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Adapted from an epic segment Thursday by Rachel Maddow and TRMS Investigates:
Last year, when Republican lawmakers believed a community-organizing group called ACORN had offered business advice to a pimp and prostitute, they hounded the nonprofit out of business. ACORN was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing at some of the offices shown in those tapes, it had become a prime target for conservatives. State and federal leaders called for Congress to pull any funding for ACORN, and the damage was done, and ACORN folded on April 1, 2010.
Contrast that with the response from some of the same Republicans now, as BP has continued to pour oil into the Gulf of Mexico by the millions of gallons from its since Deepwater Horizon well exploded on April 20. Eleven workers died that day. We know BP had at least done a lousy job of preparing for the spill and may even have committed crimes that led to the disaster. The company's long history of breaking environmental and safety laws stands out in the oil industry.
Right now at this very moment, BP gets billions upon billions upon billions of dollars in federal contracts. If you go to USAspending.gov, you can find all of the different contracts BP has with the federal government: $9 billion with the Defense Department, $2.6 million with the Veterans Affairs Department, $2.2 million with the Transportation Department, another $3 million with various other government agencies.
As of June, BP has received $837 million this year in federal contracts. Where is the call to defund this company?
Some of the same Republicans were basically tripping over themselves to bury ACORN last year are lining up behind BP.
Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and James Inhofe of Oklahoma have both blocked efforts in the Senate to raise BP's financial liability after this disaster from $75 million to $10 billion. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner, the guy who introduced the Defund ACORN legislation, backs a Chamber of Commerce effort to force taxpayers to help pay for BP's oil disaster -- because heaven forbid they be responsible for itself themselves.
ACORN wasn't a perfect organization. The Republican argument against funding ACORN held that government money shouldn't go to an organization accused of committing fraud and worse.
As the BP oil disaster inches toward its two-month anniversary, as the Justice Department continues its criminal investigation into the company as more evidence comes out detailing BP's negligence in the disaster itself, and we all every day watch the failure of the sad excuse for a cleanup afterwards, how many of the self-righteous "Defund ACORN" crusaders do you think would get on board for the "Defund BP Act of 2010"?
Leave a Comment:
Last night's ACORN - BP segment was brilliant! ACORN wasn't perfect, but it engagaed and inspired and helped bring some fruitations into the hands of those who couldn't possibly have otherwise. I loved the compareison of federal funded contracts between the two.
Our governent should not stand behind BP and defend them - not since BP is constistantly failing with this disaster.
BP does not deserve these contracts with our government. Their paperwork and work ethic is not in good standing. I think we need to shop for new contracts, with reason that their organization is not safe enough nor compliant enough.
I'm sure BP will still be around if the government pulls contracts. BP needs to clean up their ways before becoming a leader again...if it ever plans on becoming one of the leaders in the industry.
Not to be a pedantic jackass, but a few typos:
"ACORN was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing at some of the offices shown in those tapes, it had become a prime target for conservatives."
Should read:
ACORN was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing at some of the offices shown in those tapes, but it had become a prime target for conservatives."
Another:
"Contrast that with the response from some of the same Republicans now, as BP has continued to pour oil into the Gulf of Mexico by the millions of gallons from its since Deepwater Horizon well exploded on April 20."
Should be:
"Contrast that with the response from some of the same Republicans now, as BP has continued to pour oil into the Gulf of Mexico by the millions of gallons from its since its Deepwater Horizon well exploded on April 20."
And one more:
"... because heaven forbid they be responsible for itself themselves."
Should be:
"... because heaven forbid they be responsible for it themselves."
Again, not trying to be a jerk. I'm an editor by trade, and I just ... can't ... help it.
:-)
ACORN was "ultimately cleared" by their OWN internal investigation. People think that ACORN was cleared by criminal investigations, but there were NO criminal investigations done. Obama didn't want his pet community organization investigated by Holder.
You people kill me, you actually believe ACORN was "innocent", but you do absolutely NO research, you just listen to haters so you can propogate the hate against anyone that you don't agree with.
Obama sat on his butt and said "I'm in charge, but BP is doing whatever they want". He never met with any BP people, he just sits in the White House listening to his inner circle "experts". What stupidity.
Don't hate being a jerk, it apparently is easy for you.
Remembering when you used to be able to make a comment on this blog and not have it graded. Typo's, adjectives, nouns, run- on sentences, spelling, math. They are comments, opinions. I was wondering if all you annoying people who spend your day correcting everyone. If you are so intelligent, and have to make sure everyone knows it. Why do you not make any opinion, or comment? Just corrections. Not fun anymore.
Um ... I didn't correct someone's "comment." I was trying to correct the initial post since, last I checked, this was a blog connected to an actual news organization.
It's not about trying to act smarter than anyone, nor have I gone around correcting comments (do a search and show me where I've done any such thing). Just trying to make Rachael's site look professional and not written by some 15-year-old with ADD.
Sorry, but I guess I should out-pedant the pedant:
"Contrast that with the response from some of the same Republicans now, as BP has continued to pour oil into the Gulf of Mexico by the millions of gallons from its since its Deepwater Horizon well exploded on April 20."
Sorry, but your correction doesn't make sense. At best, there are missing words in that statement.
Oh, and while not an editor by profession, I am a college educator with years of experience editing papers and teaching pedagogical grammar.
Pedantry is dangerous. It often exposes hypocrisy. We all make mistakes...
If you look up in the left hand corner of every posting by the show. You will see a name those are people who work for TRMS. They are paid to make, update, and keep the blog running. I do not think they need your corrections as they seem to have a pretty damn intelligent staff. This would be why the show is successful. Also, I have never ever heard them mention on the show that they just want the most intelligent people only to watch. They are a news organization that reports alot of the time on and with the average person. Rachel is very down to earth, and thats why people like her. We all know she is super intelligent, and someone you could sit and have a beer with, and laugh. This is why people like her my mom is in her 70s and dad in his 80s and they like her see she is relateable to a vast majority of people. I'm just guessing here, but I would say she could slam you in any contest of intelligence. So all I'm asking is for those annoying people which you referred to yourself as the only one I was describing must be a big head thing. That you just let the show, and others state their opinions, and comments without corrections unless it is an opinion, reply, agreement, or disagreement. Or fact based correction, and stop being an annul retentive (refer to anal). Thanks
Thank you.
It needed to be said :)
btw Mark D-1745892, Rachel Maddow spells her name without the second 'a'
Here's a link to a right-wing newspaper complaining about the outcome of the criminal investigation in California:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/acorn-242700-brown-california.html
News flash: Eric Holder does not control state criminal investigations. With all the Repub State AG's out there, dont'cha think one of them would have brought charges if there was a viable case to be made? Or are they all scared of the mighty Holder?
self regulation is now bad? do we need bigger & bigger govt in order to carry out all the demands of the GOP?
About people who correct the grammar/spellling in articles (and in posts):
I'm one of them.
Sorry, but when you happen to be someone who is pretty good at correct grammar/punctuation/spelling, it really hits you in the face when you read something that's filled with errors. And it does take away from the message the article is trying to convey, and even takes away a bit from the credibility of the writers themselves, although that's not really fair.
The solution: how about hire some competent proofreaders?
Or diligent use of spell check.
Now that I've got the pedantry out of the way ... :-)
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!
I realize most in the media doesn't really care about hypocrisy—unless it involves a Democrat or liberal (yes, they're different)—but someone has to point out something of this magnitude. It's absurd.
I mean, dear lord, if a Democrat had proposed using our money to do this, the GOP would start up impeachment hearings the next frickin' day, and it's all we'd hear about for weeks on end.
So, to be honest, I hope the GOP gets behind BP full force and tries to defend them, trying to make taxpayers pay for the spill. The campaign ads pretty much write themselves: just quote these clowns, showing them in all their defending-the-destruction-of-the-Gulf glory.
I also have yet to realize why BP, Xe (né Blackwater), Halliburton, and other companies that rob us blind get billions in government contracts, while groups like ACORN have their funding cut for something they didn't even do!
If we lived in a sane world, ACORN would get BP's federal dollars.
You cried and whined because the Feds were "slow" getting to New Orleans. Now you say absolutely NOTHING as the Feds watch the oil wash ashore. The only people on the shorelines cleaning up oil are either volunteers, the Louisiana National Guard, and people hired by BP. Where the hell are the Feds that are REQUIRED BY LAW to go to this disaster?
Why didn't the President, who also is REQUIRED BY LAW, come with a plan for containing this disaster (yep, there's a law that was passed after the Valdez that requires the president to actually come up with a REAL plan)??? All Obama talking mouths did was say, "The President is in charge and BP is doing whatever they want to".
Now there's real leadership from the White House.
Or, instead of the either/or scenario that you see, perhaps others see it totally differently.
I see a government that is corrupted by the influence of money, made inefficient by the gutting of government functions by privitization, and government power being handed over to corporate interests.
Government "by the people, for the people" has become "government by the rich, for the rich".
What I am saying is that many want the government to step up and be a part of the solution, by removing itself from the destructive grasp of corporate influence and becoming an arm of the people of this country. They want accountability. They want a real part in the process.
In other words (and to paraphrase Rachel from back in the day), they want a government of the people, instead of a government that operates from inside capitalism's pants.
So the government should just have let all companies do whatever they wanted, however they wanted until something goes wrong...and then what?
Just let them do anything they want, that way they won't have to bribe the government to do what ever they want?
The government can't do any "head pounding" that will bring back the marshes, now can it.
How about just have public financing of elections and get rid of corporate personhood?
you again hatenomor, with your blubbering about what "this country was founded on"? maybe you should brush up on your history. ya might learn something. check out the "articles of confederation". states had all the power and it was a confused mess of quarreling inter-commerce. a total lack of a central government didn't work. duh! maybe that's why they (founding fathers) changed the articles of confederation to our current constitution with a central government. that we all love and cherish today.
except apparently, you... and your horde of misinformed government haters. hmmm "hatenomor"? interesting.
wow, the level of your ignorance is astounding hatenomor, the federalist papers were in favor of ratifying the constitution, thereby trashing the articles of confederation. thereby implementing a strong federal government. your argument is with the anti-federalists. the losers who advocated the failed articles of confederation giving all power to the states.
you should go away now. go home to fixed news, they don't check facts and you'll be welcomed with you government conspiracies. bye now.
This was one of the best segments since your famous Rand Paul interview. Keep giving it to em Rachel. So proud of you for who you are and what you do.
That's right, let's compare an organization that extorted banks, committed voter fraud, campaigned illegally for a candidate, and gave advice on how to set up a whorehouse that would use CHILDREN to an ACCIDENT!!!
NOBODY knows what caused this explosion, NOBODY knows why the mechanisms that were supposed to stop the leak didn't work, except her I guess. But like Obama, with NO KNOWLEDGE, she comes out with the ulitimate stupidity, as usual. Beyond that, why didn't she point out that Clinton is the one that allowed these companies to drill deep, because the know nothing low life tree huggers didn't want oil drilled for safely?
Based on her idiocy, because cars kill people, all cars should not be used by the government, because planes crash, no planes should be used by the government, because weapons kill, no weapons should be used by the government.
How do you people even listen to this disingenuous hater? Her comparisions are idiocy. Her comments are sophomoric, and pointless. Her show does absolutely nothing except fan the flames of hatred against anything liberal.
She's an oxygen thief that should be thrown out of television. She is no journalist, a poor commentator, and a poor excuse for a human being.
Huh. Poor excuse for a human being. That's REAL funny given who's talking. Do you masterbate watching Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh?
No I don't watch Beck, Hannity or Limbaugh, but I don't watch haters like Olbermann or Maddow either.
I think you would know more about masturbating than I would. You think Maddow is the stuff. Do you stand right at the screen when she's on?
And you don't know who's talking. You attack me personally, but you don't refute a single thing I say.
You don't argue with a pile of crap you find on the street, you walk around it which is exactly what your arguments amounted to. There was nothing you stated that wasn't opinion. I can't argue with your opinion, except to call it crap. DON"T expect to change mine. And if you hate her so bad, why watch the show? Or come here to the blog? If you don't like it, don't watch it. Don't come here talking crap if you don't want the push back. The fact is you came LOOKING for a fight. And I can't promise how long I'll humor you.
This blowout is an accident like drunk driving manslaughter is an accident.
Everthing you need to know about this "accident" is in the 60 Minutes story from a few weeks ago.
The "accident" is only the beginning of the story. Everything BP has said, EVERYTHING, has been a lie. They has treat the spill on the beaches mudflats and wetlands as a propriatory matter. As they have the disposition of dead soiled birds, fish, shellfish, and mammals. This would not be a problem had they not all the expertise of someone performing brainsurgury with a 2x4. Their sole concern has been covering up and preventing witnesses and mitigating their liability at all costs. And that simply criminal. All of you defenders for BP, just go out to the Gulf coasts...wiggle your toes in the crude oil and think to yourself like BP must. Take a really deep breath and say to yourself "Hmmm...smells like MONEY." And I hope you choke to death on it.
The hypocrisy on the Right is palpable. Really I think that O'Keef, Sullivan and Breitbart need to be sued by Ashtom Kutcher for copyright infringement on Punk'd. ACORN gets stomped with both feet, while bad actors like BP and Xe(Blackwater) get the wink and nod from Republicans and Conservatives. To be fair, if Obama is continuing to employ Blackwater he should be held accountable for their crimes as well. My point remains. Has anyone on the Right said anything about getting played by O'Keef and Sullivan? No-one. Its okay to tell lies, so long as they are ones your target audience wants to hear. The reason those on the Right continue to support BP is because they want to believe the lies BP tells. Rand Paul?
Hey, the President himself said BP knew what they were doing, as he talked about "being in charge" and doing absolutely nothing.
ACORN was an organization that committed voter fraud, ILLEGALLY campaigned for a candidate, and gave advice on how to peddle children. And they CLEARED THEMSELVES of it. And they deserved to get stomped with both feet. That's why the closed down and just opened their doors under different names. Why don't you check on the "new" community organizations that were formed but STILL have the same management that ACORN had. If they were so damn innocent, why change their names?
You listen to Olberman and Maddow, because they tell you what you WANT to hear, not the truth itself. They pass on the lies of others, they use wonderful denigrating terms to attack those they don't agree with.
They make STUPID comparisons like pedophilic lawbreakers against an uninvestigated accident.
And you people eat it like candy.
Shorter RogerDM:
PAY ATTENTION TO ME!! NOT THE ACTUAL ISSUE, BUT ME!!!!!!!!
Let's put Tony Hayward in jail.
Well since the guy "in charge" kept saying that BP knew what they were doing, while he did absolutely NOTHING, why not put him in jail too?
obama's not an MMS inspector. MMS inspectors should be investigated for gross negligence, malfeasence, & corruption. BP execs should be investigated for 11 counts of manslaughter.
Here's the equation the jackass wingnuts on the right are putting forward now:
Hold BP accountable for every dime they should be penalized = bankrupt BP = worthless stock = bankrupt pension plans = government bail out of pensions = Obama's Marxist Master Plan
How are we supposed to take these morons seriously? First off, anyone managing a pension fund right now should have been liquidating any BP holdings as of at least a couple of weeks ago (as eveidenced by the 50% drop in share price already) and investing elsewhwere. Second, while I feel for pensioners, we have to hold BP accountable to make the people of the Gulf as whole as possible and try to get the ecosystem in a position so it can recover and generate what's necessary for the region's economy to recover in the future. Third, any additional money gained through punitive damages would be used for other related endeavors, like propping up pension funds affected by BP's diminished value and investing in technology for greener energy generation & safer oil drilling.
So I say, let's drain BP of every penny they have (the way BP's goal is to drain the Earth of every drop of oil and generate an obscene profit in the process) to make this right. Let it be the "teachable moment" to every other corporation that takes safety lightly and feels they are above it all - YOU CAN'T & YOU AREN'T.
If the right can't get behind that, then they will not only be on the wrong side of history, they will be on the wrong side of the American people and will pay the price for years to come.
why on earth would we bailout a british companies pension plan? never mind that it is a separate entity to BP & cannot be touched by any insolvency action.
all corporate welfare should be stripped fm the oil (& financial services) industry including incentives, subsidizes, & tax breaks. further, the oil industry should be required to fund environmental recovery & emergency response R&D including equipment & personnel.
"false estimates"... what a goddamn dingbat. How in the bloody hell can this dipstick compare a legitimate corporation to poverty pimps like Acorn? "A BP Leased... " Oh my. Leased was it. Shortcuts? I know what I saw in the Acorn videos... morons behaving illegally... but what where did BP, the corporation, break the law in this incident? Bottom line, I want someone to articulate, with justification, an ACTUAL criminal offense by BP which was the proximate cause of this disaster. Have at it. Floor is open.
Good to know you didn't bother reading the links provided in the post. The laws broken include The Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
Not sure from where you and RogerDuMb got your trolling marching orders, but they obviously didn't prepare you very well.
"by BP" is the opportune phrase... I know exactly where Mark D gets all his "arguments..."
So BP lying about having the blow out under control, how much oil is gushing, about the environmental impact of a blow out, their ability to handle contaiment of lost oil, their ability to protect the beaches and wet lands, the presence of underwater oil plumes, the impact to the fishing and tourism industry, to ecological diversity in the area, the seriousness of the spill, how long it would take to stop, the number and types of animals killed by the oil...none of that BP is culpable for? Not to mention the 11 AMERICAN lives lost in the explosion. Proximate cause, yeah maybe...along with Transocean and Halliburton. But BP was the one making the lion's share of the money from it. Though I'd like to see Halliburton hit for this too. BP is responsible for every lie it has told since the explosion as well as the colossal incompetence it has demonstrated in terms of oil damage prevention and clean up. Obama is responsible for not using military force to remove BP from the equation and letting the Army Corps of Engineers take over. But then he believed what BP was saying. Besides you'd just argue that it was another goverment take over of a private industry. Isn't that right Jamie? Poverty pimps are one thing, but your side just loves them high dollar corporate whores. Christ said that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven. And now you are seeing why. And for that matter, there was no poverty pimp bigger than Christ.
And what, have Big Brother intrude and take over another private industry? Get down to brass tacks and you'll 8 yrs of Bush and Cheney's fingerprints all over this. They are the ones who pushed through all the deregulation and provided the incentives for further off shore drilling. Obama culpability is in not forcing BP away at gun point, but again, that would just be Big Brother - wouldn't it?
Had the regulators not been underfunded vis-a-vis wells per inspector, and if the inspectors filled out their own paperwork instead of letting it being done by those being inspected (and that is not corrupt how?) and if the blow out regulator had been installed according to to specs...TO A LIVE BATTERY, and if Cheney didn't tell them that an accoustic switch to the blow out regulator was an unnecessary expense - WHILE it was being constructed DURING the Bush/Cheney Administation, that puts the shame on them. So the Feds are Constitutional watchdogs over private businesses? Weren't you bitching about that being over-reach earlier?
How are we to believe that any other the oil wells are any better inspected? And if this well went down during the Obama Administration, why did Cheney sign off on omitting the acoustic switches, saying they were an unnecessary expense?
oh james - "legitmate" wall st corporations crashed the world economy. I dont believe ACORN engaged in any malfeasence on quite that scale.
wall st didnt get de-funded. but id sure luv to c a michael moore "o'keefe" vid comparing a "legitimate" sub-prime CDS trader to a degenerate vegas gambler. bet the gambler's less unctuous (never get to use that word).
The reason ACORN was de-funded was its overt political agenda while accepting federal support funds. It was a cover and sham designed to filter money to Democrat sponsored causes and policy. Once the federal money was gone, ACORN couldn't support its activities. On the other hand, BP has federal contracts (legal obligations that they must fulfill for money) to provide services. These contracts could not renewed and BP will continue to function as a business. Nice try Rachel, but apples to oranges does not cause an outrage. Why not focus on the amount of campaign cash BP gave to Obama for your righteous indignation?
The reasons that were largely being bandied about in congress during the push to de-fund ACORN were with regard to accusations of criminal misconduct first and foremost, springing from the faked tapes. I'm not saying that people didn't also resent ACORN's organizational philosophies (support for poor people, etc.), just that by and large the main source of outrage was the claim of organizational misconduct.
I think that everyone knows that BP could continue to function without government contracts. The main point of the segment is that we should make them do just that (to the tune of -$9 billion), and that it's somewhat hypocritical for people to roundly condemn one kind of misconduct, and not another-- especially when one is so much larger in its scope of impact.
I submit that arguing with these people is like fighting with the tar-baby. Now before you all go off shouting "racist!" check whether or not you all know about Uncle Remus and Br'er Rabbit. If not, go read some then come back. Fighting the tar-baby you just get more and more tangled and soiled. Hard as hell to do, but just let these fools have their say, don't try to refute them, and let their comments wither and die where they lie. Let's just try adding comments to those posts we agree with. This blogspace is just getting too damn polluted with contentions that go exactly no-where. Thoughts? Comments?
I disagree. I see some value in responding to at least a few of these posts. Unlike some real dipwad wingnuts, the conservatives posting here are at least presenting the philosophy of the other side fairly cogently, and it would be "educational" for future readers here to see how they are countered. For example, did ACORN break the law or didn't it? I don't think they did so on a systemic basis the way BP appears to have, but that needs to be fleshed out! If the vitriolic rhetoric can be toned down some (on BOTH sides), I think a real live edge-u-ma-kashianal debate could break out!
Look hatenomor is hating the fact that everyone is ignoring him. You are a troll, and everyone now knows it. I thought you would have went away by now.
I have no problem with the fact that investigations of ACORN were called for. I'm sure by its very disorganized nature that individuals within it skirted the law. I still don't see it as a "criminal enterprise." You just don't like it because its main purpose was to get blacks to vote, which helps the Democratic party. (And yes, let's be real, that was its purpose, and I don't shirk from that. Anything that gets ANYONE to vote in this country is ultimately a good thing, even the Tea Party - though 'twould be better if they would think outside of the Fox). My concern is the disproportionate partisan hyper-ventilating over the actions of ACORN vs. the comparative silence from the right on BLACKWATER and BP, whose actions seem infinitely more nefarious, and worse, appear to be systemic and woven into the very fabric of the organizations themselves. Its a matter of proportion, and right now the proportion seems to be dictated by whose (F)ox is being gored.
But a pass seems to be exactly what they have gotten.
The debate, as promulgated by the actual story that aired, is NOT about ACORN. It's about BP. ACORN is merely the precedent. Even Rachel did not argue that ACORN didn't get what it deserved, she said on the air they were definitely "flawed." With the precedent set that "organizations funded by the Federal government who engage in criminal activities should be immediately defunded," we should now apply that to BP. (And, some of us say, to BLACKWATER...but I will stipulate that that, too, is off-topic, if you insist on characterizing what we SHOULD be debating.)
Jim, he's a flat earther. Give up. He's not worth it.
I'll take that as a concession. Thank you.
Best thing that could ever have happened to 'ACORN.'
A corrupt organization, yes they are!
Not nearly as corrupt as as Xe / Blackwater. Genuine child prostitution, unprovoke excessive use of force, weapon theft from Afgan police, slaughter of innocent civilians including children. Practically every form of corruption you could name. All on the gov't's dime. All started by Eric Prince who's father helped found the Family Research Council. Even if all the O'Keef purported was true - which it is demonstrably not, it was still only a back alley game of three card monty compared to Blackwater. And if Obama continues to reward contracts to Blackwater then he should be liable for their crimes...As the Bush/Cheney Administration absolutely are. So where is your outrage over children giving $1 blowjobs to Blackwater employees in Prince's "Man camps" in Iraq? I know you won't believe me. Jeremy Scahill uncovered all of this in his investigation. Google it. Where's your outrage now sikki?
Pinhead, did I ask your opinion?
For everyone else look up Blackwater on Wikipedia. I corroborates what Jeremy Scahill has reported.
Take it from someone who used to work for the oil industry and has worked for EPA for more than twenty years:
BP may not be able to plug the hole right now but it has the power and the money to effectively contain the spill and it has not.
Court orders under emergency declarations can carry contempt-of-court enforcement provisions that include arrests and:
THE PRESIDENT MUST ISSUE COURT ORDERS AND ARREST BP EXECUTIVES THAT DON'T OBEY THEM NOW!
It’s THE ONLY WAY he will get them to respond proportionately to this catastrophe.
The Gulf Disaster is an economic, cultural and environmental holocaust: The direct result of an avalanche of crimes: criminal negligence, lying to public officials, misleading and endangering emergency response teams, destroying life support systems, private and public property, threatening through deadly force the public and the environment.
The President and government officials not only can, they MUST:
ARREST BP EXECUTIVES NOW!!
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, POST IT IN BLOGS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS, AND SEND IT TO MEDIA OUTLETS.
WE MUST ACT NOW!
hatenomor - agreed. This is exactly why we need stronger federal agencies, divorced entirely from the influence of powerful corporate lobbies.
For our country's sake, I hope you're wrong. In any event I think it's important to keep working towards a government that truly serves the interests of its citizens.
@autana - Your enthusiasm is certainly admirable. Please pardon my pedantry, but posting a message with sections in all caps is the equivalent of walking into a room and shouting at the top of your lungs. There are only certain situations in which this is necessary or appropriate, and done any other time it makes one appear somewhat imbalanced, which makes your audience much less likely to take heed. If you would but channel your passion in to cogent, persuasive language, you'd probably get much better results.
I don't think BP has actually made a single attempt to stop the flow of oil. What they've been attempting to do is collect the oil-- to continue to use the spill as an active well.
I can understand the financial motivations entirely, and I could be wrong about this, but converting the spill into an active well is almost certainly a more complicated and difficult endeavor than simply stopping the flow would be.
While the spill certainly does seem to prove the point of those that advocate more caution with regard to offshore drilling, I think the point has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt, and any continuation of the catastrophe is beneficial to no one.
Did anybody check to see if that "information" given to the "pimp and ho'" was at all accurate? Secondly; how many people REALLY took those two clowns serious? I know I would have been waiting for someone to yell "Smile; you're on Candid Camera!" Now it comes down to what exactly this small community group did that was questionable; questionable legal advice for someone seeking to entrap them.
Now; let's look at BP: another huge disaster after a continuous record of criminal carelessness that will affect the economies of of several states and the ecological balance of ocean and beach life. Think hard now, cons; WHICH is the biggest priority to deal with?
think we should make into law "THE DEFUND BP ACT" just like republican John Boehner di with acorn!! And BP should be considered to BIG TO FAIL!!!
And remember folks, all this crap that is happening with BP,is Bush./Cheney fault for doing the back room deals in 2001 with the big oil comp, and deregulating them, and letting them do what ever the hell they wanted to do. BUSH/CHENEY were and always will be considers the oilmen who controlled our country! And for all the republicans out there CRYING that goverment is not doing enough, wasn't it you guys for 18months now saying that goverment needs to stay out of the private sector????? And according to the republicans they have been saying let the free market work on it's own, Well we see where that has gotten us! And STOP blaming Obama for this, as this crap happening with Bp is not new, they had another explosion in 2005, where was your outrage when that happened? NOT a peep came out of you, why because BUSH WAS THE PRESIDENT! Now all of a sudden because Obama is in office , which by the way you did not like him since day one, and has had it out for him as well. All this mess going on in this country, the financial mess.the deficit, the bp mess etc, this just did no happen overnight or in the last 18months, this had been years (8yrs and more) in the making, it just so happened it all broke lose under obama.. STOP BLAMING HIM FOR EVERY LITTLE THING!!!!!
CORRECTION BP should NOT be consider to big to fail! We should let them fail!
Join the FB group DEFUND BP
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124135097623603&v=info&ref=ts
Write to Prez & Congress to demand this NOW!
Well, for me it still was a good story by Rachel. I was interested because she seems like one of the only news people stall talking about ACORN and what a raw deal they got. Let's face it they did. They got chewed up, kicked hard, rolled over and left out to dry. From the floor of U.S. House and Senate, and from every hack governor,idiot on Fox News, and any PUNK coward in a pimp outfit. ACORN was taken out, because of the sheer audacity of giving some poor folks a voice in politics and heaven forbid registering them to vote. GUILTY, GUILTY, it was sharks in the water. I never did witness anything like it.
As Rachel, and many others here have stated here, "Yes ACORN was flawed" and I don't think anyone disputes that fact, but were they guility of every bad thing happening in this country. I'm an old time Red Sox fan and I didn't know that Bill Buckner and Bucky Dent were members of ACORN. GO figure.
What happened to us? Fair play? Helping Hands? A country for all the people. The glee among our elected officials in taking this group out, and how nobody, well nobody with any clout, Rachel keep up the good reporting, helped or spoke for ACORN. I guess we all through them under the bus. IT is sad what we're becoming politically.
P.S. I think Lee Attwater would even be ashamed.
epic piece for sure. hitting right wing hypocrisy with a 4 by 4 upside of their self righteous idiot flat and fat heads. congress acting like the little scared corporate pussycat lackeys they really are, stripping acorn without habeas corpus. meanwhile continuing to bow to the super rich corporations and defense contractors like the weak kneed, soft spined invertebrates they are.
billions to lockheed martin, northrup grunman, blackwater xe, armor group, wackenhut, dyncorp, british petroleum. all convicted of defrauding the tax payer for billions and all continuing to draw contracts.
but hey, let's be knee jerk reactionaries about a single faked expose from a broadcast company notorious for making @!$%# up. because the months and years long crusade to attack acorn, that gets a pittance of government money and helps the poor must be abolished! we must make the poor fend for themselves, how else will they learn responsibility? certainly not by the chickens in congress who support corporate welfare and tremble at the idea of making huge fraudulent corporations "responsible" for anything!
btw rachel, get some rest beautiful, you looked exhausted. that heat down in the bayou along with the oil and dispersant toxins can take it's toll. we need you well rested and ready to take on idiot america. p.s. i wasn't in your twitter parade but i am your biggest fan. take care of her guys.