As I do this diary prep work mid - morning today, I have listened to & will continue to listen to the hearing at which Tony Hayward will be testifying. Here is my reaction thus far to what I'm hearing from the GOP.
...with a combination of...
The GOP, at least those on this committee, really REALLY think they'll win the hearts & minds of the American people or their constituents by COMING TO BP/BS's defense?! Well, all righty then...
I'd like to report on a bit of "local" news that might be of interest to y'all. It would seem that serving in the Senate can end up being quite lucrative - at least for the Bayhipede! Dear, don't let the door hit ya' where the good Lord split ya'!
And, I get to bring back out the Lysol & other purification materials; this pestilence is invading my fair state in September!
Oh well, at least he won't be in Indianapolis. I better not go up to Muncie, though. I don't think I could control myself, and he's not worth getting arrested for.
I'll note just 3 "this day in history" items. On this date in 1972, President Richard Nixon's downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic national headquarters in Washington's Watergate complex. I wonder what G. Gordon Liddy does to commemorate the day? Do I WANNA KNOW how G. Gordon Liddy commemorates the day?!
Here comes THE cake {hee...hee...hee...}! Newt Gingrich is 67 today; I'm sure he doesn't participate in Medicare since he probably thinks it's some sort of pinko Commie plot. Mr. Gingrich, for your willingness to marry so gosh - darned many times to show how committed to "family values" you are & other quirks in your character too numerous to name, this tasty treat is all yours with the invitation to GO CHENEY YOURSELF!
In a way more fun birthday, Greg Kinnear is 47 today! Little Miss Sunshine is one of my favorite movies.
And, if you haven't seen his portrayal as Bob Crane in Auto Focus...wow...
Let's Countdown...59 days since the explosion & sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil facility in the Gulf of Mexico.
WHAT THE SPARK IS THIS HARRY POTTER $HIT??!!BBBBbbbbbbOOOOOOoooooo!!!
#5 "GOBP" AKA "Sorry Apologies" AKA "The Grand Oil Party" - Again, what I won’t do for this diary series; I listened to Tony Hayward ALL DAY while I was at work! I was literally laughing out loud at some points today; the administrative assistant in my office had to ask what was so darn funny. My biggest laugh of the day came at Rep. Joe "Slush fund" Barton’s little diatribe. He & other GOPers on the subcommittee pushed either that memo or the memo that the current administration is entirely to blame for the state that the Gulf’s in right now. THAT’s the game the GOP wants to play in the run – up to November?! And, they think they can WIN with that??!!
Okee – dokee! Lordy, I get to listen to Rep. Barton AGAIN; he doesn’t get any less bat$hit than he did earlier. It doesn’t matter that he apologized for his BP/BS apology this afternoon; the dye has been caste & in the public record. And, I’ll give you 3 guesses as to which House member gets the most campaign coin from big oil. SORRY! No, I won’t; it’s Rep. Joe "Slush fund" Barton! HOW CONVENIENT! Even Rep. Barton’s GOP Congress critters colleagues were calling for his head. Rep. Barton got called to the woodshed by Small Price to Pay Goldilocks. Rep. Mike Doyle’s had a day. Man, if anyone tried a drinking game with every time Tony said, "I don’t recall" or "I can’t comment on that until our investigation is complete," you’d be dead of alcohol poisoning within 45 minutes; if you were drinking water, you’d just have to pee a lot! ;D
Yea, for Tony being in charge of BP/BS, he sure doesn’t know very much about his company. The GOP blocked another attempt to raise the damage cap – BRILLIANT! Here’s Howard Fineman. And, I absolutely agree with Howard’s assessment on Tony’s performance today; it’s almost like he got pointers on stonewalling in front of Congress from Fredo! I just couldn’t turn away. The Dems want to try to localize each race in November? WHY – when the GOBP is doing such an admirable job of shooting itself in the foot?!
#4 "BP Oil Leak: Day 59" AKA "On the Hill, On the Spill" AKA "BP Whistleblower" - Tony’s original prepared testimony was:
The truth, however, is that this is a complex accident, caused by an unprecedented combination of failures.
What he actually SAID was:
Right now, it’s simply too early to say what caused the incident. There is still extensive work to do. A full answer must await the outcome of multiple investigations including the Marine Report.(?)
Sorry, I couldn’t make out what he said at the end; I’d be grateful for someone’s clarification. Wow, I guess the BP/BS lawyers didn’t care for what he was originally going to say!
Kenneth Abbott used to work for BP/BS and thinks another Deepwater Horizon CAN happen. YEA! *&^%$#@! Engineering drawings weren’t completed, and management is making short – cut decisions all over the damn place. The MMS has never looked at the drawings, either.
** AAAaaaaaWWWwwww!!! Look at the widdle cute bear cub!!!! Yep, the little thing is sneezing – A LOT! Where was Mom? A deer broke into a New York home & made a bit of a mess. If it later walked into a bar, then THAT would be a joke! ;D **
#3 "Put a Lid on It" - Dick Armey is telling tea bagger candidates to not be so public about their tea bagging. So, Sharon Angle is going to be the headliner at the next hate fes...er...uh...convention of tea baggers. Rand Paul’s biggest mistake was self – identifying as a tea bagger – not what he had to say on Rachel’s show. David Weigel gets to delve into Dick Armey’s mind – EEEeeeeWWWWwww! Dick perhaps feels like he can make a fresh conservative start. YUCK! Ms. Angle did not make herself available to the media while she was in DC. I simply cannot imagine why. ;D She thinks everyone’s a tea bagger? Madam, my personal life & habits are none of your damn business – HA!
"Tea Time" A tea bagger candidate has an interesting take on the Deepwater Horizon; the current administration AND BP/BS are responsible. Is Bill Randall the token African - American tea bagger?
WPITW – American’s Mayor accused President Obama of being on vacation during the Deepwater Horizon crisis; neither he nor Reagan nor Bush ever did! Except, they all did! Rep. Pete Olson really REALLY wants to bomb...bomb....bomb....bomb bomb Iran. Dale Peterson is back again with another faboo commercial; now, he’s shooting at people stealing yard signs. Mr. Peterson didn’t win? DAMN! I’m crying a river.
#1 "It’s Not Easy Being Greene" AKA "Greene Day" - Alvin Greene WILL be the Dem Senate nominee in SC. The committee rejected Mr. Rawl’s protest. Mr. Greene didn’t attend the hearing, but he thinks he should be Time’s Man of the Year. Oh dear...ice bucket and cold shower for Chris Hayes fans coming up!
Chris thinks the Dems just have to live with the result but still investigate possible voting errors. I still want to know how he came up with the coin for the filing fee. It just might be the Mr. Greene won because his name was first on the ballot.