What Joe Barton Should Have Said

Where the hell is the rule of law? In the past the one thing that made us different, and yes better, than the rest of the world is 1) the rule of law not man and 2) our economic system. BP is going to pay what I am sure will be a very high price for this, that may indeed bankrupt your company. However that is for the civil courts to determine, should BP not make amicable restitution for the damage caused. If law enforcement investigations find criminal neglect, then individually criminal courts will address those issues. What we as a Congressional Committee want to know is what has been, is being and will be done in to stop the ongoing issue of the oil spill? Have your people stop the spill, while you and your Board Of Directors prepare for making reparations that might save your company. Remember the Board of Directors? They are the supposed to be the overseers representing your investors, we seem to have forgotten this in the U.S. and made this the authority of the Federal Government. In that way, I would like to remind every Representative here what their role is as a member of the legislative branch of our government. We write and pass laws. Our focus should be on whether the laws in place on this matter are adequate and whether changes need to be made through different legislation. The executive branch, should be pursuing whether laws were violated and/or whether poor enforcement of existing law occurred. The judicial branch will deal with the civil remedies. Now YOU, as CEO of BP, need to get off of your ass and 1) have your people stop the continued damage. I don't really care how. Just get it done. and 2) While your people are doing that, get with your Board and figure out how you will make everything and everyone whole and hopefully save your company in the process. As for anything else, your sitting here is wasting time.