Breaking - Obama is having a rethink

[malaise]

about drill baby drill since spill baby spill.
On GEM$NBC

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Of course, Mercury is retrograde." - Ronald Reagan's Dead Republicon Astrologer*

"We republicon occultists -- in spirit and in flesh -- could have predicted that, had you been astute enuf to ask. Sneer."

- Ronald Reagan's Dead Republicon Astrologer*


* Courageously channeled by the intrepid SH from the vast netherworld of republicon occultism.

[Beetwasher]

2. This Will Make Heads Explode

n/t

[ShortnFiery]

3. Thank-you!

For watching GEM$NBC so we don't have to. :patriot:

[Cant trust em]

4. I would really hope that this gives him pause.

If we drill here, we don't have to buy it from the middle east. But if we buy it from the middle east, then at least it spills into their turf.

[dotymed]

85. If we would criminalize speculation

and really invest in GREEN energy (clean coal :wtf: ) we could do this while helping the the "other 95%"

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. Kind of expected that

Since, you know, that greasy spreading blob in the gulf is kind of growing out of control.

Now let's see if we can get him to tighten some of the regulations on existing rigs. You know, while we have his, and the rest of the worlds attention.

[malaise]

7. Any comment from the queen of drill baby drill

or is she still hiding in Arizona.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

22. Last I heard she was having a 75% off ticket sale in Dallas, TX

Seems her shows aren't selling like the used to.

[cui bono]

29. Now if only her media coverage would follow suit. n/t

[trusty elf]

87. "It's all part of God's plan."

[sharp_stick]

6. One more reason to like the guy

as opposed to the arrogant little shit that used to squat in the White House. Obama is smart enough to be able to change his mind when he sees fit rather than the bull right on through damn the torpedoes horseshit.

[Feron]

39. Obama is simply a better politician. nt

[JTFrog]

82. He is simply a better man. n/t

[madokie]

74. One of the signs of a smart man

is the ability to change his mind as he learns

[spinbaby]

8. He's a smart man

Not that I ever doubted that.

[malaise]

11. Did you hear that report this morning that

two miners were killed by falling rocks in Kentucky?

[spinbaby]

21. Didn't hear they were killed

Last I heard they were missing after a roof fall. Alliance Coal owns the mine--they're pretty big players.

[Arkana]

9. He's WHAT????

FLIP-FLOPPER!!!!!!!

[babylonsister]

38. Haha! nt

[SalviaBlue]

10. Its so nice to have a President that not only thinks once,

he rethinks too. ;-)

[bvar22]

53. So nice to have a President ....

...who simply goes with the flow.
No Drama Obama.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. Fed have ordered immediate inspections of ALL oil rigs.

Reported in Chattanooga Tenn paper and here:
a good twitter update from a reporter:

http://twitter.com/jamiedupree

[malaise]

13. That is great news

Thanks for that - deserves it's own thread :fistbump:

Notice disaster looms - here come M$Greedia. Jindal has declared a state of emergency. BP is going to feel the wrath of everyone this time around.

[Dappleganger]

15. You're right, this deserves it's own thread.

[dixiegrrrrl]

41. Class action lawsuits have been filed Already!

De. Rep Markey has sent letters to the OIL co. heads to appear for a hearing.

There is so much happening I am having trouble keeping up with all the feeds I am watching.

But I AM watching.....every maddening minute since our Gulf got fucked over.

Mr. D. is trying to get me away from the puter.

Fat chance.

[Dappleganger]

14. Not only should they be inspecting those rigs

but demanding to see every single rig's emergency plans AND all the devices/tools/machines/subs/boats on-hand to take care of each emergency.

ON-HAND--to take care of it immediately without allowing thousands of gallons of oil to destroy the environment while waiting MONTHS for a fix.

[Fla Dem]

18. Jamie DuPree is a regular contributor on the Neal Boortz show.

He generally touts the RW line, but sometimes he actually will push back on a Boortz opinion or statement.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

51. That's great, but we need tighter regulations, too.

I don't mean to be downer, but the rig that blew was inspected two weeks before the explosion. I realize we don't know what caused the explosion yet, but it wasn't due to a lack of inspections. What we need now is more regulation of these rigs to help protect our fragile coastal ecosystems.

I know, "but they'll just pass the cost on to us." I'm sure they will. But it cost less in terms of dollars and in terms of DESTRUCTION of our coastlines to pay a bit more now than a lot later.

[Renew Deal]

16. Obama didn't believe in drilling in the first place

And he said so. His view was that allowing drilling is a fair compromise to get the rest of what he wants.

[ShortnFiery]

17. Oh stop! Allowing Drilling = Approved of Drilling.

Please, we're not idiots. :(

[Renew Deal]

40. We're not?

Where do I say he approved of drilling?

[ShortnFiery]

42. The point is, if you ALLOW it, it stands to reason that it's been APPROVED.

No, President Obama doesn't get to weasel out of permitting off shore Oil Rigs JUST BECAUSE it was part of some "unwritten" grand compromise.

He ALLOWED it = He APPROVED it.

[Renew Deal]

43. I said he didn't believe in it.

As he has said himself. And he hasn't "approved" anything. It was a proposal.

[ShortnFiery]

45. Good points: Let's hope his "allowances" on these proposals change? eom

[Cal Carpenter]

55. What does 'believing in' something have to do wtih anything?

It's like politics has become a religion.

It's the results of policies that matter. Maybe he'll bail out on this drilling proposal because of this disaster, maybe not, time will tell. It's sort of twisted how the timing worked out on this, isn't it?

[truedelphi]

61. The timing on these things has made me wonder

If Mom Nature was a bit tired of the "Clean Coal, Safe Nuke, and Drill Baby Drill" rhetoric that has eben abounding.

But then I go, that is sort of how the RW says that the "Fill in the blank" sinners are causing the earthquakes.

[whereaminow]

79. Coincidence?

I think not!

:yoiks:

[Cal Carpenter]

92. No, it is a coincidence

I'm not implying anything tin-foil-hatty here.

It was inevitable that another oil disaster would happen - this is the result of for-profit industry and crappy regulations. it was just a matter of when. The timing is just fucking ridiculous, that's all. I mean, now Obama gets to save face for proposing more drilling a month ago? C'mon. It's absurd.

[pundaint]

76. Obama has said just about everything at one time or another. He even said that forcing people to

buy health insurance was a dumb idea, of course that was before forcing people to buy health insurance was historic legislation. People who don't speak like weasels don't require so much defense. Isn't it time we stopped trying so hard to see what isn't there?

[berni_mccoy]

89. Her hate blinds her to the actual words you posted.

[Jackpine Radical]

99. In this context, to approve something is to allow it to go forward.

Just as a legal opinion doesn't refer to approbation or disapprobation.

[Hansel]

103. Also I think there was a method to his madness

It takes years to explore for and find oil, then more years to build the rig and even more before you get oil out of it. It could be 5-10 years before the 1st would be operational.

He was after the funding for renewable energy and knew he couldn't get it without putting offshore drilling on the table. By the time they would be able to get a rig up and running we could have a significant percentage of renewable energy in this country through his other initiatives. By that time, the plans for building the rig might not look so profitable.

I'm not saying none would be built, but I do believe he was trying to get funding and buy time to get a head start with green energy.

[cui bono]

31. So he doesn't stand up for what he believes in? That's just great.

:eyes:

[JTFrog]

83. .

[KG]

19. a-HA! the latest move in his infinity-dimensional chess game!

:rofl:

[SammyWinstonJack]

30. heheh

:evilgrin:

[CakeGrrl]

50. Or perhaps simply a President with the *CAPACITY* to reconsider

a plan, unlike his predecessor.

:eyes:

[azul]

20. An angel on his left or devil on his right shoulder decision?

Does he throw his weight against the environmental crime of burning fossil carbon, in which the real people might get an alternative path, or does he get bossed around by the MIC of corporate persons and war lovers which would seem to prefer to go down fighting while wealthy?



"FATHER MIGUEL D’ESCOTO: The question is this way: how much power do corporations, the whole industrial-military complex, have on the United States? And there you have the answer. The United States is not what people think it is. I don’t think it’s what President Obama thought it was. I thought that being president—I think that he meant, really—I liked him. And I thank God for his coming to that high office in the United States, and I prayed that he would be elected. And I know that he was sincere. And in my waiting room, in my office at the United States, I had a great big picture of him, with—it’s like a poster with “hope” written underneath. And I wrote him a letter saying how much—how glad I was to hear him. But it has remained promises, because I think now he realizes that he is only the president in a country where the industrial-military complex decides what has to be done, and you cannot go beyond the parameters of what they decide. It would be dangerous. "

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/4/26/the_united_nations_is_beyond_reformit

[robdogbucky]

23. Nationalize the energy and banking industries/NT

nt

[corpseratemedia]

26. hey i'm with you on those two n/t

[ShortnFiery]

28. Woo Hoo! That's a beautiful dream.

:loveya: :smoke:

[TheKentuckian]

46. No doubt!

[Octafish]

65. Shoulda been done long ago. Same for the military-industrial-complex.

It's never brought up for public debate in Congress because they're too busy proving the freaking "government can't do anything right" meme.

[Swamp Rat]

78. Yeah you rite!

¡Órale compay! :pals: Aquí mañana vamos a nadar en una gran onda de petróleo. :mad:

[caseycoon]

80. OH! Good one Swamp Rat!

It needs to be on billboards!
:applause:

[malaise]

90. Was thinking about you Swampie

What a fugging mess. :cry:

[BlooInBloo]

24. :)

[Blue_In_AK]

25. I certainly hope so.

I think we as humans need to rethink all megaprojects with the potential for catastrophic accidents. Perhaps this will be the push we need to get serious about alternative energy.

[cui bono]

27. Hopefully it won't take a nuclear disaster for him to rethink that one. n/t

[northernlights]

32. seriously....

any states care to volunteer for that school of hard knocks lesson?

[fishwax]

33. good to hear

:)

[Forkboy]

34. Hope he goes past rethinking it and actually changes his mind.

[zipplewrath]

36. No, no

Get with the program. It's only necessary for Obama to THINK about it. He's a smart man. Actually DOING something isn't necessary for this president. Why, I see explanations about his "accomplishments" that include all the things he announces he will do, or has "started". He's playing 3 dimensional chess. You wouldn't understand.

[Cal Carpenter]

35. Like he has a choice right now

The timing couldn't have been worse from his perspective (or that of the industries whose interests he supports).

I highly doubt there will be any significant change in our overall energy strategy as a result of this. In a year people (who don't live in affected areas) will forget this, or the oil industry will announce new safety measures, and we'll be right back here where a Democratic president supports offshore drilling.

It's not like this disaster wasn't a possibility as of a few weeks ago when Obama announced his drilling plan - this 'accident' was the inevitable result of mediocre regulations and the absence of any political force willing to challenge the status quo. It's not like the first and only oil spill ever. Is our nation's collective memory capable of going back further than a month at a time?

I guess the good news here is for the coal industry - we'll be so worried about the oil spill we'll forget all about the recent mining accidents.

Does anyone else feel like they are just having the same nightmare over and over again?

[Bluebear]

37. Good. Now do more than "think about it", Mr. President.

[northernlights]

81. I wonder if he'll cry at the sight

of the millions of dying animals and their destroyed habitat?

[grahamhgreen]

44. Excellent! I hope we don't have to have a nuclear accident to change peoples minds about that!

[TheKentuckian]

47. Take that rethink all the way to changed mind to welcoming the hatred of the carbon barons.

We can't go back with nearly 7 billion people, we can't stay here polluting ourselves into extinction, but we MUST go forward.

A Manhattan project on renewables and biomass must happen and happen now with all options on the table, including being ready and willing to utilize hemp for fuel, lubricants, and plastics.

[robdogbucky]

52. +1000

Now that is a great idea

[Politicalboi]

75. Here's one possibly

If it doesn't get bought out by big oil.

http://www.jabberwonk.com/flinker.cfm?cliid=gi77h

[greencharlie]

48. and I'm having second thoughts for not choosing 21 as the mega ball number last night.

too late?

[TheKentuckian]

54. If a major offshore spill was something you required a crystal ball for

then you can't see far enough in the future to use a TV Guide or are far to willing to listen to the bullshit from "experts" that profit from the fruits of their spin.

[Duer 157099]

49. WTF??? Because until this spill, it was not conceivable?

WTF kind of thinking is that?

Raise of hands, who didn't know that something like this spill was possible?

W.T.F!!!!

[tbyg52]

57. True that. But even this horror would not have convinced W. nt

[Lilith Velkor]

56. Excellent news.

:kick:

[Odin2005]

58. About damn time!

[VMI Dem]

59. I'd like to see him walk back the drill baby crap.

[Karmadillo]

60. Better to be smart before instead of after.

nt

[tavalon]

62. And that is one thing I like about Obama

The ability to think and then rethink. Both of those were beyond the capability of the silverspoon sociopath.

[Better Believe It]

72. Obama was against Atlantic coast oil drilling than rethunk it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

63. I am not surprised

actually

[malaise]

66. Turn on Rachel for some

fun re the slogan.

[nadinbrzezinski]

67. She is on, and now even RNC members are making the NAZI

references...

Ok now I need a shower, been making them for a while over the Papieri bitte bill in Arizona.

[malaise]

68. I love love the canibalism among the ReTHUGS

Cantor tries to sit on the fence. He refuses to say which camp he's in. Bwaaaaaaah! :rofl:

[nadinbrzezinski]

69. It's a damn civil war

and anther echo of US History... I keep thinking WHIG, for a reason.

[malaise]

70. You're right n/t

[earth mom]

64. I'll believe it when I see it. I wouldn't hold your breath ya'll. nt

[Robeson]

71. Time to pivot on that dime again.

[Politicalboi]

73. He was for it before he was against it

LOL! One more for the list.

[Golden Raisin]

77. Good. Nice to have a rational

adult in the Oval Office. Next on President Obama's list should be to rethink letting Bush, Cheney and Co. get off with zero penalties/consequences for their 8-year reign of terror against our Constitution.

[PinkFloyd]

84. Exactly.

I'd rather him admit he was wrong and reverse his decision before they put platforms down.

[urgk]

86. "Think, baby. Think."

The Democrats should brand themselves against the conservative movement with a line like that. And then run national ads about what happens -- in the gulf, in the economy, in Afghanistan and Iraq -- when you go charging Yosemite Sam-like, hoppin' and "Yee-Haw"in' with guns a-blazin' toward any major decision without actually taking time to think things through.

This is what the country has come to - a party that still has the maturity and foresight to sit down to discuss any given course of action, and another party of pin-striped infants who bang buzzword spoons on their FOX brand high chairs, who can't see past what they "Want! Now!", who believe in the consumer survey model for world-changing decisions as if a comment card from a truck stop in Dallas should drive international policy.

[fasttense]

88. Spill baby spill

Let's hope Mr. Obama doesn't need a Chernobyl like nuclear melt down to rethink nuclear energy.

[YOY]

91. Well he did say he would be willing to rethink courses when the outcome is bad.

That much could be a change over Preznit Dippy.

Of course I am paraphrasing him.

[Jakes Progress]

96. The trick to being a good leader

is to not wait until the disaster, death, and destruction before you think. bush rethought national security after 9-11. The trick to doing things right is not to learn from failures but to listen to the right people.

Now. If this horrible event has caused him to rethink his method of getting advice. if it makes him get rid of his corporate-backed advisors for environmental, financial, defense, and education issues, if it makes him actually get experts and learned people to help him with his decision making, that would be a good thing.

If it is only a temporary blip for political face-saving and the same old corporate bias remains - there is only heartache and ruin that will come from this.

[blindpig]

93. um...

Yeah, he rethought mountaintop removal too. He zigs, he zags, and in the end it's the same old shit.

[Javaman]

94. He's actually in a very good spot...

He could go on record as saying, "look, I gave you the ability to drill off our coasts, but look at what it creates? is this the perfect situation he needed to now push for alt power, but alas, I don't think he will go in that directly, at least not immediately.

[Uncle Joe]

95. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, malaise.

[theFrankFactor]

97. What a Fuckin' Shill! Good thing you didn't show A FUCKING SPINE from the get-go!

[Toasterlad]

98. This Thread Is Hilarious. "What a Smart Man." "He Can Change His Mind."

Do you people think for one minute that he'd be having a "rethink" if hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil weren't currently spreading across the Gulf of Mexico?

Sweet Jeebuz. All this time on a political discussion board, and you can't recognize political hackery when you see it.

[Peregrine Took]

100. "A plus" for excellent triangulating skills! Now back to 20 dimensional chess...

Be "for" something - then be "against" something - it works!

Just ask Tony and Bill.

[anachro1]

101. Rethink or not,

we seem to be operating anf reacting to whatever new disaster shows up.

[Stumbler]

102. Here's my concern

If it took a disaster "of national importance" such as this for him to re-think off-shore oil, what's it gonna take for him to re-think the funding of new construction for nuclear power plants? The complete irradiation of the Mississippi River or the Northeast US? The memories of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl should be enough...