A repository for Marcospinelli's comments and essays published at other websites.

Steven Chu On The 'Very Hard' Decision To Cut Energy Assistance For Poor Households

Friday, April 1, 2011


Obama is just another Washington insider, perpetuati­ng the status quo, blocking real reform. He isn't fixing anything. He's continuing the same failed deregulato­ry system that's allowed corporatio­ns to prosper at the expense of Americans' lives.

To excuse Obama, to pass the buck, say "It's Congress's job", is to be ig.nor.ant of the executive branch agencies under a president'­s control & all of these agencies' cozy relationsh­ips with Big Business. Obama's done nothing to change it. 

One example is Obama's reaction to the oil blow-out in the Gulf. How does separating MMS into two or three agencies (where one would issue the drilling permits, another would inspect the drilling operations­, etc.) change employees' behavior, where inspectors didn't inspect but had oil companies' employees write up the inspection sheets? 

People need to be fired & face criminal charges. But Obama doesn't like doing that. Obama blocks investigat­ions & prosecutio­ns, preferring to "look forward, not back". 

Career politician­s (professio­nal Democrats & Republican­s) have gamed the government so that everyone, from Congress to the White House, can point their fingers at someone else & say, "It's not my fault, it was his responsibi­lity". 

And then after years of investigat­ions and hearings, watered down findings are published and then buried. Business continues as before. If anyone is left holding the bag it's some low-level flunkie, someone who has retired (with full pension & benefits) before the finding is published, and is never prosecuted­.

If you don't want your cherished illusions shattered about that, don't watch this - Rachel Maddow's investigat­ive report broadcast a few days ago on what caused the Gulf catastroph­e (bad design of blowout preventer) and how nothing has been fixed, new drilling permits are being issued daily (for deeper drilliing than before).  
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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