Wowsa BP and Hali....so many (R)s, so little time.

As the scum floats to the top, those that are conscious get to see how it really works. It's all over for the gulf. Before the spill, there were already dead zones stretching from the mouth of the Mississippi past Texas to the shores of Mexico in the gulf. The whole area was on the brink. There was also a spill in the Mississippi not too long ago. They still don't eat the fish in Prince William sound. Long Island aquifers are filled with oil from multiple spills in Brooklyn around 1950. They are being cleaned up, but the projected end time is around 2055. Oil has been polluting every place on earth for years, but they have kept that under wraps. The cost of oil to the environment has long reached a tipping point where the cost of cleaning the air, the oceans, the land, makes it more expensive than it is worth. Oil is no longer cheap. It will cost us more than you ever thought it could before.

I am not an oil industry supporter, I am the opposite, but I just have to say that $1500 or $2500 here and there isn't much money. In fact, it seems to be not worth the suspicions to even take amounts like that.

radleg makes the real point - oil is costing us far more than we thought possible before. We must reduce the amount of fossil fuels we use, and install as much renewable energy as possible.

This article has GOT to be a "limited hangout" with the true message being: "See, we busted them for seventeen grand, which is clearly nothing, and that's all we could find. So they're clean. Don't worry about the millions congress usually charges for betrayal. It's not happening THIS time."

When, of course it is. Our coin-operated congress would never miss an opportunity for a good shakedown. Just wait a few months, it will show up.

When is bribery not bribery? When the US Supreme Court says it's "free speech."

in answer to fred fep-- i saw that france buries their nuclear waste in long tubes deep under their nuclear plants

A thorough search will, no doubt, find Democrats on the receiving end of donations as well. The amount of the "contribution" is less significant than the fact of it. Those who understand the process know that the small contribution is an implicit signal that the "bank is open" in the event of need in a contested campaign. It is like branding cattle.
The real problem is the process. Congress COULD, but never would, adopt a policy that prior to the commencement of and investigative committee every member be required to make a disclosure on the record of any and all contributions received from any subject or witness of the investigation, including affiliates or business partners [eg, BP and Haliburton]. If it should be later discovered that disclosure was not complete and material information is concealed, and appropriate sanction would be warranted.

How much different Congressional investigations would be if companies like BP know that no one who they have even attempted to bribe can sit on the investigating panel.

Campaign contribution is a system of "legalized" bribery for corporations... Major corporations are controlling every major decision points in the system: congress, the executive, the private media through advertising, the universities through research money and foundations, the students through scholarships and recruiters, the public through parades, media and various social activities and local governments, etc, etc...

Since corporations are giant machines controlled by one per million people, the world population is controlled by less than 50,000 individuals. Matrix is really here. We just do not want to see it.

the only problem will be;
Who will be the judge of the trial?????????????
http://www.sweetnessorganic.com/

DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK WE SHOULD HAVE A SEPARATION OF CORPORATION AND STATE... JUST LIKE WE HAVE A SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?

LET'S STOP LOBBYING(BRIBES) BY CORPORATIONS.
LET'S STOP CORPORATIONS FROM CONTROLLING OUR GOVERNMENT!

HERE'S THE PLACE TO START!

Anti-trust laws, if enforced, could help the citizens of this country regain some of their rights.

But historically, the amount of power American imperialists/corporations have right now could only be cured by armed revolution.

They will never willingly give up their power, nor do any kind of democratic processes work when the wealth and power of the country is held by fascists as it is in America today. And, I have to add, by the hand of American citizens who put them there.

Already the hand behind the back is groping for campaign money... and the wheat will be separated from the chaff as those who can sell us out for a buck are still eager to do so. Slimy corporate Lawyers... scum of the earth already... getting paid to protect the creators of more scum on America's coastline. Come back into the light young Skywalker.

If you were in BP's shoes would you try to do everything you could to protect yourself fromthe US legal sharkes?

Karlin wrote:
"I am not an oil industry supporter, I am the opposite, but I just have to say that $1500 or $2500 here and there isn't much money. In fact, it seems to be not worth the suspicions to even take amounts like that."

The small amounts show us just how cheap some of these guys can be bought. Or they might be just red herrings to throw us off the scent of the real money. The plain, unfortunate fact of the matter is that our whole damn Congress is bribed and bought by big corporate money.

The guys named in this article can always use the publicity about their acceptance of these bribes as a smoke screen. I can just hear them saying, "You don't think I'd sell myself for such a trivial amount of campaign cash, do you?" Well DUH. Yes I do.

After all, it did seem to immunize Karlin against suspicion of the named recipients of the petty mini-bribes.

Obama needs direct and fast action, not sweet words to show that "he cares". His Gulf speech sounded like W.
The fishing industry in the Gulf IS OVER FOR MAYBE 100 YEARS. The area needs a new way to make a living. I suggest a special study committee including govt., experts AND COMMUNITY PEOPLE ELECTED BY THEIR COMMUNITY. They can be charged to create a plan for work and community upgrade. A good place to consider new kinds of work (not pushing pencils). THIS NEEDS TO BE STARTED YESTERDAY.

Also, we could use a new CCC and major housing re-development, maybe under Habitat!

Congress won't stop this legalized bribery, the president (of either flavor) won't either. WE THE PEOPLE have to demand that government bribes be made illegal, that votes are made not on the money "donated" but on the merits of the arguments made, and that public funds and the public airwaves be used to bring campaigns to us.

In other words, don't count on it happening with a generally apathetic (or overly rabid) public.

This article was not half as interesting as the comments made. So much truth from all of you. A commit that I would like to make is, our government will always have complete power to steal our resources, our wealth, and our future as long as the majority of our nation and the world is more interested in who wins "American Idol", Survivor or Dancing with the Stars" than "Right here and right now" We need to stop looking to "Hollywood" for inspiration on who to vote for or how we feel about humanity. This is kindergarden simple, keep your hands to yourself, pay attention, if you drop something pick it up, if its on your plate, dont waste it... We could do better if we would let our 5 year olds make all the calls. We need innocence and honesty!

please do not keep calling these campaign donations . these are out and out BRIBES and should be treated as such. i started looking some time ago at the cheneybush administration and there was a strong positive correlation between cd's adn favors and contracts rendered. corruption is rampant. maybe it's just business as usual and we just didn't hear about it.