You've got to be kidding: Another Oil Rig Explosion in the Gulf

Written by whisperDispatch.com | 02 September 2010

You've got to be kidding me.  Another Oil Rig Explosion has happened in the Gulf of Mexico. One reportedly injured.  More details to come.

WP: Fed docs show steady steam of oil mishaps in U.S. waters

Written by whisperDispatch.com | 24 July 2010

Washington Post's Steven Mufson is reporting that Gov't data show an abysmal record of oil spills from 1964 to 2009; some as far reaching as the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. WP reports that although the industry record was improving before BP's massive screw-up, many spills happen because of "blowouts, hurricanes, lax pipeline maintenance, tanker leaks and human error" each year.

While such spills seem tiny in comparison to the behemoth from BP this year, it still matters what kind of crap is polluting the water surrounding parts of the U.S. Such toxic soup could do major damage to the human body over generations.

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Sherrod Non-scandal Caused by Political Agendas, Selfish Overreactions

Written by whisperDispatch.com | 23 July 2010

By now you've certainly heard that the unfairly ousted former USDA Official Shirley Sherrod was called a racist and edited video of her decades old speech was used by elements of the right wing media for their own purposes to slam the Obama administration.  There is no other way to say it. Sherrod isn't a racist, nor did she use her current position in the Obama administration to discriminate against white farmers. 

And contrary to the after-the-fact assertions by the blogger who lit the match of the whole mess, this Sherrod incident didn't start out as a critique of a random crowd at an NAACP-sponsored speech.  Because of a selfish need by certain entities to NOT be called hypocritical by those they have previously criticized, undeserved consequences befell Sherrod before the veracity of any of the allegations against her were ever checked.  

The larger questions in this political fight, however, are why the hell were so many non-right wing-conservative entities so quick to believe the unverified allegation against Sherrod and why did people from the general media, the administration and the NAACP react so strongly without exchanging one word with the accused?  Are employees of the Obama Admin so sensitive to racial issues that they jump to cut off anything that could be remotely distracting?  Further, does this illustrate how guarded the rest of us should be against being involved in an unthinking mob instigated by one or a few people who have their own hateful or one-sided agendas?

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White House apologizes to Shirley Sherrod

Written by Greg Sargent | Washington Post | 21 July 2010

This is a good start: At the press briefing just now, Robert Gibbs apeared to extend a heartfelt apology to Shirley Sherrod on behalf of the Obama administration, and promised a look at what went wrong.

Interestingly, though, he sidestepped a question about whether fear of the conservative media drove the decision to fire Sherrod before the facts were all in.

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Williams Morris: Gibson no longer a moneymaker

Written by whisperDispatch.com | 13 July 2010

When William Morris Endeavor dropped Mel Gibson as a client last week, sources at the agency cited the star's misconduct as the reason.

Its revulsion may be genuine, but the decision also was based on the bottom line, a calculation that Gibson no longer has real monetary value to the agency.

"There's nothing to do for Mel Gibson at the moment," a William Morris source said. "No one will touch him with a 10-foot pole. He'll make his own movies, but you don't commission those anyway."

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Fragile economic recovery at risk due to midterm election politics

Written by Ryan Witt | Examiner.com | 03 July 2010

The most recent economic reports reveal some troubling signs for the recovery effort.  Unemployment is still at over 9.7%.  Over the last month more Americans have filed for jobless benefits, the housing market is trending downward, and consumer confidence is starting to suffer.  Under the best case scenario, the economy has hit a speed bump and we are in danger of suffering from another recession.  Under the worst case scenario, we are in serious trouble on the edge of a more serious economic free-fall like a depression.

It is at this time that the country needs some kind of preventive measures from the federal government.  It is much more costly to avoid an economic disaster than to try to react to one.  Despite this reality, politicians seem perfectly content to sit back and watch as the country suffers.

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Stocks slide after jobs report

Written by Alexandra Twin | CNN Money | 02 July 2010

Stocks slumped Friday, falling to new 2010 lows, as investors reacted to a weaker-than-expected June jobs report and showed some caution ahead of a long holiday weekend.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 90 points, or 0.9%, the Nasdaq (COMP) composite fell 17 points or 0.7% and the S&P 500 (SPX) index dipped 8 points, or 0.8%. On Thursday, the Dow and Nasdaq ended at 8-month lows and the S&P 500 at 9-month lows.

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