Judge with financial ties to oil and gas industry overturns Obama's drilling moratorium

The Louisiana judge who overturned President Obama's six-month moratorium on off-shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday had number of investments in the oil and gas industry, financial disclosure reports show.

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, a 1983 appointee of President Ronald Reagan, wrote in his decision to prohibit government officials from enforcing the moratorium until a trial is held: "If some drilling equipment parts are flawed, is it rational to say all are? Are all airplanes a danger because one was? All oil tankers like Exxon Valdez? All trains? All mines? That sort of thinking seems heavy-handed, and rather overbearing."

President Obama had imposed the six-month moratorium on any new drilling in the Gulf following the BP oil spill that has dumped hundreds of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf. The decision has halted the approval of any new permits for deepwater drilling and suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells until they can be deemed safe.

While Feldman's holdings in the oil and gas companies range from $15,000 to less than $1,000, many of the companies he has investments in would be affected by the moratorium. Theses companies include: Transocean Ltd., Provident Energy, Atlas Energy Resources, Parker Drilling Co., TXCO Resources; EV Energy Partners, Rowan Companies Inc., NCP Capital Resources, BPZ Energy, El Paso Corp., KBR Inc., Chesapeake Energy Corp., and ATP Oil and Gas Corp.

According to the Associated Press, Feldman is just one of 37 active judges in key Gulf Coast districts who have financial ties to energy industries, including oil and gas. Many of these judges have already disqualified themselves from such cases sighting conflicts of interest.

While it could be argued that Feldman's ruling is sound based on his argument, there is no way we can allow a judge, even with modest investments in oil and gas, to have such power in deciding such a critical issue at this time. To allow for more drilling in an area, when we know that safety reports filed on most of these rigs were done so by the companies who would be doing the drilling, would be foolish. It would also be foolish to allow companies to continue to drill without a full investigation into why the BP oil rig exploded, not to mention while millions of gallons of oil continues to spill into the Gulf.

Major oil companies say the moratorium is "unnecessary" and would cripple world energy supplies. But I say another oil spill in the Gulf would cripple the environment and the people who depend on the Gulf for their livelihood for a generation, not to mention the potential loss of life if another rig were to explode. As a nation we must consider what is in our best interest first, the world's second and big oil last - for they are the scum who put us in this position in the first place. Jobs are also a concern for some, but the $350 million contributed by BP to pay for those out of work oil rig workers due to the spill, should be sufficient enough to pay for any damages incurred. It is time that we stop worrying about big corporations and start worrying about the environment and people of America. For too long these bastards have been allowed to scare us into believing that without them we are nothing, but what they fail to see is that without the deep pocket books of the American people they are nothing. If you ask me, a six-month moratorium is not long enough. For we still have two months until the leak is potentially stopped and years until the mess is cleaned up.

But all hope is not lost yet as the Obama administration has vowed to appeal the decision, which many experts suspect they will win.

"We will immediately appeal to the 5th circuit the president strongly believes as the Department of Interior and the Department of Justice argued yesterday that continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense and... potentially puts the safety of those on the rigs and the environment in the Gulf at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford right now," said spokesman Robert Gibbs following Judge Feldman's decision.

General McChrystal called to Washington over controversial remarks

General Stanley McChrystal, America's top military official in Afghanistan, has been summoned to Washington to answer questions about his mocking of top public officials over their counterterrorism strategy in a new Rolling Stone article due out Friday.

McChrystal was originally supposed to attend a meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan via video conference, but was later recalled in person after news of the controversial remarks became public.

The article written by Michael Hastings talks of McChrystal dismissing Biden during a question-and-answer session in Paris in April, after growing irritated with questions about a counterterrorism strategy the vice president had offered, which McChrystal had dismissed.

"'Are you asking about Vice President Biden?' McChrystal says with a laugh. 'Who's that?'"

"'Biden?' suggests a top adviser. 'Did you say: Bite Me?'"

Hastings also writes that President Obama and McCrystal had "failed to connect" from the time the president took office. Quoting an advisor to McChrystal, his first meeting with Obama "was a 10-minute photo op... Here's the guy who's going to run his f---ing war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss (McChrystal) was disappointed."

McChrystal apologized for the remarks Tuesday. He is also said to have fired a press aide over the article.

"I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened," McChrystal said in a statement. "Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard."

It is expected that McChrystal will tender his letter of resignation upon his return to the States. What this will mean for the future of the war and troop morale is yet to be seen, but it is said that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has defended McChrystal and wants him to stay on as commander. It is, however, hard to accept McChrystal's apology after President Obama gave him everything he wanted to continue a war that has become widely unpopular on both sides of the political isle.

"I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome," McChrystal said in the closing of his apology.

Obama negotiates $20 billion compensation fund with BP

Just a night after pundits ripped his first Oval Office address on the BP oil spill, President Obama has gained a major victory in the fight to ensure the British-based oil company pays for all damages incurred by the spill, when the two parties announced Wednesday that BP would set up a $20 billion major claims fund for those whose livelihoods are being ruined by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

President Obama promised to make the bastards at BP pay for the mess in the Gulf, and after four-hours of intense negotiations he was able to prove to the American people that he could deliver on his promise. Not only was he able to get BP to agree to creating a $20 billion fund without dragging it through the courts for years and even decades, he also got the executive swine from BP to agree to no cap on the amount they would pay. In addition to this the company also agreed to set up a $100 million fund for oil-rig workers, who have been laid-off due to the six-month moritorium the president has placed on drilling in the Gulf.

"What this is about is accountability," Obama said after his session with BP executives. "For the small-business owners, for the fishermen, for the shrimpers, this is not just a matter of dollars and cents. . . . A lot of these folks don't have a cushion."

So far, 66,000 claims have been filed, $81 million awarded, and 26,000 checks cut, according to accounts from the Coast Guard. And to ensure that all legitimate claims are honored, President Obama has appointed Kenneth Feinberg, the man who oversaw the $7 billion government fund for families of victims of the 9/11 attacks, as the administration's "pay czar" to oversee the payouts.

The fund is also not capped, so BP could still be on the hook for more money in terms of claims and that does not include the fines that the United States will certainly be levying against them once the spill has been capped.

While the announcement came at a great time for those who are losing their livelihood along the Gulf coast, BP executives continue to put their foots in their mouth. During the announcement of the agreement, BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg apologized for the "tragic accident" and added "we care about the small people."

The comment was not well-received by the people along the Gulf coast who resented the foreign speaking dignitary's remarks that were perceived as talking down to the working-class people in the Gulf.

By night Svanberg was apologizing for the slip: "I spoke clumsily this afternoon, and for that, I am very sorry. What I was trying to say - that BP understands how deeply this affects the lives of people who live along the Gulf and depend on it for their livelihood - will best be conveyed not by any words but by the work we do to put things right for the families and businesses who've been hurt."

Obama talks oil spill response plan in first presidential address

In his first presidential address from the Oval Office, Barack Obama reassured the nation that the BP oil spill in the Gulf will be cleaned up, but did he inspire?

The 17-minute, nationally televised speech, mostly consisted of him describing the April 20 oil rig explosion, which left 11 dead and how he intends to make BP pay for not only the clean-up but the compensation of those who depend on the Gulf for their lively hood.

Obama said he will tell BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg to, "set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's recklessness."

"This fund will not be controlled by BP," Obama said. "In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent, third party."

While Republicans have bitched about Obama using the disaster to push his energy bill, he did not hesitate to boast about it during his speech. He called upon Congress to put aside partisan politics to end America's dependence on fossil fuels once and for all.

"the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now," he said.

Obama also outlined the response effort thus far, in an effort to curb the negative views by Americans - 52 percent don't approve of his handling of the oil disaster. Obama noted that the resources the federal government had poured into the area, including the 30,000 people working in four states to contain and clean- up the oil. He added that 17,000 National Guards members are available along the coast to be used as needed by the governors of the state's. 

While Obama was effective in bringing us up to date on the clean-up effort, what he missed in this speech was his ability to inspire. Not that I am a big believer that the president has to be emotional, but it just seemed very scripted, as I guess most presidential speech's from the Oval Office do. But people need to be comforted now. They need to be made to believe that this spill will be stopped and cleaned-up. While it remains to be seen wether or not the president will be successful in cleaning-up the Gulf, he was ineffective in settling people's nerves over the disaster on this night.

For more information, visit www.whitehouse.gov/deepwater-bp-oil-spill/

Obama, Medvedev sign nuclear arms reduction treaty

Since the end of the Cold War, Americans and Russians have by and large not had to worry about the threat of a nuclear attack between the two superpowers. Now the two nations presidents, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, have signed a major nuclear arms control treaty that will further reduce nuclear stockpiles and launchers for both nations as the two work towards a world free of the "bomb."

"This day demonstrates the determination of the United States and Russia - the two nations that hold over 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons - to pursue responsible global leadership," Obama said after the signing.

The two presidents met in Prague today to sign the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty - known as START - that builds on the previous agreement that expired in December. There had been a halt in talks over the new treaty, after Russian leaders became disgruntled when President Obama announced intentions to build a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe - specifically angered by news that Romania had agreed to let the U.S. build missile interceptors within their boarders.

But after a year of negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement that marks what President Obama called an effort to "reset" the U.S. relationship with Russia.

The new treaty limits both nations to 1,550 nuclear warheads within seven years. There are also limits on launchers and it creates a "verification regime" that includes on-site inspections, data exchanges and notifications. The treaty, however, does not "contain any constraints on testing, development or deployment of current or planned U.S. missile defense programs or current or planned United States long-range conventional strike capabilities."

"It significantly reduces missiles and launchers," Obama said of the new 10-year treaty. "It puts in place a strong and effective verification regime. And it maintains the flexibility that we need to protect and advance our national security, and to guarantee our unwavering commitment to the security of our allies."

"This agreement enhances strategic ability and, at the same time, allows us to rise to a higher level of cooperation between Russia and the United States," Medvedev said.

The signing of the treaty comes just days after President Obama announced a new plan to limit the conditions under which the U.S. would use nuclear weapons. His decision is a dramatic shift from his predecessors view of how to use nuclear weapons and also intends to revamp our use of the weapon to deal with a new era in which terrorist organizations are a bigger threat than traditional powers. The new policy makes it so the U.S. will explicitly commit to not use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear nations that are in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, even if they attack the U.S. with biological or chemical weapons. There will, however, be an exception for such nations as Iran and North Korea that have violated or ignored the treaty.

The new policies to reduce nuclear weapon stockpiles and redirect how we will use such weapons in the future, is part of President Obama's vision to rid the world of nuclear arms. While the president has struggled to pass many of his domestic policies and gain the trust of the white, working class voter since taking office, it is obvious that his skills on the world's stage are much stronger than had been argued by his Republican competitor during the 2008 election. Of course, maybe it just took a president that would open his ears and mind to reach out and work with the rest of the world leaders to ensure a more peaceful world.

President Obama signs student loan reform, making college more affordable for students and families

While most Americans continue to deliberate the positive and negative affects that the historic health reform bill will have on our health care system, current and future college students and their families should be excited about the new legislation as the bill also invests in higher education that will make college more affordable.

The new legislation will not only invest in higher education, but it will also bring meaningful reform to the current student loan system. The bill will put an end to a system that used taxpayer money to subsidize private bank loans to students and reinvests those $68 billion in savings toward making college more affordable as well as reducing the deficit.

"For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks to act as unnecessary middlemen in administering student loans. So those are billions of dollars that could have been spent helping more of our students attend and complete college; that could have been spent advancing the dreams of our children; that could have been spent easing the burden of tuition on middle-class families.  Instead, that money was spent padding student lenders’ profits," President Obama explained to students during a speech at Northern Virginia Community College. "Now, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that the big banks and financial institutions hired a army of lobbyists to protect the status quo.  In fact, Sallie Mae, America’s biggest student lender, spent more than $3 million on lobbying last year alone...By cutting out the middleman, we’ll save American taxpayers $68 billion in the coming years -- $68 billion.  That’s real money -- real savings that we’ll reinvest to help improve the quality of higher education and make it more affordable.”

Below are some of the highlights of how the bill will help students and families pay for college:

• Double funding for Pell Grants since President Obama took office, to ensure that all eligible students receive an award, and that grants keep pace with the rising cost of college
• Invest in community colleges to help an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates over the next decade
• Increase support for historically black colleges and universities and minority serving-institutions, which have been particularly hard hit by some of the challenges facing all universities, and account for nearly sixty percent of the 4.7 million minority undergraduates in our country.
• Ease loan repayment by capping student loan payments at 10 percent of a graduate's discretionary income, with any remaining balance forgiven after 20 years. And those who go into public service after graduation can have their loans forgiven after 10 years.
• End government subsidies given to financial institutions that make student loans, switching to direct loans. This saves nearly $68 billion for college affordability.