Just a grab bag of items related to yesterday’s Rally For Economic Security at the Cajundome in Lafayette. The event may not quite have been unprecedented, though you’d be hard-pressed to come up with another example of 11,000 or more people packing an arena in the middle of a work day to protest a presidential policy effecting the destruction of a local industry in this state. And because it was a bit unprecedented, the rally did have something of an other-worldly feel to it. “I can’t believe we’re here” was a sentiment expressed by not a few of those gathered to hear speeches and yell themselves hoarse about the moratorium…

Other Rally For Economic Survival items…

Scott Angelle’s speech
Bobby Jindal speech highlights
Charlotte Randolph on Neil Cavuto
Billy Nungesser, Dave Welch, Charlotte Randolph, Cherri Foytlin, John Hofmeister and C.J. McDonald’s speeches

STAR SEARCH: Several people said, and I’d have to agree, that while Bobby Jindal’s speech was quite well-received by the crowd at the rally what was perhaps more interesting was the idea that a large piece of Louisiana’s political future was on hand at that rally. Lieutenant Governor Scott Angelle, who was appointed to his position after a long stint as Louisiana’s Department of Natural Resources head and whose reputation has been as something of a bureaucrat, gave a stem-winding address which had the joint jumping right from the beginning. Angelle, who served as the master of ceremonies for the rally, landed a direct hit on the Obama administration for its seeming dependence on energy from “the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees” – an indication that he might not remain a Democrat for too much longer if he does want to embark on a political career beyond his current temporary job.

A taste, courtesy of our buddy Steve Maley at Redstate.com…

Angelle wasn’t alone as a rising star. Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser was also on hand, and while Nungesser’s speech didn’t rise to the level of intensity some of his cable news appearances have he did quite well. Nungesser also pulled no punches in criticizing the Obama administration. His money line of “and we can’t afford to be crippled again because of you” brought the house down and serves as a signature Nungesser quote along with the many others he’s had.

But Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph burst on the scene yesterday as well. Randolph had been considered a minor player in the Gulf Oil Spill saga – she’d been in the papers, certainly, but not with the profile of a Nungesser or Jindal. But with yesterday’s speech, in which she revealed that the National Association of Counties had passed a resolution calling on Obama to lift the moratorium, related that she told the president “you’re not in touch with real America” and suggested that if safety and the inadequate resources to handle a second spill are the reason for the moratorium then perhaps Louisiana should stop the importation of foreign oil through the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port since over 11,000 tankers traverse the Gulf each year, each carrying an equivalent amount of oil to that spilled by the Macondo well, Randolph is now on her way to being a statewide name. She may have a decision or two to make in advance of next year’s statewide cycle, just as Nungesser and Angelle do.

JINDAL GETS HEADLINES: Of course, it was Louisiana’s governor who served as the biggest draw – and Jindal didn’t disappoint. His speech was vintage Bobby – fast-talking, factual, passionate and optimistic. Steve had some good up-close video despite getting jostled a little in the front row… 

and more…

COUNTER-PROTESTS: Outside of the Cajundome, a pretty typical scenario played out – an insignificant group of misfits and kooks staggered around with signs in favor of the moratorium, only to be heckled by attendees at the event and mobbed by reporters. Maybe a couple of dozen counter-protestors, most of whom seemed to be of the opinion that the 11,000 or so on hand protesting the moratorium were only doing so because Obama is black – while nearly that many reporters were on hand to cover the gaggle.

Lafayette Advertiser reporter Leslie Westbrook captured the goofery:

OBAMAMEISTER FALLS SHORT: If there was a disappointment among the speeches, it was former Shell CEO John Hofmeister, perhaps the biggest name among the speakers at the rally. Hofmeister’s speech was a relatively powerful one and it took some very hard shots at the president and his moratorium. But whoever wrote the speech for Hofmeister, if he didn’t write it himself, did him no favors.

The former oil company executive, who now heads a group called Citizens for Affordable Energy, opened his time by stating that he voted for Obama. That drew a lusty chorus of boos from the gathering, and it seemed to overshadow everything else Hofmeister said – even though there was a lot to like about what followed. Hofmeister referenced the stupid “boot on the neck” statements of several members of the Obama administration and drew applause when he said “I never expected your boot on the necks of Louisianians.” But what could have been a stirring address and a call to action to join his group – Hofmeister did solicit donations to CAE from a hall full of people terrified of losing their jobs, which was also a bit off-putting – seemed to fall flat.

Maybe if the former Shell CEO had just said “Mr. President, your election was met with a great deal of optimism. I shared that optimism. And now I share the disappointment of millions at the poor decisions you have made,” he would have drawn the crowd in.

It’s not that Hofmeister’s speech was a bad one. There were no bad speeches yesterday. But he could have had the best, given his stature and his big-picture message of American energy independence, and he didn’t.

A LONG 93 SECONDS: As the event got started, the crowd observed 93 seconds of silence for the memory of the 11 men who died aboard the Deepwater Horizon 93 days earlier.

You don’t really get a feel for how long 93 seconds can be until you sit through an experience like that. It got a little emotional in that room.

SUCKTASTIC REPORTING: The AP’s Mary Foster used to cover LSU sports, and folks tended to complain about the lack of detail and perspective in her reporting. Now she’s covering general news, and not much has changed.

Foster’s piece on the rally, which she said was “orchestrated by a coalition of business organizations,” has a bit of a Bizarro World feel to it from those who were there. For example, there’s this:

Despite the rhetoric, industry experts say a feared exodus of deepwater rigs from the Gulf hasn’t yet materialized, and that the business would quickly rebound once the ban expires.

Houston-based Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., the second-largest U.S. contractor, has said it’s moving two of its Gulf rigs to Egypt and the Republic of Congo, and Scotland’s Stena Drilling Ltd., is shifting one to Canada, but 31 remain in place.

The three departures are below the eight that had indicated they were ready to move, said Jim Richardson, economics professor and director of the Public Administration Institute at Louisiana State University.

“It was my understanding that initially there were a number of them that were going to pick up much more quickly,” he said.

Argus Research analyst Phil Weiss said the sooner the moratorium is lifted, the more likely the rigs will stay.

“They’re looking for work, and wherever it is, that’s where they’re going to go. But it’s not so simple moving a rig. It takes a lot of time and money. And after you’ve taken the time and the money, you’re going to want it to stay for a while,” he said.

Thomas Kellock, senior consultant in Houston for ODS-Petrodata, which follows the market for oil and gas producers, said more rigs will leave if the ban goes beyond six months but “there is no reason they won’t come back after the moratorium.”

Besides renegotiating contracts, some oil companies are seeking to void long-term deals with rig contractors, citing the drilling ban as an unforeseen catastrophe. Those rigs will remain in place until these disputes are resolved, said Rice University economist Kenneth Medlock III.

“Nobody should have expected the rigs to leave immediately,” he said.

To call this slanted, or at least incomplete, journalism would be charitable. As Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph mentioned in her speech, which Foster did not quote, by the middle of August those rig operators will be out of time and decisions will have to be made – and in lots of cases the decision will be to leave the Gulf in search of other opportunities. Foster acts like the loss of four rigs already isn’t a disaster for Louisiana – each rig affects some 1,500 jobs, so the loss of four of them already means 6,000 Louisiana jobs vaporized. And as Randolph also mentioned, no business can survive a six-month suspension. The rigs are only a small part of the equation. The marine service companies, the caterers, the industrial pipe manufacturers, the marine fabricators and all the countless other businesses which service an exploration rig will have nothing to do for the duration of the moratorium regardless of whether the rig owners manage to stick it out. And once those companies go out of business, they’re not coming back.

It’s a terrible article, and the Times-Picayune’s readers are very poorly served for the paper having run it.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

(Hat tip: New Patriot Journal)

Today’s edition has continued nastiness in the Senate race between Charlie Melancon and David Vitter, a surprising poll result in New Orleans and candidates pulling endorsements.

JEFFERSON GOP ENDORSEMENTS: Yesterday we reported that the Jefferson Parish Republican Party had endorsed Hunt Downer for the 3rd District Congressional race, giving the Downer campaign a slight boost (only a sliver of Jefferson along the coast is part of the 3rd District). Downer’s opponent Jeff Landry had previously secured endorsements from party chiefs in Ascension, Iberia and St. Martin Parishes.

The Jefferson Republicans also endorsed Sen. David Vitter and incumbent Republican Reps. Steve Scalise and Joseph Cao, none of which was a surprise. What was also not a surprise but ranks as a significant endorsement was the Jefferson GOP’s choice of Louisiana Republican Party chairman Roger Villere, a businessman in Metairie. While Villere needs to attract support outside of the New Orleans metro area in his bid to become the state’s next Lieutenant Governor, there is a large pool of Republican votes in Jefferson Parish which can serve as a base for him as he works to secure a runoff spot.

LA DEMS HOWLING ABOUT VITTER “BIRTHER” STATEMENTS: On Sunday, Sen. David Vitter addressed a Tea Party rally, and he was asked whether he supports lawsuits demanding that President Obama produce a long-form birth certificate.

This is what Vitter said in response:

…with the crowd applauding the question, Vitter responded that although he doesn’t personally have legal standing to bring litigation, he supports “conservative legal organizations and others who would bring that to court,” according to a video of the event.

“I think that is the valid and most possibly effective grounds to do it,” Vitter said, although he later cautioned that the matter could distract from policy issues.

“I think if we focus on that issue and let our eye off the ball … I think that’s a big mistake,” he said. “I’m not dismissing any of this. I think first and foremost, we need to fight the Obama agenda at the ballot box starting this fall.”

And here’s the video of the exchange:

The AP story that resulted from Vitter’s statement says that “Such claims about Obama’s birth certificate have been discredited,” and also that “Hawaii officials have repeatedly confirmed the president’s citizenship, and his Hawaiian birth certificate has been made public, along with newspaper birth notices published when he was born in 1961.” While there is truth in the assertions made by AP reporter Ben Evans, they also ignore the fact that Obama has not produced an original copy of his “long-form” birth certificate and they fail to mention allegations by Tim Adams, a senior elections clerk in Honolulu in 2008 who claims the city does not have a birth certificate on file for the president.

In any event, Vitter’s Democrat opponent seized on his statement in an effort to score points.

“While Louisiana families are suffering from the biggest man-made disaster in history, David Vitter is trying to score political points by perpetuating a completely debunked conspiracy theory,” spokesman Jeff Giertz said.

Giertz’ statement was followed by a release from Louisiana Democrat Party communications director Kevin Franck yesterday, which said the following:

Two days after reports surfaced that U.S. Senator David Vitter endorsed law suits challenging the citizenship and legitimacy of President Barack Obama, not a single Louisiana Republican has criticized Vitter’s embrace of the so-called birther movement.

“All Louisianans should be outraged by David Vitter’s support of this nonsense conspiracy theory, and it’s telling that not a single Republican has spoken out against it,” said Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Director Renee Lapeyrolerie.

As reported by numerous media outlets, Vitter told a crowd gathered for a tea party event on Sunday that he supports conservative organizations who argue that President Obama was not born in the United States.

After Vitter’s birther comments were reported, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he will remain neutral in the U.S. Senate race, according to The Hill. Last week, former Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Chet Traylor entered the race to challenge Vitter in the August Republican primary.

“Louisiana families deserve to know if Republican leaders agree with David Vitter peddling this absurd right-wing fairy tale or if  they have the fortitude to stand up to the fringe birther movement,” Lapeyrolerie added.

Whether Adams’ allegations are true or whether Obama was actually born in Honolulu, as Evans asserts, or even whether Vitter properly fits in the “birther” camp – the senator never said he believed Obama was born elsewhere, he just said that if some conservative groups wanted to pursue the matter in court they should knock themselves out – it’s pretty clear Franck’s release is off-base in demanding that the state’s Republican political figures censure Vitter for failing to denounce “birtherism” when presented to him by his constituents. The piece in The Hill the Louisiana Democrat release references as a citation to imply that Jindal was frightened off a Vitter endorsement because of the “birther” video says no such thing. In fact, it hardly supports Franck’s release at all. Amid what largely amounts to an introduction of Vitter’s Republican challenger Chet Traylor, it says:

Meanwhile, at least one prominent Republican is staying out of the primary — for now. A spokesman for Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said he’s not focused on the race while oil continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico.

“There will be time to discuss endorsements in the coming months,” Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said in an e-mail.

Jindal has appeared at Vitter fundraisers but has not made a public endorsement.

The Louisiana Republican Party, however, has been “very actively supporting” Vitter, according to spokesman Aaron Baer. “We’re going to continue to do that.”

Washington Republicans are also standing by Vitter.

“We fully support Sen. Vitter,” said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “His numbers have only grown stronger as the election cycle has gone on.”

SHOCKER – CAO WITH GIANT LEAD IN POLL: Joseph Cao is sitting on a surprisingly massive lead against state rep Cedric Richmond, according to an internal Verne Kennedy poll conducted for the Cao campaign at the end of May. The results of the Kennedy poll were made public in a National Journal article Monday.

The poll places Cao at a 51-26 advantage over Richmond, including a 67-13 margin among whites and, most surprising of all, 39-36 among blacks. It also finds that Cao has a 54 percent approval rating among his constituents.

These numbers would fly in the face of conventional wisdom, which indicates that Cao is facing a colossal uphill fight against an African-American Democrat in a district which is 64 percent black and over 70 percent Democrat. But if it’s true that Cao has 67 percent of the white vote and 39 percent of the black vote in hand, even if all the undecideds break against him he will still manage a 51-49 victory if voter turnout in the race conforms to the demographics of voter registration. And that would be something of a surprise.

Kennedy tells the Cao campaign he doesn’t believe black turnout in the district will be higher than 57 percent, which is a reasonable assumption given that the rest of the ballot in the 2nd District this fall doesn’t include anything which would serve to energize the black community. Charlie Melancon has historically received good numbers in the black community, but not to the extent that he’s a particular “draw” among that demographic. And further, the Lieutenant Governor’s race doesn’t contain a single candidate with a record of appealing to the black community.

Given that, Cao might be able to get by with anything more than a third of the black vote in the race. That he’s receiving a number above that would pose a major challenge to the conventional wisdom. But the race will certainly be one the national Democrats will focus on in an effort to claw back a seat in a district which might be their only chance to reclaim from Republican hands in this cycle.

The gauntlet was thrown down earlier this week, as National Journal reports…

“Rep. Cao has done anything he needed to in order to stay in good graces with his national Republican benefactors and try to block President Obama’s agenda in a district where voters strongly support it,” said DCCC spokesman Jesse Ferguson. “The moment Cao voted against historic health insurance reform was the moment we knew our Democratic nominee will be successful in November.”

A release this afternoon out of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office provides something of a silver lining to what has been a torrent of bad news since the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank in late April. Today, amid terrible job losses in the tourism and fisheries industries due to the oil spill and even worse downturns in the oil patch thanks to President Obama’s moratorium, the state was able to boast of a pickup when Globalstar Inc., a California satellite voice and data technology firm, officially announced a move to Covington from Milpitas, CA.

From the release:

Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Globalstar Inc. (NASDAQ: GSAT) CEO Peter Dalton, Globalstar Inc. Chairman Jay Monroe, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis and Greater New Orleans Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht to announce that Globalstar will relocate its corporate headquarters to Covington, La. from Milpitas, Calif. Additionally, Globalstar will relocate a variety of other global business functions to Covington, including product development, finance, accounting, sales, marketing, corporate communications, and customer care.

Under a cooperative endeavor agreement with LED, Globalstar has committed to relocate or create more than 150 new jobs by the end of 2011, increasing to more than 200 new jobs by 2013. Additionally, the agreement calls for Globalstar’s total Louisiana employment to increase by more than 500 by the end of 2019. LED estimates that the direct new jobs will result in the creation of approximately 800 new indirect jobs, for a total of roughly 1,300 new direct and indirect jobs in Louisiana. LED further estimates that the Globalstar project will result in $26.1 million in new state tax revenue and $8.3 million in new local tax revenue over the next 10 years.

Gov. Jindal said, “Today’s announcement is a big win for Covington, the North Shore and our whole state. This is exactly the kind of company that we positioned Louisiana to secure when we created Louisiana FastStart in 2008 and enhanced our digital media incentive program in 2009. Since early 2008, leading companies have announced moves of their headquarters or other significant operations to Louisiana from a wide variety of states, including California, Georgia, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oregon and Texas. And we’re not stopping there. With our nation still enduring tough economic times and our state facing thousands of job losses associated with the federal deepwater drilling moratorium, our efforts to retain and attract jobs are more important than ever.”

LED’s Business Expansion and Retention Group began discussions with Globalstar several months ago after the company purchased Louisiana-based Axonn. Prior to selecting Louisiana for its new headquarters location, Globalstar executives considered a variety of locations in other U.S. states and Canada.

“Relocating to Covington will help dramatically reduce our operating costs as we execute our next-generation strategic initiatives,” said Globalstar Inc. Chairman Jay Monroe. “We are positioning Globalstar for long-term success by lowering our cost of operations, improving revenue growth and speed to market for new products through vertical integration and through the introduction of new and innovative products developed in Louisiana. Thanks to LED’s progressive digital interactive media incentives and tax credits, Globalstar can expect to benefit immediately and on an annual basis well into the future. The Gulf region boasts much lower taxes and employee cost of living compared with our former home in Silicon Valley. Combined with the work ethic and resourcefulness of the State’s workforce, you have an extremely attractive environment for innovative global companies such as ours.”

“Today is a great day for Globalstar, our stockholders and employees, and we are proud to call Covington and the state of Louisiana our new home,” said Dalton. “This move maximizes the benefits of our recent acquisition of Covington based satellite asset tracking and messaging products manufacturer Axonn and creates in Globalstar the first and only vertically integrated mobile satellite company. Physically relocating our product team to work directly with the former Axonn engineers not only decreases our pre-production costs but it will shorten the time to market for our company’s integrated wireless and satellite based products. We considered relocating our headquarters to numerous states but the overall advantages of moving here were simply too compelling to ignore.”

To secure the headquarters relocation, LED committed to provide Globalstar with a performance-based grant of $4.4 million to reimburse expected relocation costs, as well as $3.7 million in performance based incentives to offset facility costs for Globalstar’s new headquarters and research and development operations in Covington. Through Louisiana FastStartTM, LED will provide customized workforce support to Globalstar, including assistance with employee recruitment, screening, training development, and training delivery. In addition, Globalstar intends to utilize LED’s recently enhanced Digital Interactive Media Incentive program.

LED Secretary Stephen Moret said, “This is an exciting win for Louisiana not only because of the new, high-paying jobs it will bring, but also because Globalstar is in one of our top new target growth industries for Louisiana – digital media. Silicon Valley doesn’t have a monopoly on innovation. Louisiana is increasingly being viewed as a great place to base a company that requires creative talent. This is only the beginning of an exciting new trend.”

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Globalstar to Louisiana, and specifically to St. Tammany Parish,” said Davis. “We have created a business friendly climate in a unique area, and are pleased to be one of the anchors of technology in Louisiana’s economy. The people of Louisiana want to work, and we are glad Globalstar is giving us this opportunity. Our goal to make our entire region and Louisiana as a whole a nationally recognized corridor of technology is something we strive to achieve every day.”

“Globalstar’s move to Louisiana is significant not only in and of itself, but also because it will announce to the world that Greater New Orleans is a world-class location for high-technology companies seeking a better business environment,” said Hecht. “We competed against locations around North America for this project, and won due to our business conditions, lifestyle, leadership – and parish/region/state teamwork to get the deal done.”

Globalstar Inc. (NASDAQ: GSAT) offers high quality, low-cost satellite voice and data services to commercial and recreational users from virtually anywhere in more than 120 countries around the world. The company is one of only a limited number of companies in the world that actually owns its constellation of satellites, and has recently invested over $1.2 billion in procuring and deploying a second generation of more modern satellites. Moreover, Globalstar is the world’s first Low Earth Orbiting global satellite voice and data company that is on track to deliver and deploy a second-generation satellite constellation, giving the company a significant advantage over its competitors.

Established in 1991 and beginning commercial service in 1999, Globalstar currently offers service in over 120 countries, as well as from most territorial waters and several mid-ocean regions. Globalstar acquired Axonn in 2009, which provided Globalstar ownership of Axonn’s GPS tracking, messaging and other data-transmission products.

The federal government’s much-maligned response towards the Gulf oil crisis has been correctly attributed to red-tape and bureaucracy. But we should not overlook the recent evidence indicating that President Obama’s political posturing and constituent-pleasing are making matters worse. The concern is that President Obama has been complying with the wishes of two large factions of his constituency, the environmentalists and labor unions, in formulating his response, rather than listening to experts, empirical data, and common sense. As a result, invaluable and irreplaceable time and resources have been sacrificed.

Numerous media outlets have documented the Administration’s refusal to allow essential skimming ships and technology into the Gulf of Mexico to help remove oil from the water. Thirteen nations have volunteered their vessels, including a Taiwanese company which boasts the world’s largest skimming vessel. However, President Obama had declined those offers on the grounds that we are capable of cleaning up this mess ourselves. This is questionable.

Despite his claims of American self-reliance, President Obama’s refusal to waive the obsolete Jones Act may be inspired by his fealty to labor unions and environmentalists. The Jones Act is a protectionist measure which insulates American labor unions from foreign competition. Because of the high prices of labor costs here, we lack the technical capabilities and resources to handle the skimming operations on our own. Coupled with Obama’s refusal to waive this act, we are forced to fly in technology from the Netherlands, which has been an egregious waste of time and money.

Furthermore, the Administration, via the EPA, has issued the unacceptable excuse that skimming results in dumping water which still contains traces of oil residue back into the ocean. This is true, but water with oil residue is still infinitely preferable to the current toxic state of Gulf water. This is the latest in a spate of pseudo-scientific claims by the EPA, which includes shutting down Louisiana’s sand-berming operations on the notion that they will deprive blue herons of nesting areas.

As reported by Quin Hillyer of the American Spectator, the level of bureaucratic interference and incompetence is criminally negligent. Hillyer’s accusations have a large degree of credence to them. The Obama Administration is culpable for the inert governmental response. As has been widely noted, President Bush waived the Jones Act following Hurricane Katrina. Obama’s decision not to discard this Act, and his adherence to every prolonged bureaucratic procedure thus far, reflects his commitment to elements of his political base, rather than to the citizens of the Gulf Coast. Does President Obama want the Gulf coast to suffer? Of course not. Are politics adversely affecting his policy towards the Gulf? Absolutely. Political favoritism cannot take precedence over recovery amidst a crisis such as this.

Originally posted at The Pelican Post.

from a release out of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office…

Today, Governor Bobby Jindal met with Vice President Joe Biden and he called for a greater sense of urgency from the federal government in the war to protect Louisiana’s coastline from the oil spill. The Governor talked to the Vice President about the need to cut through red tape to ensure the quick approval of resources and projects to fight the spill miles off the coast before the oil enters the state’s fragile wetlands.

Governor Jindal said, “We’re glad the Vice President visited Louisiana today. Just as when the President comes into town, we see the pace of federal activity increase. The overarching message that I told the Vice President today is that the federal government needs to increase their sense of urgency. They need to treat this spill like a war and get in it to win it. We’re here to defend our way of life.

“We’re asking the federal government to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy. It’s time for them to lead or get out of the way. The federal government should stop interfering in our work to stop the oil. Over and over again, the federal government has stopped and stalled our efforts to fight this oil off the coast.

“First, it was the sand-berms where it took the federal government weeks to approve the project and then after construction started, the federal government shut it down and left our coast vulnerable to the oil. The latest example is the rocks and barges plan off of Grand Isle. Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish together with the towns of Grand Isle and Lafitte have been pushing for weeks to get approval for their plans to place boom, rocks, and barges in five of the western Barataria Bay passes.  Their plan calls for narrowing the passes by up to 70 percent with rocks, rigid pipe boom or other measures, then placing barges with vacuum trucks and sorbent operations in the remaining gaps.  We can fight this oil before it gets into our interior marshes with these plans – but they are still awaiting federal approval.

“Local officials have been waiting for over a month for approval and the Grand Isle Mayor and I spoke to the President about this project three weeks ago. The President told us we would get a call within hours, but to date, we still don’t have approval to place the rocks. We need action on this today. I brought this up to the Vice President and asked him to cut through the red tape. It is ridiculous that we are still fighting this bureaucracy three weeks after the President was here saying he would help us get this done.

“We also spoke to the Vice President about the need to quickly deploy all resources available, including skimmers and boom. We’ve been told that there’s over 170 skimmers coming and that’s great, but where have they been for the past 70 days? This is something we’ve been talking about for weeks and the federal government needs to deploy every resource. I also spoke to the Vice President about relaxing regulatory rules so we can get more skimmers from around the country and even the world. Yesterday, we were off the coast off Grand Isle where we saw a 12-mile oil slick and not one skimmer was out there collecting the oil. That’s absurd.

“Finally, I talked to the Vice President about the drilling moratorium and the impact it’s having on our people. We want drilling to be done safely, but we’re very concerned about an arbitrary 6-month timeline and the fact that the commission studying the moratorium won’t even hold their first meeting until next month.

“As far as claims for the people impacted by the moratorium, the situation is still as clear as mud. We asked the Vice President today about claims for our workers and he spoke about the $100 million that has been set aside for oil rig workers. The President has told people to file claims with BP and BP has said they are not handling claims. We also have concerns that the $100 million in funds will not last for an entire six-month suspension.

Also, the funds will not cover everyone impacted by the moratorium because it’s not just oil rig workers, there are thousands of men and women that will be out of work who support this industry. Most importantly though, no one here wants a claims check or an unemployment check. They want to go back to work.”

MEETING WITH SECRETARY MABUS

Governor Jindal discussed his meeting yesterday with Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, who has been charged by President Obama with developing a long-term recovery plan for the Gulf Coast. The Governor noted the specific request he made to Secretary Mabus, an immediate commitment of federal funding to match the state’s commitment to coastal restoration and hurricane protection.

Governor Jindal said, “We had a good meeting with Secretary Mabus yesterday.  I made it clear that Louisiana does not need any more plans or studies – we have enough of those. What we need is immediate action on the estimated $9 billion in projects that have been authorized by Congress for construction. Those projects are delayed well beyond the deadlines required in federal law.

“Specifically, I told Secretary Mabus that we need an immediate commitment of federal funding to match our state’s commitment to coastal restoration and hurricane protection in Louisiana.

“We simply do not have the 40 years that it would take to complete these projects through the Corps of Engineers – according to their usual timeframes. Even in this emergency situation, it took us nearly a month to get approval and funding for our sand berms as oil continued to hit our shore day after day – that is ridiculous. We need this new structure to be ready in no less than 60 days.

“Additionally – the President’s moratorium on deepwater energy production does not just affect our jobs in Louisiana.  It also affects or delays energy revenue sharing that is due to the state under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. Senator Landrieu and our Congressional delegation have been working on legislation to expedite the sharing energy revenues rather than delaying it.  I strongly support those efforts. Indeed, our Constitution requires that every penny of these revenues be dedicated to projects to restore our coast, provide hurricane protection and address other impacts from energy production.”

I’m a bit distracted today, and as such I doubt I could do any of these items justice with a full post on each one. But they’re all deserving of some attention, so here’s a mashup of sorts.

1. This Al Gore business with the masseuse in Portland appears more and more interesting. Mark Tapscott and Byron York are going back and forth about it in the Washington Examiner today. Tapscott is proclaiming that while he can’t stand Gore and would be perfectly happy to see the climate fraudster and philanderer vanish from public life as a result of the scandal, he’s not convinced the masseuse’s story is true.

Tapscott is also a bit leery of the excruciating detail the masseuse provided in her statement to the police and the time elapsed between the event and the statement itself.

York, on the other hand, seems to think the accusation rings true. He calls it both detailed and credible, and offers a number of points which seem to buttress the story…

The incident allegedly occurred on October 24, 2006. The Portland Police Bureau statement on the matter says that about two months later, in December 2006, a local attorney got in touch with police and “said he had a client that wanted to report an unwanted sexual contact by Mr. Gore.” The police statement says investigators tried repeatedly to interview the woman, but she did not cooperate. A short time later, in January 2007, the lawyer told them his client was “pursuing civil litigation.” Then, in January 2009, she changed her mind and talked to police investigators.

The woman’s attorney — so far unnamed — would have been negligent had he not had his client record her best memory of the incident, in as much detail as possible, as quickly as possible. I think that likely happened sometime before the lawyer first contacted police in December 2006. The statement the woman gave police in January 2009 — investigators say she was reading from a prepared statement, which is obvious from listening to the audio recording — would have been based on recollections written down earlier. Time is the enemy of detail, but the details were likely committed to paper shortly after the alleged incident occurred, not three years later.

I’m also told by people who have had massages at hotels and spas around the country that the questions the masseuse says she asked Gore before the massage — about any health issues, problem areas, etc. — are common practice in the business. In the police statement, the woman was careful to stress her professional credentials, probably in an effort to show that she was a serious person with a serious complaint.

There are other parts of the woman’s story that tend to support her credibility. She says she told other people about the incident at the time. She says she saved the slacks she was wearing the night of the encounter when she noticed there was a stain on them. Sources close to Gore have told reporters Gore was at the hotel that night and did have a massage, likely with the masseuse who filed the complaint, although Gore remembers it ending without incident. And when Gore’s lawyers were confronted with the complaint in 2007, they called it “completely false” and offered as evidence the “integrity” of his “37 year marriage.”

Huh.

The complaint is pretty entertaining stuff. According to the masseuse, there’s this…

Gore also requested work on his abdomen. When that began, “He became somewhat vocal with muffled moans, etc.,” the masseuse recounted. Gore then “demand[ed] that I go lower.” When she remained focused on a “safe, nonsexual” area, Gore grew “angry, becoming verbally sharp and loud.”

The masseuse asked Gore what he wanted. “He grabbed my right hand, shoved it down under the sheet to his pubic hair area, my fingers brushing against his penis,” she recalled, “and said to me, ‘There!’ in a very sharp, loud, angry-sounding tone.” When she pulled back, Gore “angrily raged” and “bellowed” at her.

Then, abruptly, the former vice president changed tone. It was “as though he had very suddenly switched personalities,” she recalled, “and began in a pleading tone, pleading for release of his second chakra there.”

Yeah, yeah. Too much information. Just laugh at the fat, arrogant, windbag assclown trying to get a feelie.

2. The Dave Weigel story is boring, and that’s why I haven’t weighed in on it. Weigel was working the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans back in April, and a lot of the conservative bloggers there acted like he was royalty. I just thought he looked like a weasel, and though I’ve paid only scant attention to Weigel’s writings I pretty much assumed that if he was drawing a paycheck from the Washington Post the chances of him actually being a conservative were minimal.

That Weigel’s experience with the Journolist – namely, getting outed and having his career blown up because somebody on the listserv thought he was insufficiently Left – more or less proved me correct in my impressions didn’t make me any more interested in the story.

But Andrew Breitbart has.

Breitbart ran a rambling mea culpa (sort of) by Weigel on BigJournalism.com yesterday, in which he more or less admitted he’s a punk and a poser. That was something of a head-scratcher; why would Breitbart think the readers of Big Journalism would care about Weigel’s side of the story?

Well, today he made the reason clear.

Breitbart is now offering $100,000 to any member of the Journolist who will, with total anonymity, disclose its membership and provide its archive.

Ezra Klein’s “JournoList 400” is the epitome of progressive and liberal collusion that conservatives, Tea Partiers, moderates and many independents have long suspected and feared exists at the heart of contemporary American political journalism. Now that collusion has been exposed when one of the weakest links in that cabal, Dave Weigel, was outed. Weigel was, in all likelihood, exposed because – to whoever the rat was who leaked his emails — he wasn’t liberal enough…

But Dave Weigel is not the story. The “JournoList” is the story: who was on it and which positions of journalistic power and authority do they hold? Now that the nature and the scope of the list has been exposed, I think the public has a right to know who shapes the big media narratives and how.

Dave Weigel is a portal into the dark world of hardcore liberal bias in the media. This opening gives us a deeper insight into the insidious relationship between liberal think tanks, academics and their mouthpieces in the media.

Breitbart says the $100,000 he’s putting up as a reward is the same $100,000 which went unclaimed when he offered it to anyone who could provide proof that Tea Party protestors on Capitol Hill actually used the “N-word” in front of Congressman John Lewis – a media-spun narrative which turned out to have no evidence behind it whatsoever and in fact was largely disproven by video taken at the scene. Should this offer find a taker, Breitbart is likely to have the goods on most of the left-wing media establishment in Washington and New York, and the damage he can do to those people will be incalculable.

Which means the Weigel story is relevant after all.

3. Closer to home, the Lefties are now screaming about Gov. Jindal’s National Guard deployments, and specifically the fact that he’s only deployed 1,000 or so of the 6,000 he’s been authorized to deploy.

This is apparently evidence that Jindal is using the spill as a political tool (which if he were would hardly make him worse than some of the other actors in this sordid drama).

But here’s a question – exactly what are these 5,000 extra Guardsmen supposed to do? Jindal can’t seem to get and keep permission from the feds to engage in the really labor-intensive projects to protect the coast he wants, so bringing added troops on line doesn’t particularly seem like a smart move. Having 5,000 Guardsmen sitting around at Fourchon or Venice drinking coffee when they could be back home working at their jobs won’t solve the spill.

Not to shill for Jindal here, because we think he had an absolutely horrid legislative session and were it not for the spill his stock would be in the toilet with conservatives. But had he deployed all 6,000 Guardsmen to the coast with nothing for them to do, it would have been a totally counterproductive exercise.

I’m wide open to anyone educating us on what projects the Guard could be doing with another 5,000 troops that they’re not able to do with their current complement. I’m also interested in knowing why out-of-work fishermen, dock workers, roustabouts and boat captains who need something to do and a way to earn a check are less worthy as assets in this fight than Guardsmen. We’re not shooting guns at the oil, after all. But if anyone can bring specific evidence of a capability the state needs but does not have because Jindal hasn’t deployed enough Guardsmen, I’m open to changing my mind.

4. Finally, the Elena Kagan business.

OK, let’s face it – if you’re watching Kagan’s hearings, you’re thinking she’s a Mike Myers character come to life. As such, it’s hard to take her seriously as either a viable Supreme Court justice (though it’s not like she could be any more incomprehensible or ridiculous than John Paul Stevens, whom she’d replace) or a threat to the existence of the Republic.

Which, if I’m a Republican Senator, means I don’t care either way. My cause isn’t damaged by switching out Stevens, who for a long time has been the worst justice on the Court, for almost anybody. So what I’m looking for is whatever political advantage I can get out of this affair.

And if I’m that Senator I am reading Doug Ross’ piece today, which offers a fairly attractive option in serving a larger cause by delaying Kagan’s nomination as long as possible…

Pursuant to the Elena Kagan confirmation process, I would like to call your attention to a little-known fact related to the role of the minority party on the committee. That is, Rule IV of the Judiciary Committee states that “at least one member of the minority party must vote to end debate in committee.”

For Elena Kagan to move to a vote in the Senate, at least one Republican on your committee must accede to end debate. I suggest you hold firm and refuse to end debate…

This egregious band of career, Leftist politicians have made a mockery of representative government because, even as the American people prepare to boot them out of office in November, they plot to defy the will of the people.

In a set of moves unprecedented in American history, Democrats intend to use the lame-duck session combined with budget reconciliation to do what the American people have rejected. They intend to pass their radical agenda despite what 75-80% of the American people want. They intend to flip off the citizenry, bypass the filibuster and violate their oaths to uphold the Constitution.

This band of Statists has declared war on the GOP and the American people.

It’s time to stop playing patsy and refuse to vote Kagan or any other non-originalist nominee out of commitee.

Stonewall everything.

They’ve Pearl Harbored the American people enough. It’s time for our Midway.

Agreed. This Democrat Congress very badly needs the clock run out on it after the train of legislative atrocity it has driven across the land. It’s long past time that the GOP did something to derail it. Does anybody really think the Republicans will lose votes in the Senate because they stonewalled a judicial nominee only 35 percent of the public wants to see confirmed?

from a release out of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office…

Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced appointments to the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors.

The goal of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Board of Supervisors is to provide leadership and support for the LSU System.  The board aids the LSU System in the development of intellectual and professional programs of instruction, research, and public service, works to increase opportunities for students, provides oversight for large contracts, and enhances services to the community and the state.

The board is composed of sixteen gubernatorial appointments which are subject to senate confirmation. Members include: two members appointed from each congressional district serving six year terms, one member appointed from the state at-large serving a six year term, and one student member who serves a one year term.

Appointments to the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors:

Robert “Bobby” Yarborough, of Baton Rouge, is the chief executive officer and co-owner of Manda Fine Meats.  Yarborough is currently chairman of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, chairman of the Louisiana Egg Commission, vice chairman of Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge, incoming vice chairman of the Baton Rouge General Hospital Foundation,  and  on the board of directors for the Metro Area YMCA and Business First Bank.  Additionally, he serves on the Louisiana Grocers Manufacturers Representatives Association, and the Louisiana Meat Processors Association.  Yarborough will be appointed to serve as an at-large member of the board, as required by statute.

Ann Duplessis, of New Orleans, is a Louisiana State Senator, representing the 2nd Congressional District and is the senior vice president of Liberty Bank and Trust. Duplessis received a Graduate of Banking Degree from the LSU Graduate School of Banking.  She currently serves on several National and State Senate committees including chairwoman of the Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs Committee, Judiciary C and the Education Committees.  Nationally, she serves as vice chair of the Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Executive Committee Task Force on State and Local Taxation of Telecommunications and Electronic Commerce and Insurance.  Additionally, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the LSU Graduate School of Banking, the Louisiana Utilities Commission, the State of Louisiana Small Business Development Center Advisory Board, United Way, the Working Uninsured Task Force, and Total Community Action.  She recently accepted a new position as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the City of New Orleans.  Duplessis will be appointed to serve as a representative of the 2nd Congressional District, as required by statute.

Garret “Hank” Danos, of Larose, is Chief Executive Officer of Danos & Curole Marine Contractors.  Danos received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Louisiana State University in 1971 and is a veteran of the Louisiana National Guard.  Additionally, he is the former chairman and current member of Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI) and serves on the Executive Subcommittee of Offshore Operators, the Louisiana Transportation Authority, the National Ocean Industries Association, and the Navigators.  Danos will be appointed to serve as a representative of the 3rd Congressional District, as required by statute.

Ray Lasseigne, of Bossier City, is the president and co-owner of TMR Exploration, Inc., Sandia Drilling, LLC and Langston Drilling, LLP. Lasseigne received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1971.  Additionally, he is also serving as the president of the Bossier Levee Board of Commissioners and previously served as chairman of his local section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, president of the Shreveport Petroleum Data Association, and director of the Shreveport Petroleum Map Association.  Lasseigne will be appointed serve as a representative of the 4th Congressional District, as required by statute.

Ben Mount, of Lake Charles, is an attorney with the firm of Bergstedt & Mount.  Mount has a Bachelor’s of Science from McNeese State University and a law degree from Louisiana State University. Mount has served on the LSU Board of Supervisors since 2006 and will be reappointed to serve a full six-year term as a representative of the 7th Congressional District, as required by statute.

Via a release out of Gov. Jindal’s office tonight, a tirade from Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority chairman Garrett Graves sheds more light on the issues surrounding the federal government’s halting of the sand-dredging operation at the Chandeleur Islands site. Graves paints a picture of a criminally inept and suspiciously clueless federal response…

“Tonight, the United States Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District officially shut down the state’s dredging operation to protect coastal Louisiana from the ongoing impact of millions of gallons of oil leaking into the Gulf from the BP oil spill.

“After conference calls and meetings throughout the day, reports from the Corps that they had not shut down our efforts, and a top federal official said he was not halting our dredging operation, we have now been notified that our efforts to help prevent the oil from hitting our coast are officially stopped. Interestingly, the Corps’ press release tonight said this was done in ‘close coordination’ with the state, while we have actually been pleading with them to let our dredging operations continue.

“This decison was made only hours after BP reported that they had to remove the containment cap and we, once again, have an estimated 60,000 barrels of oil per day to destroy our fisheries, birds, wetlands and coastal communities — mind-boggling”.

“Indeed, the Corps’ own permit indicates that we are currently operating within the allowed dredge area. Our operations on the Northern Chandeleurs have all been within our approved permitted area. We simply asked to continue dredging operations until we could ensure a seamless transition to the next sand borrow site. Reports today show that oil will hit our coast again next week and now we will lose thousands of feet of sand berm that we could have built up in that time to protect our marshes and our coast. Because of this fact, we made it clear to the Corps that their ‘Option 1’ was never an option for the state.

“All of the sudden, the Department of the Interior claims we were dredging outside of the permitted area, yet they agreed to this spot for seven to 10 days. If we were dredging outside the confines of the original permit – which we were not, the agencies would have had issued a new permit for dredging outside of the initial permit. A new permit was not issued because it was not needed. We were dredging within the permitted area.

“In fact, the Shaw Group project manager for the sand berms is a former top official within the Corps of Engineers. There are few folks in this world that are more familiar with the Corps’ regulatory procedures. To suggest that the project manager would dredge outside of a permitted area is absurd.

“The Corps’s statement also says they have concerns about the ‘additional erosion issues and possible deterioration of the Chandeleur Islands.’ While I certainly appreciate the Corps’ and USFWS’s new-found love for the Chandeleur Islands, if they were actually interested in preventing further erosion in this area surely they would have invested even one dollar from their budgets for coastal restoration projects in the many years they have owned and managed this area — as they have done for other refuges and recreational areas.

“Communities used to live on these islands, today they are virtually gone. Additionally, the Department of the Interior’s continued insistence that this dredge area is a bird rookery makes it clear that they are confused about what it is that they are protecting – and perhaps have never been to the Chandeluers at all. There isn’t a place for a bird to land for over a mile away.

“Additionally, one of the Department of the Interior’s top political appointees told the Associated Press that we were dredging ‘in between islands.’ Mr. Strickland should probably consult a current map, because there is there is nothing north of where we were dredging on the Chandeluer Island chain. It is not ‘in between’ anything. Perhaps if the federal government had taken any interest in protecting the coast in this area there would truly be places for birds to land and people to fish today.”

In New Orleans this afternoon, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal let fly with a torrent of invective in describing the red tape surrounding the federal government’s shutdown of the state’s dredging operations in the Chandeleur Islands. Jindal not only challenged the wisdom of the Interior Department’s order to stop the dredging, he noted that the management of the Chandeleur’s by the federal Department of Fish and Wildlife has been an exercise in abject failure.

“We got word yesterday that federal officials were going to shut down our dredging operations on the North Chandeleur Islands and those operations were indeed stopped under the federal government’s command at 6PM last night.

“Our request here today is simple,” said the governor. “We are again calling on the federal government to allow us to continue these dredging operations as we mobilize pipe for another two miles – which will take around just seven more days. Getting this pipe in place without stopping the dredging operations will allow us a seamless transition as we move the dredge to a new borrow site. After this pipe is in place, our dredger can disconnect and move to the next site where it can then resume dredging operations in just one day.

“We have told Col. Lee of the Army Corps of Engineers and every federal agency that we are in an emergency situation here. This is a disaster for our state. Days count. Hours count. We cannot wait for more conference calls and meetings for discussions. We need to adapt to the situation on the ground and continue our dredging operations for as long as possible until we can move to the next borrow site and continue to create sand boom.”

Over 5,000 feet of sand berm has been created in the Chandeleurs, in addition to 2.5 miles at East Grand Terre. Jindal has previously noted that sand berm can be highly effective in trapping oil, thus keeping it from coming inland into Louisiana’s estuaries and marshes.

“We have jumped through every hoop that the federal government has placed in front of us since this spill started,” he seethed. “On May 2, we submitted our initial boom plan to the Incident Command Post since there was not a plan. When BP and the Coast Guard were unable to provide the appropriate boom resources, we began developing innovative solutions like Tiger Dams, air-dropping sand bags, Hesco baskets, opening all freshwater diversions, vacuum barges and many other alternatives.

“On May 11th, we submitted a proposal to the regulatory agencies, BP and the Coast Guard to approve our sand berms. It took almost a month for the federal government to approve the plan and make BP pay for the work. Meanwhile, we had millions of gallons of oil covering our wetlands, killing our wildlife and forcing our people out of work.”

Jindal then took aim at the U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service, which controls the Chandeleurs as a wildlife refuge. He showed a map of the erosion of the chain from 2001 to 2005 and delved into a short history of the disappearing islands.

“People used to live on these islands,” he noted. “It was a fishing community and even had some farming. From the mid-90′s until recently, the islands lost up to 300 feet per year under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service management.

“Now, this same agency has concerns that we are not being sensitive to the islands by wanting to continue to dredge for seven more days to ensure a smooth transition?

“They have not invested a penny in this area and are allowing it to erode at extraordinary rates. Meanwhile, they invest millions in other refuges in other parts of the country.

“Louisiana’s coast is one our most important resources. That is why we are fighting so hard to protect our wetlands, protect our fisheries and birds and to protect our way of life from this oil spill – with these sand booms.

Jindal then answered the concern that dredging where the state has dredged is a hazard to the islands due to currents and tides.

“We have said from the beginning that we would backfill any dredging that would adversely affect these islands. That commitment still stands. Shutting down dredging operations while oil continues to hit our shores and the oil continues to flow into the Gulf is absolutely absurd. We need to act now.

“The area where the state was dredging remains within the area permitted by the federal government. When the dredging contractor began operations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service voiced objections to the location of the dredge. In an effort to prevent delay to the project, we worked out an agreement that would provide for backfilling the dredge site and the movement of the dredge vessel to a new location. The state remains committed to moving the dredge to another location within the permitted area and backfilling the first dredge site.”

The Governor then launched into a long riff on the Obamoratorium and the federal government’s attempts to stand it back up after U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman dismantled it with a preliminary injunction yesterday.

“The federal judge’s ruling yesterday to grant an immediate injunction on President Obama’s deepwater drilling moratorium was welcome news. We absolutely agree with the judge’s conclusion that the Administration’s six-month, or longer, shut down of deepwater drilling was ‘arbitrary and capricious.’

“Not only does the moratorium threaten thousands of direct jobs in our state, it also jeopardizes many other industries that supply our oil and gas industry and the entire communities that depend on them. It is also deeply concerning that the President’s moratorium was enacted against the judgment of the Department of the Interior’s own expert advisors and scientists.

“The Administration now says that they will immediately appeal the ruling. They just don’t seem to understand that you can’t just turn a switch on and off with these rigs. When they leave our coast to produce oil in other parts of the country or the world, the jobs that support them go too. We absolutely do not want another spill or one more drop of oil on our coast or in our water, but thousands of Louisianians should not have to lose their jobs because the federal government can’t adequately do their job of ensuring drilling is done safely.

“The federal government has an entire agency dedicated to monitoring safe drilling. It shouldn’t take them six-months or longer to ensure safety measures are in place and their laws and regulations are being followed. Instead of an arbitrary moratorium, the Administration should listen to their own experts and enact the specific recommended steps from their own experts to ensure proper oversight and safe drilling.

“As Judge Feldman stated in his preliminary injunction ruling yesterday, ‘…the Secretary’s determination that a six-month moratorium on issuance of new permits and on drilling by the thirty-three rigs is necessary does not seem to be fact-specific and refuses to take into measure the safety records of those others in the Gulf. There is no evidence presented indicating that the Secretary balanced the concern for environmental safety with the policy of making leases available for development. There is no suggestion that the Secretary considered any alternatives: for example, an individualized suspension of activities on target rigs until they reached compliance with the new federal regulations said to be recommended for immediate implementation.’”

The Governor added, “The Commission that was supposed to study the moratorium for the President for six months now says they won’t have their first meeting until mid-July and they won’t finish their report until next year.

“I want to be very clear on this point. Each month that the work of the Commission is delayed means another month that thousands of Louisiana people won’t be able to work. Each month that the work of the Commission is delayed, we expect additional energy companies to move existing deepwater rigs to other parts of the world and/or to plan new deepwater drilling capacity for other parts of the world in lieu of the Gulf – further extending and expanding job losses in Louisiana. Each month that the work of the Commission is delayed will result in the loss of approximately $65 to 135 million in Louisiana wages.

Jindal also noted that the Obama administration’s claim that BP will be picking up the tab for losses suffered as a result of the Obamoratorium is spurious.

“Moreover, the $100 million set aside by BP to offset the wage losses of deepwater rig workers will cover only a few weeks of lost wages for those workers – and these funds will do nothing to offset the hundreds of millions in wage losses for workers in support industries that count on deepwater drilling activity for their livelihood. Today, BP told us for the first time that they will not pay for moratorium-related losses above the $100 million.”