Ogre-oids, May 14, 2010

Here's a list of Ogre-oids for tonight's (2010, May 14) MoPod episode:

U.S. is alleged to have allowed off-shore drilling without federally required permits. These projects include the one that recently led to the massive explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, an on-going epic ecological and economic catastrophe. Failure to secure permits before drilling ignores an endangered species requirement and warnings from scientists about the effects a disaster like the one that has happened courtesy BP and Halliburton. Biologists claim they have been bullied by agency officials to change the findings of their internal studies designed to assess the impact of off-shore drilling on marine life and the environment.

Relatedly, the government deliberately has been underestimating the volume of the oil spill, according to scientists who have criticized BP for not using well-known scientific techniques that would yield a more precise figure.

The Pope criticizes abortion and gay marriage during his trip to Portugual: more archaic hypocriscy from a haven for pedophiles unparalleled since the closure of Michael Jackson's "Neverland."

Obama expands plans to "modernize" U.S. nuclear arsenal. A biased verb choice for a plan that is out-of-date in an international age where secret agents and special forces should be hunting down and killing terrorist leaders instead of clinging to Reagan-era weapons stockpiling and perpetuating the military-industrial complex that siphons tons of money to lucrative deals with arms makers and dealers. This country is backwards, and lives in the illusion that increased military spending somehow counterbalances America's chronic military incompetence.

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle (R) signed into a law allowing state workers to ignore repeated requests for the countless people obsessed with President Obama's actual place of birth. After two years of attempting to accommodate requests and assuage skeptics, the barrage of hostile emails and requests continue from people who are determined to believe that Obama is not American, no matter how much documentation or verification to the contrary.

Arizona bigots follow up Aryan anti illegal immigrant legislation with a law that will cut funding by 10% for Tuscon school systems that continue ethnic studies programs that State Superintendent Tom Horne insists "divides kids by race." Gov. Jan Brewer's spokesman says schools should recognize people as individuals not members of racial groups. Doesn't sound consistent with the rationale behind Arizona's illegal immigration legislation. Besides being anti-educational and ideologically driven to promote the message that "this is America, the land of opportunity, and if you work hard enough you can achieve anything," this agenda aims at silencing any cultural perspective besides that of rich conservative Americans and ending a program that has helped increase college enrollment by Hispanics.