A Limited, Weak Govt Cannot Defend the Public Against Big Business

Written by whisperDispatch.com | 13 June 2010

It is absolutely appalling to hear Republicans complain about the government's response to the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico when not 2 minutes before the crisis they were warning about the perils of big government and whining that the nation will turn into a communist state.  Even a government of our size is having a tough time responding to the repeated screw-ups of big business from the banking industry, to the insurance industry, to the oil industry. The conclusion drawn from such troubled times is that a limited, weaker government cannot defend its citizens against the perils of big business.

Unlike what the acidic tongue of Ronald Reagan proclaimed in the 80s, government is not the problem. A nation being choked by big businesses in every sector is what's causing our nation to flail around like brown pelicans caught in an enormous oil slick.

It's a perfect metaphor if not a giant tragedy that the Gulf of Mexico is awash in the greed of big business just as this nation and our government is awash in mediocrity.  The problem of mediocrity, we all thought, was solved by the election of Barack Obama.  But it appears the president has been dunked in a giant glob of muck where mediocre advice has caused him to do things in half-measures and to make ass-backwards decisions which are a little too cute by half; decisions like wanting to increase offshore drilling just weeks before the BP oil disaster.

This is a period of major change which requires a new way of thinking. Increasing the use of fossil fuels while at the same time proclaiming the need for renewable energy is unacceptable in this period of time. And, yes, it may require a government large enough to handle such a major shift.

Can Sarah Palin claim credit for last night?

Written by David Weigel | Washington Post | 09 June 2010

It's irresistible for many in the press to look for Sarah Palin angles on election night. Tuesday, I wrote about Palin's late-coming endorsement of Terry Branstad for the GOP's gubernatorial nomination in Iowa.

On June 1, a Public Policy Polling survey found the former governor, running for his old job, with a 15-point lead. Between June 1 and 3, the Des Moines Register conducted a poll that found Branstad leading by by 28 points. On June 3, Palin endorsed him, angering some of her supporters who backed activist Bob Vander Plaats.

Tracy Morgan Drops 10 Pounds With NutriSystem, Pilates

Written by Us Magazine | 09 June 2010

Tracy Morgan has beat the battle of the bulge.

"I use NutriSystem," the 30 Rock star, 41, told UsMagazine.com at the Friars Foundation to Honor Motown Legend Smokey Robinson event in NYC Tuesday night. "The most weight I lost was 10 pounds in two weeks."

His diet entails "whatever I can eat" on NutriSystem, which is also favored by Tori Spelling, Marie Osmond and Boy Meet's World Danielle Fishel. "Corn Flakes, Cheerios, Rasin Brand, they have nutrition bars that are delicious," he says. "I have them in my house."

"I have to cook my entrees," continues Morgan. "I cheat sometimes, but I try not to."

BP shares tumble as U.S. probes oil spill

Written by Reuters | 09 June 2010

British energy giant BP Plc's (BP.L) (BP.N) stock price tumbled on Wednesday as it faced more U.S. government and congressional scrutiny over its handling of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told a congressional hearing that BP's latest effort to try to contain the oil gushing from its deep-sea well may have increased the flow of crude 4 to 5 percent above what it was before.

Current Immigration Problems Illustrate American Long-Term Memory Loss

Written by whisperDispatch.com | 04 June 2010

President Obama met with the Governor of Arizona June 3 2010 to talk about the much maligned immigration law recently passed in Arizona which makes it possible for the authorities to ask random people to prove that they are in the country legally.  Supporters of the law claim that authorities won't be able to profile people on the street.  However, in my opinion, the only way to enforce this law is if police make snap judgments and jump to conclusions about whoever it is they have stopped for some other reason. What's worse is that we as Americans appear to have no understanding of history and seem to think that our willpower can produce a cut and dry solution to this incredibly difficult situation.

To be honest, discussions about the immigration law in Arizona really ticked me off.  Despite the current discomfort which non-latino residents of Arizona feel about immigration, it's ironic as hell that so many people whose ancestors may have been involved directly with (or prospered as a result of) the massacre of Native Americans, would be so downright hateful towards another group coming into this country in a different time in history. Those people of history and illegal immigrants from Mexico don't have the same goals.

Every person in this country who isn't Native American is an immigrant of some form. The ancestors of a large portion of this nation came here illegally and engaged in a system of thievery and murder the likes this country wouldn't see again until... well....until they began to buy slaves from Africa.  But that's a whole other despicable part of American history.

I know we don't really want to hear that and we want to make endless excuses for why some of our ancestors made heinous decisions to further their own human existence.   But am I supposed to see something gravely wrong with Jose, or Juan, or Pablo or Maria coming here to work so he/she can keep his/her family from starving? Is it supposed to be okay that such desperate actions draw the ire of a current generation of children who have systematically benefited in some way from their forefathers' treachery?  Seriously?  

Gulf oil spill reaching East Coast, computer models show

Written by AP | Cain Burdeau | 03 June 2010

Computer models show oil leaking from a damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico could wind up on the East Coast and even get carried on currents across the Atlantic Ocean toward Europe.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research models showed Thursday that oil could enter the Gulf's loop current, go around the tip of Florida and as far north as Cape Hatteras, N.C. According to researchers, oil could threaten East Coast beaches by early July, but they cautioned the models were not a forecast.

Interior Dept. denies it has extended drilling freeze to shallow gulf waters

Written by Steven Mufson | Washington Post | 03 June 2010

The Interior Department denied that it has extended a drilling freeze to shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico, contradicting an e-mail written earlier Thursday by the head of the Minerals Management Service's supervisor of field operations for the Gulf of Mexico.

An Interior Department spokesman said "shallow water drilling may continue as long as oil and gas operations satisfy the environmental and safety requirements Secretary Salazar outlined in his report to the President and have exploration plans that meet those requirements. There is no moratorium on shallow water drilling."