...with paper towels??? 

I don't think that is going to cut it. 

I don't know, Bounty claims it's very absorbent ...

Maybe they should use baby diapers; them suckers will hold some liquids (and solids!!) 

It's just crazy that other countries have offered assistance with the "clean up" machines they have for such things---and Obama says no thank you to the help.

CRAZY. 

there has been a man on tv showing how to clean it up, but gettting the ok from the white house is like getting blood from a turnip. i think that the white house/governement/elected officials are going to use this spill as evidence to pass the cap and trade bill for cleaner power. (moving away from coal and drilling) however, if this bill passes, it would make utility bills go up considerably because it would cost more to have them to convert over. (this came from a speech given by four county electric at one of their meetings) it has been almost 2 months since this disaster. obama is not to blame for the spill, but the longer he waits, i question how come he isn't doing anything besides visiting and condeming. that should have been the first two weeks, after that shut up and do something about it. i wonder what the hold up is? BP has had enough time to try to fix it and they can't... time for someone to step in. 

okay to chat about it, but get the facts right. Obama is not the one that said no thanks to the help.

The situation is horrific and will affect you, I and our children and their children and so on. I believe that hands of help should have been accepted in an orderly logistical way, and its BAD and only getting worse, however, who do you blame? Wasnt it an accident? Really? I'm hoping this was not done intentionally, so pointing the finger at a person means absolutely nothing, and pointing at the wrong person is simply wrong. 

This is an accident, and is no one's fault on Obama's watch.

Let a freaking HURRICANE hit and affect a mostly black area, then it's Bush's fault, and he should be impeached for it because he is a racist.

Why do you think Obama has waited nearly two months to get involved in this? He knows there was no easy fix, if he jumped in the boat on day one then all of the failures to stop the leak would be his failures. Now that the oil is mostly being captured, he can jump in and look like he is making stuff happen, when clearly he doesn't have a clue.

It's like setting back and watching your friend paint all of the fence, then right before your parents come home, you jump in and help with the last few panels so you can say you painted the fence. 

$7/gallon gas ?? 

I don't know what gas is in Europe right now...but it was 8-9 dollars in 2009 and 2008.

Don't be surprised to see the current administration take advantage of the oil spill to pass new "energy" legislation. 

Paula, " Obama is not the one that said no thanks to the help. "

Help offered and Obama administration says no thank you! 

Three days after the explosion, the Dutch government offered to assist the United States by sending ships equipped with oil-skimming booms. It also provided a plan for creating sand barriers to protect the sensitive marshlands of the Gulf coast.

According to Geert Visser, Consul General for the Netherlands in Houston “The embassy got a nice letter from the administration that said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’

The government is also making it difficult for the Dutch to provide assistance in creating sand barriers to prevent the spilled oil from reaching the gulf shores. Van Oord, a Dutch company and Deltares, a Dutch research institute provided plans to build 60 mile sand dikes and the government rebuffed their offer of assistance. The government has now changed it’s tune and has accepted the plan, but the Jones Act prevents the Dutch from operating in America’s coastal waters.

The United States Maritime Administration could issue a waiver of the Jones Act limitations, and has done so several times in the past. Doing so, however, would subject the Obama administration to criticism from labor unions who demand protection from global competition.

complete article here

Obama pandering to unions once again?? 

In the very 1st stage of this event....

US State Department said there was no immediate need for the assistance offered but that the US Coast Guard was trying to evaluate whether there would be in the future. (from your reference article)

(same article) "While there is no need right now that the US cannot meet, the US Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future," it added.

Should eyes have been opened sooner to the reality of the severity of this spill - YES - but thats not the way it flowed.

Actually, Obama has secured billions from BP for the harm / cleanup - and did not consider this amount to be a sum all - the matter is not closed - a long way to go. 

Actually their not paper towels. They are absorbent pads that absorb hydrocarbons, not water. Either way it is ridiculous of BP to put people out there using these things.

This oil gusher makes me sick, not to mention the lack of response from the Gov. & BP. They can safely clean up the oil if they wanted to. NASA developed a product from beeswax. It's called PRP (Petroleum Remediation Product) It's 100% natural, non toxic, & biodegrades. The could put the PRP on the oil. It will attract the oil. Then microbes will eat it away. Unlike most fixes I've read about...this one doesn't require it to be picked back up out of the water.

With the use of over 1,000,000 gallons of dispersant. Most of the oil is remaining under the water. I would love to see a picture of the actual oil in the water and not just whats on the surface. I've seen three separate reports from three different locations... 1000's of fish have been washing up on shore. I suspect the Corexit (dispersant) is lowering the oxygen levels in the water. What's that going to do to us when that poison water evaporates??

Everyday it looks more and more like the oil will get here eventually. Some experts are saying the well is damaged below the sea floor. Lets all pray this isn't the case. I think something bad is happening myself. I was watching one of the live feeds the other day. They added some sort of brace to the BOP (blow out preventer) Apparently it's starting to lean. I can't imagine the amount of oil that will be spewing out if the BOP collapses.

Looks like where going to be in for a wild ride, better hang on. 

i do hold obama accountable because he is the commander in chief. if it was bush, it would be him. he can say ok, bp we've given you x amount of time to clear this up, you failed, i'm taking over. this has gone on too long and as far as i can tell nothing has been done. it makes me angry that it has been two months and i don't think we have had any change. obviously if we can't stop it in 60 days, we may need to accept some help. lift the jones act, i believed it is called, and do something. in the end we will see what comes of this whole mess... i can tell you what i would do if i were commander in chief, i'd be doing something besides visiting the gulf. i would be finding a solution to the problem. seems like all people want to do these days is keep blamimg other people while the problems continue. (immigration, taxes, the list goes on and on) 

i do hold obama accountable because he is the commander in chief. if it was bush, it would be him. he can say ok, bp we've given you x amount of time to clear this up, you failed, i'm taking over. this has gone on too long and as far as i can tell nothing has been done. it makes me angry that it has been two months and i don't think we have had any change. obviously if we can't stop it in 60 days, we may need to accept some help. lift the jones act, i believed it is called, and do something. in the end we will see what comes of this whole mess... i can tell you what i would do if i were commander in chief, i'd be doing something besides visiting the gulf. i would be finding a solution to the problem. seems like all people want to do these days is keep blamimg other people while the problems continue. (immigration, taxes, the list goes on and on) 

Agreed, he is just as accountable as BP & that joke of an organization MMS.

BP doesn't care about the environment, animals or humans. This article/video proves they could care less about endangered species.

"BP Blocks Attempt to Save Endangered Sea Turtles from Oil Spill" LiNK 

One thing is for sure. The voters are watching this fiasco. The polls will be interesting this November and November 2012. I think this could sink any chances for the president to serve a second term. It looks as if it is sinking like the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. 

God works in mysterious ways ...