PENSACOLA, Fla. – Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper deploy the Shipboard Oil-Recovery System (SORS) pump from the buoy deck in to the boom area where oil is collected and contained June 11, 2010. The Juniper, homeported in Newport, R.I., began oil-skimming operations off the Fla. and Ala. coasts Friday. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Colin White.
* * *
There’s been a lot of criticism circulating throughout the web — and even throughout the conservative blogosphere (here and here) — about the apparent failure by Obama Administration officials to take advantage of warehouses in Maine that are reportedly full of boom manufactured by Packgen. Though I’m the last person anyone would expect to see defending the Obama Administration, I think some of the criticism might be misplaced.
I base my conclusion above upon information I received via e-mail from Navy Lt. Cmdr. J.R. Hoeft, Deepwater Horizon Response spokesperson, helps explain why officials involved in the cleanup efforts — likely BP officials and not “Obamatrons” — did not jump to take advantage of the reported abundance of boom in the Pine Tree State:
The boom manufactured by Packgen did not pass an initial quality control test. Boom is subjected to great wear and tear when placed in the water and must be frequently tended. In order to retain its effectiveness boom must be of high quality. Once Packgen’s boom passes inspection, the company can be considered as a source for supplying boom to the largest oil spill response operation in U.S. history. In the meantime, suitable boom is being identified and obtained quickly and there is currently 459,000 feet of boom stored in the region in addition to the 2.24 million feet deployed.
Conservative friends, don’t take this the wrong way. I remain convinced the Obama Administration has handled this disaster as badly as any disaster has ever been handled and will likely continue to do so. At the same time, however, we must remember that there are so many other areas of failure upon which we can focus.
11 responses so far ↓
1 elang // Jun 13, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Hi bob,
there is no need for you to use quotation marks on Obamatrons. That is what you have chosen to call them.
HTH
Keep up the good work!
2 David Thompson // Jun 13, 2010 at 3:21 pm
It is rather sad that you are going with science and the government instead of taking the word of a corporation.
In the entire history of the United States their hasn’t been a single instance of a corporation lying to us while their are many examples of science and the politicians doing so.
You need to ask Jesus into your heart.
3 BobMcCarty // Jun 13, 2010 at 3:35 pm
David — It’s obvious that you don’t know me. As for the last line of your comment, He’s already there.
4 bill-tb // Jun 13, 2010 at 3:52 pm
And so why didn’t they(BP?) tell the company so they could fix the problem? Something is too conveniently fishy here for me. If the company had the manufacturing capability it should be used.
It’s sort of like why didn’t Obama waive the Jones Act and let his union buddies go pound sand … There has never been a more incompetent president as this one. Not even Carter comes close.
5 Claire // Jun 13, 2010 at 7:53 pm
That explains why BP didn’t want to use Packgen, it possibly didn’t meet BP specifications. But Deepwater Horizon is located in International waters. 0bama is responsible for the protection of waters in US Federal jurisdiction so it is up to 0bama to scramble to use anything and everything available to protect our southern shores. We could then bill BP for the price of the preventive/protective measures. BTW, Admir Thad Allen stated he had not even heard of this Maine company.
6 The Patriot's Flag » BP – Update Page // Jun 13, 2010 at 8:02 pm
[...] CleanupOfficial: Plentiful Packgen Boom, didn’t pass Gov Tests (BMcCarty 06.13.10) [...]
7 Chuck Simmins // Jun 13, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Just to blow your mind, divide the boom footage by 5,280. Almost 500 miles of boom deployed at this point, sorbent and containment. Jim is just counting containment. 87 miles of boom in reserve.
8 BobMcCarty // Jun 13, 2010 at 11:29 pm
elang — FYI: Many, many people have referred to Obama followers as “Obamatrons”.
9 Doug Edelman // Jun 21, 2010 at 9:12 am
Question: If your house is burning… would you NOT use the 2nd hose on the 2nd spigott to fight the fire if you knew it leaked?
Isn’t 50% efficient boom better than NO boom when fighting this spill?
In a disaster such as this, let’s think about being a bit less picky!
10 BobMcCarty // Jun 21, 2010 at 9:21 am
Okay, Doug, how ’bout calling 1-800-SHAM-WOW. That should do it!
11 Bill // Jul 10, 2010 at 12:35 pm
The Case for “MOP! Maximum Oil Pickup” in the Gulf Congressional Testimony of Charles M. Diamond CEO of MOP Environmental Solutions, Inc., Bath, NH
Presented to U.S. Senator of Louisiana, Mary L. Landrieu, Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship United States Senate
The testimony I am about to present could be the most important you will hear regarding the ultimate control of the present Gulf Oil Spill. I believe my testimony contains the answers that will truly work to both contain the spill at its source, retrieve virtually all the oil that remains in open waters, retrieve the difficult to remove oil from the marshlands and wetlands, protect the estuaries, protect the shorelines from any oil coming in, remove any oil from oil contaminated soil, and safely remove oil from oil coated birds and animals.
Leave a Comment