Prev: ANCIENT PSEUDOSCIENTIST SQUASHED INSIDE BOULDER
Next: Toyota recalling, halting sales of Lexus HS250h in US
From: Cliff on 26 Jun 2010 19:41

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/25/gov-bobby-jindal-still-ha_n_626175.html
[
All along the Gulf coast, local officials have been demanding more help from the
federal government to fight the spill, yet the Gulf states have deployed just a
fraction of the National Guard troops the Pentagon has made available, CBS News
Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.

That's a particular problem for the state of Louisiana, where the Republican
governor has been the most vocal about using all resources.
]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_06/024443.php
[
JINDAL INEXPLICABLY RESISTS GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO GULF COAST.... Louisiana Gov.
Bobby Jindal's (R) criticism of the federal government has been loud and
frequent as the BP oil spill crisis intensified, but CBS News ran a very
damaging piece last night, noting that Jindal has the authority to dispatch
thousands of National Guard troops to the coast to help with the response, but
has chosen not to. .... <see video at link>

The video is well worth watching -- it's only two-and-a-half minutes long -- in
part because Jindal's decisions have been so inexplicable. The governor asked
President Obama two months ago to authorize the use of 6,000 National Guard
troops for the disaster, and the president immediately agreed. Jindal, however,
only deployed 1,053 -- less than a fifth.
.....
Indeed, before the CBS report aired, the governor's office conceded that Jindal
has not asked for more Guard troops to be deployed to the coast to help with the
response to the spill. The report did not offer an explanation.

This is potentially a huge revelation. President Obama, in his Oval Office
address, specifically and publicly urged the regional governors "to activate
these troops as soon as possible. " Jindal seems to have specifically chosen not
to, can't justify the decision, and is telling falsehoods when asked about his
decision, shifting the burden of responsibility dramatically.

Put it this way: imagine if Obama had the authority to send troops to help with
the response to the spill, but for no apparent reason, declined to issue the
order for more than two months. Do you suppose there'd be some political
blowback?

As Jed added, Jindal has "argued that the federal government has denied him the
resources he needs to fight the spill, but even though he's had thousands of
National Guardsmen at his disposal, he's only used a tiny fraction of them,
allowing more than 80% of the resources at his disposal to go unused."

Jindal has some explaining to do.
]


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/25/879265/-CBS:-Jindal-holds-up-deployment-of-National-Guard-to-fight-spill
[
CBS: Jindal holds up deployment of National Guard to fight spill
by Jed Lewison
Share this on Twitter - CBS: Jindal holds up deployment of National Guard to
fight spill Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 09:10:03 AM PDT
You know how Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal likes to blame the Federal
government for the damage caused by BP's oil spill, arguing that he could have
kept all the oil at bay if President Obama had only given him the resources he
needed to fight it?

Well, last night CBS News tore Jindal's argument to shreds, pointing out that
while President Obama has authorized up to 6,000 National Guard troops to fight
the spill, Jindal has only activated 1,053 of them -- leaving more than 80%
sitting idle, doing nothing to protect the state.

It's must-see-tv <see video at link> (text version here):

When CBS confronted Jindal about leaving so many guardsmen idle while oil is
washing ashore, Jindal -- naturally -- blamed the Federal government, saying
that he had requested deployment for the full 6,000, but that his request had
been denied because "the Coast Guard and BP had to authorize individual tasks."

It turns out Jindal's response was a lie.

[
But Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the national incident commander in charge of
the government's response to the spill, said Jindal is just flat wrong.

"There is nothing standing in the governor's way from utilizing more National
Guard troops," Allen said.

In fact, the Coast Guard says every request to use the National Guard has been
approved, usually within a day. Now Jindal's office acknowledged to CBS News the
governor has not specifically asked for more Guard troops to be deployed.
]

This is a very big deal. It exposes the fact that Jindal has been playing
politics with the spill from day one. He's argued that the federal government
has denied him the resources he needs to fight the spill, but even though he's
had thousands of National Guardsmen at his disposal, he's only used a tiny
fraction of them, allowing more than 80% of the resources at his disposal to go
unused.

In light of Jindal's massive under utilization of National Guard resources, it's
clear that his attacks on the Obama administration were motivated first and
foremost by politics. More than anything else, Jindal wanted to take the heat
off the oil industry and put it on the government.

Well, Bobby, mission accomplished. Too bad you didn't give a damn about stopping
the oil.
....
]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/37936742#37936742

Oops ... it's the same old lying rethug face doing yet more rethuggery.
--
Cliff
 | 
Pages: 1
Prev: ANCIENT PSEUDOSCIENTIST SQUASHED INSIDE BOULDER
Next: Toyota recalling, halting sales of Lexus HS250h in US