Oil company BP may shut off the live feed to Congress and the Internet of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow during its next attempt to seal the oil leak.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), one of several legislators who forced BP to make the video feed public, said today that BP informed him the feed would be cut off when they try their "top kill" effort to stop the flow of oil. Markey called the move "outrageous."
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said later that after getting pressured by Congress to keep the feed running, BP is now still "considering" going dark. Nelson says he will continue to strongly pressure the company to keep the feed on, CBS News Capitol Hill Producer John Nolen reports.
"This BP blackout will obscure a vital moment in this disaster," Markey said in a statement.
"After more than a month of spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP is essentially saying to the American people the solution will not be televised."
Meanwhile in the Senate, as the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig continues to spill over 1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf every day, there is a demand for less regulation for companies like BP and Transocean while also looking for a taxpayer-funded bailout of BP.
After a month of oil spewing into the Gulf, the cost of cleaning up BP's mess is $542 million and counting. But a group of Republican senators led by Lisa Murkowski of Alaska want the company to only pay for about the first five days of the cleanup and put taxpayers on the hook for everything else.
TrueMajorty.org, a grassroots advocacy organization linking the public to public policy is calling for citizens to say no to a straight-up bailout outrageous bailout for BP. If you agree, reach out and touch your represenative in Congress by following the link:
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Another example of "Politics is Easy, Governing is Hard," isn't it Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)?
This is what Jindal said in giving the response to President Obama's 2009 State of the Union Address.
Jindal invoked his state's experience following Hurricane Katrina in support of Republican skepticism about government's capacity to deal effectively with major national problems.
"Today in Washington, some are promising that government will rescue us from the economic storms raging all around us," he said. "Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina, we have our doubts."
Fast forward to 2010. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been a disaster for the the region's ecosystems and ocean wildlife, a political minefield for President Obama and a potentially deadly blow to oil giant BP's future.
But the catastrophe has been a blessing for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a political opening to showcase a vigorous and compassionate activism as he fights the forces of corporate evil and government ineptitude.
"We don't have the resources to protect our coast,'' said Jindal, who has become the most visible critic of Obama's strategy to deferring to BP, asking aloud the question that many Americans are wondering, "When will the federal government finally do something?"
"BP is the responsible party, but we need the federal government to make sure they are held responsible."
Jindal better be careful. Wouldn't that be Big Government oversight, like Rep. Markey's select committee?
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