Bottom kill first! Bottom kill first! BP is ready to drill a relief well after learning from tests that there’s still a risk of oil leaking from the plugged-up hole (and the U.S. called them out for it). In fact, they totally got ripped for it by some experts. “It would have been easier and safer to kill the well with the relief well,” said former petroleum engineer Les Ply. “When it is cemented from the bottom, you can be assured the well is dead.” source
Fundamentally this thing has been reshaped, resized and rethought. … We’re not trying to kill each other for this month’s market share. Those days are over. We’re not offering $7,000 checks to try to sell a car.
Chrysler (and Fiat!) CEO Sergio Marchionne • Discussing the major changes the Detroit auto companies have made in their business models in the wake of the whole bailout situation from a year or two ago. GM was on dire straits. Ford was skating by. It didn’t even look like Chrysler was going to make it. This has largely changed. Profits are back for the companies. They have slimmer product lines and payrolls. And their CEOs – especially GM’s new one – are outsiders to Detroit. Don’t call it a … OK, call it a comeback. source
firstJudge Vaughn Walker decided that Wednesday would be the day he’d take the hold off of gay marriage in California.
thenThe supporters of Prop 8 decided to appeal the stay to the famously liberal U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
now The appeals court will decide by Monday, at which point it could go to Supreme Court Justice Antony Kennedy. source
» Why it’s a preview: Two reasons. First, Kennedy is the swing vote on the court, meaning what he decides could be an early harbinger of the full case. Second, Kennedy may ask for guidance from the court on where to go next. So, Prop 8 followers, we may find out soon whether or not gay marriage is likely to get legalized in the U.S.
This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are.
Barack Obama • Making a spirited defense of the whole Ground Zero Mosque thing. Which we should note a couple of things about. One, it’s two blocks away. And two, it’s in FREAKING MANHATTAN, pretty much the busiest place in the world. Seriously, there’s so much crap there that there’s a strip club and a horse-betting kiosk within a block of the mosque’s planned site. We actually have an AOL News article coming out about this over the weekend. We’ll keep you posted. source
bad Greene’s initial(ly hilarious) candidacy and surprising Democratic primary win was marred by (among other things) an arrest on pornography charges.
worseKnee-deep in campaign mode, Greene has been charged for the incident – one felony and one misdemeanor. Porn + Public office = Not a good mix. source
Over the last few days, we’ve been reading a bunch about Chris Courtney’s battle with cancer, and it’s a pretty tough read, but they don’t make people braver than Courtney. (He’s a fun guy in person, to boot.) Courtney, who was design director of the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye for a number of years before switching his focus to mobile app design, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which has a high survival rate, but definitely isn’t a walk in the park. So, his friends made this site. And you know what? This is the new Livestrong. Kick cancer’s ass, Chris. We got your back. *middle fingers raised* source
