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Thomas Lindaman writes:

Leftists, like our President (and my Leftist blogging counterpart who needs me for 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the material for his blog),

You can say 100%. It's perfectly fine, Mr. Bizarro World Alinsky Bubble Echo Chamber Originality. Considering the purpose of this blog is to expose your specific lying, I absolutely have to use what you post. Regardless of the fact that it's all just regurgitated from The Drudge Report and Glenn Beck and the right-wing newsletters that arrive in your inbox.

are quick to blame British Petroleum for their part in the oil spill near the Gulf Coast. I'd be the last to disagree, as there does appear to be at least some incompetence or corruption involved. If it can be proven that BP knowingly cut safety measures or means to curtail the possibility of an oil spill, they should be prosecuted and held liable for the clean-up of the spill. But while we're here, maybe we should widen our gaze a bit more and focus on another entity, one where incompetence and corruption go hand-in-glove on a daily basis. I'm speaking of...the United States government. It seems there's a federal law on the books that required us to have fire booms,

Hahaha, see?

which are structures that would allow oil being spilled to be burnt off instead of spreading into the water and hurting the delicate ecosystem the Left loves to talk about so frequently. Guess what, kids! Our government didn't have one at the ready for the Gulf Coast in direct violation of the federal law I just mentioned! Wait. Didn't Janet Napoletano say there was an "all hands on deck" approach to addressing the oil spill? Oh, sure, the government called and got one (and I mean that literally), but that's not the point. The point is that our own government violated federal law. And now, the Left is trying to paint BP as the only bad guy involved in this matter. In fact, they're going out of their way to demonize BP, even though BP has done more to address the oil spill than our own President has.

Like putting the administration in charge?

But yep, environmental and regulatory agencies always get the short end of the stick when it comes to the federal budget. The federal response plan (emphasis on "plan") was designed in 1994, thrown in a drawer, and no one since then, not even President Bush, who knows the oil industry MUCH better than Clinton and Obama, thought to actually mandate to buy the equipment for it. The drilling rig was burning for two days before sinking. The oil that was gushing from the wellhead (due to a failed blowout preventer) wasn't apparent for a day or two.

Initially, the oil slick was thought to be from stores on the rig itself. High winds and rough seas have also hampered the use of containment booms and controlled burns. You see, you can't use a fire boom if the waves are over three feet. There was also a search and rescue operation going on, remember? They also have to do test burns, and that takes time. The main mouthpiece saying that burning everything would've somehow solved the entire problem, is the guy that helped write the plan. With 5000 barrels (200,00 gallons) of crude gushing from the well every 24 hours, the only hope is the capture of the oil at the source. According to the 1990 Oil Pollution Act, which was passed a year after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the responsible party (in this case British Petroleum), is also responsible for the response and cleanup operations. And are you forgetting that Dick Cheney asked 100 oil companies to write up a wish list of what they would most like the Bush administration to do for them, and one of them was to get rid of the very failsafes (such as acoustical shutoff regulators) that would have stopped this very disaster in its tracks? Would having fire booms at the beck and call of every PRIVATE COMPANY rig help solve spills? Sure, probably. But is it practical and realistic? It would also be nice to have a fire hydrant in front of every house. But no, let's blame Obama and his time machine. After all, it's the Democrats that don't care about the environment.

And, no, Mr. Leftist Blogger Who Relies On Me For The Very Existence Of His Blog, I don't buy the "acting on Day One" lie you've put out there.

Of course you're not going to buy it. You also don't buy evolution or AGW. Whenever proof is shown, you just blow it off. Climatologists around the world are just lying for the money, right? Here's your idea of "debate":

YOU: "This timeline by Doug Ross shows Obama did nothing."

ME: "The Ross timeline removed facts. Here are the facts Ross removed."

YOU: "Here's that same Doug Ross timeline again."

ME: "..." You ALWAYS do that.

The fact that Obama claimed it was a "number one priority" while pushing it to the back burner to be addressed after he begged for black, Hispanic, and Latino voters to vote Democrat is proof that he didn't act on Day One...or Two...or Three...or you get the picture. But he has the ability to change all of that. He needs to hold our government accountable for breaking the law with their lack of fire booms, which had a direct impact on the oil spill and the destruction of the environment. Once he does that, maybe he'll be in a better position to criticize BP.

Here is the comprehensive timeline and list of everything the administration has done in response to the spill. Is it wrong?


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36714.html

If it's not wrong, then it destroys all the right-wing "Obama's Katrina" talking points, doesn't it?

Also:


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36722_Page2.html


"Two hours after the MODU [Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit] went down, I was in the Oval." He {US Coast guard Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen} said he briefed Obama and other administration officials on the worst-case scenario of a catastrophic spill. "It took about 20 to 30 minutes," Allen recalled. "He had a few questions. ... We also talked about the investigation that would be required."

The Coast Guard's top commander was in the Oval office briefing Obama TWO HOURS after the rig sank, which was about as soon as humanly possible to present any kind of coherent briefing about what happened and what the potential consequences were. But none of that matters. Because according to right-wingers, that's TWO HOURS that Obama himself WASTED when he SHOULD have already been on the rig pissing the fire out and personally stopping the oil flow with his pinkie!

It would really be better for the GOP to save this nonsense for when Obama's administration actually manages to fall down on the job.

Common sense people need to ask these "small government" Republicans why the government is somehow to blame for yet another huge corporation screwing up majorly again. Notice a pattern yet?

Just admit we need government regulation. It won't turn you into a commie.