Sunday, May 9, 2010

Captain John says,"Lead, Follow, or Get The Hell Out of the Way!"


Good Morning Ya'll,

It's Captain John
The vessel of opportunity program meeting provided by BP, that I attended yesterday along with 400 of my local commercial fishermen, charter boat captains, and deckhands, was nothing more than a man sized pacifier dangled in front of all of us to buy more time. Not one boat was hired, not one man got a job. A total of 17 boats have been hired in the state of Mississippi, all out of the Pascagoula area. I learned how to boom oil, stretch booms, safety gear techniques, and most importantly what sedimentary dispersion of oil is. Don't over think it folks. Sedimentary dispersion is simply dropping the oil to the sea floor, with the use of toxic dispersant, in 5000 feet of water, hoping the currents will remove it from the cameras view.

Thank goodness for CNN reporting that only two birds died, and two birds were cleaned and then set free, oh what a great job BP is doing. The Alabama Department of Wildlife and Fisheries personally confirmed to me that 3 porpoises have washed up on Horn Island 11 miles away from our home shore, BP has confirmed that the oil is still 30 miles off shore. But as of Tuesday, I personally captained my boat through an oil spill as big my house, 8.6 miles due south, north of the barrier islands. I informed City Hall, our local media, our county supervisors, they all told me I must have been mistaken, but the white towel I dipped in the oil is still a sore subject with The Bumpkin as it will never come clean. That pesky rusty algae, looks like oil to me. Yeah, can you believe it, oil sitings reported to DMR and BP are being discounted as rust colored algae in the water. First time since the 80's I've seen rust colored algae in these waters.


People they are treating us like fools, to protect the bottom line.
This has far surpassed a BP cover up, this cover up is being supplied by the US Government.
This must be the 9th day in a row, that the oil is just now hitting the Chandeleur Islands, the largest bird sanctuary I have ever seen in my life, not to mention the loudest. Fishing 50 yards off those islands, you can't hear the man in the boat next to you, the birds are so loud.
They are pretending to coordinate locals into this effort, yet have denied over qualified help, due to administrative loop holes. I don't know how many loop holes there are, but I for one am tired of jumping through those hoops. I have been as nice as I am going to be. At this point I am encouraging any federal agency to arrest me for performing animal rescue work. First responders with their hands tied behind their back, I won't tolerate it. Thank god for Tri-state Bird Resuce the DELAWARE agency that has been hired by BP to rescue every single animal in need. How ridiculous, they also can not coordinate qualified volunteers, yet are being paid to do so. Gag orders signed, check's in the mail. These animal's are riding on Hush Money? Our marine life does not have the luxury of time, they have to eat, they have to breathe, WTF people? Who's the animal's voice in this situation, who's gonna step up, paid or not? Most importantly, WHEN, when are they gonna step up? We should have teams of rescue and cleaning volunteers on those islands, we should have cleaning stations aboard the vessels, we should have immediate transport to medical facilities, we have none of the above.

I have never seen a sea turtle with a cellphone that could call a lawyer~Captain John


Everyday is like Christmas Eve here on The Mississippi Gulf Coast, we just can't wait to see what gifts we are getting tomorrow.

BP has decided to minimize the initial impact to our shorelines, in exchange for the long term devastation of our marine life. This is a problem my son will be dealing with when he's my age too. The mass numbers of volunteers have not been coordinated, but for two weeks could have made such a difference. BP claims it has dispersed 250,000 gallons of chemicals, yet 16 C130s; 8 at Stennis Space Center, 8 at Keesler Air Force Base, each with the ability to carry 51,000 pounds of chemicals in a flight, have been dispatched non-stop except for the 48 hours that the EPA was investigating the chemical itself. Do the c130's dispersant not count as part of the 250,000 gallons.



How much have we really dumped in our waters, and where are the studies of this product, and how can us hoop jumpers find out the long term effects of this chemical being produced in Illinois? Hiding the oil 5000 feet below the surface is less than a band-aid on a tumor. ~Captain John


This is the same chemical that BP is dispersing at the well head. We know it sinks oil, we know it creates sedimentary disperment.

We need a common meeting ground for all reasonably intelligent activists.
Every Audubon society is ready to help, IMMS is ready help, everyone is ready, ready, ready, ready to help, and the animals are dying, dying, dying.
This cover up will create health concerns as well. Our local fishing waters are still open, with the oil apparent. Are they putting this cover up ahead of human health also?

Is there an honest journalist out there with a camera that is willing to go on a boat ride with this Captain?
I brought home a 1952 boat last night, my buddy and I talked about restoring it. For what? We'd have to bring it out of state to use it.
It's been 19 days, and BP and the government has failed to supply any first responder animal rescue training or certifications, and those of us who already posses those are not invited to help on a paid or volunteer basis. We are restricted from helping them for free.? Really? Do you believe BP's image would plummet if all the dead wildlife was on CNN? The media is as much to blame as any entity involved in this cover up, they are purposely and willingly misleading us.
Dear Oprah, Stephen Colbert, John Daily, Robyn Meade, Robin Roberts (come on girl this is your back yard Robin) where are you, what's up with your producers? This story seems to be old news already and it's barely begun. Thank god for the foreign press, BBC, and UK reporters who are jumping up and down, speaking the truth. Are they reporting to protect shareholders, or to really tell the truth?
I firmly believe that the more you express your frustrations with this situation the more black balled you become. This entire problem was created by greed, and the lack of knowledge and how to handle methane gas at a lower temperature and a higher pressure, has caused the original blowout, and the failed attempt with the dome.
Any high school student could have designed a dome better, it would have had a larger opening at the top to allow the methane crystals to rise, raising their temperature, expanding into a gas and being safely removed from the line.
It's hard to believe they didn't know this when they built the dome, or was it really just a dome of hope for the masses. Gentlemen you lead sheep, not men.

It's very hard not to take it personal, when they are personally screwing all of us.
We are not fortunate that the oil hasn't landed on our shores yet, if it did, the humans responsible for it's spill, would be responsible for the cleaning and removal of it as well. We don't have to worry about cleaning it 5000 ft down, no one can see it, so we can pretend it's not there. What happens if a big hurricane comes, is it all coming ashore then? A storm taking the same path as Katrina, would go directly over the rig, and directly to our shores. Have there been any studies of the currents at 5000 ft depth? Where's it going? There's no magic, it's not disappearing, the consequences will last for years; if not decades.

I find it amazing that in 2010, that BP did not have a catastrophe plan in place for this event. It's very obvious now that they chose profits over our environmental well being. I wonder if they have a plan to replace our plentiful seafood?

If we could skim off all the bullshit, maybe we could get to the oil. ~Captain John

This song's very appropriate for the situation I think.

Question Authority, Welcome To The Machine.

Semper Fi,

Captain John



16 comments:

MCW said...

So sorry Captain John...
I was speaking to my dad about this yesterday. He works for a lobbying firm for Natural Gas. They have been trying to pass legislation that only Natural Gas wells can be dug...if there is a leak it just dissipates. He thinks that what is going on may help in their cause...too little to late, but maybe something good can come out of it.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Thanks for the atrocious truth, Bumpkin and Captain John. You two stay strong and keep us posted. Lots of hugs and respect,
Robyn

Unknown said...

I am just catching up on your updates. I can't tell you how much more I learn from your posts. I hate how the media is hiding the truth and avoiding the truth! Aren't they supposed to report the truth? And what's up with our government? They can spend billions of dollars on military weapons, but have issues with helping an environmental disaster or even letting the locals who know the waters help??? UGH so frustrating and angering.
I am saddened to hear that porpoises washed up on shore. I love dolphins... I love all animals, and to hear and see all of this horrible happenings, is just terrible. Those poor animals and plants can not talk for themselves, nor can they fight for themselves. What a disaster. Thank you Captain and Lisa for all that you two are doing, and trying to do, and reporting to us. We'd much rather hear the truth.
On a lighter note, I'm so glad you had a great time with Trishy! I love her to death, and miss her terribly! Isn't she just the sweetest sweetest person? I think so. :)
XOXO- Vy

Lamp Tramp said...

Captain John...thanks for giving us locals some truth. I watch and read everyday what is published and "sold". I go down to my beach in the Bay daily, to watch and help, I atended the "BP class" , LOL, did not tell me anything more that I already knew. And so I wait...

debra@dustjacket said...

It must be so frustrating and disheartening Captain with all the lies, thanks for letting us know the real story. We are all behind you guys,

hugs DJ

Morgan said...

This is so unbelieveable. I can't believe the deception that is going on. It's amazing how under wraps they can keep all of this. Thank God for you and Bumpkin for keeping us up to date.

Josie said...

This kind of deception is crazy. I've been reading all of these environmental posts (thanks for stopping by my blog, Bumpkin -- you are a doll!) and can't believe this is going on... I very much hope that someone can soon share the truth with the American public (seriously, Oprah. Get on it).
xxoo Josie
http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com

Shawntell said...

Im overwhelmed. I live in a little town on Galveston Bay. I went to the water yesterday and watched the brown Pelican's dive for food. All I could think of is how this just might be their last good feast. Heartbreaking, that is until you think about all the lying that is going on. The fact that they are lying just means this is a great deal more tragic than can be believed.

We must all do our part and spread the word to the rest of this great big world.

Bama Girl said...

John & Bumpkin, OMG. I'm just getting so mad I can't stand it! I keep looking across the street at our beach and wanting to cry! Do I have a case against BP for mental stress and deep depression??? My husband, who the Capt & him would be FAST friends, is also furious. While fishing is not his "job", he treats it like it is! He refuses to keep an amberjack who's legal because he "looks sad" when pulled up. We catch and release redfish because they're just FUN to catch and it's a good fight. :-) So sad to think those poor fish are ingesting all this garbage now, and NO one will tell the truth.
Keep on keeping on, it's all we can do now. Amazing that in this day and age with all the technology in the world, they can't plug the damn leak (or should I say "geyser" instead?). Jerks. No BP gas being purchased 'round these parts.
Hang in there you guys. Love from Gulf Shores AL! XOXO

Wild Woods said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wild Woods said...

Deleted my first comment cause I got too hot under the collar.
Just flabbergasted and hopping mad for you all and the sea/fish/birds/animals ... we "know" that big business acts this way but to have it shoved down your throat while you're trying to act oh boy oh boy I can't type what I want to type! All I can do (other than pass on your blog to someone in the media here who "might" be able to give it some more air space) is say thank you for keeping us informed and pray that you stay strong. BP is evil.

Coryanne Ettiene | Kitchen Living with Coryanne said...

thanks for the honest update, we only get snippets over here....shocking what is going on.

Melinda said...

I sent to Anderson Cooper, hopefully he'll contact you.

Thanks for the updates.

Salt said...

Thank you for the honest updates, friends. My breath caught at the other post about dolphins and porpoises washing up on shore. When is this going to get any better?

I hope that Anderson Cooper DOES contact you! People need to know what is actually going on down there!

Meg said...

Oh the media! They seem to corrupt and lie about everything. I def think they are trying to cover up as much as they can. What you’re reporting is proof. What I can’t understand is why?? You guys need help!! How are people suppose to be aware of the situation?? Oh this makes me so mad!

Carol said...

Captain John & Bumpkin,

Not a good situation here on Pensacola Beach either. Oil all up and down the shore. A dolphin beached itself yesterday around the Ft. Pickens area. She was rescued but died a few hours later. I read this morning that a rare breed of sea turtles are getting caught in the controled burns that BP is conducting near the site. People are there waiting and wanting to help but aren't allowed. How ridiculous!

Please continue to post all the information you can and keep sending those e mails, some journalist will pick it up.

Godspeed....

Carol