
Anyway, how’s this for poetic justice…
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/14/2822968/ohio-jesus-statue-struck-by-lightning.html
Found this on facebook:
When you say “radical right” today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party away from the Republican Party, and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye.
— Barry Goldwater
So Ms Thatcher is going to give Ms HalfTermGovernoressQuitter a meeting.
And the stock of the Empire goes down another pound or two.
Though Wiki says they need a citation, they have it mentioned here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Burris
And he’s in the IMDB…
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1908530/
Yeah, I’m sure it was him.
Wayne – why does God hate Jesus?
You know, BnF, I had to ask myself that question in between bouts of doubling over in laughter.
According to the article, the couple spent about a quarter million dollars on that statue. I wonder if they ahd it ensured. And I wonder if the insurance company would call its destruction “an act of God.” It would have to be a pretty strange Act of God…
Damn, that is funny, Wayne.
Mormons Found Guilty on 13 Counts of Prop 8 Malfeasance
It says an offer to arrange a meeting. It does not say a meeting specifically.
It reads more like the machinations of Sarah’s deluded reality than a real and upcoming event.
It’s probably a form letter everyone gets who writes a fan letter to the Iron Lady.
Good catch on my senator (yikes) Wayne. It fits his personality perfectly that he’d want to waste a day as crowd scene extra and then get it on IMDB. What a moron. If everybody who worked as this kind of extra got mentioned on IMDB the site would explode. What a goon.
So if Maggie is the “Iron” lady, what material would best be used to describe Palin? Tin Foil comes to mind…
Let me throw a question to anyone out there to anyone who happens to know a little something about the law 😉
Karger noted that Mormon leadership has significant influence in Utah. Political scientists have referred to Utah’s form of government as a “Theo-Democracy,” because of the church’s influence over state politics and legislation. “No legislation passes without the approval of the Church leadership,” said Will Carlson of Equality Utah, a group that has been unsuccessful in passing statewide protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Mormons active in the faith constitute approximately 75% of the Utah legislature and, because the Mormon church requires members to adhere to the wishes of LDS leadership or face excommunication, church leadership is able to exert significant influence over Utah politics.
The US Constitution prohibits any kind of religious test for anyone holding an office of public trust in the US. How is Utah’s relationship with the LDS not unconstitutional?
And, does this conviction, and the fact that LDS is trying to do this in 30 other states, mean they could lose their tax-exempt status? Even if just in California, if not Utah?
I’d believe that Thatcher shares many of the personality traits that Palin does. They deserve each other. It would be awesome if Thatcher’s conversations were bugged before and after.
A previous analogy that I made over at TP many moons ago was:
” If Sarah Palin were a light bulb, she would suck light out of the room”
vinylspear, how about Tin Foil Hattie? 😉
I’m off to work!
Shayne,
I’ve seen the movie several times since it came out in ’93, but until Obama was elected President and his Senate seat had to be filled, I never noticed Burris in it before and never cared. But as soon as I saw him this time, even for that brief glance, I knew it was him and it made sense to me, too.
I’m going to look carefully the next time I watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, to see if he’s in the crowd there, too, for the big musical number. No mention in IMDB, but who knows?
Next to dork in the dictionary they have a picture of Roland Burris. Seriously. 😉
I just saw Cobb’s little niblet about a huge mysterious pocket of gas on the move under the Gulf. While I wouldn’t be surprised that all of our poking around could cause something strange to happen, this one appeals to my sense of humor.
There’s a lot of talk in the Bible about when God speaks but not a word about when he farts. If there is a pocket of natural gas under the Gulf and it cuts loose, that could be an epic bit of flatulence.
Can’t say it is Mother Earth tooting cuz everyone knows women don’t. 😉
McCain causes Petraeus to pass out.
Ok, I fudged the headline, but McCain was talking to him… 😉
Cystic fibrosis patient dies after receiving lungs transplant from woman who smoked longer than the patient lived.
There’s talk in the bible about god farting?
hoodathunk,
I tried searching for “bubble” “floor” “Gulf of Mexico”, but I’m not getting any current hits. They all go back to the pocket of gas that caused the explosion down there two months ago.
If we only have days left to live on this planet, I’d rather spend it having sex.
I’d pass out if I had to listen to McCain babble.
Just having sex Wayne? No eating gobs of chocolate? You must be from outside space. 🙂
I couldn’t find anything either hoodathunk, he must have been reading one of those rags in the checkout line at the grocery store.
Just having sex Wayne? No eating gobs of chocolate? You must be from outside space.
Okay, how about having sex with chocolate-covered women? Will that make you happy?
I too, came up pretty empty on the bubble thing. Pity, it would have made for some great jokes, even if it was National Enquirer stuff.
Wayne, for a moment I had a vision of a chocolate woman, sort of like an Easter Bunny and wondered if there might be a market. Then I read the ‘covered’ part. Much better but not marketable.
Zooey, only in the Oklahoma version.
“When God farts, Inhofe listens.”
Wayne that would be hell on the sheets, but if the world is ending I guess it would be too late to worry about tidying up.
Go for it, dude. 😉
The Fart That Destroyed the Earth.
Coming soon to a theater near you. Gas masks, $5.
Got any chocolate, Zooey? 😉
I know where to get some, Wayne. 😀
This “offer to arrange a meeting” with Margaret Thatcher, would this be like the phone call that Sarah received from the “French President”?
I watched “Bruno” last night with my 15 year old daughter. I might be the worlds worst mother but we laughed our asses off.
Sheets. Kitchen table. Patio furniture. Whatever.
I think Inhofe could ignore god farting just like he ignores the 10 inches of rain flooding Oklahoma.
Prolly a Jerry Bruckheimer film.
This “offer to arrange a meeting” with Margaret Thatcher, would this be like the phone call that Sarah received from the “French President”?
She got punk’d again. It was Sarah Ferguson calling.
Remember to eat dessert first, well right after sex in Wayne’s case, just in case the the planet passes that gas bubble. And we should all stop cleaning house too.
Shayne, what is this “cleaning house?”
I’ve already forgotten. 😉
In Bruno Paula Abdul shows up to “receive some award” and Bruno serves her a snack on the naked body of a man. I was wondering why Wayne’s comment made me think of that movie.
I don’t know, Shayne, but I am available for lunch. 😉
Wayne sez:
I don’t know, Shayne, but I am available for lunch.
Why am I thinking of cheese & crackers?
Britain’s top transplant official Chris Rudge defended the decision and said patients should be told they are not getting a “brand new” organ. He said on the BBC that “lungs from a smoker can be working perfectly normally.”
Lungs from smoker etc… , sure they can be working perfectly normally is the smoker never inhaled. 😆
That’s okay, Zooey. Piles of clothes laying around make for great “emergency bedding” when the world is going to end any day now. 🙂
If she wants me to wear cheese and crackers, I’ll wear cheese and crackers…
Why am I thinking of cheese & crackers?
Reminds me of the joke about the little boy who went to the store and bought some cheese and crackers. On his way home he was making little snacks for himself when he dropped the bag in a mud puddle.
“Jesus Christ, God Almighty” he yelled, not noticing Father O’Malley behind him.
The good father asked, “What did you say?”
Kid came back with…”Cheese and crackers, got all muddy?”
I was thinking “nuts”.
I’m not picking up anything just in case the planet assplodes.
Let’s not get carried away. It’s entirely possible it would be an SBD that will leave the Gulf bubbling for years. We have never had an effervescent ocean before.
SBD?
I was thinking “nuts”.
Got them, too. 😉
Not touching that one, Shayne. 😀
Neither the “nuts,” nor the SBD.
Silent But Deadly.
Sarah was probably on a travel agency webpage for tours of England and that was part of the tour package.
Ms. Thatcher would be wanting to bathe in a cesspool to feel clean if that meeting if it ever took place.
Has anyone bothered to ask Ms. Thatcher how she feels about meeting Caribou Barbie or if she even wants to meet her?
Well, of course you can’t touch the nuts, you’re way the hell over there in that part of the country! 🙂
See why I’m not touching that one? 😆
It’s only Tuesday, and already we’re in the cesspool. Heh.
Zooey, I was just thinking the same thing. Somebody around here is a bad influence.
**looking at Wayne**
Well, if proximity is the only excuse you have… 😉
Hey, I’ve never denied being a bad influence on anybody. 🙂
Is it just me, or is it kind of a slow day over on TP. The topics aren’t wowing me today, and judging from the light response counts, they’re not wowing anyone else either?
Although, this new one about BP hiring financial folks to help avoid a takeover is an interesting development.
zxbe, I welcome the slow comments — no trolls. Except ‘Onloooker’ just showed up. He’s good for a hundred comments a thread.
Notice how Zooey points at Wayne. I’m surprised she’s not a Republican!
Shayne, maybe i’m a Republican mole and don’t know it yet. 😉
zxbe, just what sort of company would want to take over a company heading down the toilet? Methinks they are more looking for ways to get out of the whirlpool.
Don’t think ‘gawd’ liked you talking sex and chocolate –
I’d just started reading the Watering Hole and-
poof out goes the power for a few hours.
It’s a sunny day so somebody drilled where they shouldn’t have. (yes the pun can be intended)
Never mind the chocolate!
hoodathunk,
I’m not saying anything like this is going on with BP, but when Cheney ran Halliburton, he had them buy (I think it was called ) Dressler Industries. Not only did Dressler have ties to the Bush family, but Dressler was the naufacturer of Asbestos, and there were still lawsuits pending against them. (I hope I’m remembering this correctly, otherwise I aged a lot more than I thought over the weekend.) Anyway, whatever motivation Cheney had is one reason why a company would buy another that’s about to fail. Also, they would own the assets of the failing company.
Prolly true Wayne. A few new signs here and there.
And I think the Zoo is the home of bad influences. Depending on one’s point of view. Mea culpa.
Never mind the chocolate!
Whipped cream?
Whipped Cream would be a better substitute. I want to do a re-shoot of the Herb Alpert album cover for “Whipped Cream and Other Delights.” If you know the one I mean, you’ll understand why.
hooda: just what sort of company would want to take over a company heading down the toilet? Methinks they are more looking for ways to get out of the whirlpool.
Indeed. Although, I’ve heard it said that BP’s assets are worth a lot more than the value of its stock right now, so it could be ripe for a take-over. But who in their right mind would want to touch this toxic company right now. It would likely drag the new owner down too. So I think you’re right that they’re looking for ways to survive and possibly wiggle out of some of the mess it’s in.
Been watching some of the hearings with the oil CEO’s, and every republican to a person have stuck up for big oil, and centered most all their questions around how bad the moratorium is, and that we need to start drilling right away.
“…every republican to a person have stuck up for big oil, and centered most all their questions around how bad the moratorium is, and that we need to start drilling right away.”
Reality calling – reality calling the GOP.
(No one is answering, sir).
General Petraeus collapsed during questioning.
ebb, I think the Repubs number has been disconnected. For a looooong time.
I’ve been lurking at TP and playing anagrams with troll names.
Longredbillions can be rearranged into Ring Billed Loons.
I kind of liked that one.
General Petraeous… “I just got dehydrated.”
Lying is a draining thing.
In the hearings oil CEO’s are saying, if moratorium is not lifted they will have to move their rigs out of the gulf, and we will lose all those jobs, which will hurt the gulf more then the leak.
With how much oil this country consumes, big oil knows they really hold all the cards, and they will do whatever they want to do because politicians in this country will cave to whatever big oil says.
These hearings are nothing but window dressing.
In the hearings oil CEO’s are saying, if moratorium is not lifted they will have to move their rigs out of the gulf, and we will lose all those jobs, which will hurt the gulf more then the leak.
Angels, that might actually mean something if the US got all the oil pumped from the gulf. Shutting down those rigs would mean the loss of jobs of a handful of Americans. This would be sad and regrettable for those people but it would not impact the current oil supply.
As callous as it sounds, what are a few more lost jobs in the Gulf? If it we are going to kill the region, let’s not be pansies about it.
We need to start acting as though the oil ran out today! We need to get that sense of urgency that spurs creativity. We can’t wait around several decades while the oil slowly depletes and the oil companies quickly take all our money. We have to act as if the oil was gone right now! What would we do?
hoodathunk,
I’m not in favor of lifting the moratorium, but we all know that politicians, be them democrats or republicans will not risk their careers by going against the threat of big oil removing their rigs, and the lose of thousands of jobs.
That’s why I said big oil holds all the cards. They have the gun at our heads because we are so dependent on oil for our economy, and all any politician is going to do is pay lip service to the public, and in the end will cave to big oil.
Wayne, if oil ran out today America would do this…
When uncertain, when in doubt.
Run in circles, scream and shout.
Wayne, this is essentially what Carter was warning us about 30 years ago. And the righties still mock him for it.
Getting the righties to ever look toward the future on anything just is never going to happen.
angels81 – are you watching it on c-span or cable?
Thanks for updates – you are correct – ‘they have the gun at our heads’.
Grow a spine politicians. Do the correct thing – for the future.
House, are you doing ok?
You’ve been awfully quiet!
Dylan was years ahead of his time.
“The times, they are a changing.”
Sad thing is, they always are. Americans have just got too sot in their ways.
The hearings were on c-span, and they are now over. Really was “much to do about nothing”. It was just a show for the politicians, to let the public think they are really doing something.
Think about how much oil the military uses in relationship to rest of the country. It’s a bunch.
When BP and politicians claim that the loss of jobs will exceed the damage of the spill, they are attempting to blackmail the public.
2ebb,
I was about to give a Les Nessman Eyewitness Weather report.
BP has just reported that it has shut down recovery operations due to a fire. They say the fire was caused by lighting. BP says they hope to restart operations sometime today. Boy! when it rains, it pours.
They say the fire was caused by lighting.
BP is working in the dark. Unless they meant lightning, which is just a sad lie. Can BP get anything right?
Les was funny!
What’s the happenings in Alabama?
—
Oh, sounds as if Mother Nature is mad at BP –
One of the best moments in TV was Les reporting on the turkeys Mr. Carlson was dropping from the helicopter.
ebb, I think Mom is just mad at mankind in general. And I don’t blame her.
My mistake, I meant lightning not lighting, sorry.
zxbe, “As god is my witness I thought turkeys could fly!” 😀
Mom’s are like that.
Although she is smiling upon the Valley today:
sunny and mid 70s.
Abe Lincoln and Lucielle Ball seemed to enjoy our few days of mid 90s weather:
The roses went from tight bud to full blown blossom in one day!
House,
If you’re going to channel Les Nessman, you have to tell us where your band-aid is right now.
“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly. Where did you get those birds, anyway?”
I guess he didn’t know that wild turkeys certainly can fly, but not Frank Perdue’s chickens.
I also loved when Les, not knowing that the letter “B” was out on the teletype, rushed into the studio to break into Johnny’s show to report that a giant lizard was bearing down on Cincinnati.
Jane, you look good in chocolate. At least from here.
Okay, Frank Perdue’s turkeys, not his chickens. Which also can’t fly, so I wasn’t completely wrong!
Jane and Wayne, I just loved Carlson’s deadpan expression as he said that to Andy.
I also loved how Les channeled Herb Morris (the Hindenburg reporter) during his report on the falling turkeys.
I’m actually chuckling just thinking about that episode. 😀
*Morrison, not Morris.
It was a TV classic, zxbe. One of the funniest episodes of any sitcom in American history.
Another great one was when Herb Tarlek was on “Real People”.
House – if you’ve not lost power – what’s the weather doing? (in your best Les Nessman voice, of course).
Hopefully he doesn’t have a giant lizard bearing down on him. 🙂
This fellow’s reaction is priceless!
One of Les’s fine moments was when Andy wanted him to go on the air and broadcast a tornado warning, but the only emergency plan he had was for when the Russians attacked, so Andy told him to just substitute ‘tornado’ everywhere it said ‘Russians’. Les went on the air and warned Cincinnati about the attack of the ‘godless, killer tornados.
The other was when there was a bomb at the transmitter, and Les went on the air to announce that they were off the air.
People are actually arguing with George McMichael over at TP.
Does anyone believe Faiz really is planning on an effective registration system?
Tooth fairy, Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Faiz has a plan.
Same, same.
I don’t know how supposedly intelligent progressive/liberals can be so stupid as to continually fall for the baiting of a troll.
Yeah, I’m guilty of it sometimes — used to be all the time — but at some point it has to obvious what they’re up to.
gummitch,
I believe Faiz wants us to believe that.
And I have no inside scoop on what he has in mind, as he has not been answering any of my e-mails about the trolls and spammers.
“Does anyone believe Faiz really is planning on an effective registration system?”
It appears it is in action: inaction.
(perhaps that’s the effect he’s looking for).
Looking for a complete troll take-over!
Troll baiting is an exercise in ego. Smack a troll, feel getter about yourself. Sort of like kicking the handicapped.
I have indulged in it and have come to feel really bad about myself for picking on the handicapped. Even when I know they are inviting it. That makes it even worse.
If you are interested, here are some pictures of the detached President among the angry crowd.
I know, Zooey. I, too, have been guilty of that. But at least my argument with Tim Vacuous today had some substance to it, it wasn’t just a “yes it is, no it isn’t, I know you are but what am I” argument, like we get with normal trolls.
I gotta head out. I have several stops to make on the way home, and I have to take my mom to the foot doctor’s. (Regular routine nail trimmings.)
I know I’m guilty of it too once in a while. And I know I shouldn’t.
To a troll, the attention seeking is an addiction. When we give them attention over there (even when just talking about them, not to them) we’re feeding the addiction.
Cheese Flap is quite ingenious – so witty!
It is a shame the President is so aloof – the people just don’t feel his warmth and genuineness.
Thanks for that link Cats!
(such a far cry from the woodenness of ‘howdy dowdy’ bush)
Cheese Flap is right.
Not the greatest thing but,
darn close to it.
vinylspear – did you decipher the bold letters?
(pink undies).
Cats, thanks for the photos. Wow. Looks like an angry lynch mob, doesn’t it?
I’ve been thinking about the 2012 election and the “certainty” that all the bad news in the economy and the Gulf disaster will doom Obama’s re-election. I believe that it will depend entirely on who the GOP nominates and am hopeful they’re on their way to shooting themselves in the foot.
Jimmy Carter had an uphill climb in his re-election bid, hampered by the economy and the Iranian hostage situation. Although he was obviously creamed in the Electoral College, he lost the popular vote by a smaller margin than Grampy McCain did–and he was running against the Holy Ronnie, who had to rely on the October Surprise to assure a win. I see no one on the GOP horizon who has Reagan’s charisma and people like Palin have absolutely enormous negatives.
I live in terror, though, that the American people are stupid enough to once again elect the worse possible option.
Yeah, rakes and pitchforks. “Chairman O” better watch himself, huh? 🙄
Yes, I got that part but, I wasn’t thinking of the Glenn Beck crowd at the time.
Remember James Carville’s hissy fit about the BP disaster and the Louisiana coast?
I heard this on Thom Hartmann’s show this afternoon: Guess what firm helped BP with its ‘going green’ campaign? That’s right Greenberg Carville Schrum (GCS). I wonder if he’ll give the money back in protest?
I’m sorry but I have come to the conclusion that America is too stupid to survive. And we only have ourselves and Republicans to blame.
Well look at our doctors and MBA trolls…somehow I expected more from them *wink
Just saw this on TP:
Yahoo!!
Unfortunately it is not a humane death.
Low, slow and bitterly cold.
kitty, you do realize that dirtygrass is the sock change for motormouth/’dr’.
Same tenor – misspellings, etc. You may just want to leave them to their own devices.
Hope you are enjoying the wonderful weather Ma Nature bestowed on us this very day?
Shows on Comedy Central are broadcast multiple times but I suppose there are still some Luddites out there without DVRs.
Hey!
Oh, and pirates!
There ya go. 😉
Weird, but it’s raining again. I probably shouldn’t have cracked the windows on the car when I parked after lunch…
We’ve had four days of loveliness over here. I guess you’ll be sending us your rain…
I never leave my windows cracked. I swear it’s some sort of rain dance.
If O’Donnell follows Rachel, he will fill an hour gap between her and The Daily Show. I hate to say it but I don’t think his ratings will be better than Keith’s repeat. He needs to go on ahead of Keith instead of the Tweety repeat.
According to this New York Times article, the show probably won’t start until fall. I would expect it to expand election coverage, but what’s left to talk about after Keith and Rachel?
Has anyone actually read the WaPo review of Beck’s new book, The Overton Window?
Killer!
It does sound quite dreadful…
O’Donnell definitely has a more confrontational style, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with his show. If he talks all over everyone like Chris Matthews, I just won’t bother watching.
Here’s a good review from Media Matters via last night’s open thread at C&L. This points out literary errors of the book. Apparently his ghostwriter sucked too.
It’s not as if Beck was producing something for a literate audience, y’know. It will be on the shelf next to the household’s other book, Going Rouge.
You mean Going Rogue, right? Going Rouge was the parody.
I don’t think O’Donnell will change much from his stint subbing for Keith, so if you liked him before, you’ll still like him.
CNN still hasn’t announced a replacement for Campbell Brown. At one time they were talking to Eliot Spitzer, who has worked at MSNBC most recently. I don’t know if he’s got a contract so MSNBC can keep him, but I hope so.
Obama’s speechin’ on the C-Span
Yes, House. I just like the other title better.
Is the speech over already?
I just watched that speech. I’m sorry, but that was a whole lot of nothin.. I am really disappointed and frankly unnerved by the president not taking the bull by the horns and really taking charge, and giving people real information and details that they are craving in a very real way. He needs to be WAY more commanding in this on behalf of the people and this country. Just who is in charge? The president? Or this gigantic multinational corpoation?? Tonight was a huge opportunity to make that clear. I’m afraid he did..
It feels like it did after Katrina. It feels like nothing will happen to help these people or the land, water, and wildlife. Did you guys see how they UPPED the numbers again? The number of barrels per day is now 12 times what they started with. That makes me wonder if they are really way higher than that..
Wow.. Keith was so pissed he even said GD’it..
What was Keith angry about?
Tweety went on a rant and pissed Keith off big-time!
Yes, it was only 18 minutes.
Crap. What did you think of it, House?
muse, early on independent scientists were warning us that the flow was in the range that BP is now admitting. It’s likely been that high from day one.
That was right after Tweety’s rant, and Keith tried to cut him off about three times, but he wouldn’t stop.
I thought he was angry because of the emptiness of the speech, not because of what Matthews was saying..
I’m watching the speech now. He should have done the speech on his feet, he’s too calm.
You know, I would have liked to hear the president say he would be demanding that the responders be given respirators and protective gear. Period. F#@k BP and their thinking by exposing all these workers to dangerous chemicals at this point somehow makes it look less serious if they aren’t wearing masks.. They are insane.
I guess he’s keeping Ken Salazar. 🙄
He’s waving a dull sword.
He’s talking about ending our addiction to oil, BUT HES NOT ASKING US TO CONSERVE.
He should be asking us to sacrifice for our nation. Not enough people volunteer to inconvenience themselves.
And you know BP will not jump on paying medical claims for all the workers who are GOING to have health issues after all the exposure. This is criminal. These workers are desperate for the work. I wonder if BP first had them sign something that kept BP from any liability in case of health problems.. All while letting workers know that if they wore respirators, they’d lose their job with the cleanup.
Prison terms! That is what I want to see. That is the ONLY thing that will prevent this crap from happening again.
muse, I’d be shocked if BP didn’t force those workers to sign away BP’s liability.
The medical bills from these workers will be enough to blow these families out of the water. We’re talking workers who would only to agree to do this work under those conditions without equipment because they really needed the money. This is so monumentally heinous and unfair.
ok, it’s not yet on line –
why was Tweety on Keith and what was his rant about?
He’ll make BP put aside “whatever” amount necessary? I’d like to hear a figure! I want to know who will be administering the fund!
This is glorified cheerleading.
Ohhhh, a national commission. Why isn’t Congress investigating — with public hearings?
He’ll keep Salazar. At some point I expect Thad Allen to be the one to have to fall on his sword.
He’s accepting ideas. Oh lordy…
I hope I’m just being cynical.
Have faith.
Jesus fucking christ.
Keith was angry after Tweety said there ought to be a CCC program to clean up the beaches, and Keith said BP wouldn’t let people volunteer if they wanted to protect themselves with gas masks cleaning up the goddamn dispersant. Even though he said it about BP, I thought he seemed pissed at Tweety.
House, was that on Tweety’s show?
The clean-up people’s health issues may not present for years – then they’ll have to ‘prove’ it was from the time spent at the coast.
This is a complete f-up – all the way around.
Gas needs to be at least $5 or $6/gallon before people start to think about conservation – because then it will be ‘personal’.
So of the four groups, which do you believe BP has more of working this disaster:
1) Engineers/Scientists
2) Lawyers
3) Public Relations People
4) Accountants
zxbe,
PR people, then lawyers, then accountants, then engineers/scientists.
zxbe it in order of ‘importance’ to BP:
Lawyers
Accountants
Public Relations People (they truly fail at this)
Engineers/Scientist
It is on Countdown, after the speech, Zooey.
Thanks, House.
Okay, it’s up now.
I found this article today in the LA Times. It may go a long way in defining some of the confusion in how to deal with this in an assertive way:
Read the rest..
We as a country have to raise our standards, our rules, and have much more stringent regulations in order to assign accountability BEFORE we let these multinational corporations do business in our country..
Actually, the drilling just needs to taper down and we as a nation just have to try different ways to run all our junk, use less, buy less, or go without. Other countries are making the necessary changes. Why can’t we? I already have a Prius. I already hardly drive it anywhere. I’d gladly put solar panels on my roof and make any other changes necessary. I think LOTS of Americans would. Especially if they understood that oil is not a limitless product, that we’ve already hit the peak of production and it’s downhill from here on out..
I’m afraid the oil companies aren’t going to allow their golden goose to die and will do all they can to kill any attempts to move away from using petroleum. Just like they did years ago when people started moving out to the suburbs and riding the trains into the cities to their jobs. The oil companies bought the trains and dismantled them so that people would have to buy cars and buy gas to feed them in order to get to their jobs. The oil companies are far too powerful. It’s scary.
I didn’t like the fact that President Obama mentioned that the ban on more offshore drilling only lasts 6 more months. What in the heck is going to change in 6 months time? The consequences or fallout of this spill won’t even be felt or finished in 6 months time (if the spill is even stopped by then)..
So Obama has authorized 17,000 National Guard to deploy, what’s holding up the Governors from getting them out there?
Politics/tourism/denial.
“So Obama has authorized 17,000 National Guard to deploy, what’s holding up the Governors from getting them out there?”
Are they taking their orders from the president? Or from BP..
I wonder why BP thinks that blaming worker illnesses on food poisoning is helping them? If it’s true (which I know it’s not), then why are they providing bad food to their workers?
Don’t get me wrong. I like President Obama very much. He’s a good man. A smart, measured, thoughtful, incredibly articulate man. Probably one of the smartest presidents we’ve ever had. My problem is that I needed to hear more from him tonight. Something far more concrete. Something that gave me confidence that he was going to DO something, and then articulate what. I didn’t get that – at all.
I didn’t get it either, muse.
I wrote Obama last night, asking him if he’s a president for the people or a president for the corporations. I told him we need to hear it either way. I didn’t hear it.
I just finished writing him again, telling him we don’t need a fucking cheerleader (in more polite terms), and that he needs to get the workers the respirators they need. BP can write checks, but they should not be in charge of their own crime scene!
I’m feeling really negative right now so I think I’ll excuse myself and go watch something totally inane. You know, I can’t help feeling Louisiana was already in trouble big time with two disasters and the crashing of the economy of the country, and now they are just toast. Help won’t come fast enough for too many people. And it won’t just be Louisiana. My dad lives near NOLA and hasn’t been able to find ANY work, NOTHING since last September. Not even the most menial of jobs. That is a long time to go without a pay check, and I’m sorry, unemployment doesn’t do much and it is time-limited. He doesn’t live on the Gulf Coast (thank God) because at his age I wouldn’t want him exposed to the chemicals. I could see him doing the labor beings he is in such dire straits and can’t afford to be picky. I can’t bear talking to him because he doesn’t have hope. I can’t bear watching this go on and on and on and on… Something’s got to give. For everyone there. It’s like this country’s safety net has evaporated.
I’m feeling the same way, muse. I’m beyond frustrated, and moving toward not giving a shit. That’s unusual for me and I don’t like it at all. It’s not about the people anymore. It hasn’t been for a very long time. I feel like I’m just kidding myself that I can make a difference at all.
Eight years of raging against GWB, and then getting so hopeful about Obama, thinking we wee going to actually get somewhere in this country. Sure, there have been a few things — enough to keep me going for a while — but reality is sinking in.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
We can’t set off a nuke in the Gulf. We’d then have two disasters.
Catch-22.
I think for me, it’s Lawyers, Accountants, PR, and Engineers/scientists.
I suspect we’re all going to have the engineers/scientists last.
Definitely, engineers & scientists will be the lowest priority.
Lawyers are expensive, but they’re hitting the books.
Accountants are a little less expensive, and they’re probably trying to hide money.
PR people are cheaper, and you can get a lot of them for the money, and right now image is EVERYTHING.
I believe the media wants to sell the detached aloof line about Obama, gives them something to bitch about. First they act like he’s doing nothing and then when they can’t deny his activity they complain about his demeanor. He can’t win.
I think Obama’s problem is he’s too good of a lawyer. He knows what each of his comments can cost later if there are trials and measures himself too much. But that’s just my opinion of course.
They’re not all eating from the same cafe. I think the food poisoning was an early deflection.
By the way, I don’t think even BP can make workers sign a complete waiver of their rights to protective gear, that would be against OSHA regulations. What they probably did was make them agree to binding arbitration, waiving their right to go to court. I’ve had to sign those here in Alabama, to get health insurance.
Oh geez… Watch this:
I’ve been listening to this guy since the beginning. This is Matthew SImmons and from today. Oh geez…
Keith is starting again.
Woohoo, Lawrence O’Donnell is getting his own show!!!!!!
That was a poor show.
60,000 BPD – started out as 1,000, then 5,000, then 15,000.
How is that BP has been allowed to keep sensors out of the well until this week?
That’s a big area of failure of the Coast Guard and government – that they trusted and did not demand their own independent assessment. Start firing people Obama, and handcuffs for Tony and his crooks.
Just flying over for a minute…Dreadful speech. Sorry.. I must say I had expected it…Guess no one here is aware they have been allowing more offshore drilling leases and start ups since this spill..Read it a couple of weeks ago,,Ugh!..Did not wish to add salt to the wound….Wish I knew how to cut, paste and forward files…Again sorry.
Salazar is the worst thing ever in this administration, not only is he instrumental and running this dreadful show on the coast he is behind the BLM’s plan to round up all the wild horses and have them slaughtered, after arial hurding and weeks of starvation and neglect in holding pens….Been addressing that of late, hence why I am rarely around…Please forgive…Peace, Blessings & Justice.
The administration needs to clean house, seriously. Salazar needs to go, if there was a way to get rid of the Bush moles as well…
As much as I am unhappy with the president, it pisses me off that the trolls seem to blame him for everything except living…although some probably do…
TtT,
I also understand that when you look at the live feed from the BP leak, the orange “flame-like” spots that seem to pop up now and then are not flames (thankfully) but more dispersants! I thought our government told them to stop using them. And what the hell good does it do to inject dispersants right at the source of the leak? Doesn’t that just break up the oil and make it harder to collect? Not to mention poisoning anything it comes in contact with? Who’s running this show again?
As for Keith and his language. I’m a regular viewer and I have noticed more and more over the past few weeks a tendency for him to let slip with a “goddamn” here and there. It’s cable, so it’s legal, and it doesn’t offend me in the least because I do not believe there is any such thing as a “dirty word”. (Try swearing in another language and see who gets upset. Probably no one, so it’s not actually what you’re saying that upsets people.)
I think it’s just a matter of time before he slips and drops the F-bomb. And if it’s as memorable a moment as Shep Smith’s “This is America and we…don’t…fucking…torture!”, he’ll get even more famous for it. But I think it’s just a matter of time. I just hope it’s worth whatever flak he’ll get for it.
A representative government that answers to the lobbyists and not the people is one root cause of why we are faced with what is happening in the gulf.
The recent SCOTUS decisions only compound the problem because they are behooven to agendas that are not within the spirit of the Constitution.
Apathy and complaceny, people unwilling to become informed or afraid to recognize the 800 pound gorilla in the room is another cause.
Follow the money trail my law professor always said.
William Rivers Pitt has an article at Truthout (Enough of this crap) that nails the problem square on the head.
I admire his clarity of thought.
Here’s the link to the William Rivers Pitt article: Enough of this crap.
That is an excellent article, vinylspear. Thanks for the heads up.
Complacency, sorry.
I was complacent in my spelling.