AIPNews.com
Free the First Amendment Committee
Information Week/Government
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Obama Internet kill switch plan approved by US Senate [Committee]
AIPNews.com
Free the First Amendment Committee
Free the First Amendment Committee
President [if we had one] could get power to turn off Internet
TechworldVideo/photo of Bill Randall for Congress Runoff Celebration
AIPNews.com
America's Independent Party of North Carolina
America's Independent Party of North Carolina
conservativenc.com ... watch videos here...
WOW! What a night. I even took my teenage daughter to this event so she could see how the political process works, since she will be voting in the 2012 election. I thank Bill Randall for inviting me to his runoff celebration. Now the real work begins and w make North Carolina one Miller lite. Here's how the evening went and ended and remember it takes "We the People" under God to make things like this happen and no one is going to do it for us. Amen
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Favorite Quotes - POST YOURS HERE! "If you will not fight for right..."
AIPNews.com
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
"I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God who has so blessed our land. We need God's help to guide our nation through stormy seas. But we can't expect Him to protect America in a crisis if we just leave Him over on the shelf in our day-to-day living."
-- Ronald ReaganAmerica's Summit - Restore the Republic - Every Tues., Thurs., - 9 pm Eastern [call info]
AIPNews.com
'America's Summit - Restore the Republic' - Forum and Archive
Every Tuesday and Thursday Night
-----
You will note that we have now dropped the Saturday evening call. We needed to free up that time for party business. Participation has always been lighter on the weekends in any case.
Thanks!
-----
Laus Deo
'America's Summit - Restore the Republic' - Forum and Archive
Every Tuesday and Thursday Night
Sponsored by LifeandLibertyReport.com
Hosted by AIP Chairman Tom Hoefling
National Conference Call featuring AIP leaders, special guests, and principled, independent, conservatives from across the land
Email questions or comments to summit@aipnews.com
The calls are live-streamed on the web at: www.blogtalkradio.com/AIP
The call-in number is:
………………..(218) 339-2222
and the conference ID is:
………………..340794#
The Tuesday and Thursday night calls begin at:
………………..9:00 p.m. Eastern
………………..8:00 p.m. Central
………………..7:00 p.m. Mountain
………………..6:00 p.m. Pacific
………………..5:00 p.m. Alaska
-----
You will note that we have now dropped the Saturday evening call. We needed to free up that time for party business. Participation has always been lighter on the weekends in any case.
Thanks!
-----
Laus Deo
Halutz on Iran: Israel will know what to do if threatened
AIPNews.com
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
During interview with Alhurra TV network, former IDF chief of staff says, 'I don't advise anyone to test Israel's abilities'; notes Second Lebanon War now appears as great success
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
During interview with Alhurra TV network, former IDF chief of staff says, 'I don't advise anyone to test Israel's abilities'; notes Second Lebanon War now appears as great success
Patton's Folly: Is MMS Indictable for Gulf Disaster?
AIPNews.com
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
By: Larry Walker, Jr.
-----
Larry M. Walker, Jr.
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
By: Larry Walker, Jr.Frank Patton (left), the unlicensed Minerals Management Service (MMS) engineer, who approved the plans for the Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer, actually never saw the plans. Yet, Patton issued his approval on April 16, 2010, just four days before the blowout.
During the oil rig explosion hearings held in mid-May, Patton admitted that he has never asked for, nor reviewed, blowout preventer plans on any of more than 100 applications his office approves each year. In fact, Patton stated that he was never instructed that he needed to review such plans.
When asked whether this is standard MMS policy, or just Frank Patton's policy, Mr. Patton said, "I'm not sure."
What? You're not sure?
It's bad enough that Patton is not a licensed Professional Engineer (PE). (See An Unlicensed MMS Engineer and The Gulf Disaster). But his not knowing why he would need to ask to see the actual blowout preventer plans, before he approves them, is just plain ignorant. Without even looking at the plans, Patton has perhaps approved more than 100 blowout preventers each year. What happened to due diligence? What happened to common sense?
Has the Federal Government gotten so big that one hand doesn't know what the other is doing? It sure looks that way. Why are Federal employees exempted from being required to hold PE licenses? There's really no excuse.
It's time for the Federal government to stop placing all the blame for this disaster on BP, to man-up, and to take responsibility for its own failures. This message is for the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. For God's sake, open up your eyes, and then start telling the truth for a change.
Following are some excerpts from the oil rig explosion hearings:
Under scrutiny from officials in his own agency, the local Minerals Management Service engineer who approved BP's application to drill under the Deepwater Horizon admitted that he approved the blowout preventer that failed to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil spill without assurances that its last-ditch mechanism would work on the drill pipe the company was using.
Jason Mathews, an MMS official who sits on the six-member joint Coast Guard and MMS investigative board, questioned Frank Patton, the agency's New Orleans District drilling engineer, about his approval of BP's drilling permit. Mathews noted that MMS regulation 250.416(e) requires would-be drillers to submit proof that the blowout preventer they are using to shut off the well will have enough power to shear a drill pipe in case of an emergency.
Those mechanisms on the 450-ton blowout preventer at the bottom of the seabed are called blind shear rams, a pair of high-pressure valves and blades that are supposed to slice through a gushing drill pipe and close off a well leak. But attempts to get those shear rams to operate on the well below the Deepwater Horizon have been unsuccessful since the April 20 disaster.
Patton testified he was not aware of any such requirement and never demands it from more than 100 applications his office reviews each year.
"I have never been told to look for this statement," Patton said. The BP application had "no information on blind shear rams' ability to shear the drill pipe used."
"If they didn't submit it, why did we approve it?" Mathews asked.
"That is one thing I don't look for in my approval process," Patton said. "I've never looked for that statement there."
"Is this just you, or is this MMS-wide? " Mathews persisted.
"I'm not sure," Patton said sheepishly.
Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune and An Unlicensed MMS Engineer and The Gulf Disaster
-----
Larry M. Walker, Jr.
Obama's Jones-Act Massacre: Updated
AIPNews.com
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
Dutch Koseq Sweeping Arms vs. Obama's Jones-Act Disaster
Koseq rigid sweeping arm systems - the best oil recovery equipment for offshore. The only tool for recovery of oil on open sea that works even under severe weather and sea conditions.
Updated: The Dutch offered to loan the U.S. four of these systems on day 3 of the Gulf disaster, but Obama said, "thanks but, no thanks." Now it's too late. How long did it take to waive the Jones-Act? Fifty some-odd days? How many lives, jobs, and businesses have been ruined unnecessarily? How much marine life could have been saved had Obama acted sooner. All Obama had to do was waive the Jones Act. All he needed to do was put America first.
Now he owns it. This is Obama's Jones-Act Massacre.
By the way, since we have several thousand active oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico, exactly how many modern day oil skimmers do we have, on standby, in the region?
I think we need a six-month moratorium on Obama's big mouth, and then some real change in 2010 and again in 2012.
Refer to: Illegal Dutch Oil Skimmers, the EPA and the Feckless POTUS and Keeping Up with the Jones Act Deroy Murdock
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Hoist By Own Petard: McChrystal a Social, Political Liberal; Banned Fox News, Done in By Lib Rag
AIPNews.com
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
-----
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Kristinn Taylor
Deposed Gen. Stanley McChrystal is being revealed as a social and political liberal who banned Fox News from TVs in his headquarters. Which makes his immolation in the pages of the liberal rag Rolling Stone and subsequent firing by the man he voted for president the height of irony.
Marc Ambinder, writing in his Night Beat column at the Atlantic reveals McChrystal's liberalness:
Even more about McChrystal: now it can be told. The story about him voting for Obama is not contrived. He is a political liberal. He is a social liberal. He banned Fox News from the television sets in his headquarters. Yes, really. This serves to put to rest another false rumor: that McChrystal deliberately precipitated his firing because he wants to run for President.
Being a liberal takes nothing away from McChrystal's service and sacrifice to the Nation. It does explain why he was comfortable having a Rolling Stone reporter around for a month.
For those who were hoping McChrystal would join Fox News as a contributor after he leaves the service, don't bet on it.-----
Obama silent on reporter's question
AIPNews.com
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
Cutting to heart of Obama's dilemma: 'Can the war be won?'
news.yahoo.comRight View News at AIPNews.com ... Wednesday, June 23, 2010 [Conservative News 4 Today]
AIPNews.com
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
Featured Article: |
|
Around the Web News Views ... Wed Jun 23 15:55:28 PDT 2010 - AIPNews.
-- Stories compiled to provide --
The right perspective on today's news ...
Obama to relieve McChrystal of command
AIPNews.com
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
AP reports Gen. David Petraeus to be named as top Afghan commander
MSNBCFounders' Quotes
AIPNews.com
'America's Heroes, America's Principles'
-----
'America's Heroes, America's Principles'
"Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them."
--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Edward Carrington, 1787
-----
The rolling moss of McCrystal’s fate
AIPNews.com
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
This is an example and a sense of the style of the piece: (referring to McChrystal’s group)
" The assembled men may look and sound like a bunch of combat veterans letting off steam, but in fact this tight-knit group represents the most powerful force shaping U.S. policy in Afghanistan. While McChrystal and his men are in indisputable command of all military aspects of the war, there is no equivalent position on the diplomatic or political side. Instead, an assortment of administration players compete over the Afghan portfolio: U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, Special Representative to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, National Security Advisor Jim Jones and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, not to mention 40 or so other coalition ambassadors and a host of talking heads who try to insert themselves into the mess, from John Kerry to John McCain. This diplomatic incoherence has effectively allowed McChrystal's team to call the shots and hampered efforts to build a stable and credible government in Afghanistan. "It jeopardizes the mission," says Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who supports McChrystal. "The military cannot by itself create governance reform."
Tucked into the details elsewhere :
"McChrystal and his team were blindsided by the cable. (*leaked COIN criticism by Eikenberry) "I like Karl, I've known him for years, but they'd never said anything like that to us before," says McChrystal, who adds that he felt "betrayed" by the leak. "Here's one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, 'I told you so.' "Here is a stunning line from it:
But facts on the ground, as history has proven, offer little deterrent to a military determined to stay the course. Even those closest to McChrystal know that the rising anti-war sentiment at home doesn't begin to reflect how deeply f---- up things are in Afghanistan.
"There's a possibility we could ask for another surge of U.S. forces next summer if we see success here," a senior military official in Kabul tells me.
If you read between the lines, as an anti-war strategist would, it seems to indicate that the less visible signs of success there are the better for their ideology.
See article: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236?RS_show_page=0
According to those close to the two men, [US ambassador] Eikenberry – a retired three-star general who served in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2005 – can't stand that his former subordinate is now calling the shots. He's also furious that McChrystal, backed by NATO's allies, refused to put Eikenberry in the pivotal role of viceroy in Afghanistan, which would have made him the diplomatic equivalent of the general. The job instead went to British Ambassador Mark Sedwill – a move that effectively increased McChrystal's influence over diplomacy by shutting out a powerful rival. "In reality, that position needs to be filled by an American for it to have weight," says a U.S. official familiar with the negotiations.
As the piece continues, the irony of the fallout should become clear to any reader. In Washington we have Obama – who dislikes criticism anyway unless its self inflicted humor – who referred in his campaign to a team of rivals approach is now dressing down a key general.
Most attributions are on deep background or unnamed. Ones specified by name are down the line field sergeants. It was worth reading because if one remembers during the early campaign, the magazine did a piece on Obama that was pretty detailed about his various connections.
Ron Paul could support a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, libertarian for president
AIPNews.com
Patrick Flynn's "Republican" Watch
-----
Patrick Flynn's "Republican" Watch
From a contributor:
"Asked to name other potential presidential candidates he could support, Paul replied, 'I guess the best one would be Johnson from New Mexico — Gary Johnson.' "
Gary Johnson is "pro-choice", i.e. pro-abortion.
He is also pro-gay marriage, as is Ron Paul.
-----
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
AIP-endorsed Bill Randall wins NC Dist. 13 run-off election handily, will take on Brad Miller in Nov
AIPNews.com
America's Independent Party of North Carolina
America's Independent Party of North Carolina
AIP-endorsed congressional candidate Bill Randall will apparently be the winner tonight in the NC-13 run-off election.
Congratulations Bill!
7 of 7 Counties Reporting
| Percent | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| William (Bill) Randall (REP) |  | 58.95% | 3,789 |
| Bernie Reeves (REP) | | 41.05% | 2,639 |
6,428
|
America's Summit - Restore the Republic - Every Tues., Thurs., & Sat. - 9 pm Eastern [call info]
AIPNews.com
AIP-endorsed Independent Projects & Organizations
'America's Summit - Restore the Republic'
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Night
AIP-endorsed Independent Projects & Organizations
'America's Summit - Restore the Republic'
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Night
Sponsored by LifeandLibertyReport.com
Hosted by AIP Chairman Tom Hoefling
National Conference Call featuring AIP leaders, special guests, and principled, independent, conservatives from across the land
Email questions or comments to summit@aipnews.com
The calls are live-streamed on the web at: www.blogtalkradio.com/AIP
The call-in number is:
………………..(218) 339-2222
and the conference ID is:
………………..340794#
The Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night calls begin at:
………………..9:00 p.m. Eastern
………………..8:00 p.m. Central
………………..7:00 p.m. Mountain
………………..6:00 p.m. Pacific
………………..5:00 p.m. Alaska
FLASH: According to an unnamed source 'Gen. McChrystal has submitted his resignation'
AIPNews.com
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
Drudge Report
'The Peace through Strength Institute'
Drudge Report
Joe Klein on Rick Sanchez, CNN... Developing...
America's Independent Party National Convention to be held on July 13, 2010
AIPNews.com
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
Tom Hoefling
Chairman, America’s Independent Party National Committee
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
To all AIP Affiliates,
America's Independent Party will hold its 2010 National Convention on July 13, at 7:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
As per the party's rules, the convention will be conducted via electronic means.
The meeting will be very brief and limited in scope, with its primary purpose being the setting of the date for the 2012 AIP National Convention.
Delegate slates and other particulars are still being worked on, in consultation with the leaders of the various state parties. Because our party is still in its infancy, and many of the affiliated parties are still in the process of forming, many slots are still open. If you are an affiliate, and are interested in participating that very well may be possible. Just contact your state party Chairman, or, in those states that are still lacking effective state party leadership, please contact me directly at tomhoefling@gmail.com. We will work with you to the greatest degree that is humanly possible.
Thank you for your steady commitment to America’s principles.
For Life, Liberty, and the Constitution,
Tom Hoefling
Chairman, America’s Independent Party National Committee
GAO REPORT ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD REVEALS STARTLING DISCREPANCY
AIPNews.com
'The Personhood Imperative'
'The Personhood Imperative'
22 June 2010
CONTACT: Katie Walker
540.659.4942| kwalker@all.org
Washington, DC – "American Life League’s STOP Planned Parenthood project analyzed a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office on federal tax money funneled into Planned Parenthood," announced American Life League President Judie Brown.
According to the GAO report, Planned Parenthood Federation of America audits show the organization spent only $657.1 million between 2002 and 2008 from federal government grants and programs when the abortion behemoth’s annual reports show it took in $2 billion from government grants and programs during the same time period.
“That leaves $1.3 billion unaccounted for. That’s not pocket change,” said STOPP national director Rita Diller. “Why the discrepancy? These numbers don’t add up and from an organization with a track record like Planned Parenthood’s, the American people deserve an explanation.”
The report was requested by 31 U.S. senators and representatives. It is the first of its kind since the 2001 figures released by the GAO in 2003. STOPP notes that Planned Parenthood has other sources of government funding – state and local -- and that the GAO report for 2001 shows that PPFA expenditures of federal money accounted for 79 percent of its government income. The new report shows PPFA expenditures of federal money comprising an average of only 32 percent of its government income from 2002 through 2008.
“It is simply not believable such a large amount of its funding is from local and state sources,” Diller said
Additionally, in just two weeks, Planned Parenthood will complete its 2009–2010 fiscal year. Yet it still has not released its annual report for its 2008–2009 fiscal year.
“So breaking down the situation,” Diller said, “At a time when the majority of Americans consider themselves pro-life, Planned Parenthood rakes in over two billion of our tax dollars, inconsistently reports how they spent our tax money and then admits to killing 1,803,302 preborn babies between 2002 and 2008 alone.”
“A growing number of Americans are fed up. It’s time to defund Planned Parenthood.”
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Washington Times: Diller: Planned Parenthood's Missing Millions (21 June 2010)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/18/planned-parenthoods-missing-millions/
American Life League: GAO Report
http://www.all.org/gaoreport
# # #
_______________________________
Katie Walker
Director of Communication
American Life League
1179 Courthouse Road
Stafford, Virginia 22554
540.659.4942
kwalker@all.org
http://www.all.org/
Monday, June 21, 2010
A.L.L. JOINS INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR BAN ON IN VITRO TECHNOLOGIES
AIPNews.com
'The Personhood Imperative'
'The Personhood Imperative'
21 June 2010
CONTACT: Katie Walker
540.659.4942| kwalker@all.org
Washington, DC (21 June 2010) – American Life League today joined a growing international call for a ban on all in vitro fertilization practices.
Addressing the emerging problems created by these so-called reproductive technologies, Judie Brown, president of American Life League, said:
We know that IVF kills preborn children. We know that IVF can cause severe birth defects in those children lucky enough to be brought to term. It is time for a ban on this barbaric practice. I can think of no greater affront to human dignity than mixing human sperm with human ova via a petri dish. The result is a human being brought into the world not as a pure gift of love procreated within the sanctity of marriage, but rather as a commodity tested for quality control, set aside for future use or transferred to his or her mother.“No couple has a right to a child; every child has a right to be procreated according to God's design,” Brown continued, citing Donum Vitae (The Gift of Life): Instruction on Respect for Human Life In its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation, which states in part:
On the part of the spouses, the desire for a child is natural: it expresses the vocation to fatherhood and motherhood inscribed in conjugal love. This desire can be even stronger if the couple is affected by sterility, which appears incurable. Nevertheless, marriage does not confer upon the spouses the right to have a child, but only the right to perform those natural acts, which are per se ordered to procreation. (57) A true and proper right to a child would be contrary to the child's dignity and nature. The child is not an object to which one has a right, nor can he be considered as an object of ownership: rather, a child is a gift, "the supreme gift" (58) and the most gratuitous gift of marriage, and is a living testimony of the mutual giving of his parents. For this reason, the child has the right, as already mentioned, to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents; and he also has the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception [biological beginning].The United Kingdom’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) was the first to comment on a yet another study that discovered a link between genetic defects and artificial reproductive technologies. The most recent study, by researchers at Maternité Port Royal Hospital in Paris, found that birth defects are twice as high in IVF-conceived children than was previously believed.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
LifeSiteNews: U.K. Pro-Life Leader Calls for Ban on All IVF Procedures (18 June 2010)
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10061803.html
Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
http://www.spuc.org.uk/
Bio News: Assisted reproduction could lead to increased risks of congenital malformations, say scientists (14 June 2010)
http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_64300.asp
_______________________________
Katie Walker
Director of Communication
American Life League
1179 Courthouse Road
Stafford, Virginia 22554
540.659.4942
kwalker@all.org
http://www.all.org/
Right View NEWS at AIPNews.com ... Monday, June 21, 2010
AIPNews.com
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
America's Forum - 'We are the Media!'
Compiled to provide ...
The right perspective on today's news ...
Founders' Quotes
AIPNews.com
'America's Heroes, America's Principles'
'America's Heroes, America's Principles'
"Promote then as an object of primary importance, Institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened."
-- George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Sunday, June 20, 2010
An Unlicensed MMS Engineer and The Gulf Disaster
AIPNews.com
CARS - Center for American Resource Self-reliance
Natural Born Conservative
CARS - Center for American Resource Self-reliance
Natural Born Conservative
By: Larry Walker, Jr.
Frank Patton is the name of the unlicensed Minerals Management Service (MMS) Engineer who approved the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. No, that's not his picture to the left. That's another matter for another day.
Funny, but I can't find Tony Hayward's name on any of those, smoking gun, internal emails being touted around by the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, but I do see Frank Patton's name. Yep, on April 16, 2010 - 'Approved By' - Frank Patton.
From the trial (or hearing) the other day, you would think it was Congress' job to oversee and investigate private businesses. I somehow don't think that was part of the original plan. What I would like to see is a subcommittee investigating why federal workers are not required to maintain credentials equal to, or greater than, those whom they regulate.
Who's regulating the regulators? Unlicensed engineers are approving plans submitted by licensed engineers. When are we going to have a trial about stuff that really matters?
According to licensed Professional Engineer (PE), and whistleblower, Joe Carlson, the Minerals Management Service (MMS), just as other federal agencies, does not require their Engineers to be professionally licensed. Instead, federal agencies have invoked a special 'exemption' whereby unlicensed federal workers are above reproach. In other words, "We don't need no stinking license." You've got to be kidding me!
As one who holds two professional licenses (not in engineering), each with its own rigorous set of ongoing requirements, I have nothing but contempt for the federal government, the Congress, and our feckless POTUS, in this matter. There are no excuses. How is an unlicensed 'engineer' supposed to have the ability, training, and the professional integrity to review and approve plans designed by professionally licensed engineers?
What's worse is the fact that Frank Patton can't be blamed, fired, reprimanded or fined. Why not, you say? Because, remember, Frank Patton is not even licensed. But Congress can go around blaming Tony Hayward, who is also not licensed, and whose name is curiously not found on any of those damning internal emails. I do however see the names: Brian Morel, Mark Hafle, and Richard Miller. Perhaps they are licensed and should be brought up on charges by the appropriate engineering licensing board. And as for Frank Patton, I just wonder how many safety awards are hanging in his office?
Following are a few excerpts from Joe Carlson:
Frank Patton is the unlicensed MMS engineer who approved the BP drilling plan. During his May 11, 2010 testimony (see pages 252-314) to the Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation, he admitted, (see pages 274-76), that he failed to ensure the BP Drilling Plan complied with federal regulation at 30 C.F.R. §250.416(e), because it did not contain the required information about the design and performance adequacy of the blow-out preventer. The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which live-blogged the hearing, described his testimony here.
If MMS required its engineers to be PE’s, then Mr. Patton would have been required to “blow whistles,” publicly if necessary, to prevent BP’s inadequate drilling plan from being approved. This could well has resulted in his being fired or otherwise discriminated against at MMS, given widespread, longstanding, MMS corruption. However, had MMS required Mr. Patton to be a PE, then anyone could now file a professional misconduct complaint against him with the Louisiana Professional Engineering Licensing Board, for his professional negligence/incompetence in approving a plan that failed to comply with federal regulation. If he lost his PE license as a result, then MMS could fire him. If he had been a PE, Frank Patton would have made sure the BP drilling plan contained the required information about its blowout preventer and perhaps this unprecedented disaster is averted....
The federal government has a duty to protect American health and safety, at work and elsewhere, including our environment. PE’s, by law, must “hold paramount the health, safety and welfare of the public in the performance of professional duty.” That federal agencies exempt their engineers from having the legal obligations of PE’s is nonsensical and a contributing cause to the disaster the Gulf and many other accidents and disasters, such as the recent Upper Big Branch mine disaster which killed 29 in West Virginia.
Here is a formula we can all live with:
Federal PE licensure + reformed federal whistleblower protection = much improved workplace and public health and safety in America.
Read More at the Source: Whistleblowers Protection Blog
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)