It Is Time For The Louisiana Legislature To Act On CWEL

The on going oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by British Petroleum should open the eyes of any sane person, especially our elected officials. Coupled with the dire situation of Louisiana's budget woes and the states cost to mobilize to protect our shore line and coastal area's now is the time for the legislature to introduce CWEL, Coastal Wetlands Environmental Levy.

The late former Governor Dave Treen was in favor of CWEL and wrote an article concerning it in the Times Picayune dated 3/9/09. CWEL contains a levy on the transport of oil and gas across Louisiana's coastal zone, which is an area federally recognized as needing protection from coastal erosion. According to the former Governor, the impact on Louisiana would be negligible since 85% of the consumers are out of state. The passage of CWEL would raise substantial revenue for the state. Mr. Treen's full article will be shown below in Note l.

Governor Treen was a conservative republican but did not wear his conservatism on his sleeve as the present conservatives do. He did not govern by ideology and was not afraid to meet challenges with action and realities that work. The present governor Jindal and the state legislature would do well to take up the issue of CWEL. It has been established beyond a doubt that oil and gas pipe lines and the canals that are dug for oil and gas exploration and production are the primary cause of coastal erosion and the loss of wet lands. And as of the present, the oil and gas industry does not pay its fair share to clean up their mess and reverse the erosion. The enactment of CWEL would change that. It would also help the state on any future oil spills where the state has to mobilize to protect the states interest.

The Times Picayune also carried an article about a pipeline volume levy dated 9/19/09 by J. Ronald Eldridge to a Senate committee September 18, 2009. Mr. Eldridge pointed out how much revenue might be produced. Some have described the levy as a pure tax, an excise tax or a fee and that is supposed to back everyone away. Politicians like to declare no new taxes and then get into the average citizens pocket in 100 different ways by other actions and all the while oil companies are given tax breaks and special treatment while the coastal area's are eroding and wet lands are disappearing because of their operations. It is up to the governor of Louisiana to step up to his responsibility and have the oil and gas industry pay their fare share.

As former governor Treen said in his article, It is time to get well with CWEL.

Note l:

Tax Transport Of Oil and Gas

With all the anguish about budget cuts the state will have to make, including massive cuts to education and health care, it is time to get well with CWEL.

CWEL, the Coastal Wetlands Environmental Levy, could be enacted by the Legislature at the coming session. The levy is on the transport of oil and gas across Louisiana's Coastal Zone, which is an area federally recognized as needing protection from coastal erosion.

The levy is not on the oil and gas. It is a levy on the movement of oil and gas across the coastal zone. This levy would also apply to oil and gas produced in Louisiana, which is transported across the coastal zone.

If the levy is passed on to the consumers of oil and gas, the impact on Louisiana will be negligible, since 85 percent of the consumers are out of state.

With gas at approximately $4 per MCF and oil at $50 or more per barrel, a few pennies on each would produce substantial revenue with the impact on Louisiana hardly noticeable.

End to letters to the editor by former Governor David Treen

Note 2: By Governor Treen's letter to the editors, he showed just how far out front he was on the subject matter long ago. Where have all our leaders gone?

The Untold Story of British Petroleum's Oil Spill In The Gulf of Mexico

The reports of the oil spill in the Gulf by the news media, printed, radio and television have been on going since the fatal explosion on April 20. Talk radio has covered the spill relentlessly. However, the news media in general have failed to devote the proper coverage or time to the real story. The story that the Oil Industry and BP have no timely plan or equipment in place available on short notice to deal with such an accident and stop leaking oil before it gets out of control.

Offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been going on for over 40 years and yet we see with the BP spill no timely coordinated effort to deal with the situation. Eighteen days after the explosion oil is still leaking from the well into the waters of the Gulf and that spill has yet to be cleaned up. No equipment is available to shut off two of the remaining leaking spots so coffer dams had to be built which will be used to try and prevent more oil from leaking into the Gulf. A BP spokesman said they are not sure the dams would work. How do you like that for responsibility?

According to reports BP earned over $5 billion in profits for the first quarter. The major oil companies, including BP have enjoyed record profits over the last several years, yet they still lobby congress to short cut safety regulations. Those record profits that go toward record bonuses for the CEO's and executives, should go instead into area's of improved safety and a workable timely plan and equipment to deal with such accidents. That workable equipment should be available on a moments notice. Equipment should not have to be built after the fact with a disclaimer that it may not work. The oil companies with their vast experience and knowledge in offshore drilling know every conceivable way an accident can happen and should have the means to deal with it timely.

That is the real story and one the news media, federal and state governments should be talking about. No new offshore drilling should be allowed until the oil industry comes up with a timely workable plan and workable equipment available on short notice when necessary to deal with the situations. The states and federal governments should make sure that happens before the next oil spill.

A New Era For The City of New Orleans and Its People

Mayor Mitch Landrieu named six deputy Mayors to his cabinet who will be charged with the responsibility of making certain the functions they will oversee and manage work for the betterment of the city and its people. Landrieu said these deputy Mayors will be held accountable. Mayors of some other large cities have used this process successfully.

Mayor Landrieu also announced his selection of a new police chief to run a police department that has had problems for many years. Landrieju kept his campaign promise to look out side the department for his choice, and hired the current police chief of Nashville, Tenn., and former New Orleans assistant superintendent Ronal Serpas. In a story by the Times Picayune of May 6, it was reported that Landrieu in a letter to the U.S. Justice Department asked that body to evaluate the NOPD, a step that could lead to an agreement imposing some federal oversight of several key areas of the police department. A key move by Landrieu because of an ongoing federal investigation of the department. The Mayor wants to stay on top of things.

Mayor Landrieu start is a stark difference between his hands on policy and the former Nagin policy of being aloof. The people will see the difference compared to other political leaders. Landrieu is a politician who truly believes in public service and making government work for the people. He will not be idle and that is good for the city and its people.

The City of New Orleans now has a chance to shake off 8 previous years of lost opportunity. A new Mayor and three new council member on a city council who finally started showing courage last year on the issues. During his inaugural address, Landrieu showed he understood history when he said, Every civilization that has failed to learn the lessons of the past and failed to pay its dues properly owed has lost its place in history and will be swamped by times onward march. We cannot make that mistake. We must change course. Landrieu understands what has been pointed out here many times in "politidose" that the key to the future is the past.

It is this writers belief Mayor Landrieu's vision of One Team, One Fight, One Voice and One City will carry New Orleans and its people in a new direction and era that everyone will be proud of.

The Latest Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig leased by British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico which exploded, collapsed and is leaking crude oil in the waters of the Gulf has dominated the news the last several days. The potential threat of this spill is still not clear according to officials as of this writing. The coast line, beaches, wildlife, the seafood industry and a way of life could all possibly be affected big time if the spill can not be controlled or contained.

To make matters worse some people are already predicting that this spill will be Obama's Katrina. Never mind that Katrina was a major happening spawned by mother nature and the spill was man made. There are those who still want to see the President fail and be blamed for what ever happens in the Gulf. So far British Petroleum's people said it was an equipment failure but the truth will not be know until a full investigation is completed. Human failure is obviously a possibility.

What happened in the Gulf is a reminder that drilling in the Gulf or on land for oil and gas is still a hazardous operation and that tragic consequences can happen despite all the claims of new advanced safe drilling technology and training. Accidents are caused by human error and faulty equipment.

This latest spill has identified that after over 40 years of drilling in the Gulf and on land the Oil and Gas Industry still have not developed a timely system or operation to answer the call. That is pathetic and should be unacceptable. Their attitude seems to be, we will just mosey along until the states and federal governments step in. The oil companies do not like being liable for anything they do.

Future drilling in the Gulf should be put on hold until the oil and gas industry comes up with a workable plan that answers the call timely when such accidents happen. They should also have to demonstrate they have the equipment and personnel available on hand to answer the call at any time and do the necessary job.

In order to secure our country's energy needs until alternate energy comes on line, the federal government and state governments should insist that the oil and gas industry make known how much acreage they own, lease or rent and have yet to drill on and why. They should also have to disclose how many wells they have shut in that could be producing and how much of that production is being shut in. That is the only way to find out the real story about what is going on in the industry and the only way for future planning. I believe if the above answers were truly known, both governments and the people would be shocked to find out how much oil and gas is being with held from the market and the potential of new production that drilling on those lands being held out of service would produce. It is past time to find out.

This offshore spill should make state government aware that the same problem could happen with on shore drilling and make sure precautions and a workable response are in place.

Iran: Back In The News Again

Iran was back in the news for the pass few weeks, courtesy of Fox News who would like to see the U.S. go to war with that country and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who's memo to the White House was leaked by the news media as being a wake up call to the White House. The White House denied it was a wake up call and National Security advisor James Jones said the administrations policy toward Iran was ongoing and that Gates memo was nothing new. There was also the usual provocative rhetoric from conservatives and the Israel lobby who want another war in the middle east.

All the while there were no new developments on any so called threats that Iran is supposed to pose to the U.S. or any one else. Iran answered this latest round of war threats by showing off their military might with war games and reminding everyone they will not be a patsy. All of this is unnecessary because Iran does not have a history of attacking its neighbors or any one else and has never threatened to do so. On the other hand, other nations in the area have attacked other nations including Israel who uses their military power with impunity to threaten and attack others.

If Iran is indeed in the process of becoming able to produce nuclear weapons, they will join Israel, Pakistan and India who already have them and who are not a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Those three nations have developed a nuclear capability not to protect their own security but to threaten other countries. If it was to protect their own security they would have joined the Treaty like the U.S. and other world powers who possess nuclear weapons. Those 3 nations want their nuclear arsenal and capabilities to remain secret.

Israel just announced they have a fleet of unmanned drones, some larger than a 747 that can fly higher than a regular jet aircraft. No one yet knows what these drones will be equipped with and their real purpose except Israel. Will Israel use them to enter their neighbors air space which would be a provocative act. Everyone knows Israel has had leaders who have talked and acted provocatively toward their neighbors and have engaged in surprise attacks against them. Israel likes the street to be one way in their favor. They want to do what they please when ever they please and then make a big deal when they are threatened. If one would listen to Israel's leaders you would think the holocaust was committed by some one other than Hitler's Germany and surrogates.

The U.S. need not go to war in Iran if that country is really trying to become the 4th nuclear power in that part of the world. The U.S. can protect its national security with out going to war with Iran. The Cold War proved that. If the threat is nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, then the most serious threats would come from India, Pakistan and North Korea and the reasons are so obvious they do not have to be addressed here. Iran is a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and as such, more is known about their program even though they do have some secrets. The U.S. and other world powers should be working to bring all of those nuclear power governments under inspection and transparency who are not now party to the treaty. No one nation can be picked on as being a threat while others are left to do as they please. That only invites more trouble.

Arianna And The Huffington Post: Looks Like A Copy Cat Job

Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post on April 19 posted a comment titled: Shorting the Middle Class: The Real Wall Street Crime. She speaks about the financial elite and what they have been doing to America for the last 30 years, shorting the middle class. She also wrote how Wall Street was overseeing a "massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the richest Americans.

If that statement of transferring wealth from the middle class to the richest Americans sound familiar, it is because you read it first here on "politidose" many times over and as early as July 9, 2008 in my post titled, "The Roadblock To Job Creation And A Sustained Economy--Conservatives." Also see Note 1 for other past posts on the subject. Any journalist or person who follows the news should have seen what was going on with the "transfer of wealth" long ago. Most of it happened under Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 and that was also pointed out in past post on "politidose."

It is good to see Arianna and the Huffington Post finally understand what has been taken place in our country. But what Arianna does not understand is that the transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy has already taken place. That is why we are going through the worst economic down turn since the great depression. Arianna also does not seem to understand the massive transfer of wealth from the taxpayers that was used by Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 to finance their 20 years of record federal deficit spending and debt. My three part series on "politidose" titled: "The U. S. Economy: Which Party Performs Best" started running January 27, 2008 explained what happened. (Maybe that will be the next commentary by Arianna)

Glad to see Arianna and the Huffington Post catching up on what has been going on with the "transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy."

Note l: Innovation: Lost In America posted 7/23/08

The Absence of Competition posted 10/20/09

The NFL, Corporate Welfare, Tax Incentives and The Transfer of Wealth posted
2/13/10

Congress And The Regulation Of Wall Street And Financial Institutions

President Obama and the democrats in congress are working on legislation to bring the free wheeling dealings of Wall Street and its bankers under control to prevent another meltdown that was experienced in 2008. That also includes their shady dealings. The President and democratic leaders in congress have asked the republicans to join them, but once again the ditto heads say they will oppose the democratic proposal and vote no.

It was reported Mitch McConnell, the republican minority leader in the senate met with the banking lobby and affirmed to that lobby they would oppose the democratic plan. The republican conservatives have once again said no in keeping with their unAmerican ideology of opposing anything coming out of the Obama administration or the democratic congress. Their do nothing attitude is in line with their record of failure to accomplish any thing meaningful for the country and its people.

The party that gave America 90% of its deficit spending and debt, a ruined economy, the worst job creating record since the great depression and the loss of a record number of jobs in the economy is alive and still sick. This sad bunch is still led by the likes of Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey and the conservative right wing who want to see America fail. They are all a pitiful lot.

The President and the democratic congress need to push on with legislation to bring Wall Street and its bankers under control and truly regulate their activity that sent the economy on its downward course. Let the republicans continue to be the unAmerican party since that is their own choice. When the vote is taken in the senate lets see if the republican party will have at least 4 or 5 republican senators who believe in America and vote with the democrats. The President and the democratic congress should continue to lead by action.

Too Big To Fail

The Bush administration urged Congress in 2008 to bail out the Wall Street Financial Industry to the tune of $700 billion. Congress did so with legislation. The Financial Industry was the major cause of the economic collapse which has been described as the worst since the great depression. Subprime mortgage loans has been described as the main reason and cause. Many Wall Street Financial giants participated in the subprime mortgage market.

The words, "Too Big To Fail" were used to justify the bail outs but little attention has been paid to accurately indentify what those words truly indicate and how they relate to what took place and why. If indeed a business is "Too Big To Fail" it indicates that business is a monopoly and a threat to the free market system, to competition, to the economic well being of the country and a threat to other business establishments. The U.S. has anti trust laws to prevent business monopolies and are supposed to prevent and break up such threats to America's well being.

Now after the fact and the damage has already been done some Democrats are calling for the break up of those large Financial Institutions. That action should be expedited by Congress, monopolies should be broken up and from this day forward the regulatory authorities should scrutinize all future company mergers and take overs to make sure another monopoly is not created.

Monopolies are anti American and anti business in nature because they represent power and wealth. Those two combinations in the hands of ruthless people are deadly for the people and country. Power and wealth gives monopolies the feeling of being invincible and above the law and thereby do as they please. All the while their CEO's continue to acquire more power and wealth and are continuing to do so as of this writing, while the people and the country are still paying the price for their monopolistic failures.

Just yesterday the Security and Exchange Commission accused Goldman Sachs and Co., of defrauding investors by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in mortgage investments it sold as the housing market was collapsing. This concerns subprime mortgage securities sold to other investors. (Taken from report in Times Picayune of 4/17/10) Power and wealth was at the center of what Goldman Sachs were involved in. Don't any one be surprised if the SEC implicates other Wall Street financial firms.

Corporate America has proven over and over, again and again they can not and will not regulate themselves or their behavior. It really falls to the federal regulators to do the job and be vigilant. The same Corporate America rails against regulation and big government but they are the reason why we have both. For over two years, politidose has been commenting how power and wealth in the wrong hands has been a deadly combination for the country and its people. It has now come full circle.

Monopoly is the correct word to describe, "Too Big To Fail" and the Obama administration and Congress should pass legislation to not only break them up but also make sure there are regulations in place where it will prevent monopolies to take hold again.

Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling

By now the American people know President Obama recently opened up and expanded offshore area's for drilling along the southern Atlantic Coastline, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and part of Alaska. The news had a more positive response than negative, especially among state's that have had offshore drilling and share in that federal revenue. The news prompted the usual false information from those who are always saying "drill baby drill" and those who want to see wide open drilling with no regulations.

Those pro drilling anywhere people said the action would help America achieve energy independence and not have to rely on foreign oil. That is a blatant untruth and they know it. The oil and gas industry has had over 50 years to make the U.S. less dependent on foreign oil and they have failed despite the billions of dollars of government incentives during those years. The most recent by the Bush administration only a few years ago to the tune of billions of dollars.

The price of oil hit $150/barrel and gasoline $3.50/gallon during the Bush term in office. That was incentive enough to drill baby drill, however Gulf of Mexico drilling activity decreased 76% between 2000 and 2009. See note l. Eight of those years were under Bush and the activity decreased every year on his watch with the exception of 2008 where 3 more rigs were active than the previous year.

During the above period the oil and gas companies had much gulf acreage that was idle. For the U.S. to become independent from foreign oil the industry would have to start drilling and producing from all their lease acreage that has been idle and stockpile the oil and gas. They are not about to do that because large inventories reduces the price and they like to manipulate their inventory and reduce production for their own self interest. The oil and gas industry is also in bed with foreign producers and they are not going to change that no matter what.

The only way for the U.S. to become independent of foreign oil is alternate energy and fuel with a drastic decrease of oil and gas usage. Is it any real wonder why at the end of 2008 the U.S. was importing 70% of its oil needs. Oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens cried about that in his T.V. ads every day back then when he was pushing the use of natural gas for automobiles. He has since abandoned those ads when the price of natural gas started to fall in line with demand.

I wrote a post titled, "Innovation: Lost in America dated July 23, 2008 and published in politidose. The oil companies like to talk about their technology gains of drilling deeper, finding more oil and gas and etc. But they have lost the hunger to innovate any plan to really make the U.S. self reliant when it comes to oil and gas. Creating power and wealth uses up all their energy. That says it all.

Note 1: Source: Baker Hughes report as published in Times Picayune of 1/17/10.

Cal Thomas: Another Confused Conservative Journalist

In an editorial that appeared in the Times Picayune of April 7, Thomas once again proved conservative ditto head ideology and the fact that they stand for nothing. His editorial about having the new health care legislation overturned on constitutional grounds and then asked, what then? He then answers his own question by saying opponents have to have a plan ready to take its place. The last paragraph of his editorial end in these words.

This is the republican challenge. If Obamacare is struck down, republicans should have a substitute proposal ready that embodies their principles, gets passed by a republican congress and signed by a republican President in 2013. In other words after a year of debate on health care, its passage and signed into law the republicans still don't have a plan they can present to the people. What Thomas last paragraph also says is he thinks a republican health care plan should be republican all the way. Thomas still thinks conservatives are the elite, above anyone else.

The sour grapes by conservative journalists and those inside and outside of congress who oppose health care see a President who delivered on a campaign promise, see a President whose economic policy is taking hold and sees an economy that is starting to create jobs, they are scared as hell. They dare not talk about the Bush administration because they have nothing positive to say about that administration. They will continue to oppose everything coming out of the Obama administration because they have no record of accomplishment themselves so its personal attacks against democrats.

The problem with the conservatives who lead the republican party today and those journalists like Cal Thomas, Bill O'Rielly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh is that they preach a conservative ideology that is unAmerican and out side the norm of civility. They prefer the method of personal attacks because they can not compete on the issues. They are a pathetic lot and what really bothers them is that most of the democrats they always attack wore the uniform of their country while they themselves stayed home.

The democrats is congress don't always think alike but they are not the phony party who sits across the aisle. Cal Thomas should have told his party to have a health care plan available when the debate started over a year ago instead of putting a plan together now. Its safe to say, once a phony, always a phony.