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How the White House Delivered a Crushing Economic Blow to the Gulf
pjmedia ^ | 20AUG12 | by Sen. David Vitter

Posted on 08/20/2012 4:23:48 PM PDT by bayouranger

PJM EXCLUSIVE: Louisiana's GOP senator on how the cover-up to trump sound science in favor of political ideology keeps growing with each chapter.

Here’s the book-jacket teaser: A major U.S. environmental disaster strikes. As Coast Guard and other heroes struggle to contain the unprecedented damage, a different scene unfolds in a dimly lit conference room in Washington. A small group of high-ranking political hacks and overzealous ideologues see an opportunity to manipulate the situation to advance their agenda. They doctor a key report on the disaster by experts in order to justify shutting down all exploration and new production. They explain the sweeping decision as something sound science requires.

Several weeks later, members of Congress and a few in the media dig deeper into the alleged science behind bringing an entire industry to a screeching halt. That’s when the cover-up begins.

A catchy political thriller? If only it were fiction. Instead, it’s what seems to have happened in the Obama administration following the BP disaster. Advertisement

And as a U.S. senator from Louisiana, I suffered through seeing it firsthand.

Some aspects of the 30-day experts’ report seemed suspect to me from the beginning. So I called for an inspector general to investigate the Obama administration’s claim that science supported the decision to shut down the Gulf. That investigation revealed that high-ranking officials in the Department of the Interior and the White House inappropriately manipulated the 30-day experts’ report to justify the offshore drilling moratorium — all in violation of the Information Quality Act and contrary to sound science.

On June 21, 2010, new reports revealed that the scientists in question in fact opposed the moratorium. They were shocked that their report was doctored to justify it. They even actively lobbied Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to soften the ban.

However, on Nov. 10, 2010, Mary Kendall, the inspector general for the Interior Department investigation, concluded that Interior officials were really only guilty of sloppy editing. She determined that Interior’s moving some words around in the experts’ report was more akin to a clerical error, and that Interior Secretary Salazar had already apologized for that.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Government; Mexico; US: Alabama; US: Florida; US: Louisiana; US: Mississippi; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2012; alabama; bhofascism; bp; deepwaterhorizon; democrats; florida; gulf; gulfdrilling; louisiana; louisianna; macondo; mexico; mississippi; obama; offshoredrilling; opec; texas
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To: WKB; bayouranger

I wish this were fiction. Good article by Sen. Vitter.

It’s ALL true, and was calculated.

To quote a famous person...”I hope he fails!”


21 posted on 08/21/2012 11:38:55 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 (This hobbit is looking for her pitchfork...God help the GOP if I find it.)
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To: dixiechick2000
While there are many in this world that have sanded my butt cheeks off and that I am highly irritated with... you my FRiend are not amongst them. :-) Thank you for the well wishes... we are all in the same economic dump.

LLS

22 posted on 08/22/2012 4:12:16 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (Sarah speaking at the romney convention would be like Led Zeppelin opening for The Monkees)
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To: LibLieSlayer

Bless your heart...and I mean that in the kindest and most fond way possible.

You have always been one of my favorites, and I am very concerned about your well being.

Hopefully, after this election, everything will be coming up roses...ala Reagan with real economic improvement. It can’t get much worse.

Know that you and yours are in my prayers.


23 posted on 08/22/2012 11:34:32 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 (This hobbit is looking for her pitchfork...God help the GOP if I find it.)
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To: 43north

Exactly, just the same old BP M.O.

I am really fed up with BP, trying to play the fascist partner game with the Democrats. Even after the Horizon spill and the other accidents at BP refineries, after having parts fall off their oil tankers in Alaska and the delayed maintenance on the Alaska pipeline, BP is still trying to position themselves as the crony partner of the Obama administration.


24 posted on 08/22/2012 11:45:02 PM PDT by Eva (Eee)
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To: dixiechick2000
The same back at you FRiend. GOD bless! No worries... I will be fine regardless of the election. A country boy can survive! ;-)

LLS

25 posted on 08/23/2012 4:05:50 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (Sarah speaking at the romney convention would be like Led Zeppelin opening for The Monkees)
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To: 2CAVTrooper
The rig was sabotaged pure and simple.

The rig was NOT sabotaged. There were corners cut, and there were inspectors ON the rig at the time, trying to tell the operators NOT to perform the action that they believed would cause the blowout.
They were ignored, and we saw the result.

26 posted on 08/23/2012 9:31:04 AM PDT by SuziQ
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To: LibLieSlayer

There are no more exceptional people in this great country than you “country boys.” Y’all, and those like you, built this country.

I have NO doubt that you are resilient, innovative, and creative.

I know you will be fine.

It’s those Harvard educated, city slickard, tassel loafered people I worry about. ;o)


27 posted on 08/23/2012 11:59:58 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 (This hobbit is looking for her pitchfork...God help the GOP if I find it.)
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To: dixiechick2000

What you say is very true. If things get as bad as they could get... those kind of people are in for a rude awakening and a major attitude adjustment. As the Warden in Cool Hand Luke said, “Luke, you gonna have to get your mind right”.

LLS


28 posted on 08/24/2012 4:14:32 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (Sarah speaking at the romney convention would be like Led Zeppelin opening for The Monkees)
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To: LibLieSlayer

That is SO true!

There’s another quote, the quote I remember best...

“What we got here is... failure to communicate.”

In these times, that would be between Obama and the American people.

AND...it would be on purpose.

How else do you explain the contrived War on Women?


29 posted on 08/24/2012 11:39:44 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 (This hobbit is looking for her pitchfork...God help the GOP if I find it.)
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To: dixiechick2000
obama and the dims are pure evil. evil was born of the lie. satan is the lord of the lie. obama is related to him... if he is not the antiChrist... he is at least a second cousin to him. You are correct... what we have in America is a “Failure to communicate”... the truth!

I love that movie... old George Kennedy rubbing Newman's belly and telling him he can eat more eggs. Loved it!

Have a great Saturday friend.

LLS

30 posted on 08/25/2012 4:21:48 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (Sarah speaking at the romney convention would be like Led Zeppelin opening for The Monkees)
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To: 43north

Knowingly disabling the safety systems is the same as sabotage.

Gas detectors, fire alarms, safety valves, and numerous other systems were either turned off or bypassed.

The definition of sabotage is:

— n
1. the deliberate destruction, disruption, or damage of equipment, a public service, etc, as by enemy agents, dissatisfied employees, etc
2. any similar action or behaviour


31 posted on 08/28/2012 7:39:23 PM PDT by 2CAVTrooper ( For those who have had to fight for it, freedom has a flavor the protected shall never know.)
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To: SuziQ

Turning off or otherwise disabling the safety systems is “not” sabotage?

The general alarm was in manual override at the time of the blast which means that someone would have had to physically hit the alarm switch to sound it.

The emergency shutdown system which would have cut off all ignition sources when the gas alarms went off. But ooops that didn’t work now did it?

Same goes for the automatic gas pressure valves that shut down once a certain pressure is reached thus preventing gas from blowing into the rig. The valves were in bypass mode at the time of the blowout and explosion.

And there were no inspectors on board when the Blowout and explosion happened.... They were some corporate hacks “visiting the troops” who were more preoccupied with playing a simulator than doing anything else.


32 posted on 08/28/2012 8:29:05 PM PDT by 2CAVTrooper ( For those who have had to fight for it, freedom has a flavor the protected shall never know.)
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