Memorial Day 2010

The Chattanooga National Cemetery.
As many times as I have visited this hallowed ground, it still moves me to tears. The cemetery was created by Major General George Thomas on December 25, 1863 after the Battle of Chattanooga. The Battle of Chattanooga consists of the battles of Missionary Ridge, Orchard Knob and Lookout Mountain (Battle above the Clouds). The war left so many casualties that Thomas needed to create a cemetery in order to bury them. The site was a farm adjacent to the railroad tracks. Originally it was 75 acres today it is 120. The site has a 100' round hill that faces both Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. During the 4 day battle of Lookout Mountain, General Ulysses S. Grant used the hill for his headquarters.


From the Veterans Administration

By 1870, more than 12,800 interments were complete: 8,685 known and 4,189 unknown. The dead included men who fell at the battles of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. There were also a number of reinterments from the surrounding area, including Athens, Charleston and locations along the line of Gen. Sherman’s march to Atlanta. A large number of men—1,798 remains—who died at the Battle of Chickamauga were relegated to unknowns during the reinterment process.

There are 7 Medal of Honor recipients buried at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

The Medal of Honor may only be awarded to a person who was on active military service at the time of the incident. The first four names were part of the Andrews Raiders which Disney turned into a film called "The Great Locomotive Chase". The last name on the list, Corporal Desmond Doss, was a medic on Okinawa during World War II. He was a Seventh Day Adventist and refused to use a gun. He was a conscientious objector and a medic, he saved over 100 men by bravely going through intense crossfire to help our men. Eventually, he was hit by a grenade and seriously injured. He waited over five hours for medics to attend to him. His story can be seen here
Sergeant Marion A. Ross (Civil War), 2nd Ohio Infantry. Georgia, June 18, 1862 (Section H, Grave 11179).
Sergeant John M. Scott (Civil War), Company F, 21st Ohio Infantry. Georgia, June 18, 1862 (Section H, Grave 11182).
Sergeant Samuel Slavens (Civil War), Company E, 33rd Ohio Infantry. Georgia, June 18, 1862 (Section H, Grave 11176).
Private Samuel Robertson (Civil War), Company G, 33rd Ohio Infantry. Georgia, June 18, 1862 (Section H, Grave 11177).
First Lieutenant William F. Zion (Boxer Rebellion), U.S. Marine Corps. Peking, China July 21 - August 17, 1900 (Section U, Grave 40 South Side).
Master Sergeant Ray E. Duke (Korean War), U.S. Army, Company C, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Near Mugok, Korea, April 26, 1951 (Section Z, Grave 373).
Corporal Desmond T. Doss, Sr., (World War II), U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. Near Urasoe-Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, April 29 – May 21, 1945 (Section P, Grave 6399-A).


Today, the cemetery has 48,000 buried in it. By 2015, they will be full unless the Veterans Administration expands it. I hope they do so. There are German POWs from World War I and II buried in mass graves. There is a soldier who served in the Revolutionary War buried in the National Cemetery. There are no Confederates.

We have several from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sgt. Shawn Dunkin was from York, S.C. He had been in Chattanooga once for a wedding and visited the National Cemetery. He was inspired by the beauty and history of this sacred place, so expressed to the Army his wishes to be buried in Chattanooga, in the event anything should happen to him. February 2007, that event occurred when he and two others were killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. At age 25, Sgt. Dunkin was laid to rest in our National Cemetery.


Please take a moment today and drive over to the Chattanooga National Cemetery. It is a worthwhile trip.

Remember.

The Vacant Chair.

Oh, now they've really done it. They made Granny mad.

I used to think it was just me who was peeved, but no, not anymore. The Seniors are outraged too. Watch out!

Another day, another plume

Photo from Fox 10:

Depressing.

New tests show what appears to be a massive, second underwater plume in previously untested waters northeast of the leaking BP wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico. Marine scientists have discovered a new, wide area of “dissolved hydrocarbons” in that Gulf. It is six miles wide and goes as deep as 3,300 feet.
More tests are being run, but researchers from the University of South Florida suspect the plume may be from chemical dispersants used to break up the gushing oil leak a mile below the surface.USF chemical oceanographer David Hollander says the underwater plume is significantly different than the surface oil washing ashore.
"This is insidious. This is sort of an invisible component we really don’t know the short term or the long term impact," he said.
Hollander says the plume stretches 22 miles northeast of the blown wellhead toward Mobile Bay, Alabama.

Today, Obama will be in Louisiana to address the concerns of locals. Somehow, Louisiana instantly transformed from a State of government keep out of business and their lives, to a do something Obama about the spill or it will cost you. Gov. Jindahl even went as far as putting on a show to refuse recovery funds, but quietly he accepted them, now he is desperate for federal help. Sen. Landrieu, a worthless DINO Senator, even had the gall to say Obama better show up with a check today, all the while, she voted this week to prevent our government from raising the paltry liability caps of $75 million dollars on oil companies. What a craven, oily shill she is.

I am upset with this whole thing and the utter hypocrisy by so many. I am so upset about the ecocide taking place in the gulf that I can hardly type about it. Eugene Robinson of WaPo has a great read. It is worthwhile to click it on a read the whole thing, but here are my favorite snippets:

Obama has rethought his enthusiasm for offshore drilling. Now he, and the rest of us, should rethink the larger issue -- the trade-off between economic development and environmental protection. In the long run, our natural resources are all we've got. Defending them must be a higher priority than our recent presidents, including Obama, have made it.

and, ugh, this one, albeit, it is somewhat funny:

Barack Obama is, in many admirable ways, our most progressive president in decades. But as an environmentalist, let's face it, he's no Richard Nixon. Before the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded -- allowing, by some estimates, as many as a million gallons of crude oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico each day for more than a month -- Obama had announced plans to permit new offshore drilling. "I don't agree with the notion that we shouldn't do anything," Obama said at the time. "It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally don't cause spills. They are technologically very advanced."

and to sum up, an indictment against all of us:

Yes, many Americans feel good about going through the motions of environmentalism. We've made a religion of recycling, which is an important change. We turn off the lights when we leave the room -- and we're even beginning to use fluorescent bulbs. Some of us, though not enough, understand the long-term threat posed by climate change; a subset of those who see the danger are even willing to make lifestyle changes to try to avert a worst-case outcome.

But where the rubber hits the road -- in public policy -- we've reverted to our pre-enlightenment ways. When there's a perceived conflict between environmental stewardship and economic growth, the bottom line wins.

Please take the time to read Eugene's piece in full. It is worth it. As Americans, and right before the Memorial Holiday, where many of us would be enjoying the beach on the Redneck Riveria, we need to ask ourselves, are we willing to make good green, clean, energy choices to preserve this planet for years to come? Or do we want to continue our addiction with oil and coal for our immediate consumption? The time is now to work on clean energy and green jobs.
Photo of Maglev train. Rep. Wamp has been an advocate of this. Chattanooga to Atlanta in 40 minutes. Nice.

My Green Index Finger

I love to garden, but hate to dig holes and lift rocks. Fortunately, my soulmate is a good sport about it. Here is our latest project in our side yard. Over the weekend, we planted three dogwoods and two pinky winky hydrangeas. When I say "we planted" I mean : I picked out the plants and found the perfect spots for them, I drew it out on a sheet of paper and then pointed to where "we" need to dig a hole. My husband dug the hole, placed the trees in it and covered it. Don't we make a great team?

We still need to terrace it right below the last planted tree.

The latest, gorgeous hydrangea is the Pinky Winky. I cannot wait for this to bloom. Please keep checking back with me because there will be pics on these two "Proven Winners" (name of the nursery who grew it).

Another dogwood and hydrangea. Also, in the background is a handsome Oakleaf hydrangea. He enjoyed the cold spell this winter, it suited him well.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Hope you are having fun in your backyards.

2 West Memphis Police Officers Shot & Killed by Rightwing Extremist.

Photo from the Commercial Appeal.

This is so very sad. Rest in Peace, dear Officers. Please remember and honor these two Officers. From the Commercial Appeal:

The funerals of West Memphis Police Department veterans Sgt. Brandon Paudert and officer Bill Evans are today at the LEHR Center, the arena on the campus of West Memphis High School. Paudert's funeral was at 10 a.m. and Evans' will be at 2 p.m. They were killed in the line of duty on Thursday after a traffic stop along Interstate 40. A shootout that wounded two more officers about 90 minutes later ended with the deaths of the suspects, a 45-year-old anti-government extremist named Jerry Kane and his 16-year-old son, Joseph. We will have quick updates from the services throughout the day and a fuller version tomorrow.

So sad, America, please remember them. They died because of armed extremists, home grown terrorists, is another word for it. Sgt. Paudert's father is West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert. Sgt. Brandon Paudert is survived by his widow Kim plus three children: Katie, Lane and Wil. He is also survived by his mother along with his father, and brother, Brian, who is a Navy Jet fighter.

Rand Paul: not ready for prime time player

It has been 72 hours since Rand Paul won the Republican primary for Kentucky Senate, and already he has made so many gaffes that he is dominating the news cycle and keeping fact checkers busy. Paul is scheduled to be on Meet the Press this Sunday with David Gregory, who would spoon feed him some easy questions to give him a break; however, this afternoon, Paul cancelled his appearance citing exhaustion. In all the years of Meet the Press, only two other guests have ever cancelled this program. If Paul thinks these last three days were exhausting, he has 165 more like these days to go.

Here is a glimpse into the past three days of Ron Paul:

Rand Paul opposes the American Disability Act citing this reason to Larry King:

Let's say you have a local office and you have a two story office and one of your workers is handicapped. Should you not be allowed maybe to offer them an office on the first floor, or should you be forced to put in a hundred thousand dollar elevator?

What the ADA law states:

Elevators are not required in:

(a) private facilities that are less than three stories or that have less than 3000 square feet per story unless the building is a shopping center, a shopping mall, or the professional office of a health care provider, or another type of facility as determined by the Attorney General; or

On the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he came out strongly against it, but then flip-flopped:
via Alyosha Karamozov

1) I don't support the Civil Rights Act but I personally abhor discrimination.

2) I would not support any effort to repeal the Civil Rights Act.

3) I believe in the Civil Rights Act and the constitutional power to enforce it.

4) If I would have been in the Senate at the time I would have voted for the Civil Rights Act.

Rand Paul called Obama "anti-American" for criticizing BP's ecocide oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He cares more about business than he does about Americans or our planet. From WaPo

What I don't like from the president's administration is this sort of, 'I'll put my boot heel on the throat of BP,'" he said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America." "I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business."

However, when asked about the death of two coal miners in a mining accident in Kentucky, his reply was "accidents happen". Grrrrrr.. from the same WaPo article as above:

He also referred to a Kentucky coal mine accident that killed two men, saying he had met with the families and admired the coal miners' courage.
"We had a mining accident that was very tragic," Paul said. "Then we come in and it's always someone's fault. Maybe sometimes accidents happen."

Yep, Paul sticks up for the big oil and the coal companies in the face of extremely gross negligence, but doesn't help a coal miner from Kentucky.

Wake up America, this is the face of the Tea Party. Things we take for granted and enjoy, such as: basic human rights, safety in the workplace and a clean, uncontaminated environment are despised by the Teabaggers and they want to repeal them. The Republican Party tried to keep these extremist ideas quiet, but now with Rand Paul's victory in their primary, Americans are finding out what this group represents. His extremist view is probably the reason why Paul will not be on Meet the Press on Sunday. Who really believes it is exhaustion from the campaign trail after only 5 days? Most candidates would cherish the earned media, but in Paul's case, the Republican party must be terrified of it.

The Defining Moment

A message to everyone running for office: you can define yourself or you can wait and have the opponent define you. I think we can all guess, the best choice is for you to define yourself. Never, ever, ever let your opponent do it for you or you will be tarred and feathered. That is what has happened to Rand Paul at this point.

Not even 24 hours after the Kentucky polls closed, Jack Conway, Democratic Senate candidate appeared on Chris Matthews show "Hardball". Within one minute of his interview, he brought out how extreme and crazy Rand Paul is. So crazy that it shocked Chris Matthews. Chris could not believe Rand was against and wanted to repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Matthews said this law prohibited the separate lunch counters and public restrooms, which we know about all too well in Chattanooga. The Jim Crow laws were an ugly mark on our country's history and for Paul to support such legislation shows he is unfit to represent any place, especially the South. He may have won the Republican nomination, but it was a brutal and ugly fight with the old guard (Paleo-cons) losing the fight, and it doesn't mean he should represent Kentucky in this day and age.

Hours after the Matthews interview, Rand Paul went on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow and spoke about it. He was a little too smug and defiant and refused to back off of the idea that the federal government should not tell private businesses what to do, even if it is discriminatory. This does not bode well for Rand Paul. Today, his campaign issued the following reversal statement:

"Civil Rights legislation that has been affirmed by our courts gives the Federal government the right to insure that private businesses don't discriminate based on race. Dr. Paul supports those powers."

Will this work? Can you un-ring a bell? No. Especially when the candidate himself affirmed what the opponent said. Jack Conway cited Paul's racism via an interview he did with a Louisville newspaper just weeks before the primary election; therefore, you have several sources where the candidate had expressed these views. Only one retraction and it was done by his campaign which right now is in a panic mode situation.

If you like crash and burn scenes, keep tuned to this race. This is the one to watch for drama. From Talking Points Memo a bit of Rand Paul's interview with Louisville Courier Journal:

Questioner: Would you have voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Rand Paul: I like the Civil Rights Act in the sense that it ended discrimination in all public domains and I'm all in favor of that.

Questioner: But...?

Rand Paul: You had to ask me the "but." um.. I don't like the idea of telling private business owners - I abhor racism - I think it's a bad business decision to ever exclude anybody from your restaurant. But at the same time I do believe in private ownership. But I think there should be absolutely no discrimination on anything that gets any public funding and that's most of what the Civil Rights Act was about to my mind.

Questioner: And then it was extended by most to most localities to include all... Would you be in favor of just local-

Rand Paul: On a local basis it might be a little different. The thing is I would speak out in favor of it. (pause) I mean, I look at the speeches of Martin Luther King, and I tell you I become emotional watching the speeches of Martin Luther King. I loved him because he was a transformational figure, but he was a believer. What i don't like most about politics is almost none of them are believers and he was a true believer and he fought government injustice, and those were governmental rules and laws that forbid people you know from riding the bus or sitting in certain parts of the bus or drinking water form public fountains. All of that should have ended and I think it was a great occurrence that it did.

Questioner: But under your philosophy it would be okay for Dr. King to not be served at the counter at Woolworths?

Rand Paul: I would not go to that Woolworth's, and I would stand up in my community and say it's abhorrent. um... But the hard part, and this is the hard part about believing in freedom is, if you believe in the First Amendment, for example, you to, for example- most good defenders will believe in abhorrent groups standing up and saying awful things, and we're here at the bastion of newspaperdom (sic) and I'm sure you believe in the First Amendment, so I'm sure you understand people can say bad things. It's the same way with other behaviors. In a free society we will tolerate boorish people who have abhorrent behavior, but if we're civilized people we publicly criticize that and don't belong to those groups or associate with those people.

Questioner: But it's different with race, certainly a hundred years, discrimination based on race was codified under federal law.

Rand Paul: Exactly, it was institutionalized and that's why we had to end all of the institutional racism and I was in favor completely of that.

This didn't take very long. Rand Paul exposed for racism & all around craziness

Gosh, just 24 hours ago, he was the hero of the day for winning the Republican primary in Kentucky. Not too many in t.v.land checked out his positions, until tonight when Chris Matthews interviewed Jack Conway, the Democratic nominee for KY- Senate. Conway told Chris Matthews: Paul wants to get rid of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, American Disabilities Act, the Department of Education and Department of Agriculture. Whoot! Finally, someone is talking about the extremist issues of the Tea Party.

All in favor of bringing back the Jim Crow laws, go vote for Rand Paul. All opposed, please stop this insanity from the Paulites now. Please help out Jack Conway.

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

Bring it on! Netroots vs. Teabaggers

Kentucky is going to be the race to watch for November. The media hyped up the GOP candidate, Rand Paul, while ignoring the fact of how close the Democratic race was between Conway (Netroots favorite) and Mongiardo ( a blue doggie and to the right of Sen. Nelson of NE). It was neck and neck. Let's look at the raw data from Politico on the Kentucky race:

Democratic Party
Conway 44.1% 226,773
Mongiardo 43.0% 221,269

Republican Party
Paul 58% 206,159
Grayson 35.4% 124,238

Funny, all the hype about the Dems not being energized didn't hold true in this race. If this were a trifecta, it would be: Conway, Mongiardo and Paul. Both Dems outperformed Paul. So now the big race is on for November. Please help Jack Conway win this seat. Donate through Act Blue.

Oh, by the way, Rand Paul is no Kentucky Gentleman. He refused to take the concession call from his opponent, Trey Grayson. Trey Grayson was the establishment endorsed Republican. From WCPO:
"This is truly a classless act in politics," said Marc Wilson, a Republican lobbyist and friend of Trey Grayson.
Well, Mr. Wilson, this is what the tea party politics have evolved into: hard right and mean. Mr. Grayson handled the matter with dignity and released this message:

"A couple of minutes ago I spoke to David Adams, the campaign manager for Dr. Paul, and congratulated Dr. Paul on his hard fought victory tonight and told him we would be standing side-by-side on Saturday at the Republican unity rally," Grayson told his supporters.

Paul's campaign is now trying to say the candidate was busy and this is a made up problem. Yeah right, we will see plenty more of from this type of conduct from the mean spirited, xenophobic, egomaniacal Rand Paul in the next few months.
A spokesman for Sen. Mitch McConnel best explained Rand Paul to Politico:

"The electorate is pissed," said Mike Shea, a longtime political adviser to McConnell. "Rand did a really good job of tapping into those themes and tapping into that anger. Trey is a nice guy, but in his commercials and everything else, he seemed completely unable to generate any kind of dialogue to indicate he was tapping into that. If you meet him, he didn't seem like he was angry."

An angry Republican. This isn't what Kentucky or who we want in the Senate. It is time to end this craziness. Kentucky showed up in big numbers for both Democratic candidates. Let's make sure they make it in the final stretch. To find out how to help or more information, visit his site: Jack Conway.

The war hits home: Soldier from McMinnville killed in Afghanistan

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.


Spc. Jeremy L. Brown, 20, of McMinnville, Tenn., died May 9 at Contingency Outpost Zerok, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

I will have more information on him and five others on Wednesday evening.

Family Research Council co-founder, Dr. George Reker, caught with Rentboy.com escort

Not BREAKING! I just can't count the number of times these gay-hating hypocrites have been caught in these situations. This one is truly disgusting though because this man, a neuro-psychiatrist, rabid Christian, who tried to cure homosexuality was outed by Miami Times for taking a male prostitute on a ten day vacation with him. I could just scream.

From Truth Wins Out:
Leading Ex-Gay Activist Caught On Vacation With ‘Rent Boy’


Behind the Scenes, George Rekers Is A Major Anti-Gay Figure Who Has Caused A Great Deal of Harm, Says TWO


NEW YORK – Truth Wins Out called on anti-gay activist Dr. George A. Rekers to resign from the board of a leading “ex-gay” therapy group and apologize to the LGBT community after the Miami New Times discovered that he took a male prostitute that he met on Rentboy.com to Europe. According to the sex worker, Rekers “likes younger guys to hang out with.”

“This is a bombshell that completely discredits the ex-gay industry and proves that the movement is a fraud,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “While Rekers keeps a low public profile, his fingerprints are on almost every anti-gay effort to demean and dehumanize LGBT people. Lobby groups that work to deny equality to LGBT Americans ubiquitously cite his work. Rekers has caused a great deal of harm to gay and lesbian individuals.”

Miami New Times broke the story, here is some of it:

On April 13, the "rent boy" (whom we'll call Lucien) arrived at Miami International Airport on Iberian Airlines Flight 6123, after a ten-day, fully subsidized trip to Europe. He was soon followed out of customs by an old man with an atavistic mustache and a desperate blond comb-over, pushing an overburdened baggage cart.

That man was George Alan Rekers, of North Miami — the callboy's client and, as it happens, one of America's most prominent anti-gay activists. Rekers, a Baptist minister who is a leading scholar for the Christian right, left the terminal with his gay escort, looking a bit discomfited when a picture of the two was snapped with a hot-pink digital camera.

Reached by New Times before a trip to Bermuda, Rekers said he learned Lucien was a prostitute only midway through their vacation. "I had surgery," Rekers said, "and I can't lift luggage. That's why I hired him." (Medical problems didn't stop him from pushing the tottering baggage cart through MIA.)

What a great excuse, he brought a bag boy. How many men would hire a male escort to carry their luggage and go on a ten day vacation with them? Guys? Any of you? Just what I thought.

Shill, Baby, Shill!

Interesting reactions coming from GOP Southern Governors. No doubt they're on the BP and big oil payroll, as well as on our public dole. Yesterday, the Hattiesburg American reported the Mississippi Governor Halley Barbour didn't think the oil spill was such a big deal.

“It has never really been pointed at Mississippi,” he said Sunday evening in Biloxi during a press briefing.

Barbour dismissed rumors that anyone was trying to make Gulfport or other areas of the Mississippi coast a landing area for the oil, by directing its flow to the manmade beaches here, which would be easier to clean than wetlands.
“If BP could put the oil where they wanted, they’d put it on Cuba — let’s not kid ourselves,” Barbour said. “The idea that someone is trying to push the oil somewhere is just fantasy.”
Though the state is preparing for the worst-case scenario, Barbour said he doesn’t believe things will even come close to that.

Haley Barbour used to be head of the RNC, so he knows all too well about the importance of spinning for big oil. His name is being floated as a GOP Presidential Contender in 2012. A check is probably on the way for him from BP. Hopefully, his name will be thoroughly slimed just like the Gulf by next year.

Not to be outdone as a shameless, corporate shill, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R), who flew to Houston to show his support for oil at a BP funded conference. He pushed for more offshore drilling. Sheesh!
From Think Progress:

“What we do as Americans is we find out what went wrong and how can we do things better,” McDonnell said. “I think that’s the spirit of the American people.” [...]

McDonnell said he wants to see a full investigation into the Louisiana accident, but he still thinks that drilling could begin off Virginia’s coast as soon as next year or early 2012.

Last month, McDonnell proudly supported the treasonous confederacy of 150 years ago. This month, he thinks oil drilling is a good idea. Something tells me he is a wee bit out of touch with this world... sigh.
Keep laughing Bob, the joke's on you.

Governor Rick Perry of Texas did his best to distance the Republicans and Cheney from this disaster. Today, he called it "an Act of God that cannot be prevented." Yeah, let's blame God for allowing BP to cut corners and violate safety regulations. Better to blame God then Bush, Cheney and the de-regulation happy GOP.

“We don’t know what the event that has allowed for this massive oil to be released,” Perry said alongside several other governors on a panel Monday. “And until we know that, I hope we don’t see a knee-jerk reaction across this country that says we’re going to shut down drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, because the cost to this country will be staggering.” Perry questioned whether the spill was “just an act of God that occurred” and said that any “politically driven” decisions could put the U.S. in further economic peril. “From time to time there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented,” Perry said.

In other news, Sen. Bill Nelson from Florida, is trying to remove the caps on liability from oil spills. The Palm Beach Post reports :

“BP says it’ll pay for this mess. Baloney. They’re not going to want to pay any more than what the law says they have to, which is why we can’t let them off the hook,” Nelson, D-Fla., said in a statement.

Currently, oil companies like BP are responsible for paying the costs of cleanup. But federal law caps liability at $75 million per incident.

Only $75 million is all they have to pay. This is an outrage. Obama said BP is fully responsible for clean up. Let's see how hard he twists their arm to get them to pay a penny more than $75 million.

Florida, which is bracing itself for an epic disaster from the spill, only has one senatorial candidate who has spoken out against off-shore drilling, and he is the Democratic candidate, Kendrick Meek. Gov. Charlie Crist, who just left the GOP to run as an independent, cautiously stated today that Floridians "remain vigilant". Wow what a great leader he is. No wonder, even the GOP, doesn't want him. Meek needs to pound Rubio and Crist hard for their silence and vigilance.

This whole oil spill disaster is depressing me to no end. I am sickened at the destruction of the fragile eco-system in the oceans and estuaries. No matter what the GOP says to appease BP, Haliburton and the oil industry, they cannot hide what we all know and see as the truth. The loss of marine life and beauty of this vast area is an unforgivable loss. I am boycotting BP just like I have Exxon. They have caused irreparable damage.

The only thing that would brighten my day is if Gov. Barbour, McDonnell and Perry all go to the beach for vacation. I would love to see them comeback to their homes looking like Tar Babies. It would be priceless to see Perry's hair all greasy, fatso Barbour would look like an oily whale, and most of all, I would love to see McDonnell's face all covered in tar as he panders to the Sons of the Confederate Veterans.