Writer's Block: Rescue mission

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Ten minutes? I'd get the arsonist... and make him tell me how to dismantle the device he's got set to start my house on fire in nine and a half minutes.

our leaders

From Huffingtonpost:

Every once in awhile an elected official just lets loose with what they really think. It's actually quite healthy. The latest was Republican House member Joe Barton of Texas, who apologized to the BP CEO (remember him? The one who wants his life back?) for what he called a White House "shakedown": "I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," deeming it "a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, in this case, a $20 billion shakedown. "I apologize," Barton told BP CEO Hayward. "I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to some sort of political pressure that is -- again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize."

Get this? He says, "We don't care what law you broke, we are not going to make you pay." But read on...

As the old song goes -- which side are you on? Not our side, to be sure. Mr. Barton has taken more than $1.4 million in political contributions from the oil industry, so there is little doubt whose side he is on. The single most important thing to know about Jim Barton is that he would be the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee if the Republicans regain control of the House in the November elections. That is the committee that writes any legislation governing matters like global warming or energy policy. A man with a future like that is worth investing in. Particularly in an era where corporations can now make unlimited contributions to influence elections. Mr. Barton simply did not know when to keep his mouth shut and let the American people in on exactly whose interests he represents in Congress. Thank you, Mr. Barton. Keep talking.

After the "apology," Barton was told by his party's leadership, "Apologize, immediately. Or you will lose your position, immediately." So he released the following...

"I apologize for using the term 'shakedown' with regard to yesterday's actions at the White House in my opening statement this morning, and I retract my apology to BP. As I told my colleagues yesterday and said again this morning, BP should bear the full financial responsibility for the accident on their lease in the Gulf of Mexico. BP should fully compensate those families and businesses that have been hurt by this accident. BP and the federal government need to stop the leak, clean up the damage, and take whatever steps necessary to prevent a similar accident in the future. "I regret the impact that my statement this morning implied that BP should not pay for the consequences of their decisions and actions in this incident."

So maybe he can still get the committee leadership position? I sure hope so. He seems like a gosh darn good guy.