Two short bits of news out of the US:
- Judge overturns moratorium on deepwater drilling at behest of the oil companies that have no idea how to fix it if something goes wrong; and
- Texas Republican Party announces platform to criminalise gay marriage, ban oral and anal sex, outlaw strip clubs and pornography. (Seriously – not just refuse to recognise gay marriage, but send people to jail for it.)
There’s something very rotten in the Deep South.
Moved On 
I can only imagine how hot under the collar these Texas republicans were getting when writing about such kinky bedroom play as a blowjob. No doubt they had to watch Ed Current’s ‘resisting the urge’ when they got home…
Lets see what happens when a Texas Republican is busted in a brothel getting a blow job…
You really ought to keep to Australian politics, Jeremy. Without commenting on the Texas story, deepwater drilling is one of the only industries left in the area, and a moratorium would further devastate local economies and throw even more people out of work. Yes, BP certainly shares the blame here, but you ought to look closely at the Obama administration’s incredible fecklessness in failing to (a) mobilise and (b) accept aid from, say, the Dutch, who could have been a big help.
But I suppose it is easier to make slurs against the US South (which I recommend for your future travels; block out a couple of weeks and take your time making your way from Graceland to Austin, and you’ll see America in all its glory).
Have you been drinking the Sarah Palin kool-aid again, shabs? What specific aid did the Obama administration turn down? Links please.
The problem with the deepwater drilling is that nobody knows how to fix it up if it goes wrong.
If you reckon someone has a solution, by all means, share it with us.
I like the idea of making it illegal to issue a marriage licence when such a licence is not valid anyway. Has lots of future possibilities, like making new laws to outlaw issuing driving licences to kids under 16.
By the way, is there any truth to the rumour that Rupert Murdoch is seeking Fijian citizenship?
Here:
http://www.financialpost.com/Avertible+catastrophe/3203808/story.html
Part of this has to do with Obama’s refusal to do anything about the protectionist Jones Act: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/06/21/robert-bluey-gulf-spill-katrina-jones-act-waive-obama/
Lest you think I’m some Murdoch troll, Mother Jones gives Obama a serious spanking as well: http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/06/obama-and-bp-spill-command-gap
The farce that was BP execs fronting Congress where we learn that the company’s emergency management plans included 20+ pages of handling the media and PR, and less than half that for actually managing the emergency itself was ludicrous.
Unless oil companies can demonstrate clear capacity to plug oil leaks within 3 to 4 days, offshore drilling should be banned.
Putting aside Shabs’ ridiculous assertion that the South is “America in all its glory”, his criticism of Obama’s response to the spill is warranted.
Obama is increasingly showing himself to be as beholden to the Beltway corporate lobbyists as his predecessor – if not moreso. His administration’s response to this disaster clearly shows a man more committed to playing politics than achieving an actual result.
I’m not saying the Republicans would be any better – in fact I’m quite sure they would be markedly worse – but that doesn’t excuse Obama.
What we’re seeing in the Gulf is merely Act 2 of the USA’s painful lesson in why it’s foolish to allow corporate executives to set national policy. We’ve had the financial disaster and now an environmental disaster, both brought about by a total corruption of the government’s regulatory role.
It doesn’t matter which party is in power or what the President’s name is. It’s politics as usual in the United Corporates of America.
Further to which: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64420A20100505