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While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "Work-

Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Middleground said:
Or was it BP, or the company they hired to run the rig? I don't know, but I'm not ready to point fingers yet.
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Oh, bp is not blameless. I am all for off shore drilling, but in order to get a lease, you need to have a verifiable containment plan and equipment...

That said, one of the coast guards rolls is Oil containment and the implementation of the 1994 containment plan. I believe it was the interior dept's job to make sure they had what they need.


In any event, so far, nothing of note seems to have been transpired in the absence of the ID chief, apart from the taxpayers expense of having to collect him via helicopter.
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Like I said, its a systemic of the bigger issue of this beuracracy imo. even his employees were upset at his trip. also we also had to pay for him and his wifes business rafting trip... :ssst:
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Reverend_Hellh0und said:
Oh, bp is not blameless. I am all for off shore drilling, but in order to get a lease, you need to have a verifiable containment plan and equipment...

That said, one of the coast guards rolls is Oil containment and the implementation of the 1994 containment plan. I believe it was the interior dept's job to make sure they had what they need.





Like I said, its a systemic of the bigger issue of this beuracracy imo. even his employees were upset at his trip. also we also had to pay for him and his wifes business rafting trip... :ssst:
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The article quotes ONE source. So if that's what you're referring to, then it's not "his employees."

Also, the article states that the wife paid her own way, so not sure why you're making that claim.

As for the coast guards responsibilities, you're not 100% sure, so we shouldn't make any judgements yet. (unless you have a link)
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Middleground said:
The article quotes ONE source. So if that's what you're referring to, then it's not "his employees."

Also, the article states that the wife paid her own way, so not sure why you're making that claim.

As for the coast guards responsibilities, you're not 100% sure, so we shouldn't make any judgements yet. (unless you have a link)
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I don't get why you seem to be defending this dept and its chief. I find thier behavior starteling to say the least...
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Reverend_Hellh0und said:
I don't get why you seem to be defending this dept and its chief. I find thier behavior starteling to say the least...
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You're kidding me, right? *facepalm*

Facts are important, Rev. Let's not make **** up for the sake of making **** up. I read the article, and I have commented on what I have read. Wifey paid for her own trip, so let's not make **** up. If you call that "defending him," so be it. :roll:

Strickland, who also serves as Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, was in the Grand Canyon with his wife Beth for a total of three days, including one day of rafting. Beth Strickland paid her own way, Obama administration officials said.
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Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Middleground said:
You're kidding me, right? *facepalm*

Facts are important, Rev. Let's not make **** up for the sake of making **** up. I read the article, and I have commented on what I have read. Wifey paid for her own trip, so let's not make **** up. If you call that "defending him," so be it. :roll:
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yeah but she went rafting with the husband who DIDNT pay.... Come now, if this was a guy in the bush admin you would be (rightly) all over it....


It's abhorrent for this guy to leave on a rafting trip 3 days AFTER the spill on a supposed dept trip on my dime.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

The Prof said:
no one cares what you do or don't have problems with
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Feel better about yourself now that you got that off your chest? :roll:
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

BP Is Criticized Over Oil Spill, but U.S. Missed Chances to Act - NYTimes.com

But it is still the government, in this case the Coast Guard, that has the final say. A law passed a year after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster makes "each responsible party for a vessel or a facility from which oil is discharged" liable for cleaning up a spill. But oversight of the cleanup is designated to the Coast Guard, with advice from other federal agencies.

Rear Adm. Robert C. North, retired, who was commander of the Coast Guard’s Eighth District from 1994 to 1996, said that decisions in these situations are made collectively, but that the buck essentially stops with the federal coordinator — in this case, Admiral Landry. “The federal on-scene coordinator is kind of the one individual to say, ‘I think we need to do more’ or ‘That’s adequate,’ ” he said.
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unfortunately:

Officials initially seemed to underestimate the threat of a leak, just as BP did last year when it told the government such an event was highly unlikely. Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry, the chief Coast Guard official in charge of the response, said on April 22, after the rig sank, that the oil that was on the surface appeared to be merely residual oil from the fire, though she said it was unclear what was going on underwater. The day after, officials said that it appeared the well’s blowout preventer had kicked in and that there did not seem to be any oil leaking from the well, though they cautioned it was not a guarantee.
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and:

(The NOAA document on a potentially far larger leak, first obtained by The Press-Register in Mobile, Ala., was described by an agency spokesman as simply a possibility raised by a staff member, not an official prediction.)
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tragic incompetence
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Actually, I think both RH and MG are correct in certain points. RH is correct that it was wrong for this guy to take this trip if he knew that this was shaping up to be a big oil spill. MG is correct that nothing went wrong (sorry RH, the oil booms you are obsessive about were already NOT in existence, there was nothing that could be done that wasn't already being done about there not being any available).

However, something COULD have gone wrong, even if nothing did. It shows a real lack of concern about a developing disaster. Even if people's lives are not at stake, like they were with Katrina, their livelihoods ARE. In so far as RH sticks to the verifiable truth, he is right to criticize the jerk.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Dezaad said:
Actually, I think both RH and MG are correct in certain points. RH is correct that it was wrong for this guy to take this trip if he knew that this was shaping up to be a big oil spill. MG is correct that nothing went wrong (sorry RH, the oil booms you are obsessive about were already NOT in existence, there was nothing that could be done that wasn't already being done about there not being any available).

However, something COULD have gone wrong, even if nothing did. It shows a real lack of concern about a developing disaster. Even if people's lives are not at stake, like they were with Katrina, their livelihoods ARE. In so far as RH sticks to the verifiable truth, he is right to criticize the jerk.
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oh i agree he could not have gotten these booms in time. however the time for him and his predesessors to get them was in 1994 on.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Reverend_Hellh0und said:
I would wager its systemic of a bigger problem our government has......
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Yeah, government officials do things that normal Americans do.

God, that's so wrong ...
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Reverend_Hellh0und said:
I think we found Obama's Michael “Heckuva job, Brownie” Brown.. :ssst:
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Thin and desperate, Rev... Thin and desperate.

Perhaps a little research and fact-checking would save you on embarassment...

Deputy Secretary of Interior David Hayes is Deployed to the Gulf Coast

The morning after the explosion, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar deployed Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes to the Gulf Coast to assist with coordination and response to the event, and provide hourly reports to Secretary Salazar and other administration officials.
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That was Wed. Apr 21--less than 12 hours in....

Come on, Rev, stop posting all these weak hit-jobs... you're starting to come off like one of the far-righties around here...;)
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

This problem is really in the hands of the engineers who are designing the solution to it. Government paper pushers are useless.

Their job would have been monitoring and prevention, obviously they failed.

People who actually do 'real' work will solve this crisis. People who manage departments run by government bureaucrats will not.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

appearances are very, very important in politics

ken salazar's chief of staff LOOKS like he's partying while the gulf gushes goo

really dumb
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

The Prof said:
appearances are very, very important in politics

ken salazar's chief of staff LOOKS like he's partying while the gulf gushes goo

really dumb
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I don't disagree... I just find it sad that we as a nation are basically reduced to electing an image, rather than worrying about what anyone actually wants to accomplish.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Reverend_Hellh0und said:
yeah but she went rafting with the husband who DIDNT pay.... Come now, if this was a guy in the bush admin you would be (rightly) all over it....
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Right... he didn't pay because it was a business trip. And no, if he was in the Bush Administration, I wouldn't be all over it. Federal workers take business trips all of the time, so why should this be criticized?


It's abhorrent for this guy to leave on a rafting trip 3 days AFTER the spill on a supposed dept trip on my dime.
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Abhorrent? I don't think I'd use that strong of a word. Stupid? Seems to me. I gather--at the time of his departure--that he was not sure of the level of seriousness. He took the risk, and it backfired.

Not sure why you think the trip was "supposed?" The article clearly explains the intent of his trip. Why do you doubt this?
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Middleground said:
Right... he didn't pay because it was a business trip. And no, if he was in the Bush Administration, I wouldn't be all over it. Federal workers take business trips all of the time, so why should this be criticized?
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3 days after a disaster that your department is responsible for? :shock:



Abhorrent? I don't think I'd use that strong of a word. Stupid? Seems to me. I gather--at the time of his departure--that he was not sure of the level of seriousness. He took the risk, and it backfired.

Not sure why you think the trip was "supposed?" The article clearly explains the intent of his trip. Why do you doubt this?
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Look, what I really think is this guy is a hammer. Who should be fired. His lack of interest in his job seems proven here, and if it turns out, he's the one responsible for making sure the booms were available. he needs to be fired.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

hazlnut said:
Thin and desperate, Rev... Thin and desperate.

Perhaps a little research and fact-checking would save you on embarassment...



That was Wed. Apr 21--less than 12 hours in....

Come on, Rev, stop posting all these weak hit-jobs... you're starting to come off like one of the far-righties around here...;)
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from my article...


The Stricklands departed for the Grand Canyon three days after the leaks in the Deepwater Horizon pipeline were discovered.
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The fact you are making this a left right thing is idiotic.


I actually respected this dood for going after ACTUAL criminals in colorado for gun crimes. He wasn't one of those douches that wanted to restrict 2nd amendment freedoms, but rather punish actual criminals...


That said, He's really lost it here, and his poor judgement is whats in question, not his party....


So while the mouth foaming continues by you and your ilk, the facts of who's being hyper-partisan and who isn't is apparent.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

hazlnut said:
Thin and desperate, Rev... Thin and desperate.

Perhaps a little research and fact-checking would save you on embarassment...



That was Wed. Apr 21--less than 12 hours in....

Come on, Rev, stop posting all these weak hit-jobs... you're starting to come off like one of the far-righties around here...;)
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Looks like his colleagues in the Dept. of Interior disagree with you:

One government official, asking for anonymity because of the political sensitivities involved, told ABC News that some Interior Department employees thought it was “irresponsible” for Strickland to have gone on the trip, given the crisis in the Gulf, which was fully apparent at the time he departed for the Grand Canyon.
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Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

I'm wondering...what urgent and pressing business was occurring at the Grand Canyon that was so important for such a trip? Anyone know?
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Ockham said:
I'm wondering...what urgent and pressing business was occurring at the Grand Canyon that was so important for such a trip? Anyone know?
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According to the article, they were there to discuss items on national importance like the future of the humpback chub.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

​
Ockham said:
I'm wondering...what urgent and pressing business was occurring at the Grand Canyon that was so important for such a trip? Anyone know?
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Who said it was ungent and pressing? :confused:
It was a planned trip.

An administration source says that Strickland’s trip to the Grand Canyon was work-focused. He was with the director of the National Park Service, Jonathan Jarvis, and Grand Canyon National Park Superintendant Steve Martin, the source said, and they discussed matters such as river flows, beach erosion, humpback chub, tamarisk control, overflights, safety, motor boats, and wilderness management.
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Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Middleground said:
​

Who said it was ungent and pressing? :confused:
It was a planned trip.
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If it wasn't urgent or pressing, all the more reason for him to postpone it.
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Middleground said:
​

Who said it was ungent and pressing? :confused:
It was a planned trip.
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they discussed matters such as river flows, beach erosion, humpback chub, tamarisk control, overflights, safety, motor boats, and wilderness management.
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This is code word for "bull****ting, and goofing off".....


Been there done that. :lol:
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Middleground said:
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Who said it was ungent and pressing? :confused:
It was a planned trip.
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Hmm... common sense lacking apparently.

Planned trip of no significant importance... or postpone and attend to a growing national oil spill disaster off the Louisiana coast. Yeah... the planned BS trip to the Grand Canyon seems MUCH more important. I mean, all those filght changes and what not... what a hassle right? :roll:
 
Re: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on "W

Ockham said:
Hmm... common sense lacking apparently.

Planned trip of no significant importance... or postpone and attend to a growing national oil spill disaster off the Louisiana coast. Yeah... the planned BS trip to the Grand Canyon seems MUCH more important. I mean, all those filght changes and what not... what a hassle right? :roll:
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Partisan thinking, not seem to be lacking apparently.
 
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