Free Republic

Speaking about outgoing Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, President Obama reminded reporters that the family of the former U.S. Senator from Colorado was of Spanish descendent – dating back to the 16th century. “His ancestors were living here before the Mayflower set sail,” Obama said. “As he explains it — and relevant, as we are working to get immigration reform passed — his family did not cross the border, the border crossed them. And that’s why, when I needed somebody to lead Interior, I didn’t have to look very far.”

Sen. Mary Landrieu was either being diplomatic or disingenuous when she used "good start" to describe Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's lifting of the federal government's drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico. More to the point was her insistence that lifting the ban means nothing in the absence of "an action plan to get the entire industry in the Gulf of Mexico back to work. This means that the administration must continue to accelerate the granting of permits in shallow and deep water, and provide greater certainty about the rules and regulations industry must meet." The Louisiana Democrat also warned...