Tag Archives: BP

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Apologize to BP? add your name …we won’t apologize


Organizing for America

When BP CEO Tony Hayward testified before Congress this morning, many expected to hear him apologize for the disaster his company has caused. Instead, GOP Congressman Joe Barton was the one saying he was sorry — to BP.

In his opening statement, Barton, the top Republican on the committee overseeing the oil spill and its aftermath, delivered a personal apology to the oil giant. He said the $20 billion fund that President Obama directed BP to establish to provide relief to the victims of the oil disaster was a “tragedy in the first proportion.”

Other Republicans are echoing his call. Sen. John Cornyn said he “shares” Barton’s concern. Rep. Michele Bachmann said that BP shouldn’t agree to be “fleeced.” Rush Limbaugh called it a “bailout.” The Republican Study Committee, with its 114 members in the House, called it a “shakedown.”

Let’s be clear. This fund is a major victory for the people of the Gulf. It’s a key step toward making them whole again. BP has a responsibility to those whose lives and livelihoods have been devastated by the disaster. And BP oil executives don’t deserve an apology — the people of the Gulf do.

Stand with us to show that the American people support holding BP accountable — and we won’t apologize for doing so.

We support holding BP accountable. And we won't apologize for doing so. Add your name.

Rep. Barton and Republicans like him don’t understand that the real tragedy is what’s happening to the people in the Gulf Coast. They’re the ones who deserve his apology — not BP.

But big oil knows exactly who its allies are. And if Republicans win control of the House, Rep. Barton could be chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee — overseeing regulation of the oil and gas industry.

Notably, companies like Halliburton — the folks responsible for cementing the Deepwater Horizon rig — are directing their political committees to deliver thousands of dollars to GOP candidates this cycle. Barton himself has received more than $100,000 from the oil and gas industry this election cycle.

Barton should apologize to the people of the Gulf and he should step down as the highest-ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Adding your name to our open letter is one of the best ways you can show him and other Republicans that they weren’t elected to defend big oil.

Sign the open letter today:

http://my.barackobama.com/NoApologies

Thanks,

David Plouffe

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

thoughtful Thursday &some News


It was very strange and offensive to hear GOP call our President’s achievement as a shake down? how dare anyone in Congress say that; it’s obviously those that have BP investments are complaining …can it get any more offensive. The tragedy is that 11 people died and this Republican as well as many others feel the same way; that it was a shake down.  This is a moment when Republican voters need to see just what side their representatives are on and it ain’t with the people on the Gulf Coast or the Environment because they obviously put Profits above all else.

Today, the BP executive will hopefully have an ugly day while being dragged over the coals by the energy panel. It is with great hope that most of the naysayers will be watching and or listening to Tony Hayward answer the questions Americans all over this country have by giving the people on the Gulf Coast money and their lives back.

The day after our President’s first speech from the Oval Office, the media went right after him. The comments were a strange combination of folks who obviously felt they knew more about what a President should say or gesture, they felt comfortable analyzing him and obviously felt they would not offend the rest of us, who actually support this man. That was so wrong. There were people all over the country cancelling their podcast accounts and turning off left of center talking heads because of the verbal beat down given on cable TV, who in my opinion were overreacting, have had to step back.

Wednesday had some talking heads apologizing; others stated it was not that big of a deal, that it was only a matter of time? The deal was a BFD because no President has ever –ever managed to get this deal made with a Private Sector Company. It is obvious that things were going on while talking head and pundits flap their mouths. It was and is hard to understand that even people left or far left of center, specifically in the Media are not happy until he acts or gestures in the ways in which they want? Even at this moment, it is beyond me to know what that means. The ultimate result is that BP resigned to no cap, get money immediately, no litigation, no guarantee, and this whole was unexpected. I have to ask, is this the end of big corporations being able to say, do and tell government what they will and will not give up in order making a bad thing right? I say with a President like Obama we might be on our way as a country to letting big corporations like BP, Halliburton, and TransOcean know that we will not take it sitting down anymore. It is a moment when big Corporations had to be honest, back down, and accept what the President wanted and the deal offered to BP to take.

It is another day; people on the right have been upsetting a sector of once supportive progressive radio, TV, and internet talkers. The last few weeks the airwaves have been a strange combination of negativity with odd comments about his hand gestures and his PR problems; which translates into listeners turning on the President instead of deciding for themselves. I do not care about the PR problems so-called experts are focusing on or that seem to prefer latching onto silly things like his hand gestures during his speech. There are Americans that hear this language and they use this as ammo against the President.

President Barack Obama and his administration got the job done and all those who want to down play this achievement have little or no respect for what he has done and probably never will respect anything he does for Americans. I do hope that the people on the Gulf Coast understand what a big deal this is and thank him for whatever he had to do while cable heads were throwing stones at him. The comments were offensive to hear and made me and quite a few others want to express our support for this President even more. It is with great hope that Republicans continue to show themselves for whom they are and that voters see that Republicans are in fact the Corporatists’ and this fact is one we should all be very afraid of and fear.

We need to make our Democratic Party understand that We the People want reform, we want to move into the 21st Century; we want change that we can all believe in that 53% voted for means Democrats in Congress need to find the courage to support our President and his agenda or they will be voted out of office.


Other News …

**A Texas lawmaker stated he was embarrassed/sorry to BP for what happened-he called the President/BP agreement a shake down

**Reports are that bill gates/warren buffet have called on others to give at least half of their money to charities

**Banks will be changing how the chrg bank fees…look for big changes; like no more free checking …

**BP cancels dividend payments for the year

**France will raise their retirement age from 60 to 62 starting in 2018

**Toyota will re-start its Mississippi plant

**Israel states it will ease its Gaza blockade

**Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae will delist




C-SPAN …

Debate continues at house-senate conf. on financial regulation

The House-Senate Conference Committee on financial regulation continues its debate on the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. The 43 committee members, or conferees, are debating sections of the bill related to the creation of a new regulator who would focus on risks to the entire financial system. Also under consideration is a way to provide the government rules to unwind failing financial institutions.

The bill contains 12 major sections and spans almost 2000 pages.

The committee hopes to have a bill approved by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by President Obama by July 4th.

BP CEO: “Spill in the Gulf of Mexico never should have happened and I am deeply sorry”

BP CEO Tony Hayward is in front of the House Subcmte. on Oversight and Investigations to address the Deepwater Horizon explosion and explain “five questionable decisions,” outlined in a letter from Subcmte. Chrmn. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Cmte. Chrmn. Henry Waxman (D-CA). The letter advises Mr. Hayward that he should be prepared to address these issues, as “it appears that BP made decisions that increased the risk of a blowout to save the company time or expense.” He is expected to talk about his meeting yesterday with Pres. Obama, the $20 billion escrow account to pay for damages and lost wages and the continuing efforts to stop the oil spill in the Gulf. In his opening statement, Hse. Energy and Commerce ranking member Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) apologized to BP CEO Hayward and accused the White House of a shakedown on BP. The hearing will be the CEO’s first appearance at a congressional hearing on the disaster. BP America President Lamar McKay, who oversees the BP’s U.S. operations, has been its top representative at previous hearings.

Congress Examines START Treaty, Lawmakers Question Russia’s Long-Term Commitment

Secretaries Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates and Steven Chu, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen, described how various national security programs will be affected by the adoption of a new nuclear arms reduction treaty signed by President Obama and Russian President Medvedev in April. Today’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing focused on the implications of the new START Treaty, which replaces the one signed in 1991 and expired last December.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

ThinkProgress.org


Last night was President Obama’s first Oval Office address, and he used the weighty occasion to address the nation’s concerns about what is happening on the Gulf Coast, 57 days after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and began spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Obama told the American public what has happened, what government officials and the private sector are doing to address the crisis, the steps that still need to be taken, and perhaps most significantly, what long-term lessons the country should take from the incident. “Presidents often save the Oval Office address for matters of war and peace,” wrote Politico’s Glenn Thrush, adding that Obama’s speech “conveyed the image of a leader on wartime footing” in a “battle” against an environmental disaster. Yesterday, the government released new figures showing that as much as 60,000 barrels of oil — or more than 2.5 million gallons — are flowing each day from the damaged well. Today, Obama and Vice President Biden will meet with BP executives, a gathering at which the President said he will tell them to “set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of [the] company’s recklessness.”

PERSONNEL CHANGES: One of Obama’s most well-received steps to address the oil spill has been appointing Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen to oversee the clean-up effort, a move that, as the Center for American Progress pointed out, established a “highly visible leader at the White House” to “lead the command and coordination at the cabinet level.” Yesterday, Obama made two other much-needed personnel announcements. First, he appointed a new head of the embattled Minerals Management Service, which, for years, was the “handmaiden” of the oil industry it was supposed to be regulating. His choice, Michael Bromwich, “has no experience with oil and gas issues, but he has a reputation for cleaning up embattled organizations,” according to the Washington Post. Second, the President tapped Navy Secretary and former Mississippi governor Ray Mabus to “develop a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan as soon as possible.” These personnel plans follow Obama’s establishment last month of an independent commission to probe the spill, a step first recommended by the Center for American Progress.

COMPENSATING VICTIMS: As tar balls wash up on shore, clean-up workers become ill, and wildlife die from the mess, the public is becoming increasingly angry at BP, the company that operated the Deepwater Horizon rig. Eighty-three percent of Americans disapprove of BP’s response. Last week, BP CEO Tony Hayward came under intense criticism for claiming that the company has paid “every claim that’s been presented,” adding that it takes only 48 hours to receive a check. In reality, fewer than half of the claims have been paid. This week, the Obama administration took away some of BP’s compensation-decision authority and announced an “independently administered fund for reimbursing victims.” It also told the company to put “‘substantial’ funds into an escrow account to cover claims.” Hours before Obama’s speech last night, BP “announced it was accelerating its claims process for businesses affected by the spill — but…continued to resist the administration’s efforts to make the company pay for lost wages due to a moratorium on deepwater drilling.” Additionally, BP is reportedly already objecting to details of the escrow fund to compensate workers and businesses, with a lack of agreement on “who would administer it and whether BP shareholders would have to approve the transfer of money required for the account.”

CLEANING UP THE OIL INDUSTRY: BP isn’t alone in its malfeasance. Yesterday, executives from oil giants BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, revealing the inadequacy of their plans for dealing with oil spills, plans which the government requires for deep-water drilling applications for the Gulf of Mexico. As the Washington Post noted, “Three of them listed the phone number for the same University of Miami marine science expert, Peter Lutz, who died in 2005. Four talked about the need to protect walruses, which, as Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) dryly noted, ‘have not called the Gulf of Mexico home for 3 million years.’ The plans also mentioned protecting sea lions and seals, which aren’t found in the gulf, either.” ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson essentially admitted to Congress that the industry has to do everything possible to prevent offshore drilling disasters, because once they occur, there is not any way to stop the damage. “When you look at the details, it becomes evident these [response] plans are just paper exercises,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA).

THE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY AND CLIMATE REFORM: Perhaps the part of Obama’s speech with the most long-term impact was his call for Congress to pass clean energy legislation, leading to a “transition away from fossil fuels.” “The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight,” said the President. “Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America. Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil. … We cannot consign our children to this future.” He praised the House for passing “a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill” last year, but stopped short of giving any specifics. Obama never used the words “carbon,” “greenhouse gases,” “global warming” or “cap and trade,” but he did give “primetime props to Senate proposals” for a nationwide renewable electricity standard and increased energy efficiency. As the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein noted last night on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show, “[T]he one big thing you could see here was an echo of the health care rhetoric: that inaction’s too costly, and he won’t accept failure and he’ll listen to other solutions as long as they solve the problem. But he didn’t say what the problem was and he didn’t say what success would be.” Yet instead of agreeing to take up the challenge of energy independence, Republicans immediately slammed Obama, with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele stating that he was “[e]xploiting the tragedy in the Gulf to try to ram through a devastating job-killing national energy tax.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is reportedly gathering his caucus for a meeting on Thursday “to discuss how to proceed on energy and — maybe — climate change provisions.” The Senate reportedly plans to take up a bill during the week of July 12. However, Reid’s spokesman said that a climate component would be unlikely without significant GOP support. CAP has proposed an oil reform agenda to regulate the oil industry while “moving the American economy toward a cleaner and more secure energy future.”

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A message from our President –add your name to his –support clean energy NOW … i did


The BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast is the worst environmental disaster of its kind in our nation’s history. I am returning to the region today to review our efforts and meet with families and business owners affected by the catastrophe.

We are working to hold BP accountable for the damage to the lands and the livelihoods of the Gulf Coast, and we are taking strong precautions to make certain a spill like this never happens again.

But our work will not end with this crisis. That’s one of the reasons why last week I invited lawmakers from both parties to join me at the White House to discuss what it will take to move forward on legislation to promote a new economy powered by green jobs, combat climate change, and end our dependence on foreign oil.

Today, we consume more than 20 percent of the world’s oil, but have less than two percent of the world’s oil reserves. Beyond the risks inherent in drilling four miles beneath the surface of the Earth, our dependence on oil means that we will continue to send billions of dollars of our hard-earned wealth to other countries every month — including many in dangerous and unstable regions.

In other words, our continued dependence on fossil fuels will jeopardize our national security. It will smother our planet. And it will continue to put our economy and our environment at risk. We cannot delay any longer, and that is why I am asking for your help.

Please stand with me today in backing clean energy. Adding your name will help Organizing for America create a powerful, public display of support for making this change happen.

The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a new future. That means continuing our unprecedented effort to make everything — from our homes and businesses to our cars and trucks — more energy-efficient. It means rolling back billions of dollars of tax breaks to oil companies so we can prioritize investments in clean energy research and development.

Many businesses support this agenda because shifting to clean energy creates opportunities for entrepreneurship. This is how we will reinvent our economy — and create new companies and new jobs all across the country.

There will be transition costs and a time of adjustment. But if we refuse to heed the warnings from the disaster in the Gulf — we will have missed our best chance to seize the clean-energy future we know America needs to thrive in the years and decades to come.

The House of Representatives has already passed a comprehensive energy and climate bill, and there is currently a plan in the Senate — a plan that was developed with ideas from Democrats and Republicans — that would achieve the same goal. But this is an issue that Washington has long ignored in favor of protecting the status quo.

So I’m asking for your help today to show that the American people are ready for a clean-energy future.

Please add your name to mine:

http://my.barackobama.com/CleanEnergy

Thank you,

President Barack Obama