The Rachel Maddow Show on the ExxonMobil Spill in Montana and Pipeline Safety

Once again the feisty Ms. Maddow breaks down the facts and fiction of big oil in this recent segment of the TRMS, including an interview with Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer-D.

Schweitzer is also a soil scientist and he's signaled a zero tolerance for any shenanigans from ExxonMobil. Something to keep in mind about him though is that he is a big proponent of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Notable statistics on pipelines in the US:

The energy and transportation network of the United States consists of more than 2.5 million miles of pipelines. These pipelines are operated by more than 3.000 private, small and large companies. According to the federal DOT this network includes approximately:

• 168,900 miles of liquid petroleum pipelines

• 320,500 miles of gasoline transmission pipelines

• 2,200,000 miles of natural gas pipelines

Most of the pipeline system in the US in antiquated, forty years plus for some major lines running from Texas to the northeast, and buried only to depths of 3-6 feet in many areas.

The PIPES Act of 2006 was enacted to strengthen regulations and improve safety while protecting our nation's energy supply. Still, the amount of federal inspectors remains low, around 100 employed with positions for 135. That doesn't solve the additional problem of a decrease in state budgets, resulting in less available money for their own programs and inspectors. Less money equals less inspectors and more infrequent inspections.

If you look at recent stats, states are responsible for pipeline safety covering over 92% of 1.9 million miles of gas distribution piping in the nation, 29% of 300,000 miles of gas transmission and 32% of 166,000 miles of hazardous liquid pipelines. If you figure that into budget cuts, furloughs of some workers and a dismal state economic outlook, it can become a real challenge.

Couple that with compliance issues and violations resulting in frequently non-existent civil penalties on a state level (Alabama is linked) and there's a recipe for disaster in the making by not using available civil penalty compensation to help the state programs remain solvent. ADEM uses this tactic as a means to keep their state agency funded, why doesn't the Alabama PSC also do the same with in-state pipeline violations?

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of pipeline safety was discovered by investigative reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle revealing that 2/3 of the safety studies used by federal agencies were funded by pipeline operators:

Industry's access guaranteed influence. The studies launched by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration helped mold national and state safety rules and inspection procedures for 2.3 million miles of pipelines that carry natural gas and hazardous liquids, some underneath neighborhoods.

Three deadly accidents in the past three years involved decades-old pipelines that might have been replaced - saving lives - had the outcomes of the federal agency's research, and the policies they influenced, been different.

The Chronicle's reporting shows who's really in charge of the hen house--the foxes and their corporate lobbyists influencing Capitol Hill to go along with their own biased information and studies  Corporate interests and public interests are rarely aligned in their purposes, and the issue of our aging pipeline infrastructure should be a wake up call to all of us.

Handing responsibility for safety over to the same entities you are supposed to be regulating for the public good is not only foolish, it's ripe for corruption and a deliberate misinformation campaign that ends with proven deadly consequences. 

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Betting the Farm: Vanity Fair Magazine

SOW LONG? The White family, clockwise from bottom left: patriarch John C. White, Jeffery, Johnnie, Thomas, and Barbara, on the front porch of the main house on their potato farm, in Sagaponack, New York.

By Michael Shnayerson•

Photograph by John Huba

John White’s family has been working its 57—acre oceanfront farm in Sagaponack since 1695, the last holdouts against a tide of Wall Streeter mansions. But in an effort to save his children's inheritance—by selling 10 of those acres to a Houston oil mogul—White may have lost it all.

Read more here

Michael Shnayerson's story chronicles the battle between the White family and Anthony Petrello, an enormously wealthy and determined man who does not like being told "no." It's a tale of the predatory nature of men like Petrello, who in another article by the Hamptonscurbed.com had offered to "assist John White in estate planning and subdividing other parts of his land." Petrello knew what he was doing by making that offer--stacking the proverbial deck squarely in his future favor.

Land values in that area were sure to skyrocket soon, especially ones with a beachfront like the White farm has.

Petrello also knew that White's intention was to leave the bulk of his remaining 57 acres (minus the 9.6 sold to Petrello) to his descendants after his demise, but White was no match for the savvy and manipulative Petrello who made sure any future land sales had his "first right of refusal" attached to it.

This wasn't the only battle Petrello got into over property he was determined to have by any means necessary. His 900.00/hr lawyer, David Berg, stays quite busy on Petrello's behalf.

In Houston's upscale gated community of Shadyside, Petrello sued his neighbor over a property adjoining his own after being denied purchase of the house on a verbal offer. Petrello stooped down low, despite never signing a contract on the home, and brought suit citing discrimination on disability and fair housing grounds to force his neighbor into selling him the property. Petrello had never mentioned anything about wanting the property for his daughter's medical team (she suffers from CP) until the case saw its day in court.

One pull quote, courtesy of a Houston builder who had a legal dispute with the Petrellos about their historic mansion in Shadyside, describes Petrello as "a modern-day Satan." The photo of a dapper Tony and Cynthia on the grounds of their Houston estate is captioned "Texas Crude."

Petrello eventually lost that legal challenge and had to pay a substantial amount to his neighbors, the Prukas, for "unmeritorious and conspiratorial" claims against them:

Based on the Court's estimate that 70% of the time expended in the case was expended on the conspiracy and housing discrimination claims, the Court awards an attorney's fee to the Pruckas on 1,120 hours at the rate of $400 per hour or $448,000. In the event of an appeal by the plaintiff, and the Pruckas prevail, an appellate fee of $60,000 is awarded.

Like most obscenely wealthy men, Petrello is dubbed a philanthropist and uses his money to garner points with the society set and the press. Of course we all know that the enormous 'giving' that men like this do serves their own interests first and foremost--they receive glowing press coverage at upscale events and deduct huge tax write-offs for appearing so 'charitable and humanitarian oriented.'

Anthony and Cynthia Petrello. Photo credit: Jenny Antill

Powerful men are used to getting what they want. John White has learned that lesson the hard way in his decades-plus fight with Petrello over the White family potato farm that's now worth millions more than it was when the deal was first struck between White and Petrello.

For a simple man who was just trying to keep his farm together, John White bit off Texas sized trouble the day he unknowingly put any stock in the likes of Anthony Petrello, but John White was only doing what he thought was best for his family and his legacy. He's not to blame for being horribly wronged by a petulant and overbearing big oil mogul who did not reveal his true intentions until after the fact.

Still, it's a sad story that didn't have to go the way it did if it weren't for the greed of a man with too much vs a man of gentle spirit and good intentions.

Men like Petrello thrive on outwitting and out-lawyering the average person for a living. They make a sport of getting one over on the other guy in their incessant appetite for more of more. If there's such thing as mercy in the epilogue of the saga of Sagaponack farm, hopefully John White will go to his maker before he lives to see what"'betting the farm" has finally cost him in the end.

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'Elvis' Has Not Left the Building

Mississippi 'Elvis'--Haley Barbour

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour left the presidential stage in favor of the more familiar big business defender stage according to his recent testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform last Thursday:

"Sometimes the federal government is not the easiest group to do business with," Barbour said. "In fairness to BP...everything we asked them to do. they considered, and almost every time, they did."

Barbour goes on to assert the "rest of the country is sucking the Gulf dry and we get nothing." Nothing Mr. Barbour or just not enough to suit your expensive appetite? Gulf states receive hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties from wells in the Gulf, and rather than blame Obama and the democrats, perhaps Mr. Barbour should go after the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the outmoded system they use to determine royalty shares. 

The MMS acts as a partner to big oil and gas rather than the regulatory collection agency for states royalties. Their controversial history ranges from pervasive corruption to sexual scandals that's became so bad Ken Salazar, at President Obama's instruction, ordered a review of the MMS in 2009. How did the MMS become so ineffective? It happened during the Bush years according to a statement from Ken Salazar:

"The president has made it clear that the type of ethical transgressions, blatant conflicts of interest, wastes and abuses that we have seen over the past eight years, will no longer be tolerated."

Barbour, always the consummate showman, is being disingenuous and looking for political points while protecting his former big oil clients from harsh criticism. He's going to need a job when his term expires in Mississippi since he figured out real quick vying for president wasn't going to be a successful endeavor. He has a lot to hide and running for president opens the door on all the closets full of skeletons in a candidate's house--in short, he would have gotten clobbered on his past actions and he knew it.

BP paymaster Kenneth Feinberg also found himself worthy of Barbour's praise when the Mississippi apologist refused to harshly criticize Feinberg and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility:
"I think they're trying to do a good job. We don't get many complaints in Mississippi."
Feinberg and his law firm have made a fortune off BP from the endeavor. Barbour's also made a fortune off big oil. Anything either of them says or does could be juxtaposed to the other's talking head.

Barbour continues to heap accolades of wonderful on BP and roundly criticizes the Obama administration and caution with everything he's got. When the administration ordered BP to put $20 billion in escrow to cover claims resulting from the spill, Barbour cried foul and thought better use of the money would be reinvesting the funds in exploration and drilling. People being made whole isn't as important as the lead act getting as much money as possible from royalties destined for state coffers, that allows for certain governors and their family members benefit first and foremost.

Haley Barbour knows a thing or two about benefiting through federal money from the Katrina disaster. When he says he desires to "position the Gulf states for the best possible recovery" what he really means is himself and his associates, which includes big oil.

And like big oil, Barbour is not in favor of increased regulations and wants permits to be ramped up to the pre-BP spill levels:

Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Elijah Cummings asked Barbour whether he supports an Interior Department requirement that oil companies prove they can cap a well before receiving and drilling permit.

"I would not be in favor of anything that reduces the production of domestic oil," Barbour said. "I think the risks are way too small compared to what you give up."

Barbour's mindset, while popular in certain political and business circles, is backward thinking from another era and seems out of place in the modern day of we really should know better now. He'll get cheers and applause from the audience he's playing to, but in the real post BP spill world his act is outdated and better left in the past.


*Update--"Barbour Breaks With GOP on Disaster Funding" (see Katrina link for why)

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We Can't Kill the Liars, But Maybe We Can Kill the Lies

MSNBCs Ed Schultz opines on the real reasons behind the high gas prices

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Short Life Expectancy For BP Whistleblowers?

Article by: Pat Shannan
April 24, 2011

Dead, Jailed, Missing Scientists and Individuals Affiliated With the BP Oil Disaster

The investigation, if it can properly be so called, of the unsolved murder of the former high ranking Pentagon official and presidential adviser John P. Wheeler III, who was also an expert on chemical and biological weapons, may be taking a turn in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Wheeler, 67, a West Point grad, was beaten and thrown into a garbage dumpster. His body was discovered in a Wilmington, Del. landfill last New Year’s weekend. Both police detectives and news commentators described it as “an apparent hit,” but little else was ever learned, and no suspects have surfaced.

There was great speculation by many at the time that Wheeler had begun to blow the whistle on the mysterious bird and fish deaths in Arkansas and Texas, and was about to expose the facts tying this to the chemtrails seen in our skies over the past decade.
Now the speculation may be reverting to British Petroleum and the gulf spill because a number of other BP whistle blowing scientists, before and since the Wheeler murder, have also died mysteriously, been jailed on questionable charges or disappeared without a trace.

Matthew Simmons, 67, a former energy advisor to President George W. Bush and admired among survivalist groups for his dire warnings on the upcoming commodity and fuel shortages about to hit this nation, died in his hot tub in Maine last August. Simmons had been gaining popularity as a whistle blower for blaming BP for its covered-up responsibility in defacing and vandalizing the Gulf of Mexico while hiding the truth from the general public.

Only four days later, Ted Stevens, the 87-year-old defrocked senator from Alaska, said to have received communications regarding BP’s faulty blowout preventer, perished in a plane crash. British Petroleum had donated $1 million to the University of Alaska to catalog the papers from Stevens’s long political career.

Roger Grooters began a cross country bike ride in Oceanside, Calif. on Sept. 10 to draw attention to the Gulf Coast oil disaster. On Oct. 6, in front of the horrified eyes of his wife, who was trailing in a support vehicle, Grooters was struck by a truck and killed instantly in Panama City, Fla.

Only a month later, Dr. Geoffrey Gardner of Lakeland, Fla. disappeared. He was investigating the unexplained bird deaths near Sarasota that are suspected to have been caused by the BP oil disaster. No one has heard from or spoken with him since.

On Nov. 15, Chitra Chaunhan was found dead of cyanide poisoning in a Temple Terrace, Fla. hotel. It was officially ruled a suicide. She worked in the Center for Biological Defense and Global Health Infectious Disease Research and left behind a husband and five-year-old child.

The following week, James Patrick Black, director of operations for BP’s restoration organization for the oil spill, died near Destin, Fla. in a small plane crash.

Dr. Thomas B. Manton was one of the first to warn the public that far more oil than what BP had reported was gushing into the gulf every day and that the massive, toxic oil and chemical plumes would travel up the eastern seaboard, contaminating beaches and wildlife all the way.

“Once the winds change, it will come eastward and pollute the beaches of the west coast of Florida, and the ‘loop current’ could carry this oil spill right around Florida, through the Florida Keys and pollute the east coast of Florida as well,” Manton wrote on May 28, 2010.

Dr. Tom Termotto, national coordinator of the Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference, says Manton was murdered in prison. Manton had been sentenced to 15 years last August on a phony child pornography charge. Termotto and others say evidence was planted on his computer.

It is not known whether or not Anthony Nicholas Tremonte, 31, posed any threat to BP, but he too was arrested in January and charged with one count of possession of child pornography. Was this charge also faked? As an officer with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources on the Gulf Coast, he may have known enough to qualify him for membership in this exclusive series of coincidences. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

Pat Shannan is a contributing editor of American Free Press. He is also the author of several videos and books including One in a Million: An IRS Travesty, I Rode With Tupperand Everything They Ever Told Me Was a Lie. All of Pat’s books are available from FIRST AMENDMENT BOOKS. Call 2025475585 for availability and pricing.

*Editor's note--the allegation about Wheeler being murdered because he was about to blow the whistle about the mysterious  bird deaths was published by the EU Times, a web paper of white separatists, and should be considered with great skepticism.

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Friday Roundup

Alabama is like a carnival ride that goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and sleight of hand parlor tricks galore. But after a while you begin to wonder what’s real and what’s just a ride.

Shades of "Sir William" and his band of thieves?---Bob Lowry of the Huntsville Times reports on the most expensive school learning software we have ever heard of in Alabama:

Private group receives $13 million in state funds to contract for educational software without state school board approval

Turns out that similar to the "Sir William" looting, public money from the Education Trust Fund was funneled 'somewhere else out of view.' In this case, it went to the CLAS organization, a private entity, which served as a cloak in keeping the state school board in the dark about where the money was being spent. Joe Morton, State Superintendent, admitted he "should have consulted with the Alabama Board of Education" and "he wasn't trying to keep the funds secret" but that he was "proud that the system works."

Works for whom exactly? The highest number of schools ever using the Kids College program was 291, down to 183 as of January 2011. Less than 20% of the 1106 elementary schools in the state are 'benefiting.' Oh, he must mean 'works' for the CLAS lobbyists and the Big Joe Morton discretionary powers.

Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives and Rileyite (a shared trait with Campbell and Morton, anybody seeing a pattern here?) Mike Hubbard owned one of the software programs "Learning Through Sports" and claims he's free and clear of wrongdoing in any way because he sold his interest in LTS in 2005, for $.55 cents a share, but declined to reveal how many shares he owned.

CLAS enjoys the lobbying services of Swatek, Azbell, Howe & Ross. Swatek is another close ally of former Governor Bob Riley.

The republicans favorite target, AEA Director Dr. Paul Hubbert said he had "never heard of a private entity receiving those kinds of state funds" and suspects there is more to this than meets the eye. So does the state school board who have never seen any accounting of the funds.

But one figurehead on the board defends the sleight of hand:

State board Vice President Randy McKinney of Gulf Shores said board members don't necessarily need to know about every dollar spent by the superintendent. But he added that he would like to see a posting on the Internet of all education grants by Morton's office.

Morton and McKinney's claims of woulda shoulda coulda resemble fun house mirror images of accountability because they could have done what they are now suggesting before a savvy news reporter caught on to what they were doing and published it for all to see.

In a later story, Morton proved that he finds it easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission and apologized for his actions. Let's see the accounting and then we'll decide how much forgiveness.

Isn't it interesting that once the audience figures out the trick the magicians have a lot more to say?

It is becoming increasingly evident that there needs to be a firewall of sorts built into the Education Trust Fund that will protect it from future misappropriations and political shell games.

The EU and Portugal have no respect for Alabama---In a CNBC Story from late March we get a glimpse behind the world curtain and see how the rest of the world feels about our little patch of dirt called Alabama:

Being in the euro zone is actually "a great opportunity" because it makes countries strive to be more productive and make structural reforms, Carlos Moedas added. "If we just keep on cutting an not doing the reform, we have no solution, we will eventually become the Alabama of the European Union and we don’t want that," he said. (note the comment by bigcjim who's upset Alabama's schools went through "forced integration.")

Now there's something to be proud of and Moedas is exactly right--the Alabama Legislature is busy again this year trying to look effective by slashing and burning budgets and refusing to enact effective reforms. Most of the take away game is directed at democratic entities, teachers, seniors, school children and one especially dirty trick by Rileyite Representative Jay Love-R and some members on the House Ways and Means Education Committee in a divided voice vote:

The House Ways and Means-Education Committee voted Thursday for a bill that would transfer $30 million from a fund that provides telephone service for the deaf to the education budget.

Love isn't feeling any love for Alabama's deaf citizens.

Senator Paul Bussman-R and the side show of the lack of common sense---He's proposing (audio link) SB196, heavily lobbied for by rabid father's rights groups, we say rabid because the wording of the bill is extreme and not in the best interest of the child, a bar that is recognized nationwide, and will result in punishing a child when parents divorce.

If Bussman gets his way with this bill, in the absence of a "parenting plan" agreement by the divorcing parents, children will be forced to be uprooted and ordered to live with the other parent for one year, and any money spent for the child will allow for a reduction off child support. Bussman does not admit this fact in the audio link above. He also withdrew from continued mediation on the bill in early April.

The bill seeks to raise the already high bar of proving a parent to be unfit. Most law enforcement and family law attorneys admit that the current burden of proving unfitness allows for a lot of bad behavior that can be physically and mentally very damaging to children before the court will step in. So let's make that even harder to rise to?

We agree with an editorial from the Huntsville Times that says "the trial court should retain jurisdiction based on written findings of fact" rather than a blanket law that seems to puts parent's interests above the child like the one Senator Bussman is proposing.

Clinical Psychologist Kenneth Sullivan explains, "If it’s going to be split half and half, you’d expect that that’s going to impose less stability for the children. The children would be paying a price for the parents’ preference."

The legislature cannot keep their own affairs in order, what gives them the right to meddle in what are already complex and sensitive family court affairs? Maybe the explanation is that some of the 27 sponsors of the bill are ex-husbands with an axe to grind for grievances against their ex-wives that are now years old? And just for the record, if the shoe were on the other foot we would be just as troubled by it. So no H8 mail please.

Alabama spending spree with BP money---Some Gulf States have been unable to resist the thrill of BP money spending it on brand new SUVs, I-Phones, computers and scalawag state senators personal business interests i.e. Alabama Senator Trip Pittman and Baldwin County Commissioner Bob James. Little detail is available for where all the Alabama money went, but this MSNBC story reveals the big time Gulf states have been having on the BP dime.

"Alabama's Emergency Management Agency distributed $30 million without turning down a single request."

We have to wonder how many state employees, special interests, political buddies and elected officials got more than they should have in the deal. That includes the EMC and ADEM.

No detailed accounting has been offered. Big shock under the big top that one is.

Serve the Gulf or Serving Us Up?---The company that brought us the concept of "Alternative education" in the GoBuildAlabama campaign (the commercials are running again on Fox 6 after a hiatus) Big Communications, has put together a new ride and invited the whole world to step right up and delight in the Gulf seafood heartily and often and toss your concerns to the wind.

"It's safe, it's clean and it's dee-licious!"--Dr. Dr. Governor Bentley 

Even NOAA is getting in on the act:

April 12, 2011 Tweets
“Not one piece of tainted seafood has entered the market.” - #NOAA fisheries chief Eric Schwaab about 22 hours ago via TweetDeck

NOAA shows proof that Gulf seafood is safe: http://bit.ly/gwsG18  #oilspill #servethegulf about 22 hours ago via TweetDeck

"The FDA says a person could eat 63 pounds of peeled shrimp, five pounds of oyster meat or nine pounds of fish (18, eight-ounce filets) a day for five years without exceeding health risks." 

Is it really? Never mind the fact that the FDA raised the threshold of acceptable toxic chemical exposure limits after the BP Spill from 10 ppm to 100 million ppm on finned fish and from 50ppm to 500 ppm for shellfish. Many questions still linger and so does litigation about the testing procedures going on with Gulf seafood:

"It is unethical to 'experiment' with the health of the U.S. population or military members who may be admonished to consume TPH-tainted Gulf seafood."

We really do want the Gulf seafood industry to recover, especially for the fisherman who know only one way of life--to fish. But, we are highly skeptical that too many unknowns are at play and information is skewed or suppressed.  
(And please get rid of that damned "oyster czar" who is not helping the oyster fishermen one bit Governor Bentley.)

That's happening right now with tissue samples from sea turtles and dolphins and who defends the 'confidentiality' as they call it? NOAA.

When in doubt call the military out---In an effort to boost the economy in the Dauphin Island area post BP Spill, the Department of Defense has it's eye on the Isle:

“If we can do something to bring economic development to the island, bolster our local businesses and do something for our military men and women, how much better can it get?” Dauphin Island Mayor Collier said. 

Collier is considering the idea after frustration with what he calls "talk from politicians about getting BP money and using it for this and that" and "none of that has happened."

DI may have to 'give up' its golf course and some private beachfront parcels of land owned by residents for this to happen. Not everyone is on board with the proposal. If the residents don't want to sell, watch for Eminent Domain to make an unannounced appearance from behind the side door.

Welcome to Alabama Cockfighting capital of the US---Cockfighting is an old practice that dates back hundreds of years. It's cruel, crime-ridden and distasteful to a modern society. The operative word being 'modern.' Alabama has the weakest penalties in the nation.

A bill is in the legislature this year that would strengthen penalties for this barbaric practice that looks like it is going down in flames thanks to the Cockfighting lobby. Yes they really do have one. And we really are an archaic lot to encourage this lunacy.


Representative Mo Brooks-R does Alabama proud---Brooks was on the floor of the US House of Representatives this morning debating the 2012 budget and criticized "certain socialist members of the body" on their spending decisions. 'You are all socialists my democratic counterparts and yes I said it and whut are yew goin' ta do about it boys?!' 

He didn't get away with it though and was forced to withdraw the word:

After some awkward silence, Brooks was asked by the Republican in the chair if he had a request for unanimous consent, and Brooks then asked for unanimous consent that his use of the word "socialist" be stricken from the record.

Brooks was allowed to finish his remarks on the budget, and said, "For whatever reason I am permitted not to use one word."

He must have forgotten he wasn't in Alabama where such inflammatory language is encouraged. Tolerance is a virtue that gathers a lot of cobwebs when it comes to Alabama politicians. Watch for this on the national evening news.

Good job dunderhead, that will go a long way to help the state's image.

Step right on up folks and witness the greatest show that never was---sense and sensibility in Alabamy.

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While Slowing BP Spill, Administration Slowed Flow of Information Too, Claims Coast Guard Report

Fox News got this one right.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration failed to set up an "effective" communications system during last year's BP oil spill and threatened its own credibility by "severely restricting" the release of "timely, accurate information," according to a newly released report commissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Quietly posted on the Coast Guard's website two weeks ago, the report offers the first major assessment of the federal government's communications efforts during the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Information centers in Houma, La., and Mobile, Ala. -- established by the Coast Guard in accordance with pre-set plans for major disasters -- were "effectively muted," the report reads.

Photographs could not be released without Washington's blessing, and Coast Guard officials leading efforts on the ground "were not authorized to conduct media interviews, hold press conferences or send press releases without prior approval from DHS," according to the report.

Asked about the report, sources with knowledge of White House and DHS involvement went even further, saying the administration "looked at this as a political problem, not an operational problem." After all, one source said, the 2010 midterm elections were drawing closer as the oil spill crisis deepened, and the White House "went into campaign mode."

In a statement to Fox News, a Coast Guard spokesman said the newly released report "does not reflect the views of the Coast Guard," but one of the sources with knowledge of White House involvement said it "depends on who you talk to." Essentially, the source said, the oil spill response created "a clash of cultures," with operational needs scraping against political ones.

Nevertheless, the report states the communications system put in place was a departure from prior practice, with White House and DHS officials in Washington becoming gatekeepers to information about developments in the Gulf Coast.

"If any level of the response organization is restricted from interacting with the media and the public in any way, it has the potential to damage the credibility of the Federal Government and erode public trust," the report reads.

In addition, the source who said the White House "looked at this as a political problem, not an operational problem" noted the Bush administration looked through a similar prism and likewise took control of the message during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"Negative press equals lost votes," the source said. "It's not a political party thing, it's about political operatives and what's in their comfort zone."

The full report is imbedded below and shows failures on many levels to be adequately prepared for a disaster of the magnitude of the BP Spill. In the wake of the ExxonValdez spill, one would think some valuable lessons had been learned, but it appears that was not the case.

Equally troubling is the dismissive attitude of the WH about this CG report:

The administration official, meanwhile, dismissed the report, which offers no direct attribution for its statements, as little more than "an opinion piece." Only six pages of the 167 pages address the issue of "external communications," with the rest of the report analyzing other aspects of the response like other recent reports have. 

"Compared to the meticulously researched and sourced Oil Spill Commission Report (released Wednesday), this one is sufficiently lacking in both and, as such, is being received accordingly," the official said.

Many suspect that the governmental response to the spill was far less than adequate and even though the administration is dismissive in tone, there does appear to be a strong political element to the disaster response. Which leaves us wondering why mid term elections and office position were more important than one of the biggest environmental disasters of our times.

Especially in the Gulf which is the site of hundreds of oil and gas wells, and if someone needs to get oil spill response preparedness right, the Gulf would be at the top of the list.

Yet, permits are still being issued and assurances of renewed responsibility are abundant on the same sub sea containment systems that got us to this disaster in the first place.

Anybody see anything wrong with this picture besides us?
BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Incident Specific Preparedness Review (ISPR) Final Report*

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New Oil in the Gulf March 2011--Overflight Over the Gulf Waters

John L. Wathen and Wings of Care reveal what is in the Gulf in a video recorded March 19-20th.

Rachel Maddow Show March 24th 2011
TMRS Investigates the issue of new regulations on the same faulty sub sea containment system including the blowout preventer. Maddow is Interviewing a former thirty-year veteran of the oil and gas industry Bob Cavnar on "new regulation for unreliable pieces of equipment."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Part II TMRS Investigates March 25, 2011

Rachel reveals in part II that Ken Salazar and the DOI are "bitterly upset" with her investigation:

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From the Huffington Post March 25th:
"Investigation of Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf Kept Confidential by the US Government"  
(a gag order has been issued)

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No, It Is Not Silt Or Mud Fouling the Gulf (Again)--It's Oil!

The source of the new oil slicks recently found in the Gulf has been tracked to its source--Anglo Suisse Offshore Partners and an "abandoned well." Whoever schemed up the initial nonsensical notion that it was "mud from dredging" and much ado about nothing should be fired immediately.

The mainstream media finally woke up and covered this important story on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. The clip ran before the Coast Guard had their culprit:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The company claimed it had only leaked "5 gallons of oil" but the Coast Guard found them at the site of the well trying to cap it with a remote controlled submarine. They hadn't bothered to mention they were doing the operation until they were found out.

Until oil began showing up in the Gulf and washing up on shorelines.

But they were caught black-handed and apparently not at all in control of what they were attempting to keep quiet. 

The Times Picayune reports:

The  newspaper earlier reported that state officials had fingered work being done to the Anglo-Suisse's non-producing oil well near Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River as the likely source, calling it a "well capping out of control."

Rocky Kistner, who broke the story, along with the New Orleans press, has been following it closely and has more here.

A different source of oil has been spotted near the Chanduleur barrier islands described as "black streaky plumes over a 20 mile stretch" by groups of environmentalists, scientists and engineers who flew over the area and reported back to the Times-Picayune.

Photo credit: Times-Picayune

Now, let's think about this for a moment and decide how much we really should believe about the safety of the seafood and even swimming in the Gulf, from the talking state heads who are trying so hard to convince us "everything is clean, safe and beautiful."

Do you honestly believe them?

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Reports of New Oil Slick in Gulf "12 x 100 Miles Long"

*Updated March 20,2011 pm
 2nd update March 21

The Coast Guard is investigating reports of a potentially large oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico not far from the Deepwater Horizon site. According to a knowledgeable source, the slick was sighted by a helicopter pilot on Friday and is about 100 miles long. A fishing boat captain said he went through the slick yesterday and it was strong enough to make his eyes burn.

Zerohedge.com reports:

Independent pilots, including John Wathen of the Waterkeeper Alliance, and Bonnie Schumaker with Wings of Care, are currently flying out to investigate the spill. Schumaker reports having seen the sheen on Friday, March 18, and confirms that it is rapidly expanding.

A Louisiana fisherman, who has chosen to remain anonymous at this time, also reports fresh oil coming ashore near South Pass, LA, and that cleanup crews are laying new boom near the beach.

The site of the sheen, near Mississippi Canyon 243, lies 30 miles from the Louisiana coastline. The Matterhorn field, at a depth of 2,789 feet (850 meters) of water, was discovered in 1999, leased and permitted in July 2001, and came into production in November 2003. It is located 30 miles SE of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

According to W&T, the field has produced an average rate of 5,200 barrels of oil per day, and has production capacities of 35,000 barrels of oil per day.

Stuart Smith of oilspillaction.com:

There are already allegations that the Coast Guard and other authorities are busy trying to cover up the spill, so stay tuned.

And now to our illustrious Alabama Governor Bentley aka Dr. Guy Hunt:

“We want to tell the rest of the world that our seafood is clean, it’s pure, and it’s delicious,” Bentley told members of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce in a speech at the University of South Alabama. 

We understand the motivation to help bring the seafood industry back in the Gulf, but even pre-BP Spill "pure" is not a definition that applies to the Gulf of Mexico. And this guy is supposed to be a Doctor, one who you would expect to always err on the side of his Hippocratic Oath of  "first, do no harm?"

After millions of gallons of oil and Corexit assaulted the Gulf we don't think all this rush rush to push Gulf seafood on the public so soon is at all wise. In fact, it's downright foolhardy and could be dangerous, maybe even actionable, or worse, if these geniuses turn out to be wrong.

But isn't it comforting to know that the Dr. Dr. has his priorities straight and realizes that "one of the most critical things we can do in Gulf Shores" is to spend $100 million dollars on a controversial, let's build our business donors a playhouse aka convention center:

The $100 million project was thwarted in 2008 when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that Riley’s plan to let a private company develop the public land violated state law.

Prichard retirees have lost their state pensions, oil is still in the Gulf, we're in proration of our education system, but what the hell, let's just ignore all of that, spend millions we don't have and go right ahead with business as usual.

Is it 2014 yet?

**Update: A Coast Guard officer with a command center in Morgan City, LA, said today the Coast Guard has confirmed that oil is not coming from the Deepwater Horizon well but that they have found what appear to be smaller oil slicks in the Gulf. Their investigation into reports of large oil slicks is continuing. Additional photos and information from pilots John Wathen and Bonnie Schumaker who flew over the area yesterday are expected to be released today.
--Could this be why we are not hearing anything from the mainstream press?
Move along, nothing to see here…

(Raw Story) Journalists who come too close to oil spill clean-up efforts without permission could find themselves facing a $40,000 fine and even one to five years in prison under a new rule instituted by the Coast Guard late last week (2010).

Even Anderson Cooper, Journalist, says this makes it “very easy to hide incompetence or failure.”

The "rule" is still in place and being strictly enforced. FOX News is calling it "silt."

 **2nd update--"Fresh Oil Continues to Wash Ashore in Bayou"
                      (pics and story)

**Wathen has pictures up @ bpoilslick.blogspot.com/

Credit: John Wathen. Photo taken Sunday March 19, 2011

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"But For This" the Average Alabama Citizen Might Have a Chance

Alabama AG Luther Strange speculates in favor of special interests not the average Joe in post BP Spill compensation.

We were listening to an interview with Alabama AG Strange yesterday and found that what he didn’t say regarding compensation for ordinary Alabamians, well, frankly, strange. He seemed fond of a phrase that invites debate as being more speculation than fact: “But for this…”

“If you’re a Realtor or Dentist, but for this spill I would have had this…. If you‘re a golf course owner/developer, restaurant or accountant, but for this, I would have had this….”

“A lot of our time is spent looking at economic damage and but for this I would have had this.”

What we’re not hearing is the average person being given the same consideration, such as the fishermen and small seafood affiliated businesses who rely on the Gulf to make a living. Can’t they make a more compelling argument using the “but for this” measure than a real estate developer who’s business was already in a downturn before the spill?

We’ve seen story after story of the average citizen being moved aside in favor of special interests being compensated first.

Take the case of the real estate developer Brett Robinson who recently received $37.2 million from BP. He’s well-connected to the Alabama Republican party and it’s the suspicion of many that he was given preferential treatment:

BP PLC agreed today to pay $37.2 million to Brett Robinson, developers of Phoenix West II in Orange Beach, so the company can finish construction of the high-rise, 358-unit condominium tower, according to Gov. Bob Riley and the developers.
"This project will bring significant economic benefits to the region and our state," Riley said in a joint statement with U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, and Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon.

Let’s contrast that payoff with 67 y/o Ralph Atkins the owner of Southern Fish & Oyster Co. who’s been in business since 1934. Here’s how he describes his experience with the claims process:

Atkins called the recent meetings with Feinberg in Bayou La Batre and elsewhere “dog and pony shows.” He has filed an interim claim but is still talking with his accountant about their next move. Seafood dealers aren’t being paid anything close to what restaurants are getting, he said. “The last money I got was in October — they keep changing around the rules and telling you something different,” he said. “And they’re giving all this money to the Department of Conservation, which doesn’t know anything about marketing.”

“But for this” Mr. Atkins would have had his 77 y/o business remain intact. Where’s his fair compensation? Why was he treated differently than a big republican operative? That’s a rhetorical question obviously.

Luther was cheer-leading himself and repeating the myth of the beaches being clean despite numerous reports and video evidence that the cleanest beaches are solely in certain well-to-do areas.

“I think the beaches are great, I have been pleased as I go down and look at the coast and the beaches are clean….” One good thing that has happened in the lawsuit is the judge appointed me to oversee the case. We can maximize recovery for the state, it’s puts us in the catbird seat.”

When was the last time you tried a case in court Mr. Strange? And don’t you think that your previous occupation as a lobbyist for Transocean and big oil might have made you a more attractive choice to Judge Barbier, who like many judges in Louisiana, holds stock in big oil? You were appointed behind closed doors with no meeting by this judge weren't you?

And isn't it true that for the most part, that State attorney generals, particularly in the current economy, lack the resources (staff and money) to initiate the costly, drawn out litigation required by such cases?

Who's going to be making sure that the corruption machine in Alabama is held accountable with the AG's office distracted by handling the BP case? Oh, the Ethics Commission will be handling that we suppose. The same commission that passes on over 90% of the cases that comes before them.

Was this by design or just coincidence? 

So what do we really have in Strange being in charge of the BP lawsuit? We have a "but for this" maybe the process would be fair to the regular Joe and maybe we would have a seasoned courtroom attorney trying this important case for the benefit of all, and not just the anointed few.

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Alabama Beaches Are Not Clean--Oil,Tar Balls and Disclored Water Remains on the Gulf Coast

Despite the claims of former Alabama Governor Bob Riley, ADEM and every other talking head trying to convince the world that "Alabama's beaches are in fantastic shape" after the BP Oil Spill, the following video by John Wathen of Hurricane Creekkeeper shot in Fort Morgan, Alabama (Baldwin County) on February 9, 2011 seems to suggest otherwise.

John says that the areas around the hotels and condos seem to be the areas that cleanup is the most aggressive. Wonder why? Nothing like a grand illusion to portray the same.

Notice any birds around as you watch the video?

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Drake Toulouse of Disinfranchised Citizen Rips BP's Feinberg's Web of Deceit

Am I still on camera?

No Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulet in Louisiana when Feinberg is around. If you can find him.

BP pit bull Kenneth Feinberg has been exposed for the fraud that he is and Toulouse calls him out on his campaign of lies and self-righteous claims that he is an "independent arbiter" in the BP Spill claims fiasco.

Well, well, well…Hey Ken, know what that tearing sound was?
It was the sound of the self-righteous cloak you’ve wrapped yourself up in for the past five months being torn up and tossed to the floor, leaving you and your ridiculous claims of being neutral exposed…
Have a nice day. 

Read more here

St. Bernard Parish has been one of the hardest hit communities in Louisiana, and on January 28th, Feinberg met with Parish officials at an "undisclosed location in a closed meeting" that was supposed to stream live to concerned citizens in the Parish Council chamber. The live feed was a joke at best and probably deliberately technically challenged at worst.

St. Bernard Parish President Taffaro told the crowd that Feinberg had made clear when agreeing to come to St. Bernard "that he wasn't going to do a town hall format."

"He said he thought the town hall format was not creating solutions to the problems that he was hearing about," Taffaro said.

Translation:  "I don't feel like letting the little people rip me a new one again and no more on camera moments of citizens begging for help on their knees. My bosses don't like it, but just remember I am neutral, you did write that down, right?"

Feinberg pulled up in a black Chevrolet Suburban with tinted windows, got out and walked into the chambers. Once there, he immediately discovered he was in the wrong place, and quickly backtracked.

On his way, he stopped briefly to talk with the media that enveloped him -- large television cameras circled him, blocking his way.

When asked why he wasn't meeting with the St. Bernard citizens publicly, he responded, "As you all know, I would meet with people here in Louisiana every week if I could."

During the live video, Feinberg briefly explained that while he thought it would be "more substantive" to initially address questions in a smaller group, that he would "be happy in the next couple weeks to meet in a town hall."

He said he has become accustomed to "walking into the lion's den."

Bush appointed Feinberg in the aftermath of Katrina and we all know how that went. Obama should have known there would be no hope and change when he put Feinberg in charge of the post BP Spill claims program, but maybe the live feed of sense and you ought to know better was experiencing similar technical difficulties when that decision was made. 

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