Whatever It Takes: Obama Sidesteps Law to Halt Domestic Energy Production. Twice.
It is disturbing, to say the least, how little deference the president and the administration give to the strictures of the Constitution and existing law. Whatever suits Obama’s partisan political interests takes precedence, regardless of the cost to us. However, it is heartening that judges are increasingly unwilling to let this rampage continue.
The most recent example involves the planned nuclear-waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
Almost everyone acknowledges that nuclear power is clean and safe, even though there has been a decades-long campaign against it by ill-informed advocacy groups. The remaining concern about nuclear energy in this country, for some decades, has been how to dispose of the spent fuel created in the electrical generation process. In Europe, they have largely dealt with this problem by reprocessing that fuel and reusing it to create more energy. In this country, that option was discarded years ago in favor of long-term geological storage. Decades of expensive studies zeroed in on Yucca Mountain as the best site for such storage.
Presently, the nuclear waste generated by energy and weapons production is being stored in vulnerable storage facilities throughout the country, waiting for transfer to Yucca Mountain. The cost of that facility has been borne largely by electricity consumers paying into a nuclear-waste fund — already, $10 billion has been spent on developing Yucca.
Many Nevadans don’t like the idea of the repository. To garner these votes, candidate Barack Obama contended that he had questions about the safety of the storage facilities there and that he wanted to further study the issue. With the reelection of Harry Reid in jeopardy, last fall Obama signed into law a spending bill funding energy and water programs for 2010 that contained a provision to close down the Yucca nuclear-waste repository. The Department of Energy, which had earlier filed an 86,000 page application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to open the nuclear-waste dump, sought to withdraw that application under the new leadership.
That move was opposed by Washington and South Carolina — states which contain major accumulations of waste from nuclear-weapons production. The move was also opposed by the Nuclear Energy Institute (the trade association of the nuclear industry) and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (state official members of public service commissions) who petitioned the NRC for relief. The commission agreed with the petitioners, saying the Department of Energy had no authority to flout the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, Public Law 97-425. The panel observed that DOE had not, in seeking to withdraw its application, argued that the site was unsafe or that there was something wrong with the lengthy application. Its sole explanation for the turnabout was that the long-studied and planned for site was “not a workable option.”
Clean affordable energy from technology that is actually viable, but doesn’t enable wealth redistribution at the federal level is outside the scope of the energy policies of this administration.
The most recent bit of dementia from Obama’s “administration” is that when BP was ready to finally cap the Deepwater Horizon well yesterday, the Obama-run EPA demanded that they not start. Why? They claimed they needed to make “further tests” on the cap.
Once they had the attempt halted, they also stated that they will not do any tests “until further notice”. Thus preventing any attempts to cap the well, period.
They are also doing everything they can to slow, or stop, the drilling of the relief well close to the DH well. In fact, part of the government’s argument for Obama’s moratorium on offshore drilling was the “need” to prevent the completion of the relief well.
With this sort of thing going on, repeatedly and with no letup, I am forced to conclude that the Obama Administration, its EPA, and its Energy and Interior Departments consist of one or more of the following types of what Scoot “Dilbert” Adams calls “In-DUH-viduals”;
1. Neo-Luddite psychotics who want to destroy civilization.
2. Sociopaths who hate people in general, and enjoy hurting them, especially when they can do by a process of “masterly inaction” which allows them to do it without actually “getting their hands dirty”.
3. Theorists who are obsessed with “perfect solutions” to everything, and will reject any solution which is not 10,000% “pristine”. (Who also do not understand the concept of percentiles.)
4. Ideological radicals who are out to milk every last bit of propaganda for their agenda from the situation, and are overjoyed that the spill is destroying industries like oil drilling and commercial fishing in “red” states which they hate on general principles anyway.
What I see no evidence of at all in this administration- is anything resembling responsible leadership. If they had one ounce of conscience, or even self-awareness beyond their obsessions with their “agenda”, the lot of them would have resigned a month ago.
Since they didn’t, we will simply have to fire them at the first opportunity.
clear ether
eon
“(Who also do not understand the concept of percentiles.)”
Well Obama did say that his health care plan was going to reduce health care costs by 500 percent.
Pretty sure it’s number 1. But that is a pretty good list of choices.
I do believe the connection is with Sorros and the obama regime. Why would this DOJ continue to try to disrupt the oil production of this Country. Answer the connection is with Sorros and the 2-billion dollars of money in which we do not have that was promised with the Brazilians. This is an act of sedition on the part of obummer-boy, not only that but in direct conflick with the National Security matters and interest. If ever there was a reason to investigate obummer-boy and his connections to this crook not is the time. Make it National news through the blogs, the internet, but by no means the National media, because they could care less for the continual safety of this Nation or it’s people. Energy security through production is security for the American way of life. Anything less will be the subject of a lessor evil from a President, or in this case a pretender.
Obonan the destroyer cares not a bit for the rule of law. The destroyers rule of law is; if it is good, kill it, if it is evil and will help him destroy faster, support it. Every potential crisis or disaster is exploited by Obonan and his thug army, every financial fire get gasoline poured on it, the oil leak made 1000 times worse, every positive effort thwarted. When the rule of law is restored there will be a great exodus of evil from this country and a lot of jail time for those who don’t escape.
Everyday the oil leaks into the The Gulf it increases the value of Saudi oil. Obama IS doing his job.
It also increases the value of Soros’ oil company. He’s definitely doing the job they hired him to do.
Ordinarily, people match policies with rules and goals.
He says his goal is to reduce purchase of foreign oil.
This deed reduces domestic production of oil.
He says he would like more jobs.
This fired a lot of workers,
He says he wants more fed revenue.
Offshore oil wells pay a fed royalty of 18.75% off the top. Shut off the money.
L’etat, c’est moi.
“In Europe, they have largely dealt with this problem by reprocessing that fuel and reusing it to create more energy. In this country, that option was discarded years ago in favor of long-term geological storage.”
Let us not forget that the policy noted above is a leftover from none other than, Jimmyh Carter!
Another home run for Clarice Feldman and kudos to Menachem Ben Yakov (Comment #5) who also hits the nail on the head, as does Bill Johnson (#7).
On a personal note, I am old enough (plenty old enough) to remember the Watergate hearings vividly. I hope to live to see a similar Congressional investigation of this entire administration, from the President and everyone working in the White House to the Attorney General and his “Justice” Department, from the Secretary of State and the State Department to every unvetted “czar” slipped into place when the poor excuse for grown-ups were out of town, to every appointment the incumbent has made. He is exactly what one could and did expect, and he’s giving his pals Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, exactly what they wanted, and paid for. If your entire adult life is spent in Morningside Heights, the zip code 02138 and Hyde Park, this is—if you’re easily swayed by what you take to be “cool”—what can result. Apologies to the dozen or so people in those three places who are uncool enough to be reading these words.
At the risk of sounding like the anti-tax people I used to call “loons” I say corporations and private citizens should ignore and disobey any of these laws enacted since 0bama assumed power.
MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.
Obama’s intention is to bring America to it’s death by a thousand cuts. This philosophy fits his personality. His regime (aka Al Qaeda in the White House and Congress) is all too willing to assist him in this ultimate goal.
And they are engaged in this activity without threat of reprimand from anyone.
Obama is a fraud, scam, thief, liar, and I am strongly convinced he is not an America, let alone a natural born citizen or qualified to hold the office of president. I say if he foes not immediately produce his long birth certificate, his schools and college records, his passport, and other provable documents to prove his eligibility within 72 hours, he should be in front of the grand jury immediately. And if he proves not to be eligible he must be tried for treason among countless other anti American charges. Also included in this would be Pelosi, Reid, and a whole host of others (including Michelle) for aiding and abetting Obama’s fraud and treason efforts. The last moment he was speaking about honesty and morality, he would not know them even if it were to bite him in the ass.
If that is ever proven, will that fact invalidate all legislation Obama has signed?
Defying law left and right. Defying the Constitution. Defying the Judiciary. And subverting it.
This is Obama.
A tyrant. (And not even of the ‘benevolent’ variety).
And to think that this dude is going to give you an election, while knowing he will loose bigtime …? You really have to be a very naive child to believe that. Has he or his Dems in Congress done ANYTHING in past 18 months that can indicate they are concerned about loosing at an upcoming election? On the contrary, haven’t they done everything acceleratedly tyrannical and often openly flaunting the will of the electorate, and every other democratic mechanism that the Constitution provided us with? Do you think he and dems are just going to throw away the absolute power they have first time in over hundred years, and just voluntarily give up on their dream of a socialist/fascist America? What tyrant in his right mind would do such a thing? When the alternative is an almost permanent oblivion from the seat of power? Is it not time we stop kidding ourselves and prepare for a different kind of battle? How many deliberately destructive powergrabs does it take to rouse the liberty-loving Americans (i.e. about 66 % of the population) to stop screwing around and start fighting? And how many such powergrabs are just enough to give the enemy a permanent foothold on your heads? Is there a point of no return? Or you think you can bring back a free America from whatever abyss the enemy shoves it into? Folks, you MUST read up on Argentina. How Peron and his Evita took a country which was the fastest growing 7th largest economy in the world, and turned it into a third-tier third-world country where people are poorer than even India. The similarities with what Obama is doing to this country are so many, and so eerie that it should give you chill up and down your spine. A friend of mine was telling me 14 months ago, ‘Oh come on! Obama is not some Fascist in disguise.’ And i told her that this particular brand of tyrants have a history of coming to power using more or less ‘democratic’ means, and then their tyranny and oppression increases in direct proportion to the resistance they meet. Even most of the Right observers would have agreed with her, my friend, then. My question is: Do we have enough evidence establishing the truth of what *I* was saying, or are we willing to turn the other cheek, and then other two cheeks, and finally the neck, for him to crush?