49 Replies to ““Tyranny rises in the name of the little guy””

  1. Since Levin usually airs in the evenings, it’s particularly fun to listen when he’s up against a live Obama speech in prime time.
    The radio station broadcasts the speech, punctuated by Levin yelling, “Shut up, you dummy!”

  2. Excellent. An outline of an insidious corruption of the US government via Obama and the radical socialists of the BackRoom Gang who run him.
    The checks and balances of a government originally set up to be in the control of the people is being eroded by this gang. They are using constant misinformation and emotional manipulation and speed as their tactics.
    Remember how the stimulus, a massive pork scheme to maintain Democrat power in various states in the US was set up? By insisting that the situation was a fiscal crisis; that the bill did not need to be read and debated by Congress but was to be passed immediately via ‘their trust’ in Obama. The similarity to the Liberal Party’s sponsorship scandal is obvious.
    Health Care – same thing. Don’t read or debate it, but save 40 million people from doctors cutting off limbs-for-money. And it won’t cost a penny. Of course, that’s a sham and we find out that govt is forcing people to buy insurance when they don’t want to. So much for ‘power of the people’.
    BP? The govt, and one man, Obama, has no right to tell a private company to hand over millions, to be overseen by the govt. Heh – will it be used to help fund their health care?
    Meanwhile, with regard to the federal duties of securing the border and overseeing immigration, Obama is refusing to do this. He promised Brewer help- and has failed to do so. He does nothing about the border. Instead, he is actually filing suit against the people, against a law passed by the people in a state, that insists that the federal govt comply with its constitutional duties. It’s the federal govt that is going to be on trial – doesn’t he realize that?
    Obama is a polarizer; he ‘rules’ by setting up people against each other – racial, ethnic, political, and the federal vs the states. What’s next?

  3. “BP? The govt, and one man, Obama, has no right to tell a private company to hand over millions, to be overseen by the govt. Heh – will it be used to help fund their health care?”
    Go tell that to the residents of the Gulf Coast and let’s see if you come out alive. The gov’t doesn’t have the right to demand that a severely negligent company that has managed to produce the worst environmental disaster in US history set aside a large portion of money to pay for said negligence? It’s to be used for the clean-up and for the residents affected I would assume.
    How would you suggest the gov’t deals with BP? A company that continues to give bold faced lies and BS for testimony and information.
    “Instead, he is actually filing suit against the people, against a law passed by the people in a state, that insists that the federal govt comply with its constitutional duties. It’s the federal govt that is going to be on trial – doesn’t he realize that?”
    Huh? He’s filing suit for Arizona having passed an immigration law that defies the federal law…I completely agree with State rights and feel that a shrinking of the federal gov’t along with an increase in the self gov’t of states is required, but immigration is a federal issue.

  4. Truer words never spoken. An investigation on how BP managed to wind up out on the briny one mile above the sea floor drilling for oil courtesy of some of the biggest movers and shakers in Washington might be enlightening.

  5. First they came for the bond holders of GM and Chrysler but as I was not a bond holder I said nothing. Next they came for the share and bond holders of BP….

  6. This “shredding the constitution” under the Obama administration is everything the Left used to hysterically accuse the Bush administration of and more.
    It reminds me of that thread Kate had a year or two ago that pointed out that Germany’s Weimar Republic set up the government bureaucracy that was all ready and waiting for someone like Hitler to come along and exploit to his own ends.
    I know that Americans are waiting for the November mid-terms to rectify the situation, but what happens if the Democrats move to change the game by pardoning the illegal aliens before the election and add substantial millions of new voters with an axe to grind for La Raza and a huge debt of gratitude to the Democrats?
    There is still a lot of unspent TARP money floating around and that money could be used to settle these new “citizens” in battleground districts until the election is over.

  7. I don’t know, I don’t think Barton articulated his position well enough and that’s why people are crucifying him, I think Levin articulated it better, but still anyone who defends BP at this point is lucky to come out of it alive.

  8. BTJ
    BP is responsible for the GUlf cleanup, however the Executive Branch of Government has no business shaking down a private corporation for a $Z0 billion fund.
    Correctly done, this should be accomplished via the judicial branch of the federal government.
    Obama’s team of thugs demanding this money is very very suspicious and against the US constitution.

  9. “The gov’t doesn’t have the right to demand that a severely negligent company that has managed to produce the worst environmental disaster in US history set aside a large portion of money to pay for said negligence?
    Without a trial or inquiry ?
    Who issued the permits for BP to drill?
    Who restrained BP from drilling in safer enviroments?
    “It’s to be used for the clean-up and for the residents affected I would assume.”
    And who complicated the clean-up efforts for two months?
    Who didn’t rescind the Jones act to facilitate other expertise to help mitigate the problem?
    Who didn’t call in the NAVY with their expertise in Deep water salvage?
    Would an independent inquiry proportion blame to the federal government for gross negligence?
    This was nothing but extortion. The consequences of this is, why would any other engineering firm come in to help out the situation now? Just to get screwed over, or worse yet , regulated to the point of having to fail?
    If Katrina was dumped on Bush, Obama eats this one.

  10. Oz – yes, I’d bet that’s that game plan of the Obama Gang – get the Hispanic vote. After all, that’s why he’s going after Arizona.
    In a federal court, Obama would have to lose that lawsuit, for it’s the duty of the federal govt to control the borders – and Obama is explicitly refusing to do this, and it’s the duty of the federal to oversee immigration – and Obama is failing to do this. TWO duties – that Obama is failing to carry out. So in a court, Obama will lose.
    BUT, I don’t think that the Obama gang has any intention of this suit coming to the court. No way. It will drag on and on and on. Because they’d lose. It’s a political manoeuvre to get the Hispanic vote for the November elections. Nothing to do with the law; nothing to do with the duty of the federal govt; nothing to do with protecting the American people.
    One reason only. Political power. That’s the reason for the lawsuit.
    As for BP, and their longterm financial (in the millions) support of the Democratic Party, Obama doesn’t want that to come out in public. And that’s one reason why he so rapidly set it up so that HE would be seen as ‘helping the people’ of the Gulf. Votes.
    But, what Obama is ignoring in his constant manipulation of people for his own power, is that the reason BP is out 5,000 ft down is because Obama’s govt won’t allow closer drilling and on-land drilling.
    And Obama’s govt, in bed with BP, has weakened its oversight of their activities. The two are in it together and Obama can’t play victim…despite his whining that ‘he can’t suck it up with a straw’. (Incredible; a president making such juvenile 10 year old statements). So, Obama and the Gang do what they do all the time: manipulate.
    Again, a key concern is the intrusion of the federal govt into a private corporation. No oversight by Congress, no accountability. The US is turning into a backroom oligarchy.

  11. If I may add to my above post:
    I’m no fan of BP and from what I have gathered on other tech forums they screwed the pooch big time on this one, but it was only a matter of time with this outfit.
    But the oversight was missing. As Palin has noted, you can’t trust what comes out of the OilCo’s execs.
    It has to be verified.
    But BP was the “green one”
    BP paid up big time to Oblameya’s election campaign.
    A pox on both their houses.
    But extortion for the sake of it? No way

  12. “Huh? He’s filing suit for Arizona having passed an immigration law that defies the federal law…I completely agree with State rights and feel that a shrinking of the federal gov’t along with an increase in the self gov’t of states is required, but immigration is a federal issue.”
    They passed a law that harmonizes state law with existing federal law. I wouldn’t call that a defiance of federal law in any way. Federal law is used as a template for state laws all the time. The furor has nothing to do with its alleged un-constitutionality, which is rich coming from a group who never gives a rip about the Constitution in any other fashion, but everything to do with them not liking the Federal government having its bluff called. If immigration policy is a Federal issue, and I agree that it is, then the Federal government should not be so consistently negligent (and I’m talking decades here) that a state has to resort to using its own law enforcement apparatus to enforce it.
    “The gov’t doesn’t have the right to demand that a severely negligent company that has managed to produce the worst environmental disaster in US history set aside a large portion of money to pay for said negligence? It’s to be used for the clean-up and for the residents affected I would assume.”
    Government has the right to demand such a thing, through due process in the judicial system or existing regulatory scheme. Not via presidential edict. That’s exactly why kneejerk populism is such a valuable vehicle for people like Rahm Emmanuel. Extralegal precedents are set under the guise of satisfying public outrage. No one anywhere is suggesting that BP shouldn’t be held to account, but surely you can see the problem in a country that is supposed to be a Constitutional Republic, governed by duly enacted laws, having a President dictating what a private entity does with billions of its dollars? We have a judicial system for settling grievances, and I could see government intervention being used to fast-track such claims, but not total circumvention of the legal system. He’s the President of a constitutional republic, not the King of a medieval fiefdom.

  13. There’s one fact I’m confused about.
    BP publicly stated that they are responsible for the oil spill and that they would pay.
    I’m thinking BP volunteered to put up this cash, but I have not seen that information come out anywhere.
    BP could have announced the fund before they met with Obama and then there would have been no question. Another PR fumble? Or, would that have been perceived as not enough?

  14. Lori, G:
    Would you tell a Gulf resident, to their face, that despite the blatantly obvious ongoing display of incompetence, lack of concern for public well being, and negligence by BP they’ll have to wait some unknown number of years for funds to be sorted out via the courts?
    What’s so suspicious about it?
    Funny the words that get repeated by MSM and start immediately popping up in public as replacement for an issue/event that cannot be summed up in one word….here it’s ‘shakedown’.
    “Who issued the permits for BP to drill?”
    So if you get drunk and crash your car it’s the government’s fault for giving you your license?
    BP disregarded safety concerns, BP was given the chance to manage their accident and COMPLETELY made a mockery of the whole thing. They are still lying and deceiving the public and public officials. What people should fault the gov’t for is having a cap on the financial responsibilities of oil companies for these sorts of events and for not keeping up with regulations/safety assessments. In which case BP would cease to exist.
    “If Katrina was dumped on Bush, Obama eats this one.”
    Yes, but not for making BP pay…for doing it the wrong way. He should have taken over the clean-up as soon as it was blatantly apparent that BP had no plan and were botching things. He should have gathered all resources…navy, oil company personnel, experts, etc..along with BP personnel, and they should have worked together..everything on BP’s tab. That is BP’s role in this the responsible corporation…to pay for damages. Of course federal money would inevitably be involved as well.
    ” The US is turning into a backroom oligarchy.”
    In other words fascism.

  15. “BP publicly stated that they are responsible for the oil spill and that they would pay.”
    Ah…finally a curious mind…someone thinking for themselves…thank you.

  17. Ignore the troll folks. You notice how it conflates the Obama White House with “the government”, and completely ignores the three branches of government, and separation of powers in the U.S.?
    It can’t be reasoned with. It can’t be bargained with. And, it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until posters here stop rising to take the troll bait.

  18. “BP publicly stated that they are responsible for the oil spill and that they would pay.”
    Just a thought here. Maybe someone who is an accountant can flesh this out a little. From my understanding if a company is fined the money comes out of after tax revenue therefore it comes directly out of profits. If the company just ponies up the money voluntarily the money can be taken out of before tax revenues and can therefore be written off as an expense on the books and no taxes will be paid on the money.
    20 billion is a lot of money.

  19. That’s my take on it gord.
    The money BP has put into escrow will be a tax writeoff operating cost, unlike a fine levied in court, and means the $20 Billion is essentially U.S. tax money.

  20. If BP is responsible for the cleanup, they can put money into a trust, but the GOVT should not have access to this money, only under a court order. As this was set up, it will be the Obama administration which administers the fund – as they appointed an administrator. The funds be expended by someone who understands the industry and the cleanup, NOT A POLITICAL APPOINTEE.
    This, my friends, is unconstitutional. You cannot convince me that this money won’t be used for political purposes, when in fact the fund was set up for the purpose of the cleanup.

  21. “20 billion is a lot of money.”
    and 6 million + barrels of oil is a lot of mess.
    20 billion is less than 10% of BP’s assets and revenue..they net 16 billion in 2009.

  22. The BP political action committee (PAC) gave $219,500 to federal candidates in the 05/06 election cycle – 34% to Democrats, 65% to Republicans. [13] A summary of the BP PAC data is below, from Open Secrets:
    2010
    Total Spent – $173,781
    Contributions to Federal Candidates – $75,550 (42% to Democrats, 58% to Republicans)
    2008
    Total Spent – $619,255
    Contributions to Federal Candidates – $198,500 (41% to Democrats, 59% to Republicans)
    2006
    Total Spent – $601,696
    Contributions to Federal Candidates – $219,500 (34% to Democrats, 65% to Republicans)
    2004
    Total Spent – $678,337
    Contributions to Federal Candidates – $220,499 (38% to Democrats, 62% to Republicans)

  23. People who have worked for large corporations know how sensitive their executives are to bad PR, hell, the vast majority are rent-seeking whores in the first place and are incestuously linked to politicians and legislation. Business schools use horror shows like Union Carbide’s Bhopal disaster as textbook examples of corporate suicide that no CEO wants to be associated with. The existence of a quagmire of regulation did not prevent this disaster and likely did more to cause it. The existence of liability limits, given to the industry by Bubba in the nineties (and now curiously ignored by the Administration and BP corporate PR types alike), likely set the stage for systems failures. In its absence, under strict liability, BP would have been liable for all damages anyway. Strict liability would have motivated their insurers or if self-insured, their bean counters to insist on very tight controls or perhaps to have drilled elsewhere to reduce risk.
    That the Administration and Congress are now textbook examples of looters and thugs is becoming more obvious to more people by the minute.

  24. “BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company’s political action committees – $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about $638,000 came from individuals.
    On top of that, the oil giant has spent millions each year on lobbying — including $15.9 million last year alone — as it has tried to influence energy policy.
    During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records.”
    There’s more ,, a lot more at
    “Obama biggest recipient of BP cash”
    http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64420A20100505

  25. “they net 16 billion in 2009.”
    Which just so happens to be Grandma and Grandpa’s pension you twit. BP doesn’t get to keep the money. It pays out dividends to its owners who just so happen to be various pension funds.

  26. 20 billion is less than 10% of BP’s assets and revenue..
    It sure is.
    Cuz that $20 billion is now going to be a tax write off as an operating cost.
    It wasn’t levied as a fine in court so BP will be writing it off and it will be tax dollars that BP would have been owing that are in the escrow account, not a percentage of BP’s profits or assets.
    Isn’t business strange when it operates outside of established checks and balances?
    You’d think environmentally conscious Leftists would be outraged and wanting some sort of real punishment for BP, but they aren’t because they’re retards when it comes to understanding how things really work.
    The Obama Regime: Most Transparent Government EVAH!

  27. colin – I agree; ignore the leftist troll. He can’t think; spouts unreasoned and ungrounded opinions.
    gord and oz – very interesting comments. Again, as others have noted, Obama has no right to ‘make’ a private company pay anything. There is due process; there is no need for a long drawn out legal battle because BP has already aknowledged its role in the spill and the whole process could be fast-tracked. But, via Congress and the judiciary. Not a deal with Obama and BP.
    G- thanks for the information about BP and Obama’s relation.
    As others have pointed out, it’s a tax scam for BP and a political scam for Obama, as well as giving him 20 million to play with for his own political agenda. Payments to people in the Gulf will be given out by – the Obama govt – in return for votes, votes and votes.
    I’ll bet Obama will continue to delay the clean-up. Why? Well, in part because he lives in the virtual rather than real world and hasn’t a clue what to do. But it’s a bonanza for those radical socialists who run him; remember, they have a statist agenda. This means that their goal is to set up the population to be dependent on Obama statism – not on their state, not on their own private enterprise..but on the federal govt. This plays right into this goal.

  28. “Were you guys all abused by your parents, to have such a slavish obedience to authority? Pathetic.”
    Actually, that would be the liberals like Bill Maher, Rosie O’Donnell, Chris Matthews, et al, calling for the President to become more like a dictator. I would define that as a “slavish obedience to authority” before I would the people who believe the government should be constrained by its own laws.

  29. [quote]There is still a lot of unspent TARP money floating around and that money could be used to settle these new “citizens” in battleground districts until the election is over.[/quote] Oz..
    The Democrats are trying their old method of encouraging illegal Aliens to VOTE multiple time (all illegal) That won’t work in 2010 with the tea party; electronic technology, and simple vigilance. a Camera!
    The Arizona Lawsuit is nothing more than an obstructive posturing….are they really representing Mexican Drug Czars?, not really, but Obama will be vilified for the childish turf war. We can deal with the Cost of finding the Illegals by offering a Bounty for known felons.. It works for Bond services….
    Note: The BP (5 billion) fund MUST not go to undocumented persons or Business… (Those that deal in Cash and don’t pay taxes)… The Democrats (Sen.Landreu) are trying to bundle all the folks together such that those without records will slip by and get money.. a big easy scam

  30. Obama has no constitutional authority to demand BP “pay” anybody anything. But he’s never let nuisances like the US Constitution stop him from abusing his power of office and furhter his plans for a soft tyranny, so why stop now?
    Levin is a great listen; his full shows are downloadable from his site. He shreds liberal idiots with ease (not hard to do with a few facts) and it’s a hoot when he puts the more boneheaded of them in their place. He’s resurrected an old term for the likes of big govt small personal liberty types like BTJ/mouth: statists. It fits. And these are the same pompous, self-righteous leftwing drones Levin eviscerates on-air. You two should call in sometime, but please – give us fair warning so we can listen in.
    Not that facts or logic might phase you, but the call would be great entertainment.
    mhb23re

  31. A message to all the apoligists for Obama.Over 20 countries offered aid and expertize to the Obama administration and all were turned down.This aid was offered immeadiatly after the explosion at a time when countries that had blow outs knew how quickly one must act to contain the spill and clean it up.They were refused and Obama went on political fund raising tours.57 days later he decided that it was a problem.

  32. BP allegedly had nearly 900 saftey infractions against them this year alone, the nearest rig to them had I think around 10 what does that tell you? BP appears to be above the law, and frankly Obama could careless if the US’s coastline is poisoned he’s got golf to play and tennis matches to partake of when he’s not busy living the highlife in the evening.

  33. What a hoot.The most corrupt oil company in the world,paying money to the most corrupt TOTUS in history.Oh,and BTW,the BP CEO is out watching his yacht in a race,while oil still gushes from the site.And which hole is the Zero playing right now?
    And where are all the eco-terroists right now? Hey Greenpeace,WWF,etc.Don’t see you guys down there helping clean up.Oh wait.You are busy planning something for Syncrude,Suncor and the tar sands.Silly me.

  34. BP, as I recall, stands to make a kazillion on Cap and Trade Carbon Credit schemes set up by these so-called demonized Wall St. companies who also stand to make billions. Perhaps BP does not care what kind of hit they take regarding the oil non cleanup. This is just too willingly incompetent to be believable. Their record on safety is absymal and they are taking a huge public hit in every way? They will bankrupt BP but I think the ‘re-structuring’ via US Taxpayers will put them in much better shape. They don’t have to pay shareholders dividends and I don’t think they will end up paying much of anything. They talk a good story but nothing is getting done. Even the claims offices are not paying claims, though they advertise they care and they do pay. There is something wrong here and everybody knows it. Tony Sails , Obama Golfs and the gulf dies. Meanwhile, Cap and Trade will revive in congress and wait for the other shoe to drop. Once the Supremes have their Obama fix in Kagan, even litigation won’t help anybody. That 20billion is simply another slush fund for re-election and BP is in bed with the US Administration and will benefit, just like BNP Paribus Bank and Total Fina Elf benefited from the Oil for Food scandal. This is sleight of hand while the other hand is busy sticking it to us in the back.

  35. I’m getting tired of American Cons invoking the constitution on these issues. If Obama’s steps were unconstitutional, then BP, or the Southern states, or any wealthy interest would launch a court challenge, and the Feds would lose. What Obama is doing is NOT unconstitutional.
    America has the most loose, unspecific, disorganized system of laws governing the relationship between business and government. Both the GOP and DNC are to blame, because all recieve huge funds from business interests and none have sought to bring in clear and transparant rules. And, that leads to just what we are witnessing with BP.
    Second … BP was not the victim of a shake down. A 20 billion payment is a gift from Obama to a favorite donar. It’s an agreement among friends which makes Obama seem tough, makes BP seem contrite, yet gives no details as to what deals were worked out under the table.
    There are always two chess games … the one on the table and the one under the table. On the table is big tough Obama taking the boots to BP; and BP being a humbled corporation … under the table is what??? … scrubbed MMS accounts, huge “green” contracts for BP down the road, a tepid investigation of BP … and of course, more grand donations to the DNC or favored DNC candidates. BP is getting off easy.
    BP agreeing to a 20 billion dollar fund, is not unconstitutional. If American cons want that fixed, then next time they own the WH and either the Congress or Senate, they should legislate rules. They’ve had over 200 years to do so, and they haven’t. They are way behind other democracies on this issue, and now they are paying for it.
    Levin can moan all he wants, but it’s a misplaced waste of time. I hope when the GOP is back in power, he’s screaming for vast sweeping legislation to solve American corruption … corruption that could never occur in Canada because we have this covered with legislation. America, needs to grow up.
    Levin is a favorite of mine, but on this issue his rage is misplaced. The problem is lack of legislation, and into that vacuum Chicago has stepped masterfully.

  36. Does BO even know a “little people”? His history (at least that part of it he isn’t spending millions on to keep secret)is of a limosine socialist who gas all the right establishment contacts to live the patrician’s life while preaching the workers’s dream.

  37. This will become a Democratic Party slush fund.
    It will also be the rallying cry for more fuel taxation. Nationalizing (remember the NEP) the oil industry like the car buisness.
    As for BP they won’t exist by next year. Investors with shareholders have already started a run on selling shares. After this strong arming who else will Americas Wolf Obama turn on next?
    Obama claimed he came to heal the World . So far its bleeding to death because of him.
    Yet now is the time to tax the suckers. The middle class will take it up the end zone yet again.
    When this house of cards fall. Countries will topple.
    JMO

  38. Just because you get a tax writeoff for the amount spent does not mean the money came out of taxes. It means that you got a discount of your tax rate on the amount you paid.
    Original post-tax earnings = 100 at a 30% tax rate (pre-tax earnings of 143)
    Take off 20 in pre-tax earnings, then post-tax earnings = 86
    So instead of losing 20, you lose 14 (20*0.7), and the government “pays” for 6 through lost tax revenue. That’s how the tax system is supposed to work, and that’s very logical and reasonable. It’s not a “tax scheme”.
    What will occur as a result of this is major exploration companies will sell all of their mature ventures into the public markets. This will result in capped liability for each of the ventures, meaning next time something like this happens the government will have no giant like BP to turn to.
    What should government have done from the beginning? Eliminated caps on environmental liability and passed firm capital requirements or insurance requirements for drilling in order to cover potential spills. But they should have done that BEFORE, and done it through legislation. By doing an end-run around the system they are significantly increasing the risk of doing business by injecting massive uncertainty into the equation. Uncertainty means higher discount rates from investors means an increase in the cost of oil.
    They phoned GM bondholders during the crisis and threatened them. They said, “If you don’t vote for our plan, you will get nothing. We will single you out and get you nothing, rather than 10 cents on the dollar.” That is criminal. A non-interested party phoning bondholders and threatening them? Absolutely criminal. I don’t want to do business in the United States because I have no idea when the government is going to come out from behind the curtain and steal all my shit. They are now just the thugs with the guns.
    Without the rule of law, government are just a bunch of thugs with control of the state’s coercive power.

  39. Cjunk@4:41
    I think this ties in to your post, and I’ll admit I may not have seen the end game under the table, but this article from HOTAIR,shows why some believe it is a shakedown and the ensuing consequences of the Chicago thuggery we are presently witnessing.
    “Joe Barton (R-TX) is right: the $20 billion escrow fund is a shakedown. Not because BP isn’t liable for the oil spill, and not because BP shouldn’t help the people losing their livelihoods on the Gulf Coast. But because Obama extorting the escrow fund from BP is an exercise of executive power outside the rule of law.
    Following the rule of law would produce relief for the oil spill’s victims. It just wouldn’t put Obama’s appointee in sole charge of a $20 billion fund. That has a meaning beyond the “Chicago” implication of pure extortion, fund-skimming, and payola. It means Obama couldn’t use the money to cushion the near-term consequences of his own policies. He’d be constrained by that pesky rule of law, if he weren’t holding the discretionary purse strings for the damages payouts.”
    (…)
    “This is, however, confused sentiment. It’s pure sentiment, with no temper from wisdom or judgment. It’s not a sound basis for government, no matter how we feel and no matter what the problem is. Governments good and bad operate on precedent, whether you like it or not, and one shakedown tolerated will lead as night the day to more shakedowns. Eventually one of them will get to your doorstep. No one is so perfectly positioned in his universal immune-victim status as to never face being sliced through the mid-torso region by the Super-Whammadine Shakedown-o-matic.”
    (…)
    … “And hey, the good news is, with BP’s shareholders and investors – many of them Americans – to shake down, Obama doesn’t have to let this crisis go to waste! He can shut down businesses and jobs for his own political reasons, having nothing to do with the oil rig explosion, and make BP pay off the people he’s hurting!”
    Oblameya didn’t want to kick but. He wanted to make sure all the other industry players kissed his.
    The moratorium on drilling in the gulf and the consequential financial mess for the little people as well as America’s energy stability,,, well thats just a tough break now isn’t it.
    those rigs won’t hang around in American waters sitting idle. They’re going to go find oil elsewhere that America will have to buy.
    It may not have been extortion for BP if a deal was made, but its the perception to other business interests who may be in the way of this regime that matters

  41. Posted by: Cjunk at June 20, 2010 4:41 PM
    You may be getting “tired” of US conservatives invoking the Constitution in cases such as this, cjunk, but that’s of little import. And you’re wrong on this one. Sorry.
    The US Constitution is a singular document in the world: it has laid the framework for the most successful, advanced and productive society in history. Nothing else compares with it; our pitiful “Constitution” may as well be written on toilet paper for the freedom and liberty it prescribes for this country.
    The US founders were very specific in their views on Federalism: they wanted fewer powers given to the federal government and more to the states. It was set up as an inverse pyramid of power, with the least amount of power at the top (federal) level, and more delving downwards to the states and municipalities. This guaranteed that the people had the ultimate vote against state tyranny: their feet. An overpowering federal government defeats this natural check (see Canada, for example) as it’s harder to escape the clutches of the feds than to move to a different locale where the government is more palatable to oneself.
    The Constitution also prescribed those powers that were specifically given to the feds, and anything not laid out specifically therein were state powers. This is where the train has jumped the tracks, and was driven into high gear when FDR threatened SCOTUS and forced them to bend to his will to concede new sweeping federal regulatory powers.
    This has gone even worse with the soft dictator-in-chief. He has violated the Constitution so many times it’s obvious he treats it with contempt: appointed “czars”, imposing mandatory healthcare insurance, not allowing cap/trade to come under a vote but letting the brutally leftwing EPA take ownership of the issue. His contempt for the law, and the common man, is obvious for all but the most ardent obama pom-pommers, some of which lurk on this site.
    And don’t talk about the Supreme Court rallying to the cause. Please. These are the same activist judges that pronounced CO2 was covered under the Clean Air Act of the 70s, when even the original framers of the act stated they never once considered CO2 as a “pollutant”. They are majority social activists and social engineers; clods like sonia sotomayor would not likely qualify for jury duty with her racist views, much less earning a spot on SCOTUS.
    Who’s going to bring suit against the government for the strong-arm fees not levied through legal courts? BP? And have obama unleash EPA (who were responsible for preventive action plans on the spill, that never happened) on them? Sure. This government will place any industry or sector in its crosshairs that it believes challenges its socialist agenda, and will bully them with any untold number of federal agencies until they comply. It was obama who, after dithering for nearly 2 weeks after the oil spill, finally sent feds to the Gulf, and these were federal prosecutors. What’s that tell you?
    This is a rogue government, one at odds with that the US framers had originally intended. Levin calls this a “soft tyranny”, and he’s correct. Without honoring the framework of the Constitution, the US government is rudderless and at risk when a committed charismatic demagogue is in charge, as we are seeing now. Fortunately, the bloom is off that particular rose, but americans had best get busy at the polls in november/10 and in 2012 if they wish to reclaim their country back from irrevocable damage.
    mhb23re
    at gmail d0t calm

  42. If the so-called shakedown is outside the rule of law, then it is an impeachable offence, and actionable in court.
    But it’s likely not; America is a Wild West on these issues and simply needs legislative regulations like all other civilized countries. So what if the US Constitution is unique … if it’s not expressed through legislation that is defendable in court, then it’s just a nice sounding document worth little more than junk.
    Those claiming Obama is acting unconstitutionally need to do as some states have done on Obamacare, and put it before the courts. Otherwise, it’s all just hot air … and Obama will knock them down each time if they aren’t willing to put their hyperbole before the courts.
    What the US framers had in mind is irrelevant, if you can’t defend their intent in the courts, or can’t express their intent through legislation. The world is a bit more complicated than it was when the US constitution was “framed”. It’s the job of the SC to determine what is, and what isn’t, compatible with their intent.
    Pundits bloviating about it is just politics. If they realy mean what they say, then they need to take action in the courts … but they won’t unless they have an actual case … like the states challenge to the individual mandates or suits against the EPA on CO2 regulation.
    If your opinion on major issues like this is not worth going to court over … you’re likely blowing guano. Levin has already stated that he’d challenge certian issues in court, all the way to the Supreme Court … so, if he’s that certian about the BP case, time for him to pool his money with all the other blow hards and take action … just like Accorn would, just like any two bit “activist would”.

  45. BTJ – or better known on this blog as “T” – what makes you think that any more than 2 or 3 percent of the viewers of this blog would waste even a nano-second of our time to reference a Washington Post link?
    Why would you waste your useless time posting it. I know that I, for one, wouldn’t be bothered. Remember, T, we don’t embibe the kool-aid.

  46. “what makes you think that any more than 2 or 3 percent of the viewers of this blog would waste even a nano-second of our time to reference a Washington Post link?”
    Well I don’t, I mean I’d hope it would be closer to 5%, that’s about the proportion of viewers who can think for themselves it would appear. You don’t have to believe everything an article says…you can just pick out the significant information from the opinion and bias…ie. quotes from people interviewed. You are keeping yourself from learning valuable information by choosing information that matches a premature opinion. You can recognize what is political spin and what is information that can help you make your own decision based on you philosophy..regardless of whether it matches exactly with some prescribed doctrine.

  47. “You don’t have to believe everything an article says…you can just pick out the significant information from the opinion and bias…”
    You must have missed a hell of a lot when you read about windmills, solar panels and AGW/CC in general…Or maybe math is not your thing.
    Math and economics seem to be at odds with big Guvment too, BTW.
    ————————————————-
    BP and Barry’s Admin are giving us a show. It is purely designed to help both parties in play and others waiting in the wings. Period.
    -BP offering to pay for the clean up was a mistake in the script…It had to come from the Prez “You will set money aside to pay for this!”…Of course that’s BP’s preferred route. It’s all tax deductable that way.
    It’s not a Government “by the people and for the people”. It’s a Government “By the elites (Money) for the elites”

  48. “You must have missed a hell of a lot when you read about windmills, solar panels and AGW/CC in general…Or maybe math is not your thing.”
    Huh? I’m sorry, what thread are we in here..what does that have to do with Israel?
    C’mon now Terry, stay on topic here, don’t try and mix and confuse issues any further in an attempt to insult my intelligence…you’re better than that.
    “BP offering to pay for the clean up was a mistake in the script…It had to come from the Prez “You will set money aside to pay for this!””
    Assumptions.
    “It’s not a Government “by the people and for the people”. It’s a Government “By the elites (Money) for the elites””
    I didn’t say any differently…except that it started LONG before Obama got there.

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