Tonight President Obama is scheduled to talk on TV about the Gulf oil spill, after he compared the spill to 9/11 and spent four hours working on his golf crisis. You may call it his pet golf moment, if you are so inclined.
Meanwhile, over at the Gulf, after eight long weeks of waiting for the federal government to authorize what’s needed, Gov. Bobby Jindal Orders National Guard to Build Barrier Wall Off Louisiana Shore
In Fort Jackson, La., Jindal has ordered the Guard to start building barrier walls right in the middle of the ocean. The barriers, built nine miles off shore, are intended to keep the oil from reaching the coast by filling the gaps between barrier islands.
…
Today, huge Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters lined up in the air, dropping sandbags one by one into the sea.“They are lifting up about 7,000 pounds of sandbags,” said 1st Lt. James Tyson Gabler.
Jindal also asks Obama to end the moratorium on the gulf:
Gateway Pundit explains,
Barack Obama’s oil drilling moratorium will cost tens of thousands of American jobs. Oil companies are planning on moving their rigs from the Gulf of Mexico to South America off the coast of Brazil where the government is more friendly to energy corporations.
At Patterico, DRJ notes,
Just over 10 days ago, BP and the Obama Administration authorized the construction of five barrier islands. Hugh Hewitt said that represented 2% of what Jindal wanted. Apparently Jindal has decided to go forward with the remaining 98%.
Kudos to Gov. Jindal for taking the initiative.
I hope the governors of each of the Gulf states also take the initiative and do what is needed.
The White House remains in denial: Dutch say They Could Speed Gulf Oil Recovery with US Permission
Louisiana and The Netherlands have developed strong ties since Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans five years ago. The European nation has developed special expertise in protecting its lower than sea-level land for centuries with a system of dikes. The country, home to the Royal Dutch Shell oil company, also has experience with mitigating oil spills in the North Sea and elsewhere.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs last week rejected the idea that the Jones Act has caused any problem in regard to the Gulf cleanup, but he said the president would provide a waiver if one is needed.
“We are using equipment and vessels from countries like Norway, Canada, The Netherlands,” said Robert Gibbs. “There has not been any problem with this. If there is the need for any type of waiver that would obviously be granted, but we have not had that problem.”
…
Floris Van Hovell says Dutch dredging ships could complete the sand berms in Louisiana twice as fast as the local companies contracted for the work, if allowed to do so.
Question: Why hasn’t the President waived the Jones act? Senator Lemieux of Florida is in the news right now asking exactly that question: “There are over 2,000 ships waiting. Why aren’t they heading to the Gulf?”
In a lighter vein, Scrappleface speculates about tonight’s speech.
