David Vitter

Larry Flynt To David Vitter: Donate Your Diapers To Gulf Relief

Megan Carpentier | July 2, 2010, 10:14AM

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and Hustler Magazine founder Larry Flynt

Political gadfly and Hustler publisher Larry Flynt has an ingenious plan for stopping the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and it doesn't have anything to do with bombs, relief wells or devices patented by Kevin Costner. Larry Flynt thinks that BP should use diapers -- David Vitter's diapers, to be precise.

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BP

Would The GOP Plan To Hold BP Accountable Actually Work?

Brian Beutler | June 14, 2010, 11:12AM

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

The Republican plan to stick BP with the full cost of the Gulf oil spill lacks the teeth to actually make BP pay for the damages caused by the worst spill in U.S. history, according to Democrats and experts on offshore drilling law who spoke with TPM.

Until House Minority Leader John Boehner went on the record this weekend in support of lifting the $75 million cap on BP's liability for damages caused by the catastrophe, he and his party for weeks had opposed Democratic efforts to retroactively and permanently lift that cap so that BP ponies up for this spill and so that damages from future spills are the full responsibility of the oil companies that cause them.

Last week, as controversy over the GOP's position on BP raged, Boehner's office suggested to me that a better way to hold the oil giant accountable for the current spill would be to pass legislation sponsored by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) who proposes lifting the cap on BP, but leaving the $75 million cap in place -- punting for now on the question of what to do about future spills.

The big problem: Democrats and experts say it won't work.

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Oil Spill

What Could Make The Gulf Oil Spill Worse? How About a Hurricane.

Brian Beutler | June 4, 2010, 8:36AM

Hurricane Katrina over the Gulf of Mexico

As if the situation in the Gulf wasn't bad enough already, we are now in hurricane season, and that means there's a decent chance that a tropical cyclone may complicate the cleanup efforts along the southern U.S. coast and disrupt effort to bring the blowout at the site of the sunken Deepwater Horizon under control.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there are an average of 2.9 named storms and 1.4 hurricanes in the gulf each hurricane season; and 1.4 named storms and 0.5 hurricanes by the end of August. During a heavy season, as 2010 is expected to be, there can be many, many more. And historically, the site of the Deepwater Horizon well has been right in the heart of a hurricane corridor.

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Gulf Coast recovery

Obama Heading To Big Easy To Survey Katrina Recovery

Christina Bellantoni | October 13, 2009, 5:59PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama Thursday will hold two events in New Orleans as part of his outreach to show the administration is serious about Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.

(It's fulfilling a promise he made on the anniversary, and also adding to the other steps his administration has taken in recent months such as extending the Bush-era recovery office for the second time.)

As I wrote about in my past life, the Obama Cabinet secretaries didn't venture into the Lower Ninth during their spring visit. This time, the president will visit the Dr. King Charter School near one of the most devastated areas in the Ninth Ward.

The White House said the trip will offer Obama "a firsthand look at progress on the ground" and a chance to hear "directly" from Louisianans. "This will enable the people of New Orleans to convey their thoughts, challenges, and feedback directly to him," the White House announced, adding it's Obama's fifth visit since Katrina but first of his presidency and the first that's open to the public.

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