Deep-water delusion

Sunday, 13 June 2010 04:00

Jack Kelly is at it again, writing a column of distortions and half-truths. He claims the president is "in bed with big oil" ("Sloth in Charge," May 30). However, President Barack Obama's contributions from employees of oil companies represented only 1

10,000th of his campaign donations. Mr. Kelly also claims the federal government "dithered" in construction of berms in the gulf. The delay came while Mr. Obama demanded BP fund the berms, and they eventually provided money in escrow for the project — a project that many scientists believe will not be effective.

Finally, Mr. Kelly's implication that federal regulators' poor response is Mr. Obama's fault ignores history. The agency charged with oversight of oil exploration was gutted by the Bush administration. In 2005 shortly after an energy summit with Dick Cheney at the White House, a provision in a defense appropriations bill allowed off-shore drilling to be regulated, in effect, by the oil companies themselves. This lack of regulatory oversight represents another problem Mr. Obama inherited from a former administration truly "in bed" with big oil.

Mr. Kelly is just as delusional as those who allow deep-water drilling to continue without a reasonable plan to deal with these inevitable disasters.

STEVE KARAS

Forest Hills

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written by Deke, June 13, 2010 - 10:01 AM

Mr. Kelly knows full well the follies of the Bush administrations appointments to MMS. He knows how they deregulated big oil and permitted self safety inspections that were signed off by MMS. Mr. Kelly knows about the drug and sex parties these Rushpublicans had during the Bush/Cheney regime.

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written by LeBro, June 13, 2010 - 02:16 PM

Jack Kelly gets paid to much for the garbage he writes.

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written by boldart, June 13, 2010 - 02:56 PM

Kelly is a partisan hack who simply passes out basic conservative rhetoric.

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written by myooz, June 13, 2010 - 03:50 PM

Kelly is not a conservative! He is a Neoconservative like national syndicated columnist Charles k***thammer. There is a world of difference. It is a disgrace that PG continues to give them both print space and credibility. Both were totally discredited during the run up to the Iraq war by parroting and hyping the NeoCon war mongering lies.

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written by myooz, June 13, 2010 - 03:53 PM

K***thammer??????? WTF????

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written by myreply, June 13, 2010 - 06:45 PM

Thank you PG for giving both Kelly and k***thammer space in your paper. Two sides of an issue are always preferrable to one.

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written by CraigWallace, June 16, 2010 - 09:41 AM

Shocking. Someone whining and blaming - A YEAR AND A HALF LATER - President Bush. I wish President Obama would inherit President Bush's unemployment figures.

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