Top 10 Ridiculous Oil-Spill Quotes From Congress
9. Joe Barton (R-Texas), 6/15, at an Energy and Commerce hearing: "Chinese oil companies are drilling off the coast of Cuba, which means they are drilling off the coast of Florida."More at the link.
8. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), 6/15, at an Energy and Commerce hearing: "If this hearing is not about stopping the leak, then why are we here?"
5. Ralph Hall (R-Texas) 6/15, at a press conference: "It’s a shame we can't drill ANWR. It’s a shame we don't get that energy off the coast of Florida."
4. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.), 6/15, at an Energy and Commerce hearing: argued that the treatment of oil executives has been "disrespectful."
Conservative media: BP was "persecuted" at "Stalinist," "witch trial" hearing
Right-wing media have complained that BP was "persecuted" at a congressional hearing on the company's role in the Gulf oil spill and compared the hearing to a "Stalinist show trial," "Inca ritual slaughter," the Salem witch trials, the McCarthy hearings, and the Romans feeding Christians to lions.Does O'Reilly think protecting barge workers is an "amazing screw-up"?
On his Fox News show tonight, Bill O'Reilly opened his Talking Points Memo by declaring that there had been an "amazing screw-up in the Gulf cleanup." He went on to relay the details of an ABC News report about 16 oil-collecting barges in the Gulf that had been called back to shore because of questions about safety measures aboard the ships.O'Reilly appears to have some kind of death wish for anyone working in the Gulf - hey why not add a few more deaths to the 11 that have already died because safety doesn't matter to conservatives. No wonder Fox is the channel of choice for conservatives.
(O'Liar screwed up and lied as usual) -"The Coast Guard is not going to compromise safety ... that's our No. 1 priority," Coast Guard spokesman Robert Brassel told The Daily Caller.
[...]
Brassel said the barges are now "back in operating order."
On Thursday night, the Incident Commander in Houma, Roger Laferriere, decided with the captain of the port in New Orleans to inspect the barges when they realized the ships did not have a certificate of inspection to demonstrate safety equipment on board. Thursday morning, the ships were inspected and grounded because they did not have the proper fire-fighting and life-saving equipment. There were also concerns about the stability of the barges. During the day Thursday, the problems were fixed, and the barges are back out on the water today.
Texas Can’t Afford To Buy New Far-Right Textbooks, But Rick Perry Still Resists Federal Aid
For the past year, far-right members of the Texas Board of Education have been overhauling the state’s textbook standards. The changes include “pushing for inclusion of more…Confederate glorification,” re-naming the Atlantic slave trade the “Atlantic Triangle Trade,” prioritizing “a suggestion that the anti-communist witch-hunt by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s may have been justified,” and raising doubt about climate change.Marc Thiessen - Head Conservative Cheerleader for Torture Hides Behind Manufactured Facts
However, the Texas Observer now reports that the state can’t afford to buy the new books:
The state normally replaces textbooks on a rotating basis every 10 years. With Texas facing a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion in 2011, the money isn’t going to be there. Textbooks covering the new science standards would have cost $400 million, and the Legislature is already expecting a bill of $888 million for textbooks already ordered.
To ensure that students can still be exposed to “proof, supposedly, of evolution’s fallibility,” the Board is trying to secure funding for special “supplements for science classes from fifth grade through high school.” Social studies textbooks aren’t up for replacement until 2013 — by then, Texas might have enough money to teach their students about Phyllis Schlafly and the Moral Majority.
The lack of textbook funding underscores Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) constant compulsion to oppose federal funding that could help his state. At the beginning of June, he refused to let Texas compete for Race to the Top funding for education reform because he falsely claimed the program would weaken the state’s school standards. That allegation was even refuted by a fellow Republican governor, Sonny Perdue of Georgia.
