Repubs say the darndest things

1. Alaska's Republican Rep. Don Young insists that the worst oil spill in U.S. history is "not an environmental disaster." Oh, no, it's just nature taking its course, a natural phenomenon, he says.

"Oil has seeped into this ocean for centuries, will continue to do it. During World War II there was over 10 million barrels of oil spilt from ships, and no natural catastrophe. ... We will lose some birds, we will lose some fixed sealife, but overall it will recover."

2. Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal and Rep. Vitter put the economics of oil money ahead of the enrivonmental effects on their state. Vitter just naturally calls for more drilling, not less, because . . . well, let's just say he gets a lot of money from oil companies.

Jindal at least has the intelligence to make a more logical case: Louisiana's economy is already in bad enough shape. A moratorium on off shore drilling will cost more jobs. He calls on Obama to lift the moratorium, at least on drilling permits that have already been let and meet the regulatory standards.

The problem is BP supposedly had met the regulatory standards, even though we now know that they had not. We need a complete house clearing in the regulatory agency to get rid of those who have cozy and lucrative ties to the oil industry.

3. But, of course, our prize goes to Sarah Palin, who says on her FaceBook (where she blathers even worse than in person, if that's possible) that the oil leak disaster in the Gulf is the fault of those environmentalists who have blocked drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, because that forces them to drill in the more risky Gulf waters.

Oh, I get it. If you gave me the keys to Ft. Knox, I wouldn't need to cheat on my income tax.

Yes, and by the same reasoning, we could say that it's Bush and Cheney's fault for not curbing gasoline-guzzlers during their eight years in charge. They only encouraged our insane appetite for the stuff, which made drilling in the Gulf waters "necessary."

4. Where's Michele Bachmann lately? She's been relatively quiet, not making zany headlines. Could it be that her re-election campaign thinks it might be good if she looked a little less loony going into November.?

Ralph