The really reason US doesn't accept help with oil spill

[Topaz]

The reason is called the Jones Act. It only allows US vessels in US waters but the Prez can over turn that in an emergency. http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-real-reason-america-refused-international-help-on-the-oil-spill-2010-6#ixzz0qOvqHe6K

[Shady]

The reason is called the Jones Act. It only allows US vessels in US waters but the Prez can over turn that in an emergency. http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-real-reason-america-refused-international-help-on-the-oil-spill-2010-6#ixzz0qOvqHe6K

This is true. Obama still hasn't waived the Jones Act. President Bush waived it a couple days after Katrina. However, 60 days after the rig explosion, Obama's still putting politics ahead of cleaning up the spill. It's pretty disgusting. :angry:

[Shady]

How to waive the Jones

Jones Act waivers are in the news because of the Gulf oil spill. I would like to contribute to that discussion by sharing my experiences coordinating the Jones Act waivers for President Bush in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In 2005 I served as the Deputy at the White House National Economic Council.

...

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, aka the Jones Act, precludes a foreign-flagged ship from operating near the U.S. coast. As I understand it, outside of three miles it’s fine. I am most used to it in the context of it precluding foreign-flagged ships from transporting stuff from one U.S. port to another.

...

I cannot speak to the particular needs in the current situation, but I imagine the most pressing need might be for oil skimmers that could operate near Gulf state coastlines.

Link

Why has Obama still not waived the Jones Act? It's either one of two reasons. Gross negligence, or he's under the influence of the unions that want to protect those jobs at the expense of the gulf coast.

Is it time for impeachment hearings? :angry:

[eyeball]

Is it time for impeachment hearings? :angry:

Get a grip, its just a blowout not a blowjob.

[punked]

Why has Obama still not waived the Jones Act? It's either one of two reasons. Gross negligence, or he's under the influence of the unions that want to protect those jobs at the expense of the gulf coast.

Is it time for impeachment hearings? :angry:

Do tell under what law Shady. Talk about gross negligence.

[dre]

Get a grip, its just a blowout not a blowjob.

[Shady]

Do tell under what law Shady.

Dereliction of duty.

Can anyone honestly explain why he hasn't waived the Jones Act? President Bush waived it a couple of days after Katrina. It's now day 62 of the oil leak. What's he waiting for? There are dozens of ships and oil skimmers available for help.

[Guest American Woman]

Can anyone honestly explain why he hasn't waived the Jones Act? President Bush waived it a couple of days after Katrina. It's now day 62 of the oil leak. What's he waiting for? There are dozens of ships and oil skimmers available for help.

It's a good question; and here's another good question: Why are 1,500 available US oil skimmers not on the scene? -- but hardly a matter of impeachment.*

*"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Edited June 19, 2010 by American Woman

[BubberMiley]

Is it time for impeachment hearings? :angry:

I guess he must have been listening to you when you were trying to spin that it was no big deal and oil is a perfectly natural product and the Gulf can handle it.

[Shady]

I guess he must have been listening to you when you were trying to spin that it was no big deal and oil is a perfectly natural product and the Gulf can handle it.

I never said that. But that's a nice deflection. I guess it's much easier than answering why your savior in chief hasn't waived the Jones Act, or why 1500 skimmers aren't currently being used.

[dre]

I never said that. But that's a nice deflection. I guess it's much easier than answering why your savior in chief hasn't waived the Jones Act, or why 1500 skimmers aren't currently being used.

Probably for the same reason the US government sat on their hands during Katrina while thousands of Americans floated around in their own urine and feces for weeks.

The US govenment and political system is utterly disfunctional and broken.

[bush_cheney2004]

Probably for the same reason the US government sat on their hands during Katrina while thousands of Americans floated around in their own urine and feces for weeks.

Yea...wish it was Canadian feces and urine instead because as we all know, that doesn't stink.

[BubberMiley]

I never said that.

The search function of this forum makes it too easy to catch your lies. I guess you don't even remember the talking points Rush feeds you from day to day.

Complete nonsense. It definitely is equipped to recover, and has so in the past. As for oil, it's a substance produced by our living earth. Oil is as natural as any other substance on our planet.

[Shady]

The search function of this forum makes it too easy to catch your lies. I guess you don't even remember the talking points Rush feeds you from day to day.

Your political hackery knows no bounds.

Did I say that the oil spill was quote "no big deal?" Answer. No.

Did I say that the gulf will recover? Answer. Yes. Because it will. That's common sense.

Did I say that oil is a natural substance? Answer. Yes. Because it is natural. Do you think it isn't?

But my previous post was related to the then assumed 1000 barrels a day of oil leaking. Now we find out that the leak could be as much as 100 times that number. Obviously a recovery will take longer, but the gulf will still recover. I'm still trying to figure out which of those statements you have an issue with.

But again, it's a nice deflection for you. It's much easier for you to discuss that, as oppose to why Obama hasn't waived the Jones Act, why 1500 skimmers aren't currently being used, and why he took BP's initial claim of only 1000 barrels a day as fact, and didn't feel the need to check that number out until 60 days after the fact. Those are the tough question in which you run from.

[BubberMiley]

Your political hackery knows no bounds.

I think any sane person would interpret that by arguing that oil is a "natural" substance and that the Gulf can handle it, and by also equating concern with so-called media panic like there was for H1N1, Bird flu and Y2K, you are arguing that it is no big deal. But spin away now that you feel there are political points to be gained by admitting it is, indeed, a big deal.

But my political hackery knows lots of bounds. So much so that I don't bother to know the answers to your questions. Sorry.

[Shady]

I think any sane person would interpret that by arguing that oil is a "natural" substance

I'm not sure why you're using quotation marks around natural. Oil is a natural substance. That's a scientific fact. I'm sorry you have a problem with that. Facts can be stubborn things.

and that the Gulf can handle it, and by also equating concern with so-called media panic like there was for H1N1, Bird flu and Y2K, you are arguing that it is no big deal.

Well H1N1, bird flue, and Y2K we're completely overblown. Ask any sane person and they'd tell you the same thing. In terms of the oil spill, the gulf can handle it, but the real problem is when oil hits the shore. It's a lot more difficult to clean up. But once again, I never said it was no big deal. Those are your words, not mine. I never once said that. You're making that up.

Anyways, there's a good AP story on what I was talking about earlier.

By the numbers

For every gallon of oil that BP's well has gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, there is more than 5 billion gallons of water already in it. And the mighty Mississippi adds another billion gallons every five minutes or so, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

AP

Again, this doesn't mean it's no big deal. But it puts some of the apocalyptic hyperbole in perspective. But once again, it's all a nice deflection from the real issues. We still don't know why Obama hasn't waived the Jones Act. We still don't know why skimmers aren't being fully implemented. And we still don't know why they took BP's initial claim of only 1000 barrels per day as fact, without verifying it for themselves.

[BubberMiley]

I'm not sure why you're using quotation marks around natural. Oil is a natural substance. That's a scientific fact. I'm sorry you have a problem with that. Facts can be stubborn things.

So explain how oil's "naturalness" is relevant in the context of thousands of gallons of oil being spilled into the Gulf? What were you getting at?

[GostHacked]

Shady, how much natural oil would you allow in your house and yard before you can no longer live there?

[GostHacked]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127992348

Effects of natural oil on an environment and people. Peru.

But a Peruvian government study published in 2006 found that most indigenous people living along this river — the Rio Corrientes — had unhealthy levels of lead in their blood and 95 percent exceeded the healthy limit for cadmium. Lead and cadmium are associated with oil spills, which have been happening here for decades.

Shady, lead and cadmium are just as natural as the oil. Does this raise a concern now?

[Wilber]

I'm not sure why you're using quotation marks around natural. Oil is a natural substance. That's a scientific fact. I'm sorry you have a problem with that. Facts can be stubborn things.

So is asbestos, what's your point?

[Shady]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127992348

Effects of natural oil on an environment and people. Peru.

Shady, lead and cadmium are just as natural as the oil. Does this raise a concern now?

Not much more than safe levels.

Anyways, as I posted long before, the natural oil seepage into the gulf is around 5000 barrels per day. That's not counting any man-made activity.

But once again, this is a great deflection. It's easier for you people to concentrate on this, than asking the tough questions. Like why hasn't Obama waived the Jones Act? Why hasn't he cleared the way for foreign help? Why are skimmers not being implemented to theif full potentional? And why did the Obama administration take BP's word about how large the leak was, without confirming it for themselves? It's day 65 btw.

[BubberMiley]

Why do you continue to deflect, rather than answer what you were getting at when you spoke of oil in the Gulf being "natural?"

[bush_cheney2004]

Why do you continue to deflect, rather than answer what you were getting at when you spoke of oil in the Gulf being "natural?"

Hydrocarbons are naturally occurring in the environment, in the form of liquid, gas, and solid. As discussed earlier, petroleum "burping" into marine environments is absolutely natural. The issue here is the amount of petroleum introduced by the failed exploration / extraction rig.

[GostHacked]

Not much more than safe levels.

So how much would you be willing to put up with in your own yard before you start to see a problem?

Anyways, as I posted long before, the natural oil seepage into the gulf is around 5000 barrels per day. That's not counting any man-made activity.

5000 barrels a day from numerous leaking points all around the gulf. As opposed to 20,000 barrels a day coming from ONE site.

But once again, this is a great deflection. It's easier for you people to concentrate on this, than asking the tough questions. Like why hasn't Obama waived the Jones Act?

The real question is why the hell did an oil rig blow up!???!??!??

Why hasn't he cleared the way for foreign help? Why are skimmers not being implemented to theif full potentional?

That's been explained here in this thread and others, you chose to ignore it.

And why did the Obama administration take BP's word about how large the leak was, without confirming it for themselves? It's day 65 btw.

They did at first, because that was the only source. That has been revised many times since the DeepWater Horizon blew up.

[GostHacked]

Hydrocarbons are naturally occurring in the environment, in the form of liquid, gas, and solid. As discussed earlier, petroleum "burping" into marine environments is absolutely natural. The issue here is the amount of petroleum introduced by the failed exploration / extraction rig.

Agreed.