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David Anthony Kearns with video contributions by Stanley S. Morton, III

BP Oil spill in Gallons

Monday, December 6, 2010

The President's Shylock

Ken Feinberg, playing Ken Feinberg, in Barack Obama's modernized Shakespearian tragedy The Merchant of Menace!

Seen here in an earlier role as Uncle Kindly, he says "you don't have to give up your right to litigate." He also says that the small business person is a "priority!"


But this morning on MSNBC "Morning Joe" the allegedly "independent" administrator of the $20 billion fractional-reserve damage check disbursement account/morale murdering program of patronization, is on tape admitting that, yes, in order for the damaged fishermen and business operators to get their lump sum checks and expedite the process, they must first sign a paper that gives up the claimant's right to sue at a later date.

Of course, this sort of "give me my pound of flesh" tactic was used by the oil giant at the beginning of this disaster and was roundly lambasted as underhanded. Recall that lawyers -checkbooks, pen and paper in hand - were all over the Gulf Coast at the start, urging those wishing to earn at least something while the oil came ashore to sign the papers giving up their right to sue.

This was one of the reasons an independent disbursement authority and fund was set up in the first place: to eliminate the conflict of interest and cut through smokescreen harassment and strong-arm tactics used to stay out of the courtroom.

How quickly we forget why in hell Ken Feinberg was called into this game by President Barack Obama, in the first place, right?

Bloomberg won't let me embed this video, but, you just have to watch it. This is the party line now. IT'S ONE TIME ONLY FOLKS! HERE'S A DEAL FOR YOU JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!

Joe Scarborough had Alabama Governor Bob Riley on MSNBC's Morning Joe today discussing this. Riley told the story of a young Alabama couple forced out of business because they were coming up short, but they refused to give up their right to sue.

"These aren't corporate people," he said. That says a lot, coming from a republican governor. One, who obviously very much gives a damn about small business. The convenient Kewpie-doll to others who use "mom and pop" as a touchstone of vanishing Americana all the time, while they blithely sell our small business interests down river to Chinese sweatshops.

When the producers played the tape, just referenced above, Scarborough nearly gagged from laughing. Not at the tragedy of this all but, in my view, the unbelievable absurdity, the spectacle of this game of Three Card Monty, "take it or leave it" attitude from the president's "Compensation Tsar."

Here's the Ed Show's, radio version on it. Perhaps more will be aired on it this evening. Or perhaps Ed will want to stay out of this prickly situation, as it reflects poorly on his president. Ed Schultz and Rachel Maddow still have that warm, "I Have Dream/Yes We Can" dust in their eyes, and a major blind spot for the bad policies of this president. Which is why it's been so easy for them to close their eyes to the on-going economic holocaust along the Gulf. For what it's worth, here's what was said recently on Ed's radio segment about Feinberg.


Plaquemines Parish President Billy Numgesser the rare exception, nearly every other public official that has anything to do with this tragedy, through their close working association with BP, has undergone a transformation from honorable public servant and concerned watchdog, to spokesperson for BP.

Feinberg's transformation may not have taken root as quickly as some others. Or, perhaps the agenda to slide gracefully into the oil giant's arms was always in the works from the moment he took over the compensation fund.

No matter, Ken Feinberg now joins Thad Allen, President Barack Obama and the chairpersons of the President's National Oil Spill Commission in that regard.

Oil corrupts, and BP oil corrupts absolutely.




3 comments:

David Kearns said...

Link from Bloomberg was disabled by Bloomberg, so now not only can you not embed the clip, you can't link to it, and they have removed it from the YouTube file. Click on the link and see where it takes you.

David Kearns said...

since this post was put up here, the link to Bloomberg news where Ken Feinberg sounded like a street fish monger offering the very thing his office was supposed to help avoid - LIABILITY RELEASE WAIVERS FAVORING BP - the Bloomberg video has vanished from the web. So too, the search term Ken Feinberg+bp release waiver does not bring up relevant videos. Feinberg spoke more than once on the release waiver.
The newer revelations concerning Mr. Feinberg have it that Feinberg may be getting paid a percentage from the $20 billion fractional reserve escrow, based on what he saves BP! An attorney representing Gulf Coast businesses made the comment on Ed Schultz radio show, and then never followed up on his promise to pursue the line of inquiry.
I am guessing the machine that is big gov corp. got nervous that Feinberg was behaving like the very Shylocks he was supposed to be saving us from, and the story has been muffled like the vanish airport scanners story

David Kearns said...

I was able to find the link again via Bloomberg.
Again, wrapping up: there is no earthly reason why an alleged "independent" disbursement fund should even be involved in waivers to sue. Giving out payments to damaged parties, and doing ANYTHING to prevent their ability to sue for additional damages at a later date are TOTALLY unrelated, the process of even showing such a waiver is not impartial and is certainly unethical. Complete conflict of interest.
"The more things return to NORMAL in the Gulf,the better for everybody."
In other words, little chickens, STFU, be good take the money and shake it off.
Another do nothing Obama appointee named Ken, who, in the end works for the benefit of big oil, not the citizens of the United States of America.