I went to the home of Raleigh and Kay Leseigne, 60-something residents of Grand Isle who have both lived here their whole lives. Raleigh and Kay made a memorial to their last oysters, putting them up on a shelf in their home. Kay wrote on the memorial: “We love you, going to miss you.”

James Clyburn is a senior member of the Democratic leadership in the House. He has been meeting with the Debt Commission. He’s close to the White House, and he very much knows what everyone is planning and discussing. The fact that he is on board with Social Security benefit cuts (no matter what he wants to call it) should be of concern to everyone who cares about the future of the program.

President Obama arrived on Grand Isle, Louisiana moments ago. His motorcade came zipping through the main road along the beach. Once sounds of helicopters and police sirens were audible, almost the whole restaurant along the road emptied to catch a glimpse of the 40mph+ motorcade. Ahead of Obama’s visit to this seven-mile-long island, BP brought in at least 100 additional cleanup workers from other areas. Eight school buses were parked at the foot of the bridge into town this morning, with dozens of cleanup workers milling about the bait shop and deli. They all wore distinct clothing from the workers who have been cleaning up the island this week.

I would like Nooners to point to the branch of government that’s responsible for capping “an undersea oil well.”

BP’s CEO Tony Hayward finally admitted the oil spill represents “an environmental catastrophe,” and President Obama is headed for the Gulf today.

Blue Dogs will never see the relationship to their consistent opposition to stimulative job-creation measures and their personal job security. If they win in November, they’ll say it was because they avoided “tough votes” like this. If they lose, they’ll say it was because the caucus moved too far to the left. This catch-22 only hurts their constituents, however.

The Senate matchup between Democrat Jack Conway and Republican Rand Paul is very close, with a slight advantage for Paul. A DailyKos/Research 2000 poll has Paul at 44 percent and Conway at 41 percent, with a four percent margin of error. This close race appears winnable for Democrats.

I spent a heartbreaking three hours with Louisiana fishermen Jim and Angel. They work and live on a mid-size shrimping boat docked on Grand Isle, Louisiana. They’ve been through Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, and Ike. They’ve been through more hardships than many of us can imagine. Each time, they’ve got through because they had the one thing on which they could always count: the water and its bounty. And now it’s gone.

Watch Jim and Angel describe how the oil disaster affects them.

America is being strangled by unchecked corporate power, and it’s leaving a trail of dying cultures, communities and peoples. Seeing that, explaining that, fighting that, and yes, fixing that, is your job, Mr. President.

The Murphy amendment passes the House, 234-194, with 5 Republicans voting in favor. This means that the amendment is in the House and Senate versions of the bill, as of tonight. The five Republican votes in favor were Djou (HI), Cao (LA), Ron Paul (TX), Ros-Lehtinen (FL) and Biggert (IL).