Oil Spill: Why Were Bush's People Still There?

[ensho]

http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2010/05/oil_spill_why_w.htm


The Minerals Management Service of the Interior Department was supposed to be regulating and inspecting the oil rig that exploded. They weren't. They were a "captured" regulator. This was entirely due to the conservative deregulation ideology.

President Obama took office in January 2009. This is May, 2010. Why were those Bush people still there?

Where else in our government are Bush holdovers, and why hasn't President Obama gotten rid of them? We want a return to Rule of Law not Rule of Big Corporations. We voted for that. Where is the President We, the People voted for?
-----------------------


there are neo cons still in every govt. dept.
they should be outed. they are there to cause trouble.

[Why Syzygy]

1. Obama appointed Ken Salazar.

His agency is still fighting in the courts for the right to avoid regulations which are ON THE BOOKS! Stop blaming BUSH. Obama is at the helm now. So weak to keep brushing this off the DEMOCRAT!

[Frances]

2. And the Republicans have not held up any of Obama's nominees

WRONG!!!

They even held up Homeland Security nominees. The Repubs have held up more nominations of Obama than any party has ever held up nominees of any President.

But, of course, that's Obama's fault.

Looks to me as though you have fallen for the Repubs' obstruction techniques hook, line, and sinker. Better vote for Palin and Rand Paul. And I'm sure there's a tea party being held near you.

[FBI_Un_Sub]

17. The GOP Senate Gerontocracy

has been very effective at placing holds on Obama nominees. It's about the only thing they can do.

[Why Syzygy]

23. Maybe they should have blocked Salazar

The Salazar Quotient

http://www.counterpunch.org/wharton05122010.html

In April 2009, the DOI’s Mineral Management
Service (MMS) provided BP with a “categorical exclusion” from impact
...studies mandated by the EPA. BP was not alone. A DOI spokesperson told
the Washington Post that the agency routinely grants 250 to 400 waivers
per year. Much like he had the coal companies in the Powder River
Basin, Salazar allowed BP and other offshore drillers to operate outside
of the law.

[inna]

25. wow, thanks for the link. nt

[w4rma]

3. Blame the DLCers. (nt)

[HillbillyBob]

5. Appointing Salazaar is just one of the disappointments of Pres O

ON the other hand he should have cleaned house and put all new blood in there, instead of retreads from Clinton and Bush and should have fired every Bush admin appointee.
It is not whining to say that either KS is only one.
Bush installed some 290 appellate judge/attorneys etc that were 'graduates' of the unaccredited Liberty U(jerry fallwells) and Regent U (pat robertson(robberson?)) and a fair number were from Bob Jones the other biggie fundy 'schools'.

I would have to spend time I don't have today to track that all down again.
I did have it on hard drive..which got zapped even though there was surge protection a direct lightning strike on the building did not help.

Link to 2007 article abt Regent appointees.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/04/08/scandal_puts_spotlight_on_christian_law_school/

Snip
"But even in its darker days, Regent has had no better friend than the Bush administration. Graduates of the law school have been among the most influential of the more than 150 Regent University alumni hired to federal government positions since President Bush took office in 2001, according to a university website.

One of those graduates is Monica Goodling , the former top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who is at the center of the storm over the firing of US attorneys. Goodling, who resigned on Friday, has become the face of Regent overnight -- and drawn a harsh spotlight to the administration's hiring of officials educated at smaller, conservative schools with sometimes marginal academic reputations."
snip.

It seems to me that the legal profession loses face and prestige with this kind of crap. Then you have all the monsanto folks that have been appointed to USDA, FDA et al.

[dkf]

11. Yup. Obama's choice of Salazar is the big fail.

[Traveling_Home]

4. I was a contractor (computer consultant) at MMS 8 years ago

It is much scarier than you think. They were not Neocons. They were all typical government employees going through the motions of doing typical government jobs. You can't fire them. Think of the porn people at SEC and elsewhere.

THEY ARE EVERYWHERE AND THEY RUN GOVERNMENT NO MATTER WHO IS IN CHARGE.

They are potentially the biggest negative force to the President's re-election 2012. But not out of malice and not 'cause their Neocons. They are simply the faceless bureaucrats of Government. I don't think we can directly address their influence. No Administration ever has.

That's why it's much scarier than you think.

JMO of course

[ensho]

7. the people you speak about are there and so are the neo cons

nt

[Jennicut]

10. There were Bush appointees in charge of MMS but the people caught

up in some the scandals were just normal longtime govt. workers. That IS worse. Thanks for your perspective.

[Itchinjim]

6. Because Obama is a secret republican of course.

He's a corporate whore who is personally responsible for the oil spill. And he and his Big Oil pals are purposely hindering the clean up any way they can because they hate the environment! I read it on DU so it must be true!

[slackmaster]

8. The same reason former Nazis were allowed to work in the West German government after WWII

Sometimes the best available experts have spotty pasts.



"Once the rockets go up,
Who cares where they come down?
That's not my department!"
says Werner Von Braun.

- Lyrics by Tom Lehrer

[ensho]

9. spotty? it should be criminal pasts

nt

[slackmaster]

12. Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown

"Eh, Nazi Schmazi!" says Werner Von Braun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv041-dAnqs

[ThoughtCriminal]

13. There were a substantial number of Bush political appointees

who got "Embedded" by switching them from appointed to career positions in the late days of the Administration. I do not know any specific names, but back in 2008, there was discussion about it here.

Edit
Here's an example - it was called "Burrowing"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/17/bush-burrowing-key-politi_n_144519.html

ust weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies -- including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions -- into senior civil service posts.

The transfer of political appointees into permanent federal positions, called "burrowing" by career officials, creates federal sinecures for those employees, and at least initially will deprive the incoming Obama administration of the chance to install its preferred appointees in some key jobs.

[jaxx]

15. Also how he cut environmental safety

Washington - George Bush is working at a breakneck pace to dismantle at least 10 major environmental safeguards protecting America's wildlife, national parks and rivers before he leaves office in January.

http://www.truthout.org/112108B

[malaise]

19. Ding ding

We have a winner. It is no easy task to fire these people.

[tiptoe]

21. Prove the election-fraudulent basis of the "man" who appointed them

would be a start to correcting the scam.


PROVING ELECTION FRAUD: Mark Crispin Miller and Michael Collins review the book

 

[HughMoran]

14. It sure sounds easy

...a horrible accident happens, then the blame game starts. It won't stop the oil. It's unlikely that replacing the entire MMS crew would have prevented the fateful decision BP made to take a shortcut that day, but you never know.

[Individualist]

16. Why? DLC/NDC

[robinlynne]

18. the EAC. in charge of elections. fully Bush appointed.

[Wilms]

29. "the EAC. in charge of elections" is pushing it a bit.

No defense of the EAC, of course. It vacillates between doing nothing and doing harm. But indeed the disaster known as the US' election management systems knows no such bounds.

[robinlynne]

30. doing nothing? They are hiring election corporations to decide which election systems we should use

that's way to the right of nothing....

[Wilms]

32. We're kinda off topic here.

And again, no defense of the EAC intended. You're statement is hardly an accurate description of what the problem is. They aren't "hiring election corporations". And anyone checking would think what?

To me, that's another problem. Like the problem of the many who are impressed by the fact that they vote on paper, but are oblivious to the fact that the paper is counted by a computer.

I really wish election reform advocates would tone down the rhetoric and instead, advance the facts despite the complexities and resistance to expression via catch-phrase.

[robinlynne]

33. The Eac recently hired the vice president of one of the election corporations

to do an "independent analysis' of which voting machines should be federally certified. This was done within the past year.

[Wilms]

34. Care to provide a link?

Of course not. That's because the the person was hired to be PART of a group.

http://www.eac.gov/News/press/new-technical-and-scientific-experts-appointed-to-eac2019s-technical-guidelines-development-committee/base_view

And that was done because HAVA requires the EAC to do it. And HAVA was written, in no small part, by two Dems. And since it was done "this past year", it isn't a Bush appointee or holdover.

So there. I think your average Progressive is served better by my post than yours. Again, no defense of the EAC. And no Foxification of the facts either. It's really not that hard.

(I can do this all day. I despise inaccurate and misleading statements as much as I abhor uncertifiable elections.)

[robdogbucky]

20. I still want to know

What transpired in the secret national energy policy meetings held by Cheney back when?

Why not go back to the likely source for answers?

Why not investigate the criminals from the past admin that put the reckless over the top deregulation schemes into action?

Oh, I get it, it would just be another dog and pony show, a piece of political theater, and everyone would run for cover and all would be shrouded under "national security."

Again, failure to hold the Bush cabal accountable for their actions/crimes is the current admin's first and to date biggest mistake.

No, Holder has more important things to do, like twiddle his thumbs over the Arizona situation and slam the fascist boot of the War on Some Drugs in our faces yet again regarding the upholding of oppressive and disingenuous marijuana laws.

And all folks can do is to say that we know there are all these stay behinds, these imbeds, still in place influencing policy and actions.

Intentional? Necessary? Politically Expedient?

Silence is aquiesence.

Gutless wonders in DC.



Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[lonestarnot]

22. shooteminthefacedick is in the pile somewhere. I know it.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[quaker bill]

26. It is called "burrowing"

Below a certain paygrade, civil service protection still exists in the federal system. What this means in practical terms is that folks below the senior management classes can only be fired "for cause". Above this class are political appointees who can be fired "at will".

This level of job potection was negotiated many years ago and was granted in exchange for a prohibition on strikes. Folks subject to civil service protections have no legal right to strike but have the right to only be fired "for cause" and the right to challenge any termination by hearing, where "cause" must be shown.

A good number of the Bush appointees were known to be "burrowing", specifically, transferring to lower paygrade jobs where these protections would apply. Once there and past "probation" is becomes quite tough to get rid of them, as long as they are doing their jobs. In enforcement, running cases, but being less aggressive about it is a tough case to make for a "for cause" termination. Once something bad happens, the pathway is quite a bit clearer.

[SoCalDem]

27. Because "changing" everyone left over from the previous admin is like

turning a battleship around in a bathtub.

No matter how "bad" all the people are, in the various departments/agencies, they still need warm bodies there to run things day-to-day, and it takes time to change key people who can then re-structure the agencies.....and remember, Obama has met severe opposition to everything he has tried to accomplish.

republicans are famous for "salting" every agency with insurgents who work from within to undermine..

they did it to PBS
they did it to NASA
they did it to NOAA
they even planted key people in the Sierra Club
they have "people" at every level in government

[Lorien]

28. Why weren't Bush, Cheney and Co. held accountable for their crimes?

I suspect the answers are all closely connected.. :grr:

[Lagomorph]

31. During those years, Bush got everything he wanted from Congress.

They were too busy attaching earmarks to his budget demands to actually vote down the spending requests.

The government collects Billion$ from offshore drilling and they have to send out Billion$ in checks every month.

It's really not any more complicated than that.