Legislative watchdog C.B Forgotston expects Gov. Bobby Jindal to veto a bill that repeals the fee increase on driver’s licenses, which the Jindal administration ordered earlier this year. Forgotston correctly asserts that this fee is tantamount to a tax, and he urges everyone to support the repeal and oppose a veto. As a stalwart opponent […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Barton’s not the only one using “shakedown” language
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton’s fellow Republicans quickly forced him to apologize for his “shakedown” remark and to retract his apology to BP. A little more about Barton, a Texan, from the NY Daily News: Rep. Joe Barton, a Republican who once angered ailing 9/11 responders by comparing them to the cartoon character Wimpy, called Tony […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
What’s in a blowout’s name?
The May 1980 issue of Popular Mechanics discusses what at that time was the world’s worst oil spill – the Ixtoc I blowout, which gushed an estimated 140 million gallons into the Gulf of Mexico for 10 months. Towards the end of the article we learn that “Ixtoc”, is the Mayan term for “blowout,” or […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Another man-made disaster, another presidential speech
As President Obama prepares to make a prime-time address about the oil gusher, South Louisiana finds itself in a familiar position: reeling from man-made disaster, concerned about the future, and hopeful their president will make a bold commitment to the region in front of a national TV audience. Based on past experience, the smart money […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Come to the Anadarko side: We might have liability limits
BP’s U.S. stock price plunged over 16 percent Wednesday, before partially recovering. CNBC commentator Jim Cramer was “mesmerized” by the descent, as BP’s total lost market capitalization, since the Deepwater Horizon explosion April 20, surged to over $90 billion. Many analysts linked the drop to a Reuters report quoting a BP source saying that “at […]
Posted inEnvironment
Despite commandeering boats, officials losing island oil battle in Barataria Bay
Signs of the siege were scattered across East Grand Terre Island at the mouth of Barataria Bay: a pile of rakes crusted with oily mud, drenched absorbent matted into the sand, baby pools filled with greasy mud-colored water, wooden scrub brushes that looked more appropriate for a bubble bath than the cleanup of the biggest […]
Posted inEnvironment
Q&A with Landrieu staffers
The Lens contacted Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office recently to discuss her role in the oil spill response. In an interview with Tom Michaels, the senator’s legislative director, and Aaron Saunders, her communications director, we discussed campaign contributions from BP and from the maker of the dispersants and whether drilling for oil continues to be a […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
…and the rig you rode in on
The late, great Ashley Morris struck a chord with displaced Louisianans when he wrote his famous FYYFF post three months after Katrina and the federal flood disaster. It was a perfectly timed rant that resonated among bloggers focused on New Orleans, and passionately expressed their common frustrations. FYYFF became a touchstone within the local blogging […]
Posted inEnvironment
Scenes from the spill: Grand Isle
As Louisiana experiences week eight of the Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe, globs of crude continue to wash into Grand Isle. Instead of fishers and sunbathers, workers hired by the oil giant raked contaminated sand occupy the shore, raking the toxic sand and removing it in plastic bags. Wetlands scientist Michael Massimi of The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Oil companies tax our coast; it’s time we tax them back
Bienvenue en Louisiane! We’re still calling ourselves the Pelican State, but who knows what the future holds? Louisianans identify with pelicans because they are unique, non-extinct birds that seem to coast through life and eat lots of fresh seafood. We admire them because when times get tough, pelicans will prick their breasts and feed their […]