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Planning for Disaster
When the Executive Branch does not have worst case scenario planning for each kind of energy source-oil, gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar and efficiency-the people are not protected.
Enter the 24/7 oil gusher-leak by BP and Transocean - the rig operator - and the impotence of the federal government to do anything but wait and see if BP can find ways to close off the biggest and growing oil leak in American history. Where is the emergency planning or industry knowhow?
Of course, we all saw Barack Obama's first full press conference in ten months where he said, "In case you were wondering who's responsible? I take responsibility. It is my job to make sure everything is done to shut this down...The federal government is fully engaged, and I'm fully engaged. Personally, I'm briefed every day. And I probably had more meetings on this issue than just about any issue since we did our Afghan review."
Sure, so he's being kept informed. Those are not the words of leadership five weeks after the preventable blowout on the Deepwater Horizon 40 miles off the Louisiana coast. His problem is how long it took for the White House to see this as a national disaster not just a corporate disaster for BP to contain.
That default was not just failing to determine the size of the spill (over ten times greater than BP originally estimated) or the farcical non-regulation, under Republicans and Democrats, by the Minerals Management Service of the Interior Department. It was a failure to realize that our government has no capability, no technology to take control of such disasters or even to find out whether solutions exist elsewhere in the oil and geologic industries. It's like a spreading fire where the perpetrator of the fire has the primary responsibility to put the fire out because there Is no properly equipped public fire department.
James Carville, an Obama loyalist and defender, called out his champion from New Orleans, where he now lives, and told him: "Man, you got to get down here and take control of this!" With what? Obama has a 16 month long record of turning his back on advice from the Cajuns of Louisiana to environmental groups in Washington, DC. He shook off warnings about the pathetic federal regulators, so called, cushy with the oil industry. During his campaigns, he allowed McCain's "drill, baby, drill" to turn him more overtly toward favoring offshore drilling, instead of turning onto offshore windpower.
As the multi-directional and multi-depth oil swarm keeps encircling the Gulf of Mexico, strangling the livelihood of its people, the life of its flora and fauna, with its implacably deadly effect, Obama and his supposedly street smart advisors, led by Rahm Emanuel, started out with a political blunder. Presidential specialist, Professor Paul Light at New York University put his finger on it when he said: "The White House made a deliberate political calculation to stand off...to sort of distance themselves from BP, and they've been hammered on that."
Early on, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told him that the federal government does not possess superior technology to BP. And BP CEO Tony Hayward admitted that BP was not prepared for such a blowout. He said "What is undoubtedly true is that we did not have the tools you would want in your tool kit." Gates really meant that Uncle Sam had nothing superior to nothing or, in less charitable words, was completely out to lunch with the chronic deregulators who still infect our national government.
Obama's cool is turning cold. He is not reacting fast enough to the public rage that is building up and over-riding his vacuous statements about taking responsibility and being briefed daily. Much of this public rage, incidentally, is coming from the southern Gulf rim, whose elected politicians consistently opposed any regulation of their campaign contributing oil companies in order to avert just these kinds of disasters. Only Florida's Congressional delegation said-stay out of Florida's waters.
Politico reported that "Obama skipped the memorial service for the 11 workers killed on the rig earlier this week, instead flying to California, where he collected $1.7 million for Democrats and toured a solar panel plant. On the day that the significant clots of oil started appearing on the Louisiana coast, Obama was sitting down for an interview to talk hoops with TNT's Marv Albert."
He must move to properly sequester all the assets of BP and Transocean to fully pay for their damage, thus assuring Americans that BP will not be able to concoct another Exxon/Valdez escape strategy. He must scour the world of knowledge and experience regarding capping underseas oil blowouts, and not just wait week after week for BP to come up with something.
Nobody says that being president is an easy job, even in the best of times. But a President, who can go all out spending hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan in ways that bleed the taxpayers and breed more anti-American fighters, in part to protect Big Oil in the Middle East, better come back home and stop Big Oil's war here in the Gulf of Mexico. That's how he'd better start defining "homeland security." (See Citizen.org for more on BP.)
151 Comments so far
Show AllNicely stated Ralph.
Sioux Rose
As Arthur Miller intimated through Willie Loman, it's very tough to get by on a shoe-shine and a smile. Obama's abject disregard for lives and livelihoods even makes Condi Rice's shoe shopping in NYC during Katrina look good. The U.S. IS the Titanic; its captain is simulating the role of a theatrical M.C. instead of doing anything remotely akin to guiding the ship of state away from the abyss. Prepare your own life boats, friends...
Barack Obama: directing traffic at a demolition derby.
"simulating the role of a theatrical M.C.", Big O had time to comment on whether basketball star LeBron James should stay in Cleveland...ACK
His calm is becoming quite creepy.
It is weird...Valium? Ativan, maybe?
It's not worth digging up links, but I'm pretty sure Colin Powell extolled the virtues of Ambien.
Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power."
God. Imagine if we could've had Ralph Nader as president from 2004 to 2012. What deluded fools Americans are. And what a ringworm Obama is increasingly revealed to be.
Most of us were taken over with hope for change we could believe in and voted for Obama. We were in the sway of the powerful forces of P.R. We also hold on to a firm belief that there is a difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. WRONG! They are the same, owned by the corporations and working for the corporations.
There is an election in just a few days. Gonna be had again? Gonna stay loyal to the dogs that don't give a fart for you and your family---even for your nation?
Obviously we are in bad shape. The oil disaster, the wars, the economic collapse, the terrible cuts in all of our social programs. All this will continue and intensify if you send the same corrupt people back to Washington to work for the wealthiest 1% of the people of this nation.
Democracy requires people to use their vote with care. If you vote for either a
Democrat or a Republican the disasters will continue and we will all suffer. Please don't vote corporate. There are other candidates on the ballot. Choose one of them or write in your own name. I'm sure you have more ethics than anyone in office now.
You are correct but for one thing: if there is a write-in candidate on your ballot, take the time to find out who it is and write in their name. A write-in candidate is someone who has actually gone through a process with the board of elections that allows them to be on the ballot, and they have the actual chance to be elected that way. You wouldn't have the chance to write in a vote unless someone was running as a write-in candidate; there are no write-in choices otherwise. It's disappointing for a candidate who sees lots of write-in votes for Mickey Mouse, when that candidate was actually willing to take on the responsibility of running a campaign and giving you, the voter, that extra choice.
Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power."
Unfortunately for progressives in my Deep South State all our votes over the last 30 years have constituted a tiny minority of the strongly carpetbagger Republican electorate. We vote anyway, but it seldom does any good except sometimes at the Congressional district or State legislative level. I'm so tired of where this country has been going for sooo long. So tired of most "Amurkans" who are almost to stupid to know up from down.
If we had President Nader instead of President Obama the Gulf would still be in pretty good shape at this moment as I truly believe one of President Nader's first moves once inaugurated would have been to clean house with the Dept. of the Interior and to make massive inspections on all off shore oil rigs.
I believe this "accident" would have been diverted, as there would have been true watch dogs on the rig making sure no dangerous "short cuts" would be taken.
So incredibly sad and unnecessary.
I am being haunted by my failure to stand up for Nader every day. And for the fact that I willingly drank the Democratic Obama Kool-aid.
As my mother always said, "Sorrow never repays."
It's not too late. If we can get Ralph to run again ....
Yes, nicely said Mr. Nader.
Clearly stopping the gusher is the number one priority. And pointing out the ridiculousness of our government allowing potentially catastrophic activity (deep-water drilling) without the expertise to mitigate accidents corrects a grievous failure of MSM.
A smaller, but nevertheless important, point: measuring the flow is not beyond the capability of the government. I understand why BP doesn't want an accurate estimation of the amount of oil released. And I understand why politicians, including President Obama, don't want to hold BP's feet too close to the fire. But shouldn't we progressives be yelling
MEASURE THE DAMN FLOW !!
It' not just the lobbyists, it's the murdochization of the message by the MSM and their corporate talk radio shows. I don't see how we reverse that..they have all the levers of power. Low information dogmatic people who want simple answers love the blame games and division politics.
Sioux Rose
TABILOSA: Excellent analysis and quite well stated.
Very eloquently stated, tabilosa.
*sigh*
I think sometimes you have to take the truth and just run with it. Perhaps quietly. Perhaps feeling alone. Setting an example. DOING what you know to be right. Sticking with it. Showing that it can be done. Putting THAT kind of energy out there.
Don't give up.
(I talk to myself like this every day by the way.)
;-)
2 million registered Democrats voted for Bush in 2000 but they still blamed Nader for Gore's defeat, the same Gore who couldn't even carry his own home state.
10 years later Democratic voters are still blind, they're still ignorant and they're still oblivious to Nader's simple message, that Democrats and Republicans are one and the same. Even the BP disaster can't open the eyes of these tragic people.
Obama's the greatest fraud in American politics history, there's no question. The left would've been better off with McCain, at least we'd have a much clearer enemy in the White House.
Although it is clear that Bill Clinton caused Gore to lose in 2000, many Dems are still blaming Nader for Gore's 2000 election loss.
Gore caused Gore to lose. At that time Clinton was still very popular. If he had been able to run again in 2000, he would have won easily. Gore, like Kerry, was a terrible candidate.
Gore didn't lose, he won, and the Supreme Court allowed Florida to appoint the loser, and the Senate (including Gore) refused to challenge it.
Who actually cares? Gore and Bush are the same. Gore with LIEberman as VP would~ve been the same. One crime agaisnt humanity after the other.
Good point. I do like to try and salvage a tiny bit of dignity for our country by making sure people don't forget we didn't really buy what Bush was selling. Either time. Also we'll have to add counting the damn votes to the list of things that need major repair before we can have a fair election in our supposed democracy.
Gore cost Nader the election.
Oh, ho, touche!
"Executive branch does not have worst case scenario planning for each kind of energy source-...,wind, solar..."
I'm trying to imagine the worst case scenarios for wind and solar. The sun is partially blocked by a massive volcanic eruption? Global warming changes wind patterns putting most of the wind in the OPEC countries? Use your imagination and come up with some disaster scenario for a wind or solar facility.
With wind, I often wonder if, when taken up to scale, it will suck up the breezes, just like damns stop water flow. Rivers aren't really rivers anymore but lakes behind a damn. We view hydropower as an environmentally sound technology, but it's not really. With less wind will seeds and insects get to where they need to go? Will the stank air cause mold to florish in place? Will we need more air conditioning to compensate?
Let's slow the economy down. Let's plant trees for shade. Let's build less energy intensive communities, Let's make green roofs etc. Deep conservation and efficiency should be the first priority.
I agree, but I would trade wind turbines and such for existing coal power plants in a heartbeat too :-)
Wind and solar facilities will surely have their environmental impacts too. They will be extraordinarily less damaging than those of the oil industry, but they will have their impacts of some kind, at least in altering local temperature and wind patterns. Some day in the future we'll have to take even another step toward less impact with whatever technology will follow current state of the art wind and solar harvesting.
Excellent article!
This is the best analysis I have seen of the disaster.
Sequestering all of the assets is a good first step, right down to every personal asset of Tony Hayward.
"Much of this public rage, incidentally, is coming from the southern Gulf rim, whose elected politicians consistently opposed any regulation of their campaign contributing oil companies in order to avert just these kinds of disasters."
Excellent point which has not been addressed elsewhere as far as I know.
This "excellent point" is quite obvious to informed progressives; where it wont be addressed is in the MSM.
It's ALL obvious!
Nader's emphasis, here, is better than other accounts I have read.
Ralph,
The worst case scenario planning for this disaster had already been envisioned and written down almost 50 years ago.
The planning and outline of this man-made global disaster was envisioned and written in 1963 by Kurt Vonnegut in his amazingly prescient "Cat's Cradle" in the form of "Ice-Nine", and the inevitable misuse of technology, which turned all the oceans of the world into solid water at 114 degrees.
What is truly amazing is that Vonnegut's imagination of idol scientific research in a corporate controlled world specifically requested to solve a militarist dream (of getting Marines out of mud) leads to the development of an alteration of water to a self-propagating form that freezes solid at 114 degrees --- and inexorably perverts that research in a way that destroys the whole earth's water supply through an unconsidered 'negative externality cost' (the escape of "Ice-Nine" crystals).
Actually, Vonnegut's fictional 'black-humor' vision of such a global disaster is slightly LESS nasty, amoral, and perverse than the factual reality of the BP blow-out --- which may be our ultimate 'blow-back' caused by this real-life Global corporate/financial/militarist EMPIRE --- since in Vonnegut's novel the pollution and destruction of the world's water is an accidental release of the "Ice-Nine" seeds of extinction, whereas, in the factual existential disaster being caused by this heartless EMPIRE (which now controls our world) the mixing of Corexit dispersant with the escaping oil, 5000 feet below the surface, it is quite clear that the chemical destruction of all the world's oceans was purposely done to merely try to hide the massive 'negative externality costs' by keeping a designed oil-water mix of deadly and unnatural proportions floating "out of sight" at a sub-surface depth of about 1000 feet.
This epic effort to hide the existential 'negative externality costs' of off-shore oil drilling below the surface of the world's seas is far more global and deadly than the minor corporate crime of cigarette corporations 'hiding' cancer in the lungs of their 'customers', or of W.R. Grace hiding negative externality costs of intentional chemical dumping in local ground water, or of Cheney's Manville subsidiary corporation hiding the known 'negative externality costs' of asbestos mining in their workers lungs.
No, this 'gaming' of the well known 'market flaw', that is never talked about by corporate paid economists (even though they understand it clearly), and which has been lied about under oath and in front of Congress by no less a 'free market capitalist apologist' than Alan Greenspan, is the ultimate LIE of unregulated capitalism: --- that 'negative externality costs' can be dumped with guileful impunity, arrogance, and contempt for the entire world and all its citizens, and that that dumping of 'negative externality cost' can, and WILL, destroy our world and species without causing any sweat on the balls of this god-damn EMPIRE.
This bad ending reminded me of a poem, ‘Requiem’, which Kurt Vonnegut inserted in his last book, “A Man Without a Country”. The ending lines of Kurt’s poem read:
When the last living thing
has died on account of us,
how poetic it would be
if the Earth could say,
in a voice floating up
perhaps
from the floor
of the Grand Caynon,
“It is done.”
People did not like it here.
The global corporate elite Empire, that hides behind its phony facade of “Vichy America”, and acts like a giant predatory vacuum cleaner to suck up resource wealth for that elite reminds me that we are all treated “like toys a rich kid got for Christmas” — which is another line of Vonnegut’s, God bless him.
"And so it goes".
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
Sioux Rose
Another excellent post, Alan. You are an asset to this forum. Thank you.
Bring America Back !!!!
***Nah ! Now comes our favorite Monday Morning Quarterback, Greenguy Nader to explain how it all should've been done !
***Muckraker Nader appears to be educated enuff to suggest that BP and TransOcean assets be assumed by the Govt to assure damages from the Oil Disaster are paid off !
***But wait, there is a "Usual Suspect" ignored here by Nader, (unforgiveable error considering the activist Nader claims to be), and that Suspect is named "Halliburton", Prince Dick Cheney's Halliburton, which has it's dirty hands all over that Oil Rig !!
***Halliburton===indicted and convicted for Iraq kickbacks; unable to feed US Troops untainted food at the battlefield; and famously working to take Iraqi oil for profit, not to stop terrorisms. Notorious history of corruption, racketeering in all matters Oil ! How could someone like Nader fail to even mention Halliburton ????
***In the months preceeding the explosion date, there is evidence that there were safety problems at that rig and well, ignored by BP et al. Would not, a sabateur for example, use that inside info to go ahead and rock our political world ?? We do not know exactly what spark set off that explosion, and it is likely the FBI will ignore the facts just as well as they did on the 9/11 Tragedy.
***The Neocons have been successful at getting Saviour Obama to take possession of "W"'s illegal, immoral, faux war on terror==which He's willingly expanded; and yeaterday we heard it from his mouth again==" I take responsibility" for the Oil Rig/Spill Disaster.
***Obama has been a great "Patsy" for the Repubby Neocon crimes---and He has no-one else to blame---as it was and is his Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who refused to place Impeachment of "W" on her Table ! Obama's DoJ refuses to "look back" to investigate crimes of all kinds.
***Once again, this sets up Obama as the Fall Guy, esp when Nader points up that, instead of attending funerals for the 11 oil rig fatalities--The Prez goes to Calif to collect campaign donations and tour a solar panel plant !
***Nader fails to factor that, even now, Obama probably knows he will NOT be re:elected, even as his Rahmbo Guy plunges ahead to turn the Govt back over to the Neocons, after 4 years. Obama does not really care, for he is already a legend in his own time--braking the color barrier finally, and able to get big bucks from Think Tanks and Lobby Tanks ever more than Presidential Pay !!
***With Halliburton's notorious record, would not a judicious FBI be closely monitoring their behaviour and conduct in any 'high security' operation==and in a prevention sense stop them; or, as was with 9/11 they had much pre 9/11 evidence of the attacks, but ignored it !!
Just ask Colleen Rowley or Sibel Edmunds !
***Who provided the 'Spark' which set off that Oil Rig, for several thousand other working oil rigs don't seem to set themselves off !!!! Would someone like Nader just pass it off , perhaps to a lightning strike, and just plain ignore the ominous presence of a Halliburton==the dirty dealing political consequences of their history--and ties to our Neocon Second Pearl Harbor, and the Shock and Awe of an all out attack on a defenseless, sovereign nation in Iraq !
***We now will have the usual onslaught of Naders Raiders blaming us Progressives for not electing their Green Guy 10 years ago, and how sharp Nader is for pointing out this usual oil slick like Exon Valdez
***For one, I continue to NOT be impressed with Nader's bad boy methodologies, and his gathering fodder for his next blockbuster book !
When a Nader overlooks a Halliburton, we really must severely question his motives, and hope as well he does not ever put himself on the ballot again !!!
Your rambling, disjointed post is almost unreadable, and beyond that, I do not see what your criticism of Nader is at all, at all.
"The spark" that set off the explosion when gas rushed up from the well could have been caused by electrical systems on the rig.
"When a Nader overlooks a Halliburton, we really must severely question his motives, and hope as well he does not ever put himself on the ballot again !!!"
I am quite sure that Nader is well aware of Halliburton and its machinations. What your cluttered =!!!post***!! has forced me to do is question YOUR motives.....nah, it aint worth my time.
So, let me get this straight, It's Halliburton's, not BP's fault?
There is no doubt Hallibuton is a criminal enterprise, but, like most of your Nader bashing ilk, you fail to see the bigger picture in your attempts to personally smear Nader.
Halliburton was a contractor, a criminal one to be sure, but a contractor, nonetheless. As far as this rig is concerned, going after Haliburton, without first addressing BP, gets BP off the hook, but apparently that's OK with you. And it will not preclude Halliburton activities in other areas, or even other oil rigs. Going after BP will, in the course of discovery, necessarily involve action against the other parties involved, most probably a suit by BP against Halliburton to cover its ass and recoup losses, and will make it quite clear to other oil companies that they had better avoid Halliburton if they wish to avoid BP's fate ..
Nader overlook Halliburton? I don't think so.
As far as FBI oversite, under whose admin. has this been lacking? Seems to me the Dems have done no better in that dep't.
When you "overlook" these simple points, your real motivation comes out - trash Ralph to remove him as a potential threat to your obviously beloved Dems (or are you a Ron Paul fan)? Aren't you out a bit early? Or just running more scared this time around?
"Us" progressives? Who is the "us" you include yourself with?
Well Aquifer....they tell me Nader is too old to make a run for the Prez,, and you've got to admit his last two attempts were last minute spoil sport trips.
That leaves him writing books, blogging like us, and doing his usual last
minute miracle mile.
I was hoping for an early run by Dennis Kucinich, until they gave him a
free ride on AF #1 ! But, if Nader would seriously declare now, given the
probable alternatives, I could vote for a Nader candidacy ! Ron Paul==NOT
(And to the Post below, sorry for the "Clutter" and I still have to
learn how to 'cut and paste', too.
===Thanks to both for commenting on my post, seriously. TruthKnoller
Hmmm, change of tone, from a Ralph basher to a possible supporter??? Gotta admit, that was a little too easy .....
In any case, his last two attempts were not "last minute spoil sport trips". He runs when there is no progressive alternative on the ballot. Notice that he waited until Kucinich was drummed out by the Dems.
I, too, supported Kucinich the last 2 times. When he deep-sixed, i switched to Nader - same progressive platform. Obama was (is) a fraud, obvious to any who were paying attention, and too many weren't. If not for Nader, I may well have not voted at all. I have voted for Nader 4 times, for the same reason - he was the best candidate - and I would do so again.
Kucinich, for me, was basically the only real suggestion that the Dems could reform from within. When he caved on healthcare, that game was over for me. If party politics can successfully cow a guy like him, (unless I was fooled by him all along, as folks have been fooled by Obama) there is no hope for political salvation from a party, any party; the Greens have their political intrigues as well. For me, it's the man or woman, not the Party.
As for being too old, age is relative. Would you prefer a wise old man to a foolish young one? Age has its advantages, experience, institutional knowledge and a history upon which you can judge.
===Thanks again Aquifer...I don't know, I think Nader gets a vicarious kick out of
exercising his 'right-to-run', chance or no chance, then letting the votes
fall where they may, usually benefitting from whatever press comes with it.
***(To Kitaj below) Kitaj if you return to blog, I just have to refer you
to todays CD in the News column--where the BP sign is, and with the intro words:
"BP and Halliburton....." Please read and learn.
Well, I suppose if you consider Nader to be an inveterate masochist, you could believe he gets a "kick" out of the process. Check out Therese Amato's "Grand Illusion" for an idea how much of a "kick" it was ...
The only "kick" Nader got was, literally, OUT of the process.
As far as "right to run", for him or any non Dem/Rep, I refer you again to the book. One of the things he uses his candidacy for is to establish that very right. It is not only the media which makes it difficult, but every Dem/Rep legislature that writes ballot access laws. That's the simplest way to keep out the opposition, make ballot access for Indies or 3rd parties, monumentally difficult and expensive - the rules are not the same for them as for the Dem/Reps.
The next maneuver to squash the opposition, if he/she actually achieves the monumental feat of getting ON the ballot, is to trash the candidate personally or merely dismiss him/her as a "can't win" - maneuvers I see all over the place, in the MSM, and even in "progressive" media (sound familiar?) This has been brutally effective, but only because folks don't think twice about their absurdity but merely parrot what they hear from some "authoritative" source ....
By way of example, CD didn't even get the title of his book correct, but at least they print his stuff periodically ..
I agree with you, Aquifer.
Obama lost my vote, due to his war votes, his vote for the FISA Bill, and the fact that he took the exact same positions as John McCain during the pre-POTUS Election Foreign Policy debate. To me, those were a clear indication of where Obama's Candidacy and to-be POTUS agenda were going. Yet, I didn't want the McCain/Palin ticket in ;power, either. After weighing the pros and cons, I wrote in my own ticket at the polls during the POTUS Election, and have no regrets, except for the fact that Kucinich capitulated at the last minute and voted for the disastrous "Obama"care bill that recently passed. Since Kucinich was the last real progressive Democrat who'd always stuck to his guns despite flack all around him, I was disappointed when he voted for this healthcare "reform" bill. It was then that I decided to make a switch over to the Independent Party, which I did. The idea that it's the man or woman, not the party is spot-on, Aquifer. Thanks.
The irony of your post, is you are completely blind to the fact that Nader has been correct all along about the two political parties, and it is just this disaster that brings that to light.
If it was Bush in the White House deferring to BP and its contractors for every aspect of responding to this bloody disaster, then so-called 'progressives' would be rightly outraged.
Instead, it is really stunning to witness your contortions of 'principle' in Oilbama apologetics.
Ralph is not the demon here. It is 'progressives' that are moving to the right with Oilbama and are showing utmost capacity for cognitive dissonance.
Please, stop refering to the center rightists of the Corporate Democratic Party as Progressives, if you need to call them something, call them what we call their Republican brethren, Regressives! Slime, scum, rats, and shit for brains are also acceptable expletives!
TruthKnoller is just being practical and I like that. What do you purists want? You just want Republicans to win so you can complain about the Democrats for another four years. Why don't you support Green partiers in Texas? You purists act like juveniles and that behavior will keep voters voting Democrat. 70 million voters chose Obama, less than 750,000 chose Nader. It sucks to be a loser like you. My party won and your party lost and will never win. Third parties never had a chance and they never will and you f--king purists will guranteee it.
Hmmm, I'm not quite sure I understand, why do we need Rep. to win in order to complain about Dems?
Shucks, Shawn, TruthKnoller said above that he might consider voting for Nader. Getting a little more lonely out there?
If you want to see a prescient warning about Deepwater Horizon's sister well, Atlantis, check out:
http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1195
It speaks of the Atlantis, in Nov. '09, but is an eerie description of Deepwater.
Sign the petition, while you're at it, it's too late for Deepwater, but not for Atlantis ...
Ralph, it's time to start fundraising for '12, I'm in, as I have been for over a decade ...
Ralph can run as a Democrat and defeat Obama in the primaries. He can't win as a third party.
Wow, Shawn, does that mean you'd vote for him if he ran as a Dem?
I voted for Kucinich during the primaries but respected Obama despite his disappointments in the general election. My first choice would be Nader as a Democrat if Nader were to run as one. He has a higher chance of winning as a Democrat than as a third party. I support anyone further to the left as long as they are Democrat. Republicans are always right wingers and third parties have no chance of winning elections based on historical data and the system that crushes them from the start. If Nader or any progressive wants to run as a third party, then they don't want to run for office and make a difference because they know that they have no chance of winning. If a third party such as the Green Party could be competitive, then I would take my chance with them but they don't and the system doesn't give third parties a chance to win so either we try to moderate the Republicans or pressure the Democrats to move left. We don't have any other viable or realistic options.