In Response to GOP Echo Chamber on Off-Shore Drilling, 'Strong' Democratic Leaders Crumble Like Feta Cheese
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Unfair! Feta cheese is tasty and wholesome; Democratic leaders are putrid and rotten.

"Crumbling" is nothing new for the Democrats in Congress. They have been "crumbling" like sand castles hit by a wave since the they gained "leadership" (what's that?) in 2007.

Feta cheese has an element of mold running through it. Very good on salads and smoe pasta dishes.
question: are dem leaders giving in to the demands, right or wrong, of the American people? If they are, that their job. It should be up to us to convince the people to think of other alternatives to either the GOP or the DEM party.
Be careful of tooooo much feta - putrid dia-rear!

"Strong Democratic Leaders Crumble Like Feta Chese" Please tell me when you have some Real News.

Flannery O'\Conner has a famous quote about writing:

"How can I see what I think, 'til I see what I say."

Politicians twist that to- How do I know what to say, til I see what they think.

"Pelosi said the legislation would require oil companies to pay billions of dollars in drilling royalties, which would be invested in clean energy resources."

Hmmmm...seems I've read somewhere in the distant past that oil companies already owe the U.S. government billions in royalty payments. If memory serves me, the oil companies were given some kind of "royalties-deferment" deal.

Wouldn't the GAO be able to compile a list of royalty-evaders over the past few decades? It would be interesting to discover how much $$$$ the oil companies actually owe the U.S. government/taxpayers.

Crumbling? Methinks collusion.

the most distressing aspect of pelosi and the dems kissing the ass of the imperial masters is how obvious it makes their roles as stooges - lackeys who do their masters bidding

they were elected to make some changes - they have failed miserably

as will obama by the way

the idea that the wishes of the american public has any input into the imperial death machine is laughable

so go and vote if you like - it is akin to pissing in the wind - don't be surprised if you feel cheap and unclean when you are done

don't be surprised if the neocon/fascist/nwo/rothschild bank cabal goes ahead and does whatever the hell they feel like, as they always have

they have controlled the government totally since the fool reagan's administration

same fools and sycophants who run bush today

their world view has been expressed in american foreign policy since that time

that clinton is seen as an alternative to these psychos belies the neverending ability of americans to buy the lemon time and time again

thank you corporate media - we couldn't control the masses without you

Are you all aware that the U.S. has set a record for oil EXPORTS this year?!

I'm curious how many readers are going to vote for their democratic party representatives in the coming election.
Here in New Mexico we have Tom Udall, a progressive dem running for the senate.
I won't vote for him or any dem.
I'll either support an independant or write in a candidate.
There is no way anyone who considers himself a progressive can support any dem; even Kucinich - who has got to go independant...

I suppose you can say the Republicans believe in something, as small, selfish and homicidal as it is. But the Democrats- The Soft Machine - don't believe in anything anymore except acting proudly like cowards, pussies and opportunists. I guess that's what they mean by triangulation.

I must object strenuously to any metaphor such as "pussies" that is used to describe the "democratic" party. Pussies are good and warm and sweet. To paraphrase Lenny Bruce, I love to hug them and kiss them. No "democrat" rates anywhere near so highly. It would be more apt to compare the "democrats" to a case of the clap. If we don't take all the penicillin as prescribed by doctor, they are definitely coming back.

It is tempting to say that the Democrats are chicken shit. But that would be incorrect. They are doing exactly what their constituents want them to do. The problem? As I have said before, you and I are not their constituents. The real constituents are: military industrial complex, big corporations (including oil), and Israel.

The other problem is that Americans are too dumb to understand the reality. Even the "progressives" think that St. Obama is the solution..... Yes we can (kill more Afghan civilians).... Yes we can (spy on Americans).... Yes we can (continue to fund the illegal war)..... Yes we can (continue to de-ligitimize the elected government of Hamas).

The problem is that We the People have been lobotomized to We the Sheeple.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!! Daniel FUCKING David must be shitting in his pants yet again. I CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR NOVEMBER WHEN RALPH NADER TAKES A HUGE CHUNK OF THE VOTE FROM BOTH CANDIDATES EVEN IF THAT GIVES JOHN MCCAIN A 50 STATE VICTORY AND THE DEMOCRATS LOSE PLENTY OF SEATS IN BOTH CHAMBERS !!!!

HASTA LA VISTA DEMOCRATS !!!! WE THE SUPER PISSED OFF VOTERS WHO GAVE YOU OUR LAST GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKING TRUST IN 2006 BUT SINCE YOU FUCKING BETRAYED US IN THE WORST POSSIBLE WAYS NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN AMERICAN HISTORY, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SUPER SMASHING YOU MOTHERFUCKING COWARDS LIKE A BATTERING RAM !!!!

AND TO YOU IGNORANT JACKASS PARTY HACKS, DON'T EVEN TRY TO COVER UP BY TRYING TO BULLSHIT US ABOUT THE GOP BOGEYMAN BECAUSE THE DEMOCRATS HAD 2 FUCKING YEARS TO SLOW THEM DOWN AND THEY FUCKING BLEW IT !!!!

TO HELL THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY !!!! LOL !! LOL !! LOL !!

VOTENADER.ORG !!!!

YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!

vote anyone but the two parties

I have decided that drilling ANWR might as well go ahead. Otherwise, it would just end up being the only decent piece of the US on earth, the rest having been ruined by our two-party corporate state.

who wants to go swimming?

yahoo images, type in "offshore drilling"

what a nice, scenic view! just what i want to see when i spend thousands to go on vacation!

Does the environment have a price? if they could, these oilmen would sell the air for-profit!

why can i no longer post links on this site? its really pissing me off!

Pelosi and company have betrayed the American People and should be voted out of office. Their party at best is inept, incapable of action. After being elected by pretending they would end the illegal occupation of Iraq, they have continued to fund it. They have yet to oppose the president on any issue of significance. I once thought the democrats might bring about change. I know now they would not. I must, consequently, either vote for a third party, or not bother voting at all. I feel cheated.

Gail, you're right:

"A GAO report says omissions and litigation could keep the federal government from recouping $53 billion in oil royalties, even as oil companies enjoy record profits." - publicradio.org

"New projections, buried in the Interior Department's just-published budget plan, anticipate that the government will let companies pump about $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from federal territory over the next five years without paying any royalties to the government." - nytimes.com

This is another example of why we should have a Senate that is elected according to party lists and proportionally represents us. States in the Gulf Coast that want oil driling get 8 senators: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and the state that is opposed to it gets 2: Florida.

homeward-angel,

The so-called "liberal" blogosphere has become just as bad as the "conservative" blogosphere. They don't want us to stand up to the two-party duopoly. If Nader had been in office for 8 years, we'd be pumping and manufacturing with hemp and crude oil would be on its way out. Democrat or Republican, America's gonna be stuck with having to SLOP up the last of the fossil fuels even if it has to further DROWN itself in wars just to get it and while at it, they pump up the nuclear shit and then divert and misuse it towards wars rather than reusability or even safely disposing its waste. America is on its way to DEATH whether it likes it or not and GOD IS SEVERELY PUNISH IT TO ETERNAL DAMNATION !!! SAD !!

Check out the Texas Gulf Coast. The waters are filthy with hypodermic needles, oil, and cruise ship trash and garbage. The houses lining the beaches are so thick that one can't see the beach or the sea. What's one more off-shore oil rig digging up silt and dripping stuff!

Al Gore would not have been for more offshore drilling.
It is not always about party affiliation. Evaluate the individual.

DUMB ASS AMERIKA. HOME OF THE FLEECED AND DEPRAVED.

Pelousy sez: "(The bill) will consider opening portions of the (offshore) Outer Continental Shelf for drilling, with appropriate safeguards, and without taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil."

***

Yes (drilling).
No (safeguards).
NO (shortage of taxpayer subsidies).

Forget about royalties. Oil companies will place their newfound offshore drilling leases on their books as assets to boost their stock value. But they won't actually drill until the price of a barrel climbs yet higher so as to guarantee the maximum possible profit.
Just as they're not drilling the 68 million acres upon which they already possess leases.

Kabuki theatre, all of it.

yes we the people contract out to the oil monopolies the rights to our oil which at any price they see fit too they may sell it back to us....further we will give you all sorts of extra incentives above and beyond profits...

we do this because you have taken such good and fair care of us and we wish our children and grand children to be under more of the same.

DEMOCRATS.....COWARDS AND LIARS....THEY WILL SELL THE WORKING CLASS AND THE POOR, CHILDREN, AMERICANS, ELDERLY, MINORITIES AND EVERYONE OUTSIDE THE ELITE RICH WASPS d o w n t h e r i v e r !!

VOTE NADER....VOTE GREEN...VOTE ANYTHING OTHER THAN DEMOCRAT AND REPUBLICAN...THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE!

Headline and photo cutline are exactly so.

I can't wait to throw that neocon wannabe bitch out of office this fall. She does not represent the will of the people of her district in any way. We the people of the Bay Area want Bush & Cheney removed from office and put on trial for war crimes and the citizens of San Francisco will remove Pelosi from power for refusing to uphold her oath of office. She is a degrading, shameful stain on our wonderful city and will be replaced by Cindy Sheehan soon. Our deepest apologies for letting you down America. Please consider supporting Ralph Nader and our hometown golden boy, Matt Gonzales, in any way you can in their quest to rout and discredit the neocons from taking complete control of our nation. Thank you.

The top 10 reasons offshore drilling is such a dumb idea:

10. Offshore oil drilling won't impact gas prices today, and it won't lower gas prices in the future. Look for $10/gal in five years; $20/gal in 10 if this madness continues.

9. This is nothing more than a money grab by the oil companies - who are already making record-breaking profits.

8. We burn 25% of the world's oil here in the U.S., but we have only 3% of the world's oil reserves. So even if all offshore oil magically came to market today, the vast majority of our oil would continue to be imported, and we wouldn't see price relief at the pump.

7. The current moratorium was put in place decades ago to protect us from the danger of oil spills along our coastlines and beaches.

6. Burning fossil fuels like oil causes global warming, which causes stronger hurricanes, which will threaten the very offshore drilling rigs being proposed, which will contribute to even more global warming.

5. To avoid the worst impacts of global warming, we need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy within the next 10 years. The billions of dollars that would be spent on offshore oil drilling just postpones the inevitable transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

4. Oil exploration requires massive seismic testing - which threatens whales and dolphins.

3. Oil prices are set on the global oil market, so American oil is no cheaper than Saudi oil. We won't get a discount for oil drilled in the U.S.

2. We can't solve the world's energy problems with the same drilling that created them.

1. Renewable energy is available now, so it's time to walk away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future.
Let's face it, there's really no good reason to drill offshore. More drilling is good for Big Oil, not for you and your family. We can't drill our way out of this mess - oil drilling is already at an all-time high and prices are still skyrocketing.

As a matter of fact, even if we could tap into all of the energy stored in the Earth's reserves - coal, oil, and natural gas - it would equal the energy in just 20 days of sunshine. Tell Congress to look on the bright side to solve our energy crisis. It's time to invest in renewable energy and leave oil to the dinosaurs. It's time for an energy revolution.

Power to the people!

(adapted from GREENPEACE)

In anti-honor of this latest spineless DLC betrayal taking the path of least resistance to further harm our environment and future generations, I offer up this old poem of mine for those who remember how the DLC types let the New Right keep screwing us from before Bush Sr. left office to all through the '90s and beyond. They never let up on the attack even when they are presumed down and the DLC never fails to turn and run even when it reaches a moderate cyclical peak. The poem emulates the idiom of Rudyard Kipling's Barracks Poems.

THE ERA OF THE STINKY NEWTZI PINKS

Our soldiers fought with many 'crost the seas,
An' some of 'em was brave and some was not.
Reagan Dim'crats, Libertarians – likes o'these;
But the Far Right Pink was foulest 'o the lot.
We never caught 'im changin' pants guard down:
'E squatted in the bush an' built 'is forces,
'E cut our sentries up by buyin' the Press
An' butchered up our information sources.

So 'ere's to you, Stinky Pinky,
At your home in suburb land;
You're a brainwashed fascist cadre
But a first class fightin' man.
We gives you your certificate
An' if you want it signed,
We'll come an' have a mosh wiv you
Whenever you're inclined.

'E 'asn't got no scruples of 'is own;
'Is highest Gods are Mammon 'an the sword,
But we must recognize the skill 'e's shown
In usin' of 'is Limbaugh twisted words.
When 'e's poppin' in an' out amongst the bushes
Wiv 'is fundamint'list voter pamphlette fear,
An 'appy day wiv Pinky quoting Rush
Will last a nauseous Dem-ocrat the year.

So 'ere's to you, Stinky Pinky,
An' the missus an' the kid;
Our orders was to break you,
An' in '92 we did.
We sloshed you wiv martinis
And it wasn't 'ardly fair,
But since George H. W. fell from office
The Pink has broke the Dem-ocratic square.

In '94 we chanst the Ozark 'ills
Orange County thumped us silly at a mile,
Herr Phil Gram gave us Bergen Belsen chills
An' a slimey Newt dished Congress up in style.
But all we ever got from such as they
Was pop to what the Pink Boys made us swaller;
We might 'ave 'eld our own the papers said,
But special interest Pinks outspent our dollars.

So 'ere's to you, Stinky Pinky,
An' Tricky Dick who is no more;
If we hadn't lost some Congress seats
We would 'ave trounced the Grand Old Whore.
But give an' take's the gospel
An' we've won our greater share,
For if routinely you lose more than us
You crumpled up the square.

'E rushes at the smoke when we let fire,
An' before we know 'e's taken Foley's 'ead;
Hot piss and vinegar upon the march,
An' 'e's generally shammin' when 'e's dead.
'E's a smelly lyin' multnational hack
On a low potential high achiever spree:
'E's the only thing that doesn't give a damn
For no precinct Dem-ocratic infantry.

So 'ere's to you, Stinky Pinky,
At your home in suburb land;
You're a brainwashed fascist bootlick,
but a first-class fightin' man.
An' 'ere's to you, Stinky Pinky
An' Newt's Dick Armey on the tear;
With regimental goose-steps all
You broke the Dem-ocratic square.

copyright 1998

"This comprehensive Democratic approach will ensure energy independence which is essential to our national security, will create millions of good paying jobs here at home in a new green economy,..."
-and according to the sold out Democrats the ONLY way we could do this is by caving into Republican demands for offshore drilling in spite of the fact Democrats control the Congress and Republicans are a minority. It's the ONLY way!

Go McKinney! Go Nader! Go anybody but a God-damned Democrat!

Gail: 12:10 PM post, I second Rtdrury, You're right!

RichM: Perfectly defined description of the Democrats. Too many still don't get it!

I was at an event for Cindy Sheehan several nights ago, and what a big difference between the agendas of Cindy and Bush's friend Nancy Pelosi. Cindy's speech moved the audience with her honest explanations and what she as a Congresswoman would try to do when in office. No false promises or pie-in-the-sky schemes compared to the deceitful tactics of Speaker Pelosi.
I have volunteered my services in Cindy's campaign for this November's election. I encourage people in the San Francisco Bay area to participate in whatever capacity they can and help with the donations. Unfortunately, it takes a mint running for election. Pelosi is well-funded and Cindy needs our help. Go to www.cindyforcongress.org

Peace and Harmony

A couple of days ago, Bill Moyers interviewed Andrew Bacevich, author of the book, "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism." This was one of Moyers best pieces - ever!

The following snippet of the conversation went as follows (note: Bacevich was talking about the war in Iraq, however, it can be extrapolated to everything else that the Democrats have not done in the last 2 years):

BILL MOYERS: And, yet, you say that the prime example of political dysfunction today is the Democratic Party in relation to Iraq.

ANDREW BACEVICH: Well, I may be a conservative, but I can assure you that, in November of 2006, I voted for every Democrat I could possibly come close to. And I did because the Democratic Party, speaking with one voice, at that time, said that, "Elect us. Give us power in the Congress, and we will end the Iraq War."

And the American people, at that point, adamantly tired of this war, gave power to the Democrats in Congress. And they absolutely, totally, completely failed to follow through on their commitment. Now, there was a lot of posturing. But, really, the record of the Democratic Congress over the past two years has been - one in which, substantively, all they have done is to appropriate the additional money that enables President Bush to continue that war.

BILL MOYERS: And you say the promises of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi prove to be empty. Reid and Pelosi's commitment to forcing a change in policy took a backseat to their concern to protect the Democratic majority.

ANDREW BACEVICH: Could anybody disagree with that?

------

The online interview and full transcript can be found at http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08152008/profile.html

I highly recommend it.

The political cowardice of the Democratic leadership, including Obama and Pelosi, is sickening. All really knowledgeable experts agree that drilling adds risk to the environment and will not materially affect the oil supply or gas prices. When can our leaders learn there is sometimes more political advantage in honesty than in cowardly concessions?

At this point I'd be willing to give Big Oil leases to the whole d@mn continent, just to prove that psychological games will not cause the price of oil to drop back to 1972 levels. Maybe MAYBE then we could get serious about committing to tax credits for renewable energy sources. Maybe we'd even be able to rise to Al Gore's challenge from a few weeks ago.

i'm so sick of the dem party apologists... i waste my breathe and words trying to explain to those people that change doesn't come in making concession after concession and toeing the party line...but rather in revolution and active civic leadership and calls for impeachment and major accountability.

just today i see in my mail someone i know wants me to go to a rally on clean energy sponsored by moveon.org. and i distinctly recall telling this knucklehead that i don't support that organization! i guess i'll have to reiterate that and unless moveon.org calls for democratic accountability and stops pretending that only the repulicans are responsible for all the ills of this crumbling society in existence today, and continue slavishly praising obama and other dems, then i'm just not interested in a damn thing that they try to rally. i also unsubscribed to moveone.org; i don't want anymore of their junk emails.

I say go for it, add the drilling, with one more provision: the oil companies lose any leases they don't use in five years. The Democrats often say the oil companies have 68 million acres, but never say that's an area about the size of Colorado, which is a measure much easier to understand. That's plenty of area, so clearly the oil companies don't drill now because they don't want to. they just want to control more reserves in order to increase their stock prices. Give them more land and just five years to get started, and they're unlikely to use it.

They're even less likely to use off-shore leases, because there's already a five year backlog on the ships that set up platforms. In other words, go ahead and give them the entire coast, because they won't use it. Meanwhile, since the Republicans just want a political issue, they just might take it not caring or understanding the five year limit, and they might even go for the loss of oil subsidies and the increase in alternative energy research. If they won't go for it, then Democrats have no option but to do better at countering Republican arguments.

It's too bad repugs don't have a soul. They're so much smarter. They know how to frame an issue and put the dumbs on defence. I think it will be a long time before big oil even thinks about off shore drilling. Too much high quality and easy to drill oil on the planet

zaz August 17th, 2008 8:05 pm writes, "They know how to frame an issue and put the dumbs on defence."
-I know, so it seems, but I think Dems aren't really as stupid and cowardly as they appear.

Democrats go along with Republican policies because they represent the same interests. The Big Money is smart enough to line both their pockets. That's why it doesn't really matter that much who wins, be it McCain or Obama. Either way, the policies that favor the plutocracy/oligarchy will prevail not the policies that favor us.

Witness how giving control of the Congress to Democrats did nothing to stop the war or protect our civil rights (FISA).

It's not the dems or pubs that are the problem as much as it is those who vote for and those who control the votes for those who think they are one or the other.

We need much higher gas and food prices, many more foreclosures and bank failures, higher job losses, more outsourcing, a few major health crises, more wars on at least a half dozen different fronts including a nuclear war; several power plant catastrophes in the US, and several more really bad winters before the public or what's left come to their senses. Fortunately, all of this is on the way.

tailcap (8:23) I agree. I was talking about politics, not character. Both parties take bribes from the same special interests. It's not even a secret anymore.

This is what OTC thinks about Pelosi and the dims.We are so screwed!

I agree with Mr Ted Markow. The interview between Bill Moyers and Andrew Bacevich forced me to drink a few more glasses of wine and was a reality check for all of us seeking a change in direction. I recommend that all of you get a copy of the interview and ship it all over the nation and another to the MSM.

Nancy Pelosi is beyond contempt--she is a sad, silly, witless, and inept figure. In two years other than posing as the woman who broke through the glass ceiling of house leadership what has she done?--not much of anything. Go Cindy Sheehan--not just for this year's election but the next two as well because the Pelos needs replacing.

Politicians are self-cracking nuts in denial.

yes, but how 'bout offshore rigs as green-built eco-villages?
hadn't thought of that, huh?

since the world is getting progressively more sick as we speak, the thing to do is to consider the eventual outcome of having a really solid and debilitating illness

the many strands of nature that support the planet as human habitat are unraveling and dissolving and ... reshaping themselves as ever-more-nauseating balls of disaster and decay

can't wait to see obama shuffle the deck chairs -- or, if the more deliberately obvious borderline personality disordered candidate gets in, how determinedly he will nail them to the deck as the passengers all get water-boarded

What a great and useless list of outraged naiveté -- some of it in SCREAMING CAPS -- and the notion that the Dems are worse than the GOP -- why Karl Rove himself couldn't have blueprinted it any better -- progressives viciously attacking their own. (Assuming all of you ARE the progressives you purport to be.) Of course anyone with half a brain knows offshore drilling is just a giveaway to Big Oil, but why would the Dems do this? You think you have all the answers -- they're cowards, plutocrats, etc. and etc., ad nauseum.

I ask you, for the sake of argument, to consider a different viewpoint: Let's say that following the Dem takeover of Congress after the 2006 elections, Cheney or one of his minions went to the Dem leadership and said "You go along with us until 2009 -- including leaving impeachment off the table, not prosecuting members of the Bush administration and letting us keep our money -- and we'll leave office quietly in January 2007. Oppose us, try to impeach or prosecute any one of us or interfere in our business in any serious way, and we'll declare martial law based on some national emergency, suspend the 2008 elections, and disband Congress. Then we'll see who the military, the media and the people will follow. You might get the country back eventually, but we'll destroy it in the meantime and, of course, there's a good chance you'll never get the country back and we'll be dictators for life. It's your choice."

I imagine none of you dedicated Dem haters ever imagined that or a similar scenario, yet you all know the Bush/Cheney thugs are fully capable of such a move.

That said, I hope Cindy Sheehan beats Nancy Pelosi -- the country needs more progressive 'citizen-politicians' like Ms. Sheehan.

tailcap [August 17th, 2008 5:21 pm] wrote: "Go McKinney! Go Nader! Go anybody but a God-damned Democrat!"

Anybody? The goddamned Constitution Party? The goddamned American Nazi Party? The goddamned Republican Party? You'd really rather see a Republican in the presidency than a Democrat? You'd rather see the country go down the drain completely? That's the kind of pure, vile, unthinking hatred that the far-right neocons display.

RSJ,

Interesting thoughts...once I got through the condescension.

Let me ask you: If the Republicans really had the power to as you say - declare martial law and disband Congress - why wouldn't they just do it without any threats? I mean, the neocons have already shown us what a bunch of fascists they are.

Labeling those who oppose Democratic Party fecklessness and ineptitude as neocons is wrong and naive. Without a strong stance by the people, we will have one party in name and ideology. As it is, the people have been far too silent and we have two parties in name and one in ideology. The people need to scream loudly and often and they absolutely need to hold their representatives' feet to the fire. We are the very last line between an open society and fascism. That fascism is already here is due in major part to the fact that the American people have been silent and lazy.

Finally, I will vote for Obama. I live with one foot in the reality I wish to see, and one in the reality that is. No sense in making the reality that is any worse. And it can get worse.