The Gulf Coast

The following note was sent to me yesterday by President Barack Obama. The President is highly aware of the issues and the problems centered around one of the largest catastrophies to ever hit the United States. Some people believe in some cases that this disaster is more serious than any hurricane or bad weather system to hit the United States. Why? Because at this point, the oil company giant BP hasn't been able to stop the flow of oil. People can only sit back and watch the oil reach the shorelines and destroy a way of living for the shrimpers and fisherman that depend on the Gulf for a living. President Obama made his 3rd visit to the disaster area, and is determined to make sure that the company responsible, BP, cleans up the mess and provides relief to people affected by the oil spill. Read President Obama's note below.....
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James --

Yesterday, I visited Caminada Bay in Grand Isle, Louisiana -- one of the first places to feel the devastation wrought by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While I was here, at Camerdelle's Live Bait shop, I met with a group of local residents and small business owners.
Folks like Floyd Lasseigne, a fourth-generation oyster fisherman. This is the time of year when he ordinarily earns a lot of his income. But his oyster bed has likely been destroyed by the spill.
Terry Vegas had a similar story. He quit the 8th grade to become a shrimper with his grandfather. Ever since, he's earned his living during shrimping season -- working long, grueling days so that he could earn enough money to support himself year-round. But today, the waters where he has worked are closed. And every day, as the spill worsens, he loses hope that he will be able to return to the life he built.
Here, this spill has not just damaged livelihoods. It has upended whole communities. And the fury people feel is not just about the money they have lost. It is about the wrenching recognition that this time their lives may never be the same.
These people work hard. They meet their responsibilities. But now because of a manmade catastrophe -- one that is not their fault and beyond their control -- their lives have been thrown into turmoil. It is brutally unfair. And what I told these men and women is that I will stand with the people of the Gulf Coast until they are again made whole.
That is why, from the beginning, we have worked to deploy every tool at our disposal to respond to this crisis. Today, there are more than 20,000 people working around the clock to contain and clean up this spill. I have authorized 17,500 National Guard troops to participate in the response. More than 1,900 vessels are aiding in the containment and cleanup effort. We have convened hundreds of top scientists and engineers from around the world. This is the largest response to an environmental disaster of this kind in the history of our country.
We have also ordered BP to pay economic injury claims, and this week, the federal government sent BP a preliminary bill for $69 million to pay back American taxpayers for some of the costs of the response so far. In addition, after an emergency safety review, we are putting in place aggressive new operating standards for offshore drilling. And I have appointed a bipartisan commission to look into the causes of this spill. If laws are inadequate, they will be changed. If oversight was lacking, it will be strengthened. And if laws were broken, those responsible will be brought to justice.
These are hard times in Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast, an area that has already seen more than its fair share of troubles. The people of this region have met this terrible catastrophe with seemingly boundless strength and character in defense of their way of life. What we owe them is a commitment by our nation to match the resilience they have shown. That is our mission. And it is one we will fulfill.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

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President Obama in his first 500 Days in Office

Here is what John King, from CNN said about the President in a video.

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President Obama nominates Air Force Lt. General James Clapper new DNI Chief

President Obama had to make several key nominations, that actually began even before the beginning of his term. After nominating a few court justices only within the first two years of office, he now has made his choice for the new director of national intelligence. His name is Air Force Lt. General James Clapper. The President said "He possesses a quality that I value in all my advisers, a willingness to tell leaders what we need to know, even if it's not what we want to hear," said Obama. He made the announcement in the Rose Garden with Clapper on Saturday.


Actually in retirmement from the Air Force after 35 years, he was involved with National Geospatial-Intelligence from September of 2001, through June of 2006.

He replaced Dennis Blair who resigned in May. He still must go through a confirmation hearing, and his appointment would be the forth DNI in the last 5 years.

He has gone through the nomination process 4 times in the past with almost no objection, and was voted overwhelmingly into office on all occasions, but due to the lackluster of the politicians in Washington at the present time, it wouldn't be far fetched to see him seriously questioned by the conservative side of the House. Some of the Senators, like Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Kit Bond has some reservations about him. In a statement Kit Bond said "I believe he is too focused on the Defense Department issues and he has tried to block out efforts to give more authority to the DNI," Bond argued.

So regardless of how much experience you have, allot of it depends on the time and the state of things at that time. Another flaw that some say he may have is that he is "not forthcoming, open or transparent" with Congress.

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