VIDEO: LOUISIANA GOVERNOR'S CLEAN UP EFFORTS SHUT DOWN

We could be witnessing bureaucracy's waterloo here. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has exhibited leadership in response to the oil disaster in the Gulf almost in direct proportion to how Barack Obama has exhibited a lack of it. Jindal has been out in the water helping to lead the effort to use vacuums to suck up oil. Then the Coast Guard shut him down and forced 16 barges carrying massive vacuums to sit idle for 24 hours.

The most damaging aspect to this report from ABC - in addition to the 24 hour ban - was the oil that could have been picked up but wasn't. You'll get a quick math lesson that shows 96 thousand gallons of oil could have been retrieved by the barges but weren't.

As the president gives speeches about the need for cap and trade legislation designed to prevent this crisis from going to waste, he's actually preventing the oil from being extracted from the Gulf by not exhibiting strong leadership with clear, articulate priorities.

via ABC News:

OBAMA VS. CAMERON OVER BP

As Obama continues to flail like a president caught in an oil slick and as members of congress grandstand in front of BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, the politicians need to be careful that the public doesn't begin to side with BP. However, the roadblocks to such a scenario seem to involve BP leadership. A couple of weeks ago, Hayward pleaded that he wanted to have his life back and now BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg says he's concerned about the "small people".

Watch as Svanberg refers to the "small people" three times after his meeting with the Obama administration. The only possible excuse for Svanberg honestly making this mistake is the argument that something is lost in the translation. He's from Sweden so I don't know if he said "small" and thought he was saying something like "citizens" but in any case it's a PR nightmare for BP.

Frankly, I find that argument hard to believe. This man has likely traveled the world over multiple times and is well versed in many different cultures. As head of BP, I'm almost tempted to wonder if this wasn't done intentionally. The potential reason for such a conscious blunder is as inexplicable as his doing it accidentally.

UPDATE: The more I think about this incident, the more inclined I am to believe that Svanberg simply misspoke and his intent was lost in the translation. That said, if BP would like to start being seen by the public as the lesser of two evils - with the government being the greater - it would be well served not to make these kinds of mistakes.



It should be interesting to see how Great Britain's new Prime Minister chooses to deal with this battle between Obama and BP. It's beginning to drastically impact the "small people" of Great Britain who are relying on pensions heavily invested in BP stock. David Cameron is beginning to challenge Obama's aggressive posturing with BP; we'll see how long it lasts and if he's got the stomach of Governors of different states in America. Governors like Jan Brewer in Arizona, Chris Christie in New Jersey, and Bobby Jindal in Louisiana.

Via the Telegraph

BREWER VS. OTHER BORDER GOVERNORS

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is increasingly alone when it comes to her doing battle with the Feds over her state's immigration problem. The Governors in the other border states with Mexico - Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, Bill Richardson in New Mexico, and of course Rick Perry here in Texas - either oppose Arizona openly or won't express support.

John Gizzi at Human Events conducted an interview with Brewer that covered a variety of issues relative to her state but focused on her having to do battle with Eric Holder; she suggests that he take any funds he's considering to use in a lawsuit challenging Arizona and put them toward the construction of a fence. What I found more interesting was the part of the story involving the positions of Brewer's gubernatorial border state colleagues.

Asked what fellow governors facing similar problems with their borders and illegal immigrants are saying, Brewer mentioned that she has "certainly spoken with [Texas Republican] Gov. [Rick] Perry and [New Mexico Democratic] Gov. Richardson and Gov. Schwarzenegger with regard to it. They, of course aren't facing the problem that Arizona is because we now have been left as the gateway for all illegal immigration, drug cartels and gangs coming into the Americas."

Schwarzenegger is siding with the Feds, not based on his having read SB 1070 but because of what he's read in the papers, according to Brewer. The only thing he seems to be terminating these days is courage and common sense inside his own brain.

Richardson in New Mexico is predictably as opposed to Brewer's efforts as one could be. He's a hard left Democrat and we've long known where he stands.

Rick Perry continues to be a disappointment on this issue, more so because of the stance he doesn't seem willing to take. To some extent, I have more respect for Richardson for letting people know where he stands. Perry won't even do that. He doesn't have to support the law for his state but as a fellow Republican who talked tough on immigration and states rights before his primary, he should publicly stand with Governor Brewer in support of her state's right to pass its own laws.

Here's what Gizzi wrote earlier in his piece:

Brewer mentioned opposition to what is increasingly called "the Arizona laws" from fellow governors on border states, notably Democrat Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger of California. Brewer said she knew Schwarzenegger didn't know what was in the bill because "he figured what he read in the paper was exactly what the bill said."

It would seem to me that Rick Perry needs to get off the fence; at some point, he's going to have to choose a side.

Read the whole interview.

WALPIN-GATE CONTINUES TO PERCOLATE

The Obama administration has this uncanny knack of being involved in slow-burn scandals, like sores that won't heal. The Black Panthers case involving voter intimidation has been going since November, 2008; the Sestak / Romanoff actually started in September, 2009 when the Denver Post first reported the offer to Romanoff.

Now we're learning that the scandal involving Investigator General Gerald Walpin, who was allegedly fired illegally and without good reason last year, is making news again. Unfortunately for the Obama administration, Walpin filed a lawsuit very early on, calling for his reinstatement. The administration went into panic mode over another individual at the heart of the scandal, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson.

Via the Washington Times:

On June 9, 2010, The Washington Times broke the story that AmeriCorps' parent, Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), ignored its own sanctions against Mr. Johnson for infractions admitted by the mayor by featuring him in an honored speaking slot at the upcoming National Conference on Volunteering and Service June 28 through 30 in New York. By June 11 - the anniversary of the firing - CNCS executives made a series of frantic phone calls that resulted in Mr. Johnson being scrubbed from the list of speakers and removed from the website. The remaining questions are: Who invited Mr. Johnson in the first place, and why?

On the same day Mr. Johnson withdrew as a speaker, Mr. Walpin filed a final summation in a federal appeals court explaining why the court should order expedited action on his lawsuit. Even though he filed suit on July 17, and even though his suit is time sensitive because the administration already has nominated a would-be replacement, Judge Richard W. Roberts of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has sat on numerous motions and countermotions for expedited judgment, thus stalling the case. Mr. Walpin's petition for a writ of mandamus asks the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to issue an order for Judge Roberts to rule on all pending motions.

We've all seen our share of judges that do inexplicable things in favor of those in power; Paul v. Clinton is the quintessential example. The judge in Rod Blagojevich's trial denying the defense's motion to subpoena Barack Obama's testimony is another, especially after reading the redacted portions of that motion, which came available to the public due to a software glitch. This judge in Gerald Walpin's case is yet another.

Read it all.