pjMom
backyardconservative
Carol
fuzislippers
iainswife
Obi's Sister
nicedeb
Pat Austin
Jill
Quite Rightly
retrieverheart
Sherry
just a conservative girl
Zilla of the Resistance
BREAKING: WH Energy Czar Browner Unaware Adm. Allen Willing to Waive Jones Act That Is Slowing Oil Spill Disaster Clean-Up
From a transcript released by the White House of the daily press briefing with Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, we learn that some of the best dredgers and skimmers from countries like Belgium, The Netherlands and Norway are being kept away from clean-up efforts in the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico because of the Jones Act—a protectionist law that requires vessels working in US waters be built in the US and be crewed by US workers.
Waivers to the Jones Act were granted by the administration of George W. Bush in the days following hurricane Katrina. And today, the Obama White House said waivers might again be considered. “If there is the need for any type of waiver, that would obviously be granted,” said White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs. “But, we’ve not had that problem thus far.”
Oh, really?
Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is not so sure about that. He’s hearing from the folks back home in Florida, where they want all the skimmer ships they can get. He sent a letter to Admiral Allen which, in part, reads: “Admiral, I believe the orange mousse of oil that is now in Florida’s waters is more than enough evidence that we need to take advantage of every appropriate global resource. Please advise as to whether we are taking full advantage of the offers of assistance from other countries.”
When asked about this by Fox News, Admiral Allen said, “If it gets to the point where a Jones Act waiver is required, we’re willing to do that too. Nobody has come to me with a request for a Jones Act waiver.”
After fifty-plus days of oil flowing freely into the gulf, the question could be asked: Why do effective and proven foreign clean up ships remain on the sidelines? Joseph Carafano, of the Heritage Foundation, believes it may have something to do with the Obama administration’s close relationship with labor unions.
On June 11, 2010 Carol Browner, director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, was caught off-guard when challenged about a Jones Act waiver. At vidmark 5:03 , we learn that she was unaware of Admiral Allen’s willingness to waive the Jones Act.
How damning is it to hear Browner say the White House “speaks to Admiral Allen every day, several times a day” and yet she didn’t know about this? This is shameful.
Again, let me pound this message home: Admiral Allen said, “Nobody’s come to me with a request for a Jones Act waiver, but any skimming capability we can bring in, we’re looking for.”
That’s one crackerjack czar ya got there, Barry.
Read more at No Sheeples Here.
murray, 
Quite Rightly 11:57 AM on 06/11/2010 Permalink |
The Houston Chronicle has reported that the Netherlands offered to help with ships with oil-skimming booms, “and it proposed a plan for building sand barriers to protect sensitive marshlands. . . . The embassy got a nice letter from the administration that said, ‘Thanks but no thanks,’ said Geert Visser, counsul general for the Netherlands in Houston.” It is being reported that Norway and 11 other nations have offered to help. It’s interesting that Bush could figure out how to waive the Jones Act, but maybe he wasn’t as interested in keeping his distance from CEOs and kicking rear ends (metaphorically).
Sickening.
fuzislippers 3:56 PM on 06/11/2010 Permalink |
AND a Maine factory cranked out tons of booms . . . and was ignored by the government. [tinfoil hat alert] This is all a bit too . . . too incompetent. They could have stopped the oil from hitting the shores, but they didn’t. They had more than enough help offered, and they rejected it all. It’s hard to believe anyone is that freaking stupid.
Yukio Ngaby 8:24 PM on 06/11/2010 Permalink |
You should never underestimate the depths of political incompetence.
Before you put on your tin-foil hat Fuzzy, ask what the Obama Admin. had to gain by ignoring booms and such. And now compare that with how much they have lost as a result of their ditherings, flounderings, and their idiotic “ass-kicking” rhetoric.
I think QR’s right. They have other more important things to worry about rather than beaches that belong to a lot angry, gun-clinging peoples.
Quite Rightly 11:44 PM on 06/11/2010 Permalink |
I don’t know, Yukio. I’m not quite ready to give this administration a pass on sheer incompetence. I’ll grant you that these maroons bounced into power intending to remake everything and had zero regard for the work of the previous administration, so, naturally, they threw out all the babies with the bathwater. Never familiarized themselves with previous administrations’ contingency plans — or even the existence of such plans, neglected to familiarize themselves with relevant laws and procedures, hastily made adversaries of those inclined to help. But that “never let a crisis go to waste” ambition hovers over everything they do, and obviously it’s what they do best.
Yukio Ngaby 9:46 AM on 06/12/2010 Permalink |
But ask yourself QR, what’s gained by these displays of gross incompetence– aside from disdain? While its true this Admin. cynically follows the “never let a crisis go to waste” mantra, what can they hope to gain by ignoring this situation for so long, that they couldn’t have gained by reacting appropiately?
Quite Rightly 11:21 AM on 06/12/2010 Permalink |
I know, I know. I’m not saying that they are competent at dealing with disasters in the usual way, which is to save what you can as fast as you can, rebuild, and restore. I’m saying that their real expertise, lacking what you and I would think of as competence, lies in turning disasters in a direction that serves them. Here’s a couple for you: 1) Cap and Trade, which is a fiat-money scam and, as far as I can tell, is meant to refill the coffers despite the current impossible debt with the “new currency” of carbon credits, while, simultaneously, replacing the disdained current fat-cat capitalists with the future monarchs of the new socialism. Gravy on the plate: 2) exhausting the conservative, Republican led, Gulf-border states and turning their attention away from opposing Cap and Trade, ObamaCare, and other items on Obama’s agenda.
fuzislippers 11:23 AM on 06/12/2010 Permalink |
Well, if the environmental disaster is going to be as bad as we fear, they have a great deal to gain. By stepping aside and letting BP handle it (even tying their hands and making noises about the buck stopping with BO), the disaster will eventually overshadow this. The admin will then have the support of outraged and fearful Americans to grow government in any number of ways that would not now be possible. That’s a huge gain. And gamble. But I wouldn’t put it past them.
Quite Rightly 11:28 AM on 06/12/2010 Permalink |
By messing with BP, they are also causing considerable disruption in the UK financial markets. Haven’t quite figured that one out yet, but I can think of a coupple of ways a really cynical actor could put that to advantage.
Yukio Ngaby 2:39 PM on 06/12/2010 Permalink |
Sorry, just don’t buy it.
Whose support would Obama et al gain whom they don’t already have? When has Obama been able to demonstrate any particular political savvy, especially something so subtle as to anticipate BP’s troubles and then convincingly pin the lion’s share of the blame on them? I mean he’s still blaming Bush and Palin for his troubles (in between parties, plays, and golf games), and people aren’t buying and they’re not listening. I mean, Pelosi is getting shouted down during Leftist rally speeches…
Obama may try to weasel some gain out of this (he’s laughably trying to use this incident to discredit Tea Partiers’ belief in small govt http://michellemalkin.com/2010/06/12/obama-to-tea-partiers/ and nobody other than his choir is buying), but his attempts are pale, pathetic and desperate. Obama and his cronies are not master manipulators,
they’re out of their depth.
The UK’s been in financial troubles for years, and frankly this isn’t big enough to sink them. It’s getting a lot of press so it has exaggerated the actual effects, but this spill is still a comparative drop in the bucket for the UK’s financial market’s woes.
Quite Rightly 4:26 PM on 06/12/2010 Permalink |
Yukio, I hope you are right. In fact, I pray that you are right. The Obamatons have a particular kind of savvy, but it is not the subtle kind, it is the “I won’t tolerate this, my gov’t will take over your industry, you are on my list of possible terrorists, my administration will make sure that your advertisers back out of their commitments to support your radio program, my union buddies will show up at your house by the busload and terrorize your children, I am looking for rear-end to kick, your pro-Israel video will be scrubbed from youtube” etc., etc. I don’t think the administration anticipated the Gulf disaster, I just think they are far better at capitalizing on disaster and at bullying than at doing anything productive.
fuzislippers 4:59 PM on 06/12/2010 Permalink |
Sadly, they think that IS being productive. :(
Yukio Ngaby 9:11 PM on 06/12/2010 Permalink |
*heh*
murray 11:56 AM on 06/13/2010 Permalink |
So you think that just nice people from the Netherlands will come here to skim oil once the Jones Act is suspended? You don’t think some rich Texan will hire Mexican skimmers with Mexican crews or Venezuelan skimmers with Venezuelan crews and get the cheap contract with BP, bypassing the locals (who are probably not the cheapest workers).
As for the Maine boom company, they never made boom. They are demanding BP buy their product when they went into manufacturing on speculation. You might or might not think that is good business, but bitching at Obama about it is pretty silly. http://www.csnphilly.com/pages/landing_truthrumors_bball?blockID=246621&tagID=73682
Quite Rightly 4:11 PM on 06/13/2010 Permalink |
Okay, I’ll bite. And the problem with rich Texans hiring Mexican skimmers to get the oil out of the Gulf is . . .?
Quite Rightly 6:14 PM on 06/11/2010 Permalink |
I guess they’re busy doing something else besides their jobs. Setting reset buttons or attending SEIU meetings or selling Senate seats or planning golf dates or something.