Free Republic

Why thank you, sir :)

Prolly just as well, as happens every time big news breaks, FR is so danged slow it is impossible to have an exchange.

We’re having a heat wave down here. Are you still at the lake?

Deepwater Drilling Ban Lifted by New Orleans Federal Judge

A New Orleans federal judge lifted the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by President Barack Obama following the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

Obama temporarily halted all drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet on May 27 to give a presidential commission time to study improvements in the safety of offshore operations. Government lawyers told U.S. District Judge Martin Feldmanthat the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig off the Louisiana coast in April was a “game changer’’ that exposed the risks of offshore oil exploration.

“We need to make sure deepwater drilling is as safe as we thought it was the day before this incident,’’ Brian Collins, a lawyer for the government, told Feldman in a court hearing June 21. “It is crucial to take the time because to fail to do so would be to gamble with the long-term future of this region.’’

More than a dozen Louisiana offshore service and supply companies sued U.S. regulators to lift the ban. State officials claim 20,000 Louisiana jobs are in jeopardy if the deepwater drilling suspension lasts 18 months.

BP Plc, which leased the Deepwater Horizon, has two pipes collecting oil and gas from the ocean floor. They collected 25,830 barrels of oil yesterday, the biggest quantity diverted from the Gulf of Mexico since the April 20 spill began, London- based BP said in a statement.

Drilling Companies

Lawyers for the drilling companies told Feldman the moratorium illegally sidesteps a required industry comment period. They also said regulators failed to tell Obama that all active deepwater rigs passed an immediate re-inspection after the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank, with only two rigs reporting minor violations and the rest getting approval to continue operations.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal asked Feldman on June 20 to lift the ban in 30 days after the judge imposes more stringent safety and oversight procedures. Such rules would incorporate the results of several ongoing drilling safety studies, including that of the presidential commission, Jindal and Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell wrote in court papers.

Jindal’s proposed compromise would let 33 deepwater rigs idled by the moratorium return to work within a month after their well-design plans were reapproved. His proposal also requires the rigs’ blowout prevention and other safety equipment to be recertified by a regulator stationed on each platform. Jindal and Caldwell suggested the compromise in a filing made in support of the lawsuit against federal regulators.

Snip

heeheehee. Mr Thin Skinned, Big Shot is having a very bad day. 'bout danged time! Made all the sweeter by two things, first, Judge Feldman is a Reagan appointee. Second, Judge Feldman acted swiftly and decisively, Governor Jindal just asked for this 2 days ago.

Link

Hey U :) Just 1 second.... gotta take a danged call.

Sweet, :) Girl don’t let yourself get too bogged down in the dreary stuff, gotta be good to yourself, too. :) I hear ya about the escape route, I keep digging up and moving around the coffee cans, stuffing and unstuffing the mattresses.

ummm, ummm, ummmm. Hellsapoppin today! Sho'nuff is!

:)

The poor things. They knew the potential danger of encountering a riled up dog, the boat motors were an unknown entity. LOL

I've been thinking of going to Kiawah Island for a couple of weeks but the heat is beginning to make a trip to the mountains with cooler, non-humid nights sound mighty appealing.

That is amazing. I don't think I've ever seen deer swimming or actually in water other than at water's edge, having a drink.

I'm a wee bit jealous of your pleasant weather. We're still in the midst of an unusually early heat wave and would enjoy a few weeks of cooler weather. A trip to the nearby beaches seems a bit futile at this point. :( I'm thinking of heading to the hills around NC or upper east TN where I know the weather is nicer at this time of the year.

Renee Ellmers

Etheridge Trails After Video Ambush (NC)

Really? Ambush? Ambush? Naw, no bias in that headline. No siree.

No leftist slant in this online story about the poll and the "ambush" on a NC TV website either. Apparently, the poll was taken Wednesday?, and shows Renee Ellmers leads Etheridge 39% to 38% in what was considered a safe democrat seat. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percent, making it a statistical dead heat according to the article

The Entire Poll covers more issues than just the Ellmers-Etheridge race.

Ellmers website

Saints receive championship rings
Jun 17, 2010

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The New Orleans Saints aren't done celebrating last season's Super Bowl title quite yet.

Team members gathered at a downtown New Orleans hotel Wednesday night to get their championship rings.

snip

The ring features a fleur-de-lis, musical notes and several New Orleans landmarks, including the Louisiana Superdome and the triple-spired St. Louis Cathedral.

Quarterback Drew Brees calls the ring's design "perfect"

.

How 'bout dat! (yes, I know, they are gaudy, but so are all Super Bowl rings)

End the drilling moratorium
By Rolfe McCollister, Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Is the cure worse than the disease? Well, that is what some are asking about the deepwater drilling moratorium ordered by the president and his secretary of the interior. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has shut down fishing and shrimping in Louisiana, creating an environmental and economic disaster—and now the moratorium threatens to put those in the oil and gas business out of work, too.

In a letter last week, experts brought in to advise Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, “A blanket moratorium is not the answer. It will not measurably reduce risk further and it will have a lasting impact on the nation’s economy which may be greater than that of the oil spill. We do not believe punishing the innocent is the right thing to do.”

On June 2, Gov. Bobby Jindal sent a letter to President Barack Obama saying, “I fully understand the need for strict oversight of deepwater drilling. However, I would ask that the federal government move quickly to ensure that all deepwater drilling is in proper compliance with federal regulation and is conducted safely so that energy production and more importantly, thousands of jobs, are not in limbo.”

Currently, the gulf is home to 33% of the world’s deepwater rigs. Already, one firm has announced the suspension of drilling three wells and will move its rig. The job losses for an extended moratorium would be immense.

Another issue that has taken center stage due to this crisis is the long-term solution to protecting our coast and marshlands. Right now, the oil is a federal resource, but Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states bear 100% of the risk. It’s not fair. Sen. Mary Landrieu has introduced legislation, the RESPOND Act, whereby funds from new leases off Louisiana’s coast would be shared immediately, as opposed to 2017, per the current law. I think the nation is now aware of our fragile coastline and marshes and pray citizens and officials in every state will support this legislation.

LINK: Full article

Girlfriends!

{{{{{Hugs}}}}}

alrighty but ... I thought we were trying to reconstruct our original ping list.

...
I gotta go, storms closing in

ok, now I’m gone. :)

darks is the only one on that list to post here.

oops, thunderstorms in the area.... they’re getting closer.... BBL... maybe

lol