Just a reminder, the fish, the pelicans, the dolphins, the oysters, the grasses etc.

[G_j]

don't belong to a political party. So if you're more upset about criticism of a Democratic pres. and "RW talking points" are you really focused on saving the ocean, coasts and wildlife?

Right now, I could care less if Obama has a D or an R in front of his name.
This is the utmost emergency.

[flvegan]

1. Somebody gets it. n/t

[aquart]

2. Yep.

[wildbilln864]

4. +1! nt

[H2O Man]

3. Recommended.

Thanks.

[scarletwoman]

5. k&r - thank you.

[LWolf]

6. I find the whole mess so painful

I can't stand to tune in; every time I do it's worse. It's not a political game. It may have political implications, but at this point, stopping the leak, cleaning up the mess, and giving habitat and species a chance for recovery is the only priority.

[G_j]

10. exactly, though most here are political junkies

and of course there will be political enough fallout for everyone.
BUT, this is not a political emergency,
this is a life and death situation of absolute urgency.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. You are correct.

There is need for a VERY concerted effort.

[stray cat]

8. And it means less consumption of oil if you really care

[G_j]

11. absolutely nt

[MUAD_DIB]

9. Everybody is an expert on DU. It's easy. Just fix the problem right now.

It's childishly simple. Just fix the problem right now.

[Captain Hilts]

13. Some people see it being about Obama instead of wildlife. nt

[MUAD_DIB]

23. It's obviously about the later, and I feel as sick as everybody else about this.

I can't watch what is happening on TV without wondering how soon will it be before we kill ourselves off.

I'm not an expert on how to shut off a well, but I am also not an expert at telling everybody that nothing is being done.

I mean, this mess is massive.

[CrispyQ]

28. "...how soon will it be before we kill ourselves off."

Not soon enough. Too bad we'll take so many beautiful creatures & plants with us.


Song In Space

When man first flew beyond the sky
He looked back into the world's blue eye.

Man said: What makes your eye so blue?
Earth said: The tears in the ocean do.

Why are the seas so full of tears?
Because I've wept so many thousand years.

Why do you weep as you dance through space?
Because I am the mother of the Human Race.

~Adrian Mitchell

[earth mom]

31. Bullshit. Obama is in charge and he needs to get busy and BE in charge in order to save

the wildlife and the ocean and the planet before it's too damn late!

[ljm2002]

17. Jesus H Christ on a pogo stick...

...why is it childish to ask for a single chain of command headed by the chief executive to ensure that red tape is cut through, that everyone is clear on priorities, and to make sure that effective action is taken? It's not just capping the well, we all know that is an extremely challenging operation that will be carried out by highly trained technical experts. But the cleanup efforts need to be coordinated right now, decisions need to be made about what methods will be used, etc. Currently, among other outrages, we have BP thumbing their nose at the EPA in regard to the dispersant they are using. Why isn't President Obama telling their asses to shape up, and backing it up with immediate and very large fines, just as one example of the kind of thing he could be doing?

Why is it childish to expect that those making the decisions share with us what the tradeoffs are? For example: they are going to try a "top kill" method to kill the well. Okay, great. What are the tradeoffs? Right now we hear it has about a 60%-70% chance of succeeding. Okay, great, sounds like we should try it. But then again what is the chance this makes the leak even more catastrophic? 1%? 10%? 20%? I think they need to share this with us -- even though none of us will have a say in the decision, we have a right to know how the decision is made.

There is a lot being done, that is undeniable and I for one am not going to sit here and claim that President Obama is not doing anything. But there is a leadership gap. He has not taken charge. When asked if the government can do more, his spokespeople are still saying "Well the law requires that BP clean it up...blah blah blah" and that just doesn't cut it.

We have the Coast Guard Admiral in charge talking about how "We inserted a pipe..." What's this "We" shit? Normal usage would be "They inserted a pipe..." but instead the lines between the Coast Guard and BP are blurred. Yet, at the same time, we are told repeatedly that there is a bright line between what BP can do vs what the government can do. So which is it?

Befuddled message and lack of coordination. Yes there is a massive effort underway. But as any general will tell you, there must be a unified strategy and that comes from the top.

[Bluebear]

19. Don't even waste your breath.

[MUAD_DIB]

20. Like I wrote before; everybody is an expert...

[ljm2002]

24. Weak. n/t

[Ignis]

27. In our own government? Yes, that's why it's "We The People."

If you can't take any criticism of our President's (mis)handling of this crisis, you're more worried about the letter behind his name than his effectiveness.

[SammyWinstonJack]

26. +1000!

:applause:

[xultar]

32. [phone] gazillion brazillion trillion billion million trillion cicillion hillion

[Captain Hilts]

12. They're 'wildlife' NOT 'foodstocks'. THANK YOU. nt

[Quantess]

16. Good point. But, does it really matter when they and their habitats are dead?

[tranche]

14. How does wetting yourself on DU help the birds and the fishes?

It goes both ways here. People are slobbering all over themselves on this site and that doesn't do jack shit to help either.

[EFerrari]

18. This is a discussion board. Did you think you were entering a NOAA facility?

There's a sign right on the door.

[MUAD_DIB]

22. I see more posturing than discussion sometimes.

[freddie mertz]

30. And how did this insulting contribution help anything?

Oh, wait, you didn't want to....:thumbsdown: :nuke:

[QC]

15. Thank you.

I thought I was pretty hard bitten, but I never imagined that so many people here would look at such an environmental catastrophe as this and declare that the truly serious issue at hand is people on a message board speaking in an insufficiently reverent manner about their favorite politician.

Whoever said you can never be quite cynical enough was right.

[Cetacea]

21. We may lose the pod of gulf sperm whales.

The absolute top of the food chain. Living on the planet for 30 million years. Largest complex brain. It's so depressingly symbolic.

[greencharlie]

25. +1 nt

[freddie mertz]

29. Tell it! K & R!!!!

[MisterP]

33. especially a "drill here drill now" party

no matter how grand and wonderful its past voting record was

it's now nonsensical to say that "the Dems are the only ones who've ever voted to protect the environment"; it's like Blair drumming up support by citing Kinnock's work for health and unions, or like El Señor Presidente Manuel Estrada thundering that "the enemies of liberalism are the enemies of humanity" while slaughtering hundreds