Tonight on Larry King Live!

I have a suggestion for the oil spill that is perhaps so simple it was overlooked. My suggestion is to form a giant cement dome large enough to cover the whole complex at the bottom; with a valve on the top of it and heavy enough that when it is lowered to the ocean floor that it would seal itself on the bottom of the ocean floor. And once in place, attach a pipe from the valve to the surface. I think that this would work.

Can Larry King ask Pres. Obama why he just doesn't require the existing ocean oil rigs to start immediately digging by each of their
rigs a relieve well and give them the normal time to complete this or otherwise they will be shut down if they do not comply.............Then
he will not be persecuted for putting a ban and causing more unemploymnet and he will also insure a safer environment in the event of another disaster.............Please forward to Larry King..............
Thanks...........

Can Larry King ask Pres. Obama why he just doesn't require the existing ocean oil rigs to start immediately digging by their rigs a
relief well, and give them the normal time to complete this or otherwise they will be shut down if they aren't willing to comply. Then he will not be persecuted for putting a ban and causing more unemployment and he will also insure a safer environment in the event of another of such horrific disaster. Please forward to Larry King
Thanks

Obama was too slow to take action! Right away he should have got the best engineers and scientists involved, Not go for a photo op and tell BP to fix it.
Also, all he is trying to do is create gov. jobs, and kill the private sector. Just like most towns have troble because they pay their public servant police $150,000 which is 3 times more then the tax payers paying their salary. Most of them have little education.

I think President Obama is a great leader. I continue to be impressed with his leadership qualities. He has an amazing calm during this extremely stressful time that is admirable and necessary. As he was quoted, "yelling at people" about it does no good. I believe he has been on top of this disaster from day one. They are doing all they can do. He is an articulate and intelligent leader who thinks clearly on his feet. I am glad he is our president. If the media had reported all that he has been doing from day one of this crisis, the public would know that he has been on top of it. All they had to do was go to his web site to find out. I agree with a lot of his viewpoints. There are a few things I don't agree with him on (e.g. I think we better no longer do the deep water drilling-he said for 6 months...I think never again and the free trade issue needs to be examined due to all the toxins in products and unfair trade issues such as our companies leaving the US and excaping taxes but expecting our military to protect them overseas for free and then shipping goods back to the states without taxes on it and sending us toxic goods and charging the same or higher prices). I do agree with him on investing in looking for alternative environmentally friendly energy sources. I do agree with him that regulation and rules to a deg

Building a Oil Rig is a very dangerous undertaking at the best of times. Building an Oil Platform out at sea and dealing with 'Mother Nature' 24/7 is extremely precarious and risky. So, why would they not put a 'Shutoff Value' where the pipe comes out of the ground, and, another one one half mile back from that when they are building it. It is only common sense. Anything less is greed, 'criminal negligence' and sheer stupidity

Why doesn't the Government get a couple submarine missles and implode the well and have it cave in on itself to stop the leak, why allow BP time to try and rescue the well. Offshore oil drilling has no current contingency backup plans or improved methods to contain a spill . . . this same event in the Gulf happened back in the 70's and it took over 6-months to contain by having to drill separate relief wells. It will take decades to recover from this disaster and it is just not worth the risk to drill in the ocean. This should force us to move to alternate sources for power, such as has anyone thought about building a magnet engine for instance – with their ability to repell each other you would think that you could build something in a way that they do this in a perpetual fashion . . . moving a gear in a circular motion to create free energy/electricity like a windmill.

Unfortunately, President Obama has gotten the worst of the Bush's Administration's Neglections and problems that should have never happened. Cheney and Bush ruined the U.S. and are putting the blame on President Obama. Now Rove is up to his dirty tricks again.

Natalie Wittke

It is illegal to attack a nationally flagged vessel in International Waters. Doing so is a act of piracy. Kidnapping and killing the unarmed civilian protesters is a international crime which Interpol should be pressured to step up to the plate and charge Israeli officials with international crimes on the high seas over this event.

America's lawmakers and Media News is trying to tamp down the tremendous amount of International hatred and anger around the world this latest Israeli raid on a unarmed flotilla of peace activities carrying humanitarian food and medical supply's has caused.

Many Americans fail to realize how important Turkey's relationship with America is in allowing enormous amounts of supplies to pass thru Turkey to Iraq and Afghanistan. Turkey is rightly extremely angry at Israel in murdering it's civilians on its flag ship.

Turkey has not reported it's warships will escort further food and medical supply flotillas to Gaza. If Israel attacks NATO member Turkey's warships that would easily fracture NATO and greatly backfire on Israel.

Ireland is so angry at Israel they are openly threatening Israel if any of its Irish civilians are harmed, shot, or murdered the IRA will begin targeting Jewish civilians in the UK and America.

I am very concerned that Israel has blurred the lines between cooperative nations such as NATO member Turkey and those they perceive as enemy's that wish them ill.

If Israel attacks Turkish warships escorting future Gaza Food and Medical Supply flotillas that will certainly fracture NATO as that would directly violate the NATO treaty and likely result in the closure of Turkey's airspace for America and Israeli US Military aircraft and likely result in the closure of Turkey's territory for the US Military transports.

Netanyahu is trying to spin hospital beds, wheel chairs and ten thousand tons of FOOD as weapons from Hamas to Gaza terrorists. That simply is not going to fly in the world whatsoever. The number of peace protesters wounded has been estimated as high as 50, such likely won't be accurately known by independent sources for some time as a number of the passengers on the Turkish cargo flag ship are isolated in Israeli prisons.

cant wait for obama show tonight...president obama was persisitent against drilling and fossil fuels. republicans still say drill baby drill.. its upto the people to decide who has been on the right side since long long time ..

we can send man to the moon and robots to mars and far far away planets. why cant we reach a mile deep on our own earth and fix a leak ?
we made predator drones which can be controlled 8000 miles from the war zone, robots designed by honda and toyota can play violin , cars can do auto parallel parking .....so on and so forth. wonder why didnt explore the ocean characteristics enough

president obama is surrounded by old, common sense less, corrupt politicians. Hard to fill any election promises. cons of democracy. slow to adapt change. feels like we have no other choice.. but we could try co-operative ventures rather than pure capitalistic society. we need a new system for the 21st century.. still stuck in the past ways

I would like to see President Obama contact Nick Pozzi. He is an oil and gas engineer, who was in charge and successfully cleaned up a 700 million gallon oil spill in the Arabian Gulf in the 1990's. He was cast out by BP stating he did not go through proper channels along with being threatened a law suit. Pozzi’s plan was to quickly suck the oil from the gulf into Supertankers, separate the oil from the water.

“So when the oil leak happened in the Gulf of Mexico, Pozzi and his attorney Jon King of Houston thought they had a sure-fire idea to help BP. That BP official cussed him out for not going through proper channels and threatened him with a lawsuit.”

Why would BP go to such lengths threatening a lawsuit? Why would an oil company not even address the possibility, knowing this individual was successful in the Arabian Gulf with 700 million gallons of oil? The spew of unanswered questions is certainly leaving an oily film in my throat.

I certainly hope the President Obama would look into this matter regarding clean-up. Of course, eliminating the oil leak is the number one agenda for everyone.

fossil fuels are toxic, causes global warming, unbearable pollution, dangerous health hazards, destroys nature , catalyst for wars around the globe, feeds terrorism, supports lunatic governments, .... what not...

renewables is the way to go and we must do it now. cant wait for 2020 or 2050.

we support you Mr.President !!! you rock

this incident proves that the government is inefficient in regulations as well. government cant do nothing.. just makes the whole system corrupt.

every state should be given more powers. fedral government is waste of time and money. when each state competes with the other state., true inovation and responsisbilty happens

I have an idea, thought and suggestion for BP.

Considering our nation's current, enormous and unfortunate unemployment rate, why not recruit, pay and provide room and board to American citizens who need jobs.

By now it is obvious and inevitable that the pan handle WILL be contaminated within the next few days. Offer our (already unemployed) American citizens work ... which will help to save our gulf coast and it's wildlife, allow many a chance to make a salary AND the monies earned will be returned to our own country's infrastructure!

We lived in Anchorage duringthe Valdez spill. People came out to protest, scream, carry on blaming everyone under the sun but not really understanding the whole picture. Trying to clean oil off little birds causing more trama to the animal than the oil and in the end the birds try to return to their previous area. During Valdez every opportunist in the world appeared renting chairs $100 per chair, making claims when they were not actually a fisherman that sort of thing. So the victims often remain unattended to because of sheer caos and volume. Americans should be very grateful for Obama not being an emotional mess playing to the masses like a preacher invoking fear. This spill is truelly a disaster which no doubt will encourage more safety and regulation going forward

where is the link to the streaming video for tonight's Obama interview? I'm stuck at work right now, but still want to watch it

I am very appreciative of President Obama,s quiet grace, I dont want him to yell and scream, it does absolutely "Nothing"to correct the problem.

I don't care what the president is saying they are not doing all they can to clean up this mess. There are people out in the gulf waiting to clean up. I spoke to someone who is on a vessal he said they are just waiting and could be picking up the oil and water mix and returning 90% clean water. When asked why they were not working he said he does not know. Go out there and talk to the people what is on the news is not the whole story.

On Israel, the nation was being bombed by Hamas before, during and after these shipments. Unfortunately, until the Palestinians admit that people who are Jewish have a right to live, let alone live without being attacked, ships must be inspected. If you don't want Israelis doing it, involve UN members who are neither friend nor foe to Israel, the Palestinians or their main trading partners/aid donors.

Egypt has also forbidden these shipments. Why not ask the Egyptian government for it's reasoning as well?

As for BP, Obama must stay calm. Panic never cured a problem. Having said that, and I'm quite the democrat, we must communicate more completely. Specifically, we were told why boom deployment won't work in areas of strong flow. Why not build sand dikes? I'm sure there are reasons, but leaving Jindal, who refutes his own sound education for political purposes to espouse partisan anger when real tragedy is occurring begs to be pre-empted for the safety of the American people.

Why are there not redundant safety systems along the pipeline?

Sir;
What news of the centrifuge usage proposed by Kevin Costner?

Mr. president dont you think it's about time the United states give's a military guard for humanitary shipments to Gaza Israel is getting to cocky and we need to stop the conflict by guiding the transport .

Obviously the practical soluitions to stopping the flow of oil freom the Horizson deepwater have not been successful. Time to attack the problem at thew source.

I don't understand why there are not about 100 tanker ships in the gulf suctioning up the oil on the water's surface. Perhaps BP should stop using the disspersents, allow the oil to rise to the surface and be suctioned up. Along with booming and burning and sand barriers. Everything that works to remove as much oil as possible from our oceans. Our goverment, with it's best intentions always seems to fall short of getting it right.

Can Larry King ask Pres. Obama why he just doesn't require the existing ocean oil rigs to start immediately digging by their rigs a
relief well, and give them the normal time to complete this or otherwise they will be shut down if they aren't willing to comply. Then he will not be persecuted for putting a ban and causing more unemployment and he will also insure a safer environment in the event of another of such horrific disaster. Please forward to Larry King

We need to fine B.P. in the billions a million dollars to a big oil company is a slap on the hand .

Sir;
Colin Dale of FTC. Tech Eng seems to have a plausible possibility of stemming the oil flow; in addition with the OceansTherapyCentrifuge idea..

The only thing Arizona is guilty of is actually enforceing the CURRENT immigration laws. These are the same laws that the entire country should be following. These people are illegal!

Obama your from Hawaii you of all people know how important our waters are. It's time to step up! I'm in the water more then most people ask Obama to let his kids go the beach play in the waters or eat the fish. I think we all know what he would say!!! I find it hard to call myself a American we can't take care of our people, waters or land. Government cant do anything right.. just makes the whole system corrupt thanks.

We voted for Obama, who promised lower taxes for people on Social Security and for cheaper medical care. Hasn't happened. I broke down and cried and thanked GOD when I heard TN was backing AZ re illegal immigration. I was born down the road, raised Ventura Co, So Cali, now about half illegal. Schools dumbed down, dangerous, whites threatened by hispanics at school and in workplace.Recently a boy shot in head at my Jr High E.O. Green in Port Hueneme, CA for being different, everything in Eng and Spanish, illegals think they should have say in our laws and constitution. Any of our elected officials thinking of selling US Citizenship or amnesty or guest worker programs during our recession needs to be fired or voted out. Only opposition to AZ new immigration law is from illegals. Any official caring more about illegals than the citizens who voted them in office needs to be fired, voted out or impeached. No more automatic citizenship to babies born to illegals. AZ needs to give LA a dose of their own medicine and cut off their electricity due to their brainless boycott.. All illegals must have a International Drivers License or ID so they can't vote. Susan in TN

Mr. Obama I don't undersatnd, I live in Canada in the mountians in Quebec and if we drop one gallon of oil in the lake we are outraged and put a stop to it. You have the resoures to stop this, please stop and stop talking about Labrone, I don't see your job as that tuff
Its your chance.

Maybe its time that America quits thinking about what other country's think about us and start doing whats good for America .

It would definitely be beneficial to have a segment on CNN that explains the fundamentals of oil drilling in the ocean.

I hope our President continues to keep a positive attitude and not become overwelmed due to the daunting issues all occurring similtaneously. No one human being can possible be held accountable, particularly since he is coming in on the aftermath of many of these issues. Forget the polls, what are they even good for nothing at all, they are as schizo as can be and mean nothing.

Dear Mr President, whilst this is a tragerdy on a massive scale, to stop drilling and any new drilling in the Gulf will put thousands out of work and rock your plans for the economy recovery. You need the Oil, so impliment a higher Health and Saftey stratergy. Stopping this work will also affect thousands of families that have done nothing wrong. Thank you,

David Booroff from England.

Mr. president the Arizona bill is a mirror image of the already existing law why has the law not bean inforced is it because of political favor among votes .

America should give a military transport for Gaza it's time to put the brakes on Israel .

@David Booroff,
Thank you; what you say is so true. Also, 30% of our oil comes from the gulf so without it, the cost of gasoline will go up astronomically.

replace the flange and pipe to surface at top of BOP ( 6 hex bolts) !

Obama is the worst president in American history just behind George W. Bush. Yet in a time of EMERGENCY (yes this oil gusher is an EMERGENCY) I will try to put a momentary hold on my feelings about him. Obama, please do something to stop this oil and clean it up. Please don't wait for someone else to do something; find someone to do something. Lead and organize. You are the President!!!!

It is so easy to sit back and criticize a standing president who has been doing his best, and with success, in dealing with a rogue political arm that is bent toward its backside.

I cannot remember such intense scrutiny that has been unduly afforded to any president, since his swearing in, than this one. The onus of the blame game is on the obstinate Republican Party leadership of the Senate and House who just want to derail all efforts to put this country on a path of peace and prosperity.

There is volumes, unheard in Washington, that I am certain debate this president's ethnicity rather than his ability to lead. Sure we all want to forget George W. Bush, but the majority of compulsion rests with those seeking to unfurl the successes of this president and institute more ostracization and austerity to promote party over country.

I am convinced we are a nation of deniers and doters living a sublime fantasy and sucking on lemons to curl our lips to reconstitute our flapping gums, so diarrhea of the mouth can be sustained.

One phrase "action speaks louder than words"-Mark Twain, whose autobiography will be on the bookshelves soon, should be tattooed on the eyelids of all those elected to represent the needs of this country, still in crisis.

As a bit of backdraft, don't expect Mark Twain's autobiography to portray a Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn persona, quite the opposite in more ways than most will be wiling to tolerate. Why do you think it has taken a 100 years to publish? No one was ready for his type of reality to take stage in his world at the time, and many today are not ready for it either, but real and provocative it is.

I didn't expect Mr. President would blame congress to not act against illegal immigration. Before even they consider comprihensive immigration/amnesty they got to secure the border first.

Sorry, but for whatever reason, after watching the interview, I know almost nothing that I didn't know before the interview. We need more passion, if for no other reason than to put corporate criminals on notice that they will not be allowed to do business as usual . There are times to be composed and times to show the fire that he displayed on the campaign trail. Woodward who was a worthy investigative journalist during the Nixon years, now seems to be just another big media shill. I hope President Obama will do more to help average citizens, and not waste his opportunity to change things in a positive way.

Funny how the U.S. became so against the Alberta tar sands and even actions on municipal levels barred any product from this northern region. I ask you now , given all the factors for environmental safety and given our dependence on oil, which is the lesser of two evils? Doren Berry British Columbia, Canada

It's refreshing to see many American's are waking up to the fact that crude Oil is poisonous, toxic, carcinogenic and acts as a neuro-toxin to any creature that comes into contact with it. Republican lawmakers and their special interests in Big Oil corporations have crafted the illusion that crude Oil is America's friend, benefactor and is not a deadly substance.

Again, American's are realizing that when crude oil ends up in the water you drink, the food you eat and the air you breathe it poisons you and directly impacts YOUR HEALTH.

Crude Oil = Ecocide

President Obama needs non-Republican voters and non-Republican lawmakers to help him guide America to endorsing the T. Boone Pickens plan to use compressed natural gas (CNG) as a transition fuel for internal combustion engines and for a transition period needed to fully impliment purely electrical vehicles and electrical motors as widely as possible thru-out America.

For those who, like Obama, continue to blame the previous administration : why did Obama, on April 6, 2009, grant an exemption that allowed BP to drill without undertaking an enviornmental impact study?

Seems to me to be another example of Obama being all talk, and no action.

@jack

I know how frustrated you, like many Americans are with, not only the catastrophe in the gulf, but the lingering problems passed onto the current administration.

What is not as apparent in the media, as it should be, is the partisan polemic paralysis the House and Senate are engaged in from the onset of President Obama's term. It has been quite obvious by the votes on healthcare, new banking regulations, overall economic reform, and hundreds of bills not acted on, that the president can be equated to a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest.

The good thing is he has kicked his fair share of posteriors squarely where the sun does not shine. It's not for the president alone to engage and act solely for the welfare and enrichment of this country.

Bad thing is we have become a nation of deniers and doters that are oddly consoled by the unfair condemnation of so many who do have the nations best interests at heart, but are tasked to do alone. It just doesn't work in a democracy when self interests are not tantamount to the welfare of an entire nation...and the bottom line is you, and the taxpayers foot their existence.

@Cajazz76:24:8...Yes, they did hand President Obama a load of monumental problems. I just wish the Democrats would have stuck together more. For instance, when they had it down to a straight up or down vote, they might have passed a health care bill with a public option. That would have been a much better bill. One news person said today they wished the Republicans were in simply because whoever is in now has such an uphill battle they are going to come off as ineffective. I guess he has to stay calm, or it would be just too much stress , with all the big problems. that seem to keep happening. Right now there is the Korean crisis, the aid to Gaza crisis, and the huge Gulf catastrophe. Any one of those problems would be big, and all at once, along with the Iran problem, two wars, and the huge economic crisis is so very much to contend with. This is certainly a time he will have to delegate.

@Cathy

You seem to think the president puts his stamp on every single act in this country. Do your homework. Approximately 200-400 waivers are granted each year to expedite oil exploration in the gulf. If you recall early on in the timeline of this catastrophe, the MMS Director, Elizabeth Birnbaum was fired because of her inability to eliminate the graft and corruption in that entity of the Interior Department that was rogue during the previous administration....

The president has all this time to go to concerts, interview with you &
don't forget, go on his 30th vacation this year...The responsible
party for this is President Obama, not BP....He should be dipped
in oil with all the poor wildlife...If George Bush did nothing like this
guy, you would be screaming...SHAME ON CNN

@Dan Dallas, Tx.

Seems to be quite apparent you are adversely affected by the influx of undocumented immigrants into your state. Think for a moment of the refusal on behalf of your current governor to accept federal aid to assist in the immigration problems your state has.

The former governor of your state had the opportunity to make milestones toward solutions that would have greatly alleviated the problems you and your state now endure. The problem was few in his political party wanted to cooperate, which brings us to the current problems in the legislature, political paralysis.

To Everyone:

So disturbing to the psyche watching birds suffocating from being covered in oil. I cannot even imagine all the life in this biosphere suffocating, struggling to remain alive and losing their grip on life. A slow and horrendous death to all. I can feel the anger deep within growing at this travesty. We must ask ourselves, what the hell are we doing to our planet? Our complacency will be our doom. It will tear at the fabric of our existence along with the existence of all other species. I have had enough of this crap!

I have taken a vow… I have made a commitment. I will not use my automobile 3 of the 7 days a week. I will NOT purchase another automobile that uses petroleum products for fuel! I will join in and become active for the future of our world and our generations to come! It is time for idle talk to end! I challenge the rest of you to make your commitment!!!!!

Have a question , why does bp not have shut off valves on this line somewhere. Seems like they would for reasons like this. Just curious thanks.

Shell currently has 50+ highly trained oil spill response technicians & a floatilla of oil response vessels sitting in Alaska ready & willing to go to the gulf to assist in the oil spill clean up. These men & the equipment are set to go on stand down as the Shell drilling project scheduled for this summer has been shut down by Pres. Obama's order to halt all off shore drilling for at least a year. Why not get this group out of Alaska where they are about ready to become unemployed & send them to the gulf where they can do the job they have been trained to do & help get some of this oil cleaned up?

I think they should try corking it rather than capping it! A long, steel mandrel of precise diameter and tapered at the end to allow insertion into the broken pipe should do the trick. The only reason I can see for BP trying to cap it is so they have the option of inserting a pipe late to recover more oil to sell – greed at its best! President Obama is doing the right thing by allowing BP to take control of the situation as they have the expertise and equipment. However, I can understand why people feel he is not doing enough due to his cool deamenour. He must be under a lot of stress and although I commend him for not losing it I think there are times we all have to show anger to get results. This catastrophe could be a lot worse yet and a world wide problem if we all don't get together and solve this and forget about politics, looking cool, and money. Sorry, Larry and President Obama, but I thought your interview was callous at the end talking about a sports figure when all this is going on. Congratulations, Larry on 25 years!
Bob

I was thinking about, maybe, a simple idea to stop the oil spill. It is probably, impossible, but I will give it a try: How about a huge cap, like a funnel, to direct all that mixed water, gases and oil to the surface, trough a pipe and, then, a floating plant to separate the oil and natural gas from water. it looks like the oil and gases are going up anyway, why not controlled?
It am pretty sure that the cap can be dimensioned accordingly to the oil and gas pressure so will not be lifted up.

Adrian

@Dodie...Good resolution. That is why I suggested we need much more bus lines , incentives for car pooling and a new cash for clunkers program that would also include trading clunkers for used fuel efficient vehicles. I also think we should have some rationing for miles driven beyond a certain amount, with considerations for drives to work and back excluded. For many people driving around aimlessly each and every day has just become a bad habit. It is costly to our environment, fosters dependence on increasingly scarce resources, and congests the highways, making them less safe.

Larry, please explain this: the President has just place a moratorium on deep wells because they may encounter pressure conditions that are so high the the Blowout protectors are blown away. This field that BP hit is clearly exactly that kind of super pressure field. Now how do then is it justified to poke one or even two more holes into this field with the relief wells? What is the chance that these wells will also be blown away? While all other drilling is stopped we proceed with actions that are constantly making the situation worse. Thank you for calling it a hurricane of oil – can you get BP to officially stop calling it a "leak"?

Larry,
Has anyone considered crimping the oil line?
Trent Glatfelter
Red Lion,Pa

@solaroof
President Obama should remove the executive while retaining line management of BP since BP leadership can be expected to constantly misinform and confuse the picture for the sake of protecting the financial interests of the corporation.

There is nothing more clear – what more needs to be said. So, if he exercised the "government of the people" as he has promised, then there is no question what is the right course of action. Otherwise it is clear that big corporations actually have the power to fail to protect public health and safety and spoil the environment and get away with harming the public interest with impunity. Are "The People" sovereign or is the corporation?

The idea that the government cannot take over the responsible management of the crisis is usually based on the assumption that all the 20,000 people connected with the corporation's work would be lost. That is not the case. All the engineers, operators and managers and BP employees would stay on the job and their activity would be even more facilitated since the secrecy of the corporate wall will be broken and an all-out and "open" program would be instituted with a global collaboration enabled.

The President needs to take over the BP operations connected with the disaster by installing a small team of the most capable crisis managers and technology innovators to conceive and implement effective solutions. The current team, who are responsible for the problem can not be expected to think clearly about solutions. Quick action on taking over this responsibility is most important. I would take every engineering proposal to an open internet based system of consultation, with capacity to enable anyone who has a potential contribution, to make that input quickly and effectively. This is not to be a media circus – this is a serious and professional method to assure that we will not be deprived of "fielding in" any potential solutions that otherwise could be neglected or lost.

Next, the government's program must include not only the engineering component – it must have strong Ocean Ecology and Life Science teams that will decide on the most important aspect: the mitigation of the toxic impacts of the ongoing crisis. We have seen the President's Energy Advisor (Steven Chu) on-site but we have not seen the presence of Dr. John Holdren, the President's Science Advisor, who is an Ocean Ecologist.

The use of the dispersants is an ill considered strategy and is not lessening the environmental impact but has only the goal of making the BP uncontrolled ocean floor gusher invisible – to "keep the oil off the beaches". The concern is that this makes the crude miscible in the ocean depths. There it will NOT be consumed by microbes as is being stated by BP people and the media. This toxic soup of crude (with gases and VOC) and dispersants will spread wider and with deadly effect to kill much more of the ecosystem of the Gulf. There continues to be misrepresentations that microbes can survive exposure to the toxic soup, whereas they are killed by even very diluted quantities of these materials. This is pseudoscience that plays well in the media and leaves people feeling that dilution and the use of toxic dispersants or any dispersants is the right thing to do.

@ Jack
Excellent recommendations and suggestions. I also had concerns about the cash for clunkers for only new cars and not used ones. The area I live in, has NO MASS transit. Not even a bus…

We are drunk on oil. We are so used to the convenience of the automobile. We are all looking at life changes. People resist change; however, if we do not, the future would not be very bright!

Thank Goodness we have a president that is cool, collective and intelligent... We do not need anyone at the 'helm' acting out their anger.

The solution is obvious
A vote on the way to solve the problem.
after all these engineers and scientists are just technical
junkies and the voting public has the greatest ways
to solve a problem they know nothing about

@Debby

Are you by chance the Little Debby on the packaging of a famous pastry? If you are, you belong on a box of Saltines because you're crackers.

Quite the right-wing, one alar, 360 degree flight-path oriented advertisement you present to the world that reads what you write. Problem is, you are a purveyor of the truth.

The president has NOT been on 30 vacations this year, his name is President Obama, not former President George W. Bush, who in fact, vacationed more frequently than any president in recent history.

The president is not responsible for this gulf disaster, he has taken responsibility for it to insure it is cleaned and and all parties who are damaged are compensated.

If I recall it was your hero, former President George Bush, who deregulated the industry. So SHAME ON YOU @Debby for your lousy attempt to distort the truth. Got milk to go with that pastry?

@Dodie. For non work type purposes, the internet can be used for many things that were formerly restricted to actual movement from one physical place to another. Forinstance shopping and delivering goods, going to library for research, and even visiting. I am against people just driving aimlessly around each day for hours. That is such a waste and adds to congestion. I drive very little, and if more people drove little or used other means of getting from one place to another, we could solve the energy problem. Add alternative energy sources to the mix, and we can soar into a clean and green future.

@Debby...I do not think GB's reputation as anything but a failure as a President can ever be salvaged. And, if history is true, it will not be kind. He came in with a surplus and lots of political capital. He wasted it on two costly wars, handouts to the super wealthy, and spying on American citizens. In fact it seems to be the hangover from the neocon years and the far right court that is still severely weighing on the government to this day.

Cajazz:
Oh please. Do your own homework. Obama has been in office for 16 months. Plenty of time to give orders NOT to give exemptions on a federal law requiring a study assessing the threat to the enviornment. Simple.

And Obama didn't even know if Birnbaum was fired or resigned, as I recall. And that was just last week – when she either resigned or was fired – several weeks into this catastrophe.

How is that hopeychangey stuff working out for ya?

@Debby

You stated:
“The responsible party for this is President Obama, not BP”
************
Where on earth are you getting this? Did Obama drill in the gulf? NO! Whatever you are smoking, I advise you stop it as your head is in a total fog! No wonder this country is in such a terrible mess….

You stated: “He should be dipped in oil”
********
You remind me of the clan and those who burned so called witches at the stake! You are scary!!!

@jack

I love your ideas and suggestions. I completely agree. Driving just to drive is ridiculous. Your ideas are always inspiring. Your posts are an enjoyable and intelligent read!

President Obama should halt off shore drilling until the entire process has been reviewed for safety.

@Doren Berry

I have an answer you won't like for certain if in fact you are referring to the Athabasca Tar Pits in Alberta. First of all, it's not liquid oil, and extracting the crude from the sand takes vast reserves of water, a quarter of Alberta's fresh water. This water is so polluted at the end of the process that it is simply left to stand in huge tailing pools that altogether cover some 50 square kilometres. It's so toxic that birds landing on the ponds would die. Some places use propane cannons to scare the ducks away; others just rake the dead birds off the surface. As the ponds aren't lined, waste water leaks into the Athabasca River, polluting everything downstream – lakes, deltas, and the Mackenzie River.

It also destroys the land. Huge areas of the boreal forest ecosystem have been felled and the underlying peat bogs cleared away to expose the sands. At the end of the processing there is nothing but a 'toxic moonscape' of earthworks, ponds, and 80 foot high piles of pure sulphur. 5,000 hectares have been destroyed already, and David Schindler of the University of Alberta estimates that in ten years time they will have cleared an area the size of Florida .

The air is not spared either. It takes enormous amounts of heat to extract the oil, approximately a barrel of gas for every two of crude. The total emissions of the tar sands project will soon be equivalent to the whole of Denmark. Acid rain falls all across Alberta and now Saskatchewan too. In the summer, the tailing ponds release carcinogenic benzene.

Now for my answer that you won't like...it's an eco-disaster of planned proportions and criminal to those who can ascertain the damage it has been doing since 1926. Shame on you for the comparison to your lovely country's destruction that is a calculated environmental disaster based on greed. Landscape Rape and Wildlife Murder is what Alberta should post on signs as one enters or leaves it.

@Carin

I could write a book on the comments you made regarding the Israeli and Palestinian issue, but you need to read the history and events from 1947 to the present before you could understand what you don't know in regards to the facts. You would be a little wiser and a whole lot less critical of that which you have no knowledge of, other than rhetoric you hear on Fox News. I would debate any issues with anyone who thinks Israel is a true U.S. ally or are someway not the cause of the entire situation that you should be so profoundly reticent of. In short you shouldn't try to export your lame opinions to the world because they are laughing at you, as I am.

Republican Congressmen appear to be eager to belly up for Halliburton's Cash political donations!

Dick (Shooter) Cheney's back door benefactor and best friend and former employer, HALLIBURTON Gushed donations into the select Congressional committee's which specifically are created in Congress to oversee the Oil Spill liability's and fines. In a ratio of 13:1 virtually ALL of the Republican Congressmen sitting on those Congressional investigations and committees had their pocket's filled with more money than Halliburton has politically donated for the past TWO YEARS.

Talking about TAINTED MONEY!

Does any non-Republican here doubt that Halliburton is attempting to buy a lesser fine being levied against them?

Larry
Would you please re-run your interview with the President?

I missed your 9 pm time slot. and ONLY 15 minutes of the interview were aired at midnight & 3 pm. UGH!

I realize Lebron James & Donald Trump may be appealing to some, but doesn't the President trump both of these gentlemen?

Congratulations on 25 GREAT years of informative interviews!

Nancy
Toronto, Canada

President Obama is the most dishonest, crooked politician we have ever had. His accomplishments: 1) Increased deficit to $13 TRILLION 2) Forced Healthcare on us where he himself said "I will not sign any healthcare bill that increased the deficit by a single dime" a couple of weeks ago, CBO said the healthcare bill will increase the deficit by $115 BILLLION (They didn't have time to do a proper analysis because it was ramprodded through Senate/Congress). Plus closing the "Doctor Donut" Increases the deficit by another $250 BILLION. 3) $60 BILLION to bailout GM 4) $800 BILLION to bail out the financial firms (while they pay themselves BILLIONS in bonuses). 4) $900 BILLION spent on a stimulus program that doesn't work (unemployment is almost 10% (and in reality is around 18% when you could those who have gone off the govt statistics)). 5) Worst oil spill in history while Government MMS agents took bribe gifts from BP–approaching 40 MILLION gallons in the Gulf – an ecological disaster 6) Continues a huge war in Afganistan 7) Highest level of housing foreclosures in history 8) "Cash for Clunkers" 9) Most Dishonest government in history (Corn Husker Kick back, Louisiana Purchase, $100 MILLION hospital for Todd of Connecticut 10) Chicago-style politics–Trying to give jobs to Pennsylvania Sestak, overing government job to Colorado politician in an attempt to try to convince them not to run for office. 11) Worst Ponzie scheme in history (Madoff) while 40,000 SEC workers watched PORN. 12) Flying Air Force One over NY to get photos costing tax payers $500,000 13) Taking Air Force One on more photo ops than any president in the history of this country. 14) Staging an elaborate state dinner with 200 diners (including all his movie star buddies--Whoopi Goldberg, et al the taxpayers expense while the average American is struggling to pay the bills to put food on their table-–What a hypocryt 15) Adding more "CZARS" to our payroll than any other administration in USA history. 16) Our estimated deficit for this year alone is approaching $1.6 TRILLLION.

Change and Hope that we can not afford. Our only Hope is that we can change this administration this fall.

Sincerely,
Dana

Autopsy's in Turkey on the 9 dead peace protesters brought there indicated 5 were executed by single shots to the head, one was a mere 2 centimeters between the machine gun muzzle to the skull of the victim.

One of the survivors stated hundreds of Israeli sailors attempted a zodiac assault raft attack to board the vessels which failed.

The Israeli's then fired hundreds of paint balls with glass shards inside of them which produced horrific soft flesh wounds.

Then the Israeli Commando's used helicopters to rappel down on the ship in the darkness, they were carrying M4 machine guns with a M203 Grenade launcher which they used to rake the decks and people with lethal 5.56mm rifle rounds.

Estimates are some 50 were wounded, 10 killed, 5 of the dead died from a single shot to the head, a American citizen was shot in the head and multiple places on his body as well among the dead.

Another American was shot in the face by a Israeli Commando's M4 Machine Gun using the M203 Grenade launcher to fire a tear gas canister right into his face. He lost his eye, but not his life.

@William..get your facts straight. Everyone immediately acted upon this incident. It is absolutely in no ones interest for this event to happen. There will be plenty, plenty time to get political, or play the blame game. The plain truth you can blame the oil industry for not having all contingencies covered, the government for not regulating properly, and the American people for having such a thurst for oil and not willing to demand clean energy for decades. This is lesson for mankind itself. It's mankinds fault, not just any one entity.

Larry, as an International viewer, I am frankly, astonished with your interview with Bob Woodward. We just saw your interview with Pres. Obama , and yet you repeated so much of that interview with Mr.Woodward. Were you nervous about having enough content?
And it also appears to me that you seem to have some people on, simply to promote their books – he is not the first person in this category.
The fact that it's not to be released until September makes it even more ridiculous. Things are going to change before then, as we all know. Therefore, the book will be outdated.
As for your President....America should be thankful they have a leader who is thoughtful, intelligent and quite obviously the best leader they have had in decades. It's a pity so many other countries don't have someone as open and honest. America seems to me, to be the most erratic society in the world. It's about time you realised how lucky you really are. Greed seems to be the overriding force, and it's time you looked honestly at the rest of the world instead of bemoaning your own problems, if you really believe you are the leader of this world.

Hi, my suggestion to solve the oil spill is: create a controlled hole in the tube below the point where the oil is spilling and siphon away the oil to the surface. You need a lot of tubing and the right equipment to create a hole at that sea depth. When the pressure of the oil coming out is reduced it will be much easier to close the area that is gushing oil. Also the oil will be usable after cleaning. With the technology available, computer simulations, tube production, underwater cutters, deep sea submarines (Russia has plenty of experience) it should be done immediately. I am truly surprised by President's Obama response of saying only BP has the know how. When terrorists hit New York many years ago there was immediate response. Why are we not seeing immediate pro-active response now by the American goverment (other countries seem to not want to participate!!!!)

I am on the CNN watch list and they keep removing my blogs. It seems they never heard of the first amendment and free speech!!

One of the killed persons on that turkish ship was a young american citizen, 19 years old boy, who was executed with 4 bullets in the head and 1 in the chest. He must have been one of those terrible terrorists armed with mashineguns, as claimed by Israel.
Watching Hillary Clinton`s reaction on this, I could see she was lying and was ashamed of herself.
I am ashamed of our President and goverment who is trying to minimize the killing of 10 persons on international waters by Israel attacking a NATO ship, taking hostage of 700 unarmed civilians and commiting piracy.

Those of you old enough may remember that during 1967 just before Israel attacked its neighbors we had a Navy intelligence ship good 60 miles off the coast of Israel in international waters, monitoring the radio traffic. We knew Israel was prepairing for war!
Israeli warplanes attacked it and kept straffing it even after they were several times notified of it being a US ship.
37 of our sailors were killed and may other wounded.

Our goverment should have sent our planes to attack israeli airfields, instead they ignored our losses, covered up the whole affair.
All other sailors were transferred to different ships and were told not to talk about this shameful act of our beloved friends.
Were those 37 americans worthless?

Turkey is a member of NATO, it was attacked by a foreign military force, therefore according to the rules of that organisation we are obligated to come to its help.
Mr. President, you cannot hide in the rose garden forever, you must make a decision, Turkey, our NATO ally or the beloved friends in Israel. Turkey is a key in the middle east and its power grows. We cannot do anything there without their cooperation and help.
On the other hand Israel is using us to build a great Israel under all means, apartheid and suppression of the local population inclusive.
We should not forget that the great part of israelis are emigrated germans, russian, polaks, hungarians, ukranians, italians, rumanians, just to name a few and they have nothing to do with the original hebrew tribes that lived there 2,000 years earlier.
In other words, they have no right to occupy Palestina!!

i voted for Obama, and have been sad to see him not respond to the gulf oil crisis faster, smarter, taking BP out of the prime role immediately, instead he gave them power for WEEKS and BP lied about the severity of the spill, and it cost the nation it's southern coast. this could have been prevented.. if it was soldiers, we'd be lost, our authorities had time to build sand berms and they did nothing.
the oil spill and response is much worse than katrina in the sense of showing the ineptitude of the government.

Having worked in the Oilfield on and for 20 years I really wish someone would do some research on this BP thing. Technical research that is.

Do you or the general puplic realize that "taking a hit after drilling is complete is very very rare.

The BOP is primarilly used to prevent a blowout or a "hit" while drilling into the "strike"
This part was done.

Where did this extra pressure, (immense pressure by any standards, and very unusual in stregth" come from?

How deep beneath seabed was this stike?

If the well had not been present and this bubble below the bubble so to speak had punched through into the oil bubble wouldn't it have just split the earth?

If there are other "plumes" wouldn't that mean that w/o the well it would have been worse?

Onto the critics that talk of mud instead of seawater being used shortly before the blowout.

When they tried to "push" the oil back down the casing they had to stop due to fear of splitting the casing below the seabed level.

So the blowout would have occured even is Mud ws present.

If the hit which is of unheard of force which came from well below anything the drill had disturbed would the BOP have just caused the casing to rupture below the sea bed surface?

@Dana

I read your blog and would have thoroughly enjoyed responding to what is the typical right-wingnut rhetoric, but when I came across the "Plus closing the Doctor Donut" statement I lost my composure and figured you were either being hilarious or completely lost in an obscenely distorted illusion of fanatical 'YouTube' video that you accept as current events to shape your opinions. So I don't know if I should nominate you for best blog comedy of the year or just offer you, at my expense, a one-year subscription to your local newspaper where I find the more reliable information to form conjecture and 'valid' opinion. Unfortunately it is quite apparent you are still mired in the SBC mindset and fighting an uncivil war of racial divide that will slowly dissolve with generational advancement. If you have children please allow someone else to teach them morality and consequence.

We all know that the former President George W. Bush, A.K.A. the "BUSHWACKER" talked to God every day.

Do you think that our current President Barak Obama should begin talking to God everyday, as the "BUSHWACKER" did.

We know that "DICK HEAD CHENEY" the "ANTI-CHRIST" talked to the DEVIL everyday and caused the devestation done by KATRINA.

So should we ask our current christian V.P. to do the same.

"I THINK NOT"

@ Cajazz.

Nice to see you back.

Hope everything is O.K. with you.

You know, sometimes WING NUTS serve a good purpose especially when they get screwed.

@Ted

Anyone of draft age or even in high school, who is not suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's Disease, can recall the attack on the USS Liberty.

That was a wakeup call unanswered by the United States to abandon its so-called 'ally' status shared with Israel. To this day the real story of the acts committed by Israel and the cover-up by the U.S. still casts dark shadows on the memories of those slaughtered by an arrogant and rogue country.

Since that time I have not, nor will I ever, be supportive in any way of our country's putrid alliance with that bastardized nation. I also condemn the United Nations that allowed them their existence and did nothing to recognize the slaughter and displacement of the inhabitants of that region.

I further commend you for inferring the truth when you touched on the fact that holocaust survivors from Europe left their countries because of a maniacal slaughter and became holocaust activists, Israeli Nazi's in lambs clothing, acting on their distorted belief in their right to exist as a Jewish nation. They are not even on the right continent, if you accept the historical trail the Bible, Torah, or Koran reveals.

I do, however, believe that the president is gathering facts on their latest blunder and will denounce their vile acts of murder on the high seas. I trust he will do that. I have observed that he does his homework thoroughly before acting and cannot, at this time, denounce his lack of response in full. He has again called out for an independent Palestinian state and their right to exist in yesterday's broadcast on LKL. It's not over until it's over and there is not a pretty picture on the easel that an artist's hand will someday complete.

Ted, I again commend you for continuing efforts to bring to light facts and valued opinion in your blogs. Semper Fi...

@gerald Jolly

Thank you so much for welcome. I have been a bit hampered by recent ongoing reconstruction and will again be offline for a recovery period that begins anew this coming Tuesday. I am trying to become more ambulatory before I make a trip to the Middle East in the fall.

I could probably used a few more of those titanium wingnuts tightly screwed to hold me together, but the ones that are loosely spewing their discontent and misconstrued contempt in an effort to camouflage the malfeasance of the Bush-Cheney history do seem under torqued and of low tensile strength. Keep tightening their attitudes gerald. Semper Fi..

@ cajazz

Welcome back, I missed your ironic and funny blogs.

I felt very sorry for the jews for the terrible fate they had to suffer in Germany and in other european countries.
Since the attack on the Liberty I despise the zionists in Israel, who are not better than the nazis were. Here I want to make it clear, I mean the zionist bastards, not the decent israelis. I had the pleasure to meet a few who are just as ashamed of their country as we are.
The USA is ruled by jewish money and our politicians and the congress like it so much that they will never do anything against the interests of Israel. They do not realize that they are selling our country at the same time, it costs us billions every year to support that bastard country with its apartheid regime.

You still have faith in President Obama. In my mind doubt is forming, after all he got most of his money from GoldmanSachs, a jewish company, and as the proverb says, dogs do not bite the hand that feeds them.
I hope I am terribly wrong.

@Cathy

What would you do as president of the United States? Seems you, like those who you idolize and trust (sic-sic), are sitting on their haunches offering ZERO in the way of support at a time when this country is in the throngs of the worst disaster in our history. All I hear from the mouths of your crippled and morally defunct party of choice is misdirected criticism and, less than thinly, veiled racial divide.

I just hope you can recognize this president has spent his entire short tenure trying to get us out of situations that the prior eight years has evolved into. Your proclivity for exaggeration does nothing to derail my thoughts on what is right and what is just.

It's just too easy for one to sharpshoot fragments of the truth and be completely off target. If my life were solely caged in a niche of our society where mindsets are hardened by callous denials of truth or based on distorted historical fact, I would not submit my thoughts to bear comment.

I will not offer my life's itinerary as a resume to validate my repugnance toward those whose self interests are above country, but lady let me tell you that you are in the back of the bus when it comes to what we are failing at, as a nation...communication, cooperation, collaboration, performance, and mutual respect.

Ever consider asking your congressional leaders on the 'right' to do what they are being paid with your tax dollars to do? How can you degrade a president who is actively performing his duties and turn a blind eye to those who just want to derail him and in effect your country? Mind boggling in the lightest evaluation of your condemnations...

@ Cajazz.

I hope the procedure you are undergoing will bring you a degree of comfort.

Going to the middle east??

I hope you dont rush into that until you're satisfied that your health is up to the trip.

As for me, I have finally finished my book CHAMELEON and it's currently at the publishers, when I get my complimentary copies, I will send you a copy, I think you will like it, it's about a guy like us.

I do not want to post my e-mail address on this blog, but if you contact Dodie, I'm sure she will get it off to you.

Take care my dear friend "BE WELL" Semper Fi.

@gerald Jolly

I am looking forward to Chameleon hit the bookshelves. I am sure it will be very interesting and will be of unique interest to those who like to read.

The one book I have been waiting for the past forty years is due to hit the market in November. That will be Mark Twain's autobiography which he prevented, at his own request, to remain unpublished until 100 years after his death. His daughter Clara, who died in 1962, did allow a partial insight into his thought processes with the book Letter's From The Earth, which I read in the early 70's. Very thought provoking and not the lucid or transformational figure you would find in his better known works. It's vividly apparent to me after reading Letter's From the Earth that his 100 year holdout was to protect any of his survivor's from ridicule, criticism and slander based on his true self, rarely portrayed in public.

Keep us informed as to the status and release date of Chameleon. I am happy for you and looking forward to reading it.

As for my health, it's a life process that began at the top of my slide down the banister of life leaving a few splinters in my ass. The trip to the Middle East is to visit my daughter who was schooled there and in Africa and has returned for a period of time and plans attend grad school there as well. Take care gerald and Semper Fi as always.

@Cajazz76:24:8...Hope you make full recovery and have pleasant trip to Mideast.
@gerald Jolly...Congratulations on the publication of your new book.

@Dodie...Thank you for your kind compliments. I enjoy your writing , and your genuine warmth, and concern for people and the environment is wonderful.

The Obama administration has done a decent job working with and supervising BP in regards to stopping the flow of oil. However, when it comes to the cleanup, oil never should have touched U.S. soil. They've done about a good a job keeping oil off our shores as they've done protecting our southern border, the fence with over 10 million holes in it. He should have declared a national emergency and commandeered the tools and supplies to help Louisiana a month ago, and let them build the berms. Then Gov. Jindal wouldn't have had to spend the last 6 weeks jumping through hoop after hoop of bearocratic red tape and environmental studies to save the coast. The oil's not sitting out at sea waiting for us to decide what to do about it.

@ Cajazz76:24:8

Take care Cajazz. Wishing you peace, a full recovery and happiness. Wishing you a life filled with meaning and joy!

@ jack

Thank you Jack for your depth and kindness! You see with clarity!

@ Gerald... Looking forward to reading your book. It will be a wonderful read!

@Justin in Las Vegas

You make a point in suggesting the president declaring a national emergency for the gulf disaster. My concern would be the possible suspension of the constitution and the huge influx of taxpayer's dollars to support that type involvement and effort. It may come to that eventually, I have an inkling it may. Bureaucracy in times like this are a hindrance and it can be a nightmare of its own to circumvent. I like your blog and the fact you are mentally engaged in this crisis.

Justin in Las Vegas: Gov Jindal was about to promote his book. If you have been listening to interviews on MSNBC and CNN, the people of Lousisana hae been happy with the President. It is the media that keep making an issue of "emotional behavior".

@Dodie

Thank you for the well wishes and your correspondences and I wish you well also. Your peace and tranquility in life is what I truly wish for you and maybe an Aston Martin to park in your front yard to gather bird poo on the days you wouldn't drive it.

@jack

Thanks jack and keep those fingers nimble. I'll be reading the blogs but, it will be a bit of a stretch to answer any for a while.

It seems that everything that happens in the United States of America while Barack Obama is President–and even before he became President–,certain groups of people who resent that our President happens to be Black find a way to hold everything that happes in this country to Mr. Obama's charge. He certainly has to have broad shoulders to carry all of this country's burdens.
Thank God for all of the Christian people that keep Mr. Obama in their prayers. He will go down in history as the greatest President of all time.