You Can't Do That

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans today overturned the Administration's moratorium on off-shore drilling imposed by the Interior Department. Calling it arbitrarily imposed and rash, the Judge concluded that the government acted wrongly in stopping all drilling just because one rig had an accident.

The Interior Department had halted approval of any new permits for deep-water drilling and suspended drilling of 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.

Here's what the Judge had to say in rendering his decision:

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an unprecedented, sad, ugly and inhuman disaster," he wrote. "What seems clear is that the federal government has been pressed by what happened on the Deepwater Horizon into an otherwise sweeping confirmation that all Gulf deep-water drilling activities put us all in a universal threat of irreparable harm."

His ruling prohibits federal officials from enforcing the moratorium until a trial is held. He did not set a trial date.--Fox News

This was definitely the right thing to do. The moratorium would have crippled the world's energy supplies, cost thousands of jobs, and further damaged the economies of both the states directly affected by the spill, as well as the nation at large.

We expect the White House will appeal. You didn't expect them to admit they overreacted and made a mistake, did you?

This decision, if upheld, would also place limits on the Executive branch's authority. Many feel the President exceeded his authority in imposing the moratorium, or directing that it be imposed. The President's powers ARE NOT unlimited, and there must be a basis in law for his actions.

And now to ClearOurBrainZ !

We cannot afford to let emotion overcome reality as it relates to our energy policy. We have to have increased domestic production of oil and gas while we transition to cleaner technologies.

The moratorium was a kick in the pants to Louisiana and the other gulf state's economies, already losing money from the lack of tourist business this summer.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Your comments, please.

Pay to Play, Say Bureaucrats

It seems our Glorious Leader is not the only one skilled in "The Chicago Deal".

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar's minions are good at it, too.

They are shaking down the Border Patrol for millions of under-the-radar dollars meant to cover environmental damage stemming from their everyday duties along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Shaking down you and me, really. It's our tax dollars they are playing fast and loose with.

"The Department of Homeland Security, which houses the Border Patrol, last year signed a deal with Interior -- the administrator of America's park lands -- to cough up $50 million for environmental "mitigation" needed in the wake of the construction of a border fence. That was after DHS had already spent or committed millions more for expected environmental damage caused by the Border Patrol over the years."--Fox News

Here's some of the rat-holes that Interior is pouring money down:

-- $200,000 to study the extent of unauthorized vehicle routes in the habitat of Sonoran pronghorn, which are endangered.

-- $1.75 million to close and restore those vehicle routes.

-- $20,000 to move pronghorn back to the Valley of the Ajo if they don't migrate by themselves in three years.

-- $14,000 to do weekly aerial surveys of the pronghorn during the 2010 fawning season.

-- $35,000 for monitoring the maternity roosts of lesser long-nosed bats.

-- $140,000 to study "unknown roosts" for lesser long-nosed bats.

Never mind that the drug cartel convoys, the hordes of illegal immigrants with their trail of discarded trash, human wastes, abandoned possessions, and the beaten paths so many have worn through these areas.

Never mind that Americans cannot use their own national parks and wilderness areas.

Never mind that we have lost control of these areas to the drug cartels and human smugglers.

We gotta protect those bats and pronghorns. Kumbaya.

The environuts are feasting on this as well:

In talking about the funds chiseled out of the Border Patrol to pay for "mitigation" of environmental damage resulting from securing the borders as listed above, mentioning the towers which house cameras and other sensors, DOW weighs in.

Matt Clark, southwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife(DOW), described those examples as "well-thought-out mitigation measures." He said the towers might not look harmful to the environment, but that the generators attached to them and the vehicle traffic necessary to maintain them make a dent."--Fox News

"If anything, he said Border Patrol should be putting up more money to pay for damage. He described the harm from the border fence as "insidious," separating species from their own kind as well as food and water supplies. Though not an ideal situation, he said the mitigation money can be used to purchase land elsewhere and preserve habitat for the affected species. "--Fox News

"I think mitigation dollars can be put to good use," he said."--Fox News

Time to ClearOurBrainZ !

There is legislation in the works to address this, and allow the Border Patrol to do it's job. But, it doesn't address the "fees" being charged the Border Patrol by Interior. The Border Patrol needs all it's resources just to do its job.They are supposed to be safeguarding our nation, not acting as a piggy bank for Interior and the evirodummies. Let's fix this legislation and face reality.

Don't get me wrong....I'm in favor of preserving these areas. I'm in favor of taking good care of the environment.

But people, and the security of our nation, must come first.

It won't do much good to preserve and protect these "sensitive" areas if they are overrun with drug convoys and hordes of illegals.

It won't do any good to protect these areas if we have ceded control of them to Mexico and the drug cartels.

People first.

Our nation's security first.

We can do both. Protect the environment, within reason, and secure the borders.

Bureaucratic infighting and empire building is unacceptable. All I see in this administration in finger pointing.

Where is the leadership?

Good question.

Your comments, please.

Energy, Industry, and the Enviroment

Everyone is very upset over the recent oil spill, still ongoing in the Gulf. The demands of many to stop all offshore development of our petroleum resources is understandable.

But it won't solve our problems. We must have energy to grow, nay, just to survive. Where are we supposed to get that energy? That petroleum we MUST HAVE for our industries, our industrial feed stocks, and our future growth? From other countries? Many of which are hostile to us, or so unstable themselves that energy production is difficult, sporadic, or impossible? Are we to stand, hat in hand, politely asking for the resources we need to survive?

We are headed there, it seems. Our elected leaders are taking us there rapidly. All you have to do is watch or read the news, and you will see it happening. The drilling moratorium now in effect is driving oil production out of American waters. Jobs are being lost, never to be recovered, at least not for several years, perhaps decades. You see, oil production is a long-term process. It takes years to get to the point of actual production of petroleum. Years!

If we drive production away from the Gulf, it will take YEARS before it can be re-started. The economic impact will be tremendous. Jobs, high-paying jobs, lost. Soaring energy costs--heating oil, gasoline, diesel, industrial feed stocks--all will increase in cost--a lot.

We are in big trouble.

Short-sighted political types are making idiotic decisions that are impractical and just plain stupid. We are like sheep following the Judas goat to slaughter. Lots of bleating, but not much brains. We must not be stampeded into killing oil production in this nation. We need it too badly. Our economy needs it. We will wither on the vine without it, literally. Even our food production relies on energy. The huge farms and food factories that feed us must have energy. Where is it to come from? Right now, that means oil. We don't have anything else ready to go. We will in the future, but right now we have to have petroleum.

And who is to blame?

We are. We elect the rascals. Shall we blame them when they act like rascals and idiots? We put them there. We wanted change. Or a majority of us did, according to the results of the last election in 2008.

We got it. But is isn't exactly what we had in mind, is it?

Not what those who voted for the current regime had in mind, I feel safe to say. The recent results of mid-term elections, and the election of a conservative Republican to Ted Kennedy's senate seat seem to foretell more change. Does it seem that way to you?

Back to the subject: Energy. Where is it to come from, and how are we to produce it in the quantities our civilization requires now, and in the future? And, how are we going to meet these needs without poisoning our planet and thereby extinguishing ourselves? Or descending into war to ravage each other over the leavings?

I see only one solution.

We cannot, at this stage in our technological development, manage closed fuel cycles in any form of energy production. We just don't know how to do it....yet. Until we learn, we need to take steps to keep from killing ourselves by inches. That's what's happening right now. We are fouling our own nest. Rapidly.

We must have energy, and heavy industry, but we can't live with the by-products, wastes, and the pollution that they will produce. There are just too many people on the planet, folks. Do the math. We are quickly reaching a point where it will be a very nasty place to live. Is that what we want? Of course not!

ClearYourBrainZ !

Reality check: We need energy. Lot's of it. We need industry, resources, and lebensraum. Especially the latter....you can only put so many rats in a box until they turn and consume each other.

How?

Move energy production and heavy industry off the planet. It's our only long-term and feasible option. Granted, we are in the infancy of any space industry. We don't have efficient and affordable lift capacity, though we are making progress with our fledgling commercial space flight operations. It will continue to get cheaper and more developed.

The demand, which is what drives business, is there, and will accelerate. As competition increases, costs will drop.

Dreaming, just dreaming, you say.

Nope.

It's happening. Go find out.

It just looks far away, but it's closer than you think. And, it's the future. We only have so many resources on this planet. We either go to space and expand, or we reach the point where everything falls apart. That simple. We either go find the resources we need, or spiral downward to a subsistence level. Civilization most likely won't survive the plunge, almost certain.

We could accomplish the above in a generation, perhaps two. Perhaps less, properly motivated.

The choice is ours. We are capable of doing what needs to be done.

Will we, that is the question.

Your comments, please.

Invasion USA

The Chuck Norris movie, depicting a mass of terrorists attacking the US, was fiction.

The novel by author William W. Johnstone, is fiction.

The closure of 5 federal land areas on our southern border to the public, is FACT. It's happened.

Violent drug traffickers and Mexican drug cartels have taken over these areas, along with the human smugglers bringing illegal immigrants across our borders in a ceaseless flow.

Escorted by squads of automatic weapons-bearing thugs, truckloads of drugs and people are entering our country in droves.

Law enforcement officers are being killed.

Citizens and landowners are being killed.

People who live in these areas are living in fear of their lives.

Our country is being invaded by criminals and thugs, with the apparent complicity of the Mexican government. At the very least, Mexico is doing little to stop the flow.

Here's what's happening RIGHT NOW !

1) About 3,500 acres of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, closed.

2) At Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which shares a 32-mile stretch of the border with Mexico, visitors are warned on a federally-run website that some areas are not accessible by anyone.

"Due to our proximity to the International Boundary with Mexico, some areas near the border are closed for construction and visitor safety concerns."--Organ Pipe Cactus NPS website

3) Ironwood Forest National Monument, a 129,000-acre federal parkland in the Sonoran Desert, visitors are warned of dangerous illegal activity in the area. The federal NPS website for Ironwood Forest NM says "look for fast-moving vehicles and pedestrians on back roads."

4) Dennis Godfrey, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management's Arizona office, said roughly a dozen signs were posted earlier this month along the Sonoran Desert National Monument advising that travel in the area is not recommended due to "active drug and human" smuggling.--Fox News

5) Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and the Coronado National Forest, which covers nearly 1.8 million acres in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, too dangerous to use.

The federal government, and the Department of the Interior, say they have no plans to re-take or reopen these areas.

They have effectively ceded these lands, part of the sovereign territory of the United States of America, to Mexican drug lords and bands of illegal immigrant smugglers.

The hands of local and state law enforcement and the Border Patrol are tied. Federal rangers and the Forest Service, and the Department of the Interior are only allowing law enforcement and the Border Patrol to enter these areas on foot or horseback. This is to protect the environment and preserve these fragile areas, they say. Of course, the bad guys, the drug smugglers and the human traffickers, ignore this like they ignore the rest of our laws, roaring north in rugged off-road vehicles, escorted by thugs armed with automatic weapons. Even the illegals entering on foot these days are often escorted by armed "coyotes".

Kind of makes it hard for the "good guys" to do their jobs, don't you think?

No, really? Ya think?

Invasion USA.

More and more areas, further inland, 30, 50, 80, 100 miles north of the border, are being invaded. Lawlessness is becoming pervasive. People are afraid. People are being killed, gunned down by thugs who flee back to Mexico.

They need our help.

However, all is not lost, in spite of how bad it sounds! Help is on the way!

Our government is responding!

They are sending 1500 clerks in National Guard uniforms to do paperwork. Hurrah!

They are filing lawsuits against the state of Arizona to keep them from enforcing the law. Hurrah!

They are announcing their plans against Arizona in foreign countries before informing Arizona, or us....thanks, Madam Secretary.

They are applauding the President of Mexico for telling us how terrible we are. Hurrah!

They are grandstanding on television and across the media spectrum every day, showing us all that they are in charge. Hurrah!

They are thumbing their noses at their oaths of office, and the Constitution.

Their motto seems to be: "No problem is too large to be ignored, and it will go away if we ignore it long enough."

Somehow, I don't think this will work. I can hear the defenders of the Alamo spinning in their graves all the way up here in Tennessee.

Time to ClearOurBrainZ !

What is the reality here?

Our federal officials have failed to protect and defend the United States of America as required by their oaths of office. And, as required by the people of this nation.

Failed. Not misspoke, misstepped, or erred, but FAILED! We need some new blood in these positions, and as the Duke would have said:"We're burnin' daylight!" Time is running out for us to act.

Soon, we will be left with no choice but to take military action to reclaim our land. We need to move now to stop this invasion, and move forcefully. With overwhelming strength. No one, not one drug lord, gangster, coyote, or illegal immigrant, no terrorist infiltrator, should be left with any doubt as to our resolve and commitment to defend the territory of the United States of America. There should be no doubt that we control our borders.

None.

We need to get tough.

We need to get mean.

We need to face reality.

That our government is tacitly accepting this situation is totally unacceptable.

Call your Congressman.

Call your Senator.

Email them.

Write them.

Write the White House, the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service.

Demand that they do their job. Demand that they reclaim our lands.

Raise hell. That is what it will take. They are afraid of us, afraid we will fire their butts.

They are right.

Perform or perish, ye elected and appointed ones.

Your comments, please.

Have I Got A Deal For You !

Well, it seems the White House successfully twisted the arm of the BP executives, forcing them to cough up 20 BILLION DOLLARS over the next 4 years to "mediate" the effects of the oil spill on the businesses affected. That's 5 billion $$ a year. Not an insurmountable amount for a large company like BP.

But it's a LOT of money. Money the company loses, money that won't be used for exploration and production. Money that won't be returned on the shareholders' investment.

I also think the media has played a very large role in keeping tourists from visiting their normal haunts at the beach, further adversely impacting the coastal economies. What is their share?

How about the government's responsibility to inspect the drilling rigs offshore, and enforce existing regulations, that they absolutely failed to do? What is their share?

Other companies will be liable as well, since this was a joint project. The legal eagles will fight that battle.

I don't object to BP posting such an "escrow" amount to be distributed to those truly impacted by the spill. There are many families and small business people who are devastated by the effects of this accident. It remains to be seen how these funds will be REALLY distributed, and how much of them will be absorbed by the "overhead" and "expenses" of paying them out.

If our experiences with the Katrina relief funds administration are any example, it will be rife with fraud, waste, and mismanagement. Even the 9/11 funds distributed by Kenneth Feinberg, currently known as Obama's"pay-czar", had these problems. And, that was less than half of the amount he's going to be in charge of this time.

You don't think there are not already schemes afoot to grab some of this "free money", do you?

Of course there are! Loot always draws crooks. This will be no different.

Sure, we caught and prosecuted lot's of people for stealing Katrina money that didn't deserve it, or need it....they were just crooks. But, the money was most always not recovered, or very little was.

What I object to is the President of our country shaking down a private company for money. That's the appearance of this, no matter how the Administration tries to "spin" it. It smacks of "The Chicago Deal", and gangsterism. It looks really bad. I don't believe the Constitution gives the Executive Branch this kind of power.

I realize we don't have a lot of facts. We are not privy to the behind-the-scenes workings of a deal like this....and it was a deal, worked out beforehand, that much is obvious. You don't really think that such a quick sale was made around a table at the WH, do you?

This "conference" with the BP execs at the WH was strictly for show. BP had surely decided, on advice from their legal and financial teams, what needed to be done. After all, the $75 million dollar cap on spills is the law. I think BP is making an aggressive move to show their willingness to cooperate and do the right thing.

The wrong thing, is for an American President and our government to make Hugo Chavez-like moves to force a private company to give the government what amounts to a huge political tool(the money) to solidify it's position and shore up its crashing popularity with the American public. This isn't a banana republic, Mr. President....it's the USA. You aren't doing yourself or your administration any favors by acting like a dictator.

More facts will emerge in the coming days and weeks. It will be interesting to see how this develops.

Will this turn into a free-for-all feeding frenzy that will devour BP, and drive oil production completely out of the US? It very easily could. Politicians are not known for being farsighted. They can rarely see beyond the next election, if that far.

As for the argument that this disaster will drive the rapid development and implementation of "green" and "renewable" technologies to replace "evil oil", we all know that it will take decades to do anything even approaching such a level of use and adaptation. It has to be practical, and actually work. We are only in the infancy of developing and utilizing such technology.

We are going to need that "evil oil" for some time to come. Even if we had the "green" technology ready to go right now, cheap, efficient, and practical, we will still need petroleum for many of our industrial feed stocks. Where do you think plastic comes from, huh? And thousands of other products you use every day.

Then there's the latest federal commission created by our Glorious Leader. Filled with eviros and an anti-oil leader, Fran Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council. She isn't just suspicious about drilling, she outright opposes it.--Fox News

Composed of academic and environmental advocates with ZERO experience and knowledge of the oil industry, this body is charged with ensuring that a disaster like the one we have underway in the Gulf never happens again. They all espouse a similar ideology – one that is opposed to drilling and oil.

And these geniuses are going to decide what to recommend our national policy on oil production should be?

I think someone should ClearTheirBrainZ, except they haven't used them in so long they may be hard to spot.

My guess, is that they will spend lots of our money(that we don't have), eat at many fine restaurants(all while discussing the Public's business, of course), and jet around on government aircraft. I say, we give them a budget and a timeline for completion....just like in the real world. It would be interesting to see if they could perform.

I doubt it. How about you?

Your comments, please.