Fwd: Morning Bell: A Crisis of Competence in the Gulf

05/26/2010 A Crisis of Competence in the Gulf "Let's be clear: Every day that this oil sits is one more day that more of our marsh dies," Gov. Bobby Jindal (LA) said Monday. "We've been frustrated with the disjointed effort to date that has too often meant too little, too late for the oil hitting our coast," he continued. Specifically, Jindal is frustrated by the failure of the federal government to produce the 8 million feet of oil-blocking booms it asked for back on May 2nd and 3rd. So far Louisiana has only received 815,000 feet of boom, and even then the federal government has failed to place it in the correct locations. Worse, Obama administration regulators continue to deny Louisiana officials permission to build up barrier islands between the coast's marshes and the gulf. Federal regulators have so far refused to permit the state to act, fearing the unintended long-term damage to local wildlife. So instead of action, the oil continues to float on shore threatening the livelihoods of millions of Louisianans. Meanwhile the Environmental Protection Agency again demonstrated its uselessness when it informed BP it had 24 hours to find a less toxic alternative to the chemical it had been using to break up the oil. BP informed the EPA that no alternatives were available in sufficient quantity to deal with the spill, and when the EPA's deadline came and went with no change in BP's practices, the EPA meekly said they would study the issue, which was an acknowledgment that it has no answer either.

Fwd: Rep. Hoyer: Obama Medicare Nominee Qualified, Rationing Already Happening

Today's Headlines Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Rep. Hoyer: Obama Medicare Nominee Qualified, Rationing Already Happening (CNSNews.com) - House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the man nominated to run Medicare and Medicaid, Donald Berwick, is qualified to oversee the two massive government health care programs despite Berwick's claim that the government must ration health care. Hoyer added that health care rationing is already happening in America -- because not all Americans can afford it. Boehner: Republicans 'Committed to Repealing the Health Care Law' If They Take Back House (CNSNews.com) - House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday that the House Republican leadership is "committed to repealing the health care law" if Republicans win a majority in the House in the November elections. Boehner  also announced the launch of the House Republicans' new Web site, AmericaSpeakingOut.com, where citizens can submit ideas for congressional Republicans to consider making part of their agenda. Obama Should Visit U.S.-Mexico Border to See the Threat to Americans Firsthand, Republican Senators Say (CNSNews.com) – On the same day President Barack Obama announced he was ordering 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, two Republican senators from Arizona said it's about time – and it's too few troops. International Community Has 'Responsibility and Duty to Respond' to Ship Sinking by North Korea, Clinton Says (CNSNews.com) – On Wednesday, one day after North Korea threatened to sever all remaining ties with South Korea, North Korea did not prevent South Korean employees from entering a joint industrial project that employs thousands of North Koreans. The Stalinist regime warned, however, that it would bar entry to South Koreans if Seoul resumes anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts along their shared border, which South Korean President Lee Myun-bak has said he would do. Suspected Terror Mastermind Free to Rail Against India and 'Blasphemy' (CNSNews.com) – Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the Islamist leader released from house arrest by Pakistan's highest court, remains one of that country's most outspoken advocates of jihad against India, and he is now free to press his case that the U.N. should declare 'blasphemy of prophets' a capital offense. Bill Requires Rhode Island to Pay Taxpayers Interest on Delayed Tax Refunds (CNSNews.com) – Several Rhode Island state congressmen have introduced a bill requiring the state to pay the same rate of interest after 60 days on tax refunds owed to taxpayers that the state assesses for overdue taxes. CNSNEWS.COM VIDEO Dave Matthews: 'Too Bad If We Have To Pay a Little Extra Money for Gasoline' (CNSNews.com) – Grammy award-winning musician Dave Matthews told CNSNews.com that higher energy prices are what "we have to do" to protect the environment. Rocker Dave Matthews: 'I Would Pack the Bags' and Leave Afghanistan and Iraq (CNSNews.com) - Grammy award-winning musician Dave Matthews told CNSNews.com that if he could, he "would pack the bags" and remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, adding that the ongoing wars there are a "big disappointment." He also said there is enough evidence that "fighting for peace is a broken model." OTHER CNSNEWS.COM HEADLINES Obama's New National Security Goals Include Diplomacy and Support From Abroad Obama's Border Plan Looks Similar to Bush's, AP Says USDA Offers $1.3-Billion Settlement to Female, Latino Farmers Who Claim Discrimination Obama Applauded, But Also Chastised, At Private Meeting With Republicans Mexico Arrests Cancun Mayor on Drug Charges Oil Spill Brings Mini-Job-Boom to Gulf Region As Oil Spills, Obama Touts Alternative Energy Iran's Ahmadinejad Urges Obama to Accept Nuclear-Swap Deal Car Bomb Explodes Outside NATO Base in Kandahar City U.S. Prison in Afghanistan to Hold First Trial International Red Cross Defends Giving First Aid Courses to Taliban Donate Today! Please help CNSNews.com keep bringing you 'The Right News - Right Now!' Make a contribution to CNSNews.com today. It's fast, simple and secure. Help CNSNews.com and Donate Today!  NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP: Biden tells E.U., Brussels could be 'capital of the free world' Minnesota will pick up tab to counsel divorcing couples Justice Dept. lawyers draft challenge to Arizona immigration law Activists blast Mexico's immigration law Congressman: White House job offer to Sestak may be an 'impeachable' offense Sen. Brown, a Massachusetts Republican, says no to repeal of 'don't ask' U.S. military Reconsiders Army's use of M4 rifles in Afghanistan Mass. lawmakers consider charging inmates various fees stemming from incarceration After meeting with GOP, Obama says day for 'partnership' with GOP has passed State's cash flow problems mean longer wait for R.I. tax refunds California Democrats: Let's borrow cash to save welfare Building oversize federal courts wastes millions; Maintenance adds to costs Backyard cottages seen as way to address Seattle's need for affordable housing House Democrats would add $50 billion in domestic spending to war legislation Senate showdown over EPA climate rules scheduled for June 10 Dems say 9/11 first responders have earned guaranteed healthcare Florida gets $25 million from BP to tell the world its beaches are still clean Lawyers flock to seminar on Gulf of Mexico oil spill issues COMMENTARY Obama Names Rationing Czar to Run Medicare By Terence P. Jeffrey President Obama's choice to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does not like free enterprise, but he does like rationing. To Dr. Donald Berwick of the Harvard Medical School, America's health care system is not the model for the world. Great Britain's is. Look Who's Behind the White House/Sestak Stonewall By Michelle Malkin After three months of zipped lips and feigned ignorance, the Obama White House is finally taking real heat over Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak's consistent claims that the administration offered him a job to drop his Senate bid. Now it's time to redirect the spotlight where it belongs: on the top counsel behind the Washington stonewall, Bob "The Silencer" Bauer. Preposterous Bill Press By L. Brent Bozell Radio talk-show host Bill Press is the tiniest of fish in the radio ocean, but this minnow's all over the place complaining about the whales in his new book about how the 'radical right' has 'poisoned' the airwaves. He discusses 'hate on the right," while ignoring hate on the left. The Gulf of Ocean By Rich Galen President Obama has been roundly criticized for planning to attend fundraisers and other political events in California while forcing Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to be the public faces of the increasingly inept government handling of the increasingly destructive oil spill in the Gulf of Ocean. I hope someone is keeping track of the stuff that keeps spewing out of Napolitano's mouth because there is going to be a best-selling book involved.