Joe Barton is a Lying Coward

He has now tried to defend his shameful apology to BP, the company that not only put greed over safety and caused the horrible disaster now ongoing in the Gulf - but also killed 11 men in doing so:

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex) featured an article on his own website Wednesday morning, in which a conservative author defends the Texas Republican for apologizing to BP for the "shakedown" it received from the Obama White House.

Barton apologizes to those murdering bastards, realizes he's done something stupid and revealing, apologizes for his apology - as if that would make his apology any less revealing - and now wants to go back and kiss some murdering ass again. This man does not have an original thought in his head, or an honest or courageous bone in his body. What a disgrace.

* He's taken the article down. Another gutless move.

BP, We're Sorry We Got Our Gulf in Your Oil!

Unbefreakinglievable:

WASHINGTON – Rep. Joe Barton , R-Arlington, apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward on Thursday morning for the "political pressure" his company is facing.

Barton condemned the White House's handling of a meeting Wednesday with BP officials, in which President Barack Obama pushed the company to create a $20 billion escrow account for damage claims from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The congressman called the account a "slush fund."

"Apologized to BP."

Beyond comprehension.

A Lede For the Ages

GULF SHORES, Ala. — Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow water just off the Florida coast. Mullets, crabs, rays and small fish congregate by the thousands off an Alabama pier. Birds covered in oil are crawling deep into marshes, never to be seen again.

Seep Thought

The Exxon Valdez accident is now officially a very minor disaster.

Good God.

If You Never Understood Why "Tort Reform" Was Bad...

...then BP and the Gulf oil spill is the perfect illustration.

Supporters of "Tort Reform" want huge corporations, one's just like BP, that cause enormous destruction and suffering to never have to pay their fair share for that destruction and suffering. They want those corporations to be able to behave as recklessly as they like in their pursuit of profits, and never have to pay the price when that recklessness has the expectable results.

It is that simple.

In 1990 Congress passed a law that (among other good things) put a $75 million cap on economic costs caused by oil spills. That means that if this spill goes on for, say, three months, or six months, or a year, and ends up costing Gulf communities and businesses $100 billion—BP won't have to pay for that damage. They, by federal law, would only have to pay $75 million.

This is exactly what supporters of "Tort Reform" want to do. They want to cap damages that huge, reckless corporations pay when their recklessness has expected disastrous results.

It's like if Joe "Drunk Driver" Johnson got a cap of $100 on automobile accident damages. That is exactly what "Tort Reform" is.

Ten-week-old Oil Leak Catches Fire

In the Timor Sea off northwest Australia.

More from Geology.com.

Images of the oil from Earth Observatory.