While the corporate media attempts to minimize, under-report, distort, or outright ignore the enormous and growing and irreparable damage to people, wildlife, fishing, vegetation, and the eco-system of Mother Earth caused by this corporate horror that began on April 20th, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama / Biden / Rahm Emanuel administration was busily urging that off-shore drilling be expanded. In an April 15th, 2010, article in The Black Commentator titled, ‘Decloaking the Deadly Foxes in Our Midst,’ I specifically warned about the insidious and “environmentally insane off-shore drilling” policies on the part of “Obama and his Democratic and Republican Party colleagues.” Who was paying attention? Who is paying attention even now?

It is important to understand that British Petroleum (BP) is not by any means the only corporate player involved in this horrendous national and planetary disaster, just as Goldman Sachs is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the only corporate vampire on Wall Street. In point of fact, Haliburton Corporation, Transocean Corporation, and Hyundai Heavy Industries all worked together with British Petroleum. The bottom line for these corporations is profit for the elite, motivated by greed. The safety and welfare of everyday people and the planet is a distant second or third – if indeed at all.

Even as the pro-apartheid Zionist Obama / Biden / Rahm Emanuel clique continues to wage bloody imperialistic wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan (to name but a few places), joblessness, foreclosures, college / university education-tuition hikes, homelessness, racism, corporate government attacks on labor unions & working people, and prison incarceration rates continue to sky rocket in this nation. Even as public education is in fact dismantled and privatized by the Democratic Party foxes and Republican Party wolves, our young people serve as cannon fodder for the corporate / military elite – going from the cradle to the military or to prison.

Our addiction to oil comes at a very high price. We have to wean ourselves off of it and as quickly as possible. Our ability to destroy and pollute this planet seems mind bogling and insane. We knew long ago this was coming but took no steps towards change. It amazes me that as a species we can be so kind on one hand but continue to destroy the planet at a reckless pace on ther other. I fear a true desire and push for real change will only come when millions of people are sickened and die. By then I wonder if it may be too late. Facts are facts people. We best wake up soon.

But isn’t the Obama Administration doing everything possible to help US homeowners now living in a toxic home because of toxic Chinese drywall? The Chinese Drywall Complaint Center says, “the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill-now officially the worst oil spill in US history is not the Obama Administrations first astonishing failure to respond to a national disaster. The Obama Administration’s response to toxic Chinese drywall has been negligent, and they act like they either do not want to talk about it-or their are afraid of offending the Chinese-either way 100,000’s of US Homeowners in the US Southeast have been abandoned by Washington, DC.” The group says,”even worse than Obama’s lack of interest in toxic Chinese drywall-the US Consumer Products Safety Commission has miserably failed 100,000’s of US homeowners with their lack of information.

Symptoms of toxic Chinese drywall in homes in Louisiana, North Florida, Central Florida, South Florida, South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, or Southeast Texas include: repeated air conditioning coil failures, within two years of the home being built. In addition to air conditioning coil failures, toxic Chinese drywall in the US Southeast may cause appliance failures, light bulbs burning out prematurely, copper turning black, combined with all, or some of the family are experiencing seemingly never ending upper respiratory issues, nose bleeds, severe headaches, unexplained very unusual rashes, especially in the late spring, or summer. The time frame for toxic Chinese drywall in the US Southeast is 2001-to early 2009. The Chinese Drywall Complaint Center is saying, “We think the worst effects of toxic Chinese drywall in the US Southeast occur in from mid April—mid October because of high heat combined with high thresholds of humidity.”

In an interview with the New York Times Magazine for a story on “The First Marriage,” Mr. Obama said it “annoyed” him that he was criticized for flying to New York last spring to see a Broadway play and have dinner with his wife. Critics complained that the president was using public money to pay for the trip.

“If I weren’t president, I would be happy to catch the shuttle with my wife to take her to a Broadway show, as I had promised her during the campaign, and there would be no fuss and no muss and no photographers,” he said. “That would please me greatly.”

“The notion that I just couldn’t take my wife out on a date without it being a political issue was not something I was happy with,” he added, later echoing a reporter’s comment that “everything becomes political” in the White House.

Presidents always travel in secure government vehicles or aircraft for both personal and political travel.

“What I value most about my marriage is that it is separate and apart from a lot of the silliness of Washington, and Michelle is not part of that silliness,” Mr. Obama said.
“This is the first time in a long time in our marriage that we’ve lived seven days a week in the same household with the same schedule, with the same set of rituals,” the first lady said of White House life. “That’s been more of a relief for me than I would have ever imagined.”

Still, she acknowledged that “the bumps happen to everybody all the time, and they are continuous.”

Asked how it’s possible to have an equal relationship when one member of a couple is president, Mr. Obama struggled to answer and the first lady stepped in.

“Clearly Barack’s career decisions are leading us,” she said. “They’re not mine; that’s obvious. I’m married to the president of the United States. I don’t have another job, and it would be problematic in this role. So that — you can’t even measure that.”

“There is still time for Congress and the president to take steps to keep loaded firearms away from the valleys of Yellowstone, the cliffs of Yosemite, and the Statue of Liberty — but they need to act quickly,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

A bill that Obama signed in May permits licensed gun owners to bring firearms into national parks and wildlife refuges as long as state law allows it. The new law, which takes effect in February, will replace rules from the Reagan administration that generally require that guns in national parks be locked or stored in a glove compartment or trunk.
Politically, the move thrilled gun-rights advocates such as the National Rifle Association and outdoorsmen. They generally lean conservative, which may help Obama’s soft standing with centrists and independents. But it certainly didn’t set well with some of Obama’s core Democratic constituencies, environmentalists and gun-control backers.

The Obama family — the president, the first lady and daughters Malia and Sasha, and other relatives — had a busy sightseeing weekend planned: visiting Yellowstone National Park on Saturday and touring Grand Canyon National Park on Sunday.
Their stops come during one of three summer weekends when the administration waived entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments to spur tourism and boost local economies.

Less than a year in office, Obama doesn’t have much of a record when it comes to the national park system. Nonetheless, parks advocates say the administration has indicated it wants to spend more on parks and expand the parks system.

At this point, “it’s more rhetoric than it is decisions” but “we believe there’s a pretty bold and ambitious agenda brewing for national parks in this administration,” said Ron Tipton, the National Parks Conservation Association’s senior vice president of policy. “We’re seeing the interest right out of the box, and we’re seeing it exemplified by a president who takes his family to a national park in his first year in office. That’s very unusual.”

Dorn, likewise, applauded Obama for “making a pretty significant statement this early in his administration at a time when he’s got some pretty heavy things on his shoulders.”

From the outset of his presidency, Obama signaled his would be an administration sympathetic to the parks. He signed legislation that set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as protected wilderness. That was one of the largest expansions of wilderness protection in a quarter-century. Supporters said the law would strengthen the national parks system; opponents called it a “land grab.”

The sweeping proposal would give the Federal Reserve expanded authority to oversee the country’s largest financial firms. It would also create a new regulator for mortgages and credit cards, give the government the power to take over and break up large faltering companies, and toughen oversight of credit derivatives and hedge funds, among other things.

* In a major break with most other large companies, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) Tuesday told the White House that it supports requiring employers to provide health insurance to workers, a centerpiece of U.S. President Barack Obama’s effort to provide near-universal coverage to Americans.

* The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp on Thursday is expected to propose new guidelines for private-equity investors seeking to buy failed banks, people familiar with the matter said.

* Freddie Mac’s (FRE.N) board has made Charles “Ed” Haldeman Jr. its prime candidate for chief executive officer of the government-backed mortgage company, according to people familiar with the situation.

* China’s government delayed its controversial requirement that manufacturers include Web-filtering software in all new personal computers sold in the country — an 11th-hour move that shows the challenges Beijing faces in its wide-ranging efforts to rein in the Internet.

* A regulator fined a unit of ICAP Plc (IAP.L) and one of its former brokers for “numerous improper communications” with rival firms over fees on credit-default-swap trades, in an ongoing probe that could widen to include other brokerage firms.

* Sales of Michael Jackson’s music have skyrocketed since he died suddenly last Thursday, returning the late pop star to the top-selling spot he held more than once during his career.

* The Obama administration’s tough new fuel-efficiency standards could pose problems for some car makers, but Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) is hoping to benefit. The Japanese company is betting the rules will give an advantage to its expanding lineup of hybrid vehicles, and it also aims to boost revenue by licensing to other car makers the patents that protect its fuel-saving technologies.

* U.S. home prices eased their slide in April, but rising unemployment and shaky consumer confidence are weighing on prospects for a recovery in the housing market and broader economy.

* Financier Allen Stanford is a serious flight risk and must remain in jail until he is tried on charges of masterminding a Ponzi scheme, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

* Gannett Co (GCI.N), the largest U.S. newspaper publisher by daily circulation, will cut between 1,000 and 2,000 jobs out of its 41,500-person work force in response to continuing revenue declines, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking.

Progress sought
Baucus’ comments coincided with the beginning of a one-week congressional vacation, and came as he and the Obama administration sought to demonstrate progress on the president’s top domestic priority. President Barack Obama’s goal is to revamp a broken system, reducing costs and providing coverage for nearly 50 million Americans who lack it.

Despite the gains made in lowering costs, Republicans made clear that intense negotiations lie ahead if a bipartisan bill is to emerge.
Republicans and Democrats remain at odds on major issues, including the question of a government-run option for insurance that would compete with private industry. Obama has endorsed the idea, saying it would hold down costs, while GOP lawmakers oppose it.

Another dispute revolves around the Democrats’ call for a requirement on businesses to either provide insurance for their employees or pay into a government fund subsidizing coverage for those who lack it. Many smaller businesses would be exempt, and others would qualify for government subsidies to help them afford coverage, but most Republicans have expressed opposition to a so-called “employer mandate.”

The Obama plan also breaks with the pre-crisis period by attempting to head off financial bubbles before they form. Greenspan maintained that central banks could not “definitively identify” bubbles until after they had burst. Rather than attempt to prick bubbles before they grew dangerous, it was better, he said, to clean up after they popped.

“The president does not accept the judgment that it’s best to let the market forces rip and then when there’s an accident, to clean up after. He believes the last two expansions have, to an extent, been bubble driven, and it’s important the next expansion rest … on a new foundation and a much stronger foundation,” Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
Increased powers for Fed

Among the most controversial elements are expanded powers granted the Fed. The central bank, which controls the nation’s money supply and supervises the banks, would become the financial system’s uber-regulator. The Fed missed the housing and credit bubbles while they were inflating, badly underestimated their costs when they did pop and already has a full plate, critics say. With the Fed already engaged in numerous unconventional interventions in financial markets, some worry that adding a new role could backfire.

“I’d rather that the Fed stick to its knitting of conducting monetary policy and be the lender of last resort, as opposed to take on the role of supervision of individual institutions. … In this role, the Fed will be thrust into the center of controversy,” said Hal Scott, a professor at Harvard Law School and director of the influential Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, a private-sector body.

But administration officials say they carefully considered alternatives before opting to task the Fed. Countries that place key supervision authority outside the central bank don’t operate well in crisis situations, Geithner said.

“I do not believe there’s a plausible alternative that would create the necessary degree of confidence, accountability, responsibility and authority for protecting us against some of the risks we faced in this crisis,” he said.

Maybe lower house payments, and not just for those already in default.

“All of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis,” Obama said Wednesday in announcing the program during a ceremony at a Phoenix-area high school.

The housing industry has been devastated by the nation’s recession. Construction of homes and applications for future projects both plunged to record lows in January as all parts of the country showed big declines in building activity. Analysts hope that boosts from government programs, including steps to stem foreclosures, will help stop the slide.

Headlining Obama’s efforts is the $75 billion Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, which will provide a set of incentives to lenders to cut monthly mortgage payments to sustainable levels.
Refinance, even if you’re ‘underwater’
Mortgage rates at near-record lows could make payments more manageable for homeowners trapped by falling prices. Though many of these owners are current on their payments, plummeting prices have kept them underwater. Homeowners whose mortgages were bought or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac typically need equity of at least 20% to refinance. Obama’s program would change that requirement, allowing even those who owe up to 105% of their home’s value to refinance.

Obama’s spokesman Robert Gibbs noted that the president discussed universal principles such as the right to peacefully demonstrate and stressed they should be observed in Iran as the political tumult escalates.

“The president will continue to express those concerns and ensure that we are not meddling,” said Gibbs.

Earlier, Iran protested to the Swiss envoy in Tehran, who represents US interests, over “interfering remarks” by US officials on last week’s presidential election, state television reported.

Obama said on Tuesday that he had concerns about the conduct of last week’s election and subsequent violence, but said that US “meddling” in Iranian affairs could be counterproductive.