Making the News

OK, we've got a disaster in the Gulf. Everyone agrees to that. But you don't have to be Solomonic in your wisdom to notice that this is more about political posturing and "gotcha" than about solutions. Not a day goes by that we don't get another saturation point statement from the Messiah about how hard he's working to solve the problem, find an ass to kick, turn the nation green and be stern with Iran. The various minions of both parties then spin for the day and the media of the competing perspectives pluck the inflammatory headline that best fits their agenda.

Try this piece:

BP Lied, Penguins Died

What did you get from that? Why tar balls have now come ashore at Florida's Navarre Beach in the panhandle. This report just in:

Caitlyn Blizzard, an assistant in the Santa Rosa County public information office, said that despite the official report of tar balls, she walked Navarre Beach on Sunday morning and saw nothing but blue water and pearly sand.

"People are in the water right now on Navarre Beach," she said Sunday afternoon. "The water's clear. It's beautiful."

I guess it could be worse, but it is really hard to file your coverage of the tragedy from Washington and Atlanta, neither of which have a view of the Gulf.

Then involved politician Ed Markey, representing Massachusetts whose coastal residents are reeling from the economic damage caused by the spill...oops, never mind.

Markey's got a smoking gun that showed BP lied about the potential size of the leak in one of their possible scenario estimates.

"It's not like anybody's trying to hide anything," he said.

(BP spokesman Tony,) Odone said BP gave the document to Congress on May 4. Markey's office did not respond to queries about why it had waited until now to release it.

If this was so critical one has to wonder why Markey didn't bring it up seven weeks ago.

Then the flap over TX Representative Joe Barton's comment on the strong-arm "shakedown" of BP to the tune of $20 million continues. OK, it is appropriate for BP to be held responsible. They have admitted culpability repeatedly. They have stated that they will compensate those injured. There is operative law here.

Could we possibly agree that BP can be bad, but still be entitled to the respect that all citizens and corporations might expect to be free of intimidation in the hands of the gestapo and dictator in the White House?

We like to raise the phrase "rule of law" when we talk about the American way, but we've got an administration that repeatedly makes its own rules, ignores the law, and then shapes the message to vilify the victims of their malfeasance.