When non-violence in speech, thought and action is established, one’s aggressive nature is relinquished and others abandon hostility in one’s presence.

~Yoga Sūtra II.35 of Patañjali.

On the evening of September 11, 2001, I had a yoga class scheduled.  Knowing yoga always cleared my mind, I decided not to skip it.  It was a small class that night; most stayed home to watch coverage, I suppose.  We quietly got our mats laid out and ourselves seated to begin class.  We were all shocked and sad.

The yoga instructor, Becky, was as equally dumbfounded as we were.  We sat together, her facing us.  She read to us the “yama” (ethical discipline) of “ahiṃsā” (non-violence); she read to us the above-cited yoga sūtra. She explained that on such a day as that Tuesday was, it was hard to adhere to an idea of non-violence. But that revenge in the way of a counter-attack or, well, VIOLENCE was to be abhorred.

That night, I disagreed with Becky. Not verbally, but in my thoughts. To me, America HAD to show force; to exact revenge; to show strength. And Bush then gave us a tough talking to that made me glad he was President instead of Gore.

But then the Bush Administration got things muddled with lies of WMD. And we went to war in Iraq based on those lies. And we, America, are still paying a very high price. And for what? Revenge.  As bizarre as it all is, Bush used our desire to capture Bin Laden to instead go after Hussein. But we, America, were so lustful for blood, we greedily signed on to war in the Middle East in hopes it would sate our appetite.

I admit now that I was wrong on the night of 9/11. That theory of non-violence was right. Sure, we must respond to attacks. But we need not resort to violence. It is NOT all there is in the way of dealing with evil in this world.

* * *
Over the last few weeks, I have been hungry again for blood the way I was post-9/11. I wanted the blood of a BP executive and nothing short of a miserable existence/death would have sufficed. But over the last few days, Becky’s words, the yama of ahiṃsā, the ethical discipline of non-violence has been creeping into my thoughts.

The shame of violence, of harming others, is simply that it is an offence against underlying unity and therefore a crime against truth.

~B.K.S. Iyengar, “Light on Life.”

My anger over BP isn’t gone.  My desire to hold them accountable still exists.  But my desire to have one BP exec stuffed in the well for every pelican, fish, or plankton whose death was caused by the spill has subsided.

Nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could.”

~Sting, “Fragile.”

My vigilance regarding BP won’t be diminished.  But the taste for blood is gone.  I realize harm coming to a BP exec won’t give me the Gulf back; it won’t satisfy my desire for things to get set straight.  I see now that continuing to focus my energy on negativity and being “violent in thought”—knowing that it is true that nothing positive ever does come from violence—will only beget more violence.  I just can’t take anymore violence.

Namaste, y’all.

Dear Nola,

Thank you for contacting me in opposition to increased domestic oil exploration and drilling.  I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
 
America today is in the midst of an energy crisis. American families are suffering under the financial strains of skyrocketing fuel and energy costs. The negative impact on our financial security goes well beyond the record prices we must pay to fuel our cars, with higher utility bills and even higher food costs resulting from the ever-increasing cost of energy.  Also, with more than half of the United States’ oil supply imported from overseas, our national security is threatened by an over-reliance on foreign oil.
 
As you know, President Obama recently announced a moratorium on deepwater oil drilling. I understand your concern for the environment, and I believe that energy production should be done in a way that minimizes effects on our environment.  However, while the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig is tragic, I believe it is premature to rush to a decision to not allow any new oil and gas exploration until we have determined the cause of the accident and whether adopting more stringent safety inspections and protocols or installing new technological safeguards in existing and future oil rigs could eliminate the chances that such an accident could occur again. Furthermore, in addition to tapping our existing energy reserves, I believe we should also continue to develop renewable, cleaner energy sources and increase conservation as part of a comprehensive effort to put America on the path to energy security and independence.
 
Once again, thank you again for taking the time to share your views with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about any other issue important to you and your family.
 
 Sincerely,
 Senator David Vitter
United States Senator
 
P.S. Please visit my website to sign up for E-Updates and receive regular email updates from me on the issues important to Louisiana families. 

A friend sent BP’s “creepy” (her word) CEO Tony Haywood an email on BP’s emergency response website.  She told him to stick it where the sun don’t shine!   In sending the email, she was asked if she wanted to be on their mailing list.  Her answer: HA!  She, like many, feel that Haywood is giving the British a bad rep.  She’s pissed enough to have cancelled her trip to London she had planned this summer.

In very short order, she got a reply email.  Here’s what it said:

Dear Ms. Jones,

Thank you for your comments. I understand your perspective and I deeply regret the fear and disruption this is causing. I assure you that BP, the Coast Guard and every organization involved in the Unified Command are doing everything possible to contain the oil and minimize environmental impacts. We know we will be judged by the success we have in dealing with this incident and we are determined to succeed for everyone’s sake – and, of course, for the sake of the environment. BP will work hard to clean up the effects of this spill and regain your trust. BP is taking full responsibility for the spill and will clean it up, and where people have legitimate claims for damages BP will honor them.

Regards,

Joint Information Center Deepwater Horizon Response

LAME. Of course.

Corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned; they therefore do as they like.

~ Baron Thurlow of England (1731-1806).

Have we learned nothing in 250 years?  I put the likelihood of a BP executive going to jail over the Gulf Coast oil spill at 0%.  Why?  Well, for starters Obama has been saying he is in control of the spill from “Day One.”  So any badness attributed to BP after the spill will be defended as having government involvement.   And for the badness before the spill, for causing the spill, BP will defend by saying it followed the laws, had the proper rubber stamps of government approval, even if it is established that those rubber stamps were bought by BP in the way of improper gifts.  No one in the government oversaw the Minerals Management Service to any effectiveness and thus the government let things go unchecked.  And BP walks from criminal charges.

Do I agree? Hell, no.

But this is the system America has allowed to be created.  Sure, we are not the only country with corporations (that “B” in BP does stand for British, we all know).  Nor are we the only one that has government regulation of drilling oil.  But somehow, it seems uniquely American for capitalism to show the brashness of its strengths in such bold strokes–giving its finger to its regulators, the community it impacted, the entire general public.  But still kowtowing to its shareholders.

As a lawyer, an American and a firm believer in capitalism, this oil spill has shaken me to the core.  There will be no “piercing of the corporate veil” whereby individuals are found personally responsible for the failings of their companies.  There will be no admittance by BP that what it has done was anything other than negligent.  Not GROSSLY negligent, mind you. Just run of the mill, whoopsies, negligent. There will be no complete setting straight of things.

Sure, BP will pay oodles in damages.  But it is also paying no small sum to its shareholders as I write this in the way of a large dividend to reassure them the clean-up costs will not come close to bankrupting them.  And those damages? Manageable. Even calculated.  And I guess that is what gets my damn goat every time I think about this situation.  BP made no REAL plans for a spill of this magnitude.  It colluded with the MMS to avoid that plan needing to be submitted.  But what it DID have planned in its wings?  The damages it would have expected to pay in just this case.  So for them to suggest they never imagined this magnitude of a spill is an offensive lie. All in all, it knew that the odds were in its favor to be cheaper to just drill with no plan set and pay what it will be forking out for the next however-many years than to truly fund the research and technology to get that plan in place.

They lost the gamble.  And they will pay.  But that was part of their calculated risk.  Our Gulf Coast, its pelicans and planktons, our fishermen and their bounty, our culture and heritage, all of that was a line-item BP was willing to sacrifice to chase the almighty dollar.  They lost the gamble.  But who and what really lost on BP’s gamble?

But what did BP care anyway?  BP has neither a soul nor a body.  It did just as it liked.

If I hear the analogy of “we don’t shut down the entire airline industry because one plane crashed” again in reference to the deepwater drilling moratorium, I will scream. Or maybe poke someone’s eye out. Or scream WHILE I poke someone’s eye out.

First, it’s not “one plane crashed.”  It’s THOUSANDS of planes crashing: one plane every few hundred yards on every stretch of marsh or beach or oyster bed closed because of oil. It’s one plane crashing into each and every fishing boat that’s not working because of the oil. It’s one plane crashing into each home of every fisherman not working.  And one plane into each processing plant shut down. It’s one plane crashing into every hotel and beach house on the Gulf Coast that goes unrented this summer.

Second, the moratorium doesn’t “shut down the entire industry,” not by a long shot. The MMS testified in Kenner last week there are over 3,400 platforms under their jurisdiction. That doesn’t count the hundreds, if not thousands, of platforms in state waters.  Only 33 are subject to the moratorium. THIRTY-THREE.  So over 3,400 platforms quietly pump away and continue to be serviced by an entire industry that is, as stated, so vital to Louisiana. Thousands of workers: roustabouts, pumpers, metermen, safetymen, cooks, seamen and divers and all their support vessels will keep working.

Third, even IF it shut down EVERY ONE of the 3,400 platforms, if the reason it was doing so was to re-inspect them for safety, then all the better.  It is undisputed that the MMS and the oil companies were in bed together. Literally.  And that may have made for a lot of love making, it didn’t make for safe well drilling.  We KNOW that now.  So if time is needed to get MMS re-manned with qualified people to assess/inspect the safety of rigs drilling in America, then time they shall have.  For the safety of our relatives on those rigs; our coasts; our lives.

Now Garland Robinette continues his shameless ass-kissing of the oil industry by toeing the line that the moratorium will kill Louisiana’s economy. He’s citing an economic impact of $35 million a day, and points out these deepwater drilling vessels are leased at $500,000 a day. Problem is, Louisiana doesn’t see a dime of that money, other than wages paid to the rig workers who live in Louisiana. Transocean, for example, is the largest supplier of these ships. It’s operations are directed out of Houston, but it’s a Swiss (Swiss?!?!) corporation. The move was made just a few years ago for tax purposes. Nice Big Oil move, eh?  So they use U.S. workers to drill for U.S. oil but don’t pay the same level of U.S. income tax on their U.S. profits.  Big Oil sure is clever, thoughtful and thorough on matters it finds important.

There’s no doubt some companies will see some of their business severely affected. But isn’t the rest of the Gulf Coast entitled to satisfactory answers to the questions regarding these 33 platforms: Other than drilling relief wells, what are your plans in the event of a blowout and your blowout prevention systems don’t work in deepwater situations? Do you have the know-how, materials, machinery and manpower to implement those plans? If discharge resulting from such a blowout can’t be stopped, do you have the know-how, materials, machinery and manpower to keep oil off of gulf coast shores, marshes, and fishing grounds?

Louisiana, you too must start considering an America that is not oil-dependent.  Or wallow in decline.

See my new little piece of flare?  Look to the right, down, more, more. There! My counter showing how many days BP has been spewing oil into the Gulf.  We are on Day 43.  Gah.

I’d like to say I’m settling in with it, like the proverbial “pebble in the shoe.”  But that is not the case.  No, instead of getting used to the spill in small measures, I think about quitting my day job to volunteer to help out.  But that isn’t a realistic option.  But my spare time is hitched to Sun, so volunteering when I am not working is also unrealistic.  Sure, I can donate money.  But that hardly seems significant.

For the past 43 days, I’ve been reminded of the ideals I had in college.  Saving the world, one dolphin at a time.  Not eating tuna to protest the bad nets.  Giving up eating meat because of the inhumane conditions of the butcheries.  All those things of which I was once so serious and dedicated.  Sad that we graduate from college and “grow up” and out of these beliefs, habits.

My husband and I do more to reduce our carbon footprint than many.  We recycle (we even bring things home from work to toss in the bins); we compost with worms; we use many second-hand clothes for Sun and then send them along to be used by another friend’s young daughter (kids grow way too fast to even give many items much wear); we filter tap water instead of buying bottled water.  On the other hand, we have two cars, few high efficiency appliances, waste too much water, and otherwise overlook much of the rest of the things we can do to better the world.  Using reusable groceries bags is NOT going to do the trick.

So I’ve made some decisions.  For one, I am rejoining Greenpeace.  They are the closest thing the environment has to a lobbyist.  More importantly, I am returning from whence I came to a life of conscious living– of actively doing more everyday to live a cleaner, greener, more yogic life, to reduce our dependence on oil.  There isn’t a checklist of things I’ll be doing.  Instead, it’s a mindset.  For example, there will be FAR LESS plastic brought into this house, that I can guarantee.  And that means mainly less toys for Sun.  Because the best I can do is set her on a green path NOW so that her habits don’t need to be changed down the line.

We live in a small house.  I was alone in it today.  ALL ALONE.  For the entire day.  And I was a Tasmanian devil! I did some serious Spring cleaning–of Sun’s toys (to ready some space for new things since her birthday is next week) and of my things.  We own too much “stuff.”  I spent time in a bigger house this weekend and thought, “If we lived here, we’d be much more comfortable and have more space for entertaining.”  Then we drove home and I looked at my house from the street.  It’s only small by today’s standards.  Forty years ago, this house would have easily housed a family of six.  Seriously.  I’ve got a friend that lived across the street when he was a boy–he had six siblings.  He told me that in just MY SMALL block alone, over 75 children lived. My house isn’t too small. My STUFF is too much.

So we are downsizing.  All three of us.  In addition to reducing what we have, we are reducing what we will be bringing into the house.

In addition to owning less stuff, especially petroleum related products, we are also making the decision to buy locally whenever possible.  Goodbye mall, Toys R Us, Target.  Hello Farmer’s markets, and Mom and Pop shops.  Yes, it may cost more today.  But if it uses less oil and gas to get the product to me, then the payoff is down the line.  Our next car purchase (in another 5 years) will be a hybrid or electric car.  Ditto for upgrades in future appliances.  We’ll look into solar panels on our roof.  We can’t afford many of these things now, but we can gradually start to make the change.

There will be many other adjustments as we go down this path.  Some minor, some major.  It takes trying times to test one’s mettle, and that time is now.

This oilspill is nothing short of disastrous on so many levels.  I won’t have it destroy my ideals too.

Affairs have reached such a crisis that men living in an organized and civilized community, finding their laws fruitless and ineffective, are forced to protect themselves; when courts fail, the people must act!

That’s from Who Killa Da Chief? in “Gumbo Ya-Ya.”  It was part of a speech given to an angry mob after a Louisiana court found a group of mafia men not guilty of murdering the New Orleans Police Chief in 1893.  The mob then went to the prison and exacted revenge Old Testament style.

I read that sentence at least five times last night with BP executives in my mind.  Granted, no one at BP has been found not guilty, or even charged with a crime.  Yet.  But we are not happy.  And it seems the “we” is growing.  Maybe I am wrong, and maybe the heavy coverage I saw of the spill on CNN today was an illusion.  But I think Americans by and large care about this story.  Not because of dying pelicans, or our fishermen’s cultural careers; not because of oily beaches or the loss of Louisiana seafood.

Americans care about this story because it is frightening how much influence Big Business has in this country and how little control our government has over Big Business.  Even all the “less government is best government” folks are calling for the feds to get more involved.  And yet it doesn’t.  Why?  For one reason, our federal government doesn’t know a thing about capping an oil well.  But the bigger reason is that Big Oil has been a HUGE financial contributor to most of the politicians in Washington, Democratic or Republican.  That’s certainly true for Mary Landreau, David Vitter and Barack Obama.  Those three have received a heck of a lot of money from Big Oil when they campaigned.  But so did their counterparts and opposers (so don’t comment about how much MORE money other politicians have received from Big Oil).  Big Oil is smart enough to grease EVERY palm, not just one or two.

And this could easily have been a problem in any American community.  Sure, it may not have be an oil spill.  Maybe the collapse of a coal mine or, I dunno, our banking system.  Or the mismanagement of privately owned sewage treatment facilities. Or poor oversight over pharmaceutical plants.  Not all may damage the environment as the oil spill is causing, all that is certainly possible.

But every American state has SOME heavily regulated industry in it.  And we all now must worry about the enforcement of those regulations or whether the industry in your backyard is too cozy with its federal regulators.  And what that could mean to your community.

We here in New Orleans already know the strength of our people; the power of community.  It was the silver lining we gained through surviving Katrina.  And now we look on at the Gulf waters completely helpless to DO ANYTHING.  The time is fast approaching where we can join forces to clean birds and the like.  But by large measure, there isn’t much we can do up against this problem.  Big Oil had us over the barrel before this even began.  And that’s partly our fault because we were lured by the money they paid.  Just like the politicians.

Unlike Katrina, this catastrophe has a real, live villain. One that is not immune from criminal or civil prosecution.  One that the people will keep a close eye on to be sure that those responsible get just what they have coming to them.  And if the courts don’t satisfy, I suspect the community will come together again in Louisiana and take the justice it will have been denied.

And like that mob scene in the prison in 1893, it won’t be pretty.

Here we are at Day 40. It’s hard to even find new words to describe the utter frustration and disbelief of us down in the Gulf area, and hopefully throughout the United States, and maybe the world.

Obama flew down yesterday. It was anti-climactic to say the least. I am never sure what people expect from these presidential visits. He can’t DO anything but look sullen and speak about how he’ll stick with us and make us whole. And we know it’s just PR, whether true or not. Stay in D.C. and ACT for us. What do you need to see firsthand? I haven’t seen a tarball with my own eyes and I can guarantee the pics I have seen tell all we need to know. The marshes are in danger; the oil continues to spew; fishermen are not working; tourism is hurting.

But this trip had that special element of BP having the audacity to bus in over 300 workers to clean Grand Isle for the President’s visit. Let Obama see all of BP’s workers busy cleaning. And as soon as Obama was gone, so were 98% of those workers. BP didn’t even care that every major news organization was covering this visit and thus this display. Their response? Oh, that’s the crew we will have from now on, see. But today? Some are there cleaning, but no where near 300. Nice, BP, nice.

And we were supposed to get an update on that top kill yesterday, about when Obama was here. I even suspected THAT was what he was coming down to tell us—that it had worked. But we got nothing.  Well, actually, we got news that when they shut down operations earlier in the process, BP failed to tell reporters for a full 16 hours. Nice, BP, nice.

So today, after another delay for “technical reasons,” BP announced the top kill, along with its junk shot, failed. There was much ado about having the “brightest minds” and this being a “roller coaster”; about how they have other ideas, so fear not! They are on it! The latest plan? Cut off the broken riser and install a new one that will channel the oil to a rig. Hmmm. Pardon my suspicion, but why does this plan seem to benefit BP more than a plan to, I dunno, blow the well up into itself, or cut off the riser and install equipment that can lead to a cap so that the well is left untapped? BP’s plan to get that oil into their rigs and thus converted to money in their pockets in the name of doing all they can to help us sure is as slick as the oil now on the surface of our waters. Nice, BP, nice.

Meanwhile, let us not forget, BP and the Army Corps of Engineers continue to delay on a decision about dredging berms around America’s fragile wetlands. Seems BP just won’t approve the expenditure and the ACE still isn’t sure of the environmental impact of taking that action. Now, maybe had the ACE not effed us with its maintaining of our levees for Katrina, we’d have an iota of faith in them. But faith in ACE we do not have. And doing NOTHING is a guaranteed death of the wetlands. GUARANTEED.  And they seem to have no better idea.  So ACE telling us they aren’t sure it is a good idea is like Carrottop telling you vegetables may not be good for you. Sure, your name would indicate you know something about which you speak, but in reality, it is just a name that has no record to support your opinion. (No offense, Carrottop–you probably know more about vegetables than the Corps know about berms.) And BP not wanting to fund this dredging on the front end of a catastrophe? You know what I’m gonna say: Nice, BP, nice.

Here’s my problem. I am wise to BP’s shenannigans. I’ve said it earlier and nothing I’ve seen has even suggested I am possibly wrong. BP wants to pay later when it’s all said and done than now. Why? For a variety of reasons:

1. Why pay today what you can pay tomorrow if no interest is accruing?
2. If they pay for dredging in Plaquemines Parish, Gawd forbid.  Then Jefferson Parish, St. Bernard Parish and other coastal parishes will want it too.  Then so will Mississippi counties, then Alabama counties and Florida ones too.  Heck, that’s expensive.  Let’s say no to all and not start a precedent.  After all, maybe not all will get oil, and if we dredge and no oil, that was a waste of money.  And if we don’t dredge and there IS oil, we’ll pay those areas later.
3. The longer BP can distance itself from the spill to the damage, the less it looks at fault.  I mean, if a hurricane comes through, you can be sure they are going to scream “intervening factor!” or “Act of God!” We aren’t responsible for ALL the damage! I mean, how do you even know all that damage came from OUR oil? There are other naturally occurring spills! PROVE this is ours!  This is the reason I also think they are all over using dispersants that are keeping this off the surface of the water and underwater.  Looks are everything in this media age.  So HIDE IT.
4. Even if down the line they pay the areas damaged, they’ve already worked on calculations of what that will cost.  Trust me.  In tort cases, a dead person is worth less than one that was seriously disabled and will need medical attention for the rest of his life.  There’s resources out there that can tell you what a lost arm or leg, or both, or brain injury or spinal injury or WHATEVER is worth within whatever jurisdiction you are interested in.  Helps attorneys know what to offer in settlement negotiations.  Similarly, BP KNOWS that, really, there’s no case history for paying for lost marshes and wetlands.  Sure, there’s Valdez–but that was icy and not the same matter of American significance (not that I am in anyway downplaying Valdez or suggesting AK didn’t lose a national treasure).  My point is simple: BP paying NOW to take all kinds of actions to avoid the marshes getting ruined isn’t worth it to them.  Like people, dead marshes will cost the plaintiff less than damaged marshes.  And any attempts they take now to save those marshes, what if they work to some degree? That could only lead to more money later to keep them on life support for DECADES until they come back as they were 41 days ago. If ever.  Whereas dead is dead.  Settle on a value, pay once and walk away.  Later, after a lot of the anger has become a part of our lives and isn’t the open wound it is now.

Nice, BP, nice.

But maybe they got this top kill all wrong.  Maybe it wasn’t the top of the BOP that was supposed to be killed.  Maybe it was the top of the BP executives.  And my hope? That Obama does his own Top Kill Plan and ousts from further efforts in this spill/clean up those very BP executives we’ve all listened to lie for FORTY FRIGGING DAYS.  Let Obama form an independent engineering think tank of the “brightest minds” without the taint of BP’s overwhelming, and growing, conflict of interest.  And finally focus attention of doing the right thing for the Gulf and not BP.

My mentor is retiring at the end of this week.  He’s been with the Firm his entire 40-some-odd year career.  I’ve been with him for 12 years.  Before joining the Firm, I had no mentor; I was rudderless.

He has all the qualities that make a sage mentor: steadfast, adroit, generous, exacting.  His work habits are disciplined; his writing and thought process, fastidious and orderly.  He never screams or loses his temper.  The worst you can do is disappoint him.

Under his tutelage, I began to pick up his habits without me always realizing it.  These many years later, I am still nowhere near as disciplined, orderly, or as calm as him.  But I am on that path.  And it is, in large part, because of him.  Had I tied my cart to another mentor, a less judicious mentor, I unwittingly would have walked down a sloppier path with only my own instincts to have pushed me to be better.

I will miss his advice, his opinion on a file, his interpretation of a statute.  I will miss his amazing sense of humor, his joie de vivre, even with regard to his time in the office.  I will especially miss his quintessentially Southern manners: he says good morning to everyone in the office that he passes (sad that not all of us do that), he holds doors, wears a coat for cocktails in the afternoon, and thinks horse racing is tawdry.

And although he is moving forward to the next, more relaxing, chapter of his life, my not seeing him regularly, knowing he won’t be in the office every day, not having him as my steady rock that always had the ability to calm me, set me straight, and guide me so ardently, will be a great loss, a loss that is merely the measure of the greatness that was his mentoring.  He’s taught me all I need to carry on in his absence.  And I will carry on, having become a better lawyer, a better person, for having his example be the beacon to which I strove.

He’ll never know the true depth of my gratitude nor my love.

“There’s nobody in charge who has any passion for doing the right thing.”