While Obama golfs, parties and attends baseball games, foreign ships that could help clean up the Gulf are still being turned away. In an article entitled "Jones Act: Maritime politics strain Gulf oil spill cleanup" it is reported that "We are still receiving reports of foreign-flagged vessels being turned away or their offers of assistance hanging in limbo. That should not be the case," says Lemieux.
Apparently the Jones Act is a problem, unlike Gibbs's statement that waiving the act was 'not necessary." "Evidence built this week that Obama and the Unified Command are walking a political tightrope over the Jones Act and the role of foreign vessels in the Gulf oil spill cleanup."
Chaos and "confusion" are terms still being used about the situation, including a problem with "chain of command," something that was supposed to be cleared up after the speech. Others complain that "1,500 US-flagged skimmers sit idle."
Kowtowing to unions in this time of crisis once again reveals that politics trump everything else with this administration.
The environment, people's livelihoods (that are not union organized), the health of the planet and society...none of it is as important as maintaining political clout over Americans. Yahoo has a rundown:
More here and here and here.
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