The federal government and many local agencies have been working with BP to limit access to information and scientific analysis of the oil spill in the Gulf. The time has come to place the entire response in the hands of an independent commission with access to BP and government resources to implement its response.

What are the long-term solutions to the ongoing crisis in the Gulf of Mexico?

By the end of this week, we should know whether Congress will make a play to end the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy on gay service members, or whether they’ll allow continued discrimination in our nation’s armed forces.

Viewing the live feed from Sen. Bill Nelson’s site, you can clearly see that there’s a much greater volume of oil coming out of that underwater gusher than what BP has claimed, and that the pipe siphoning off oil, which BP claims is up to 3,000 barrels a day, is basically capturing a tiny fraction of the total. In fact, BP is finally admitting as much.

The office of Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) today released previously unseen video of the oil volcano erupting from the failed blowout preventer of the Deepwater Horizon.

In the midst of the unfolding BP oil spill nightmare, two Senators will release a “climate change” bill that potentially expands the practice of offshore drilling. But it will include new protections allowing states to cancel out domestic production that could impact their shores.

Behold our logic-resistant, industry-captured Congress. Basically, Republicans – and Democrats like Mary Landrieu don’t want an energy bill without offshore drilling. After this disaster, you won’t be able to pass anything with expanded drilling without losing several votes from coastal Democratic Senators. Therefore, you can’t get to 60, and no deal.

Schwarzenegger is only the latest politician to move away from offshore drilling in the aftermath of the BP disaster. Charlie Crist and even Marco Rubio have equivocated on their support in Florida. Bill Nelson, who supported the President’s proposed expansion of drilling, now has introduced legislation to put a moratorium on it. Today on a conference call, Dick Durbin, a key ally of the President, said that offshore drilling would be “an issue reconsidered by many.” He insisted that the best place to turn for our energy future is “our renewable resources.”

What a difference 18 days makes.

It looks like Harry Reid is getting ready to sell out the labor unions, the progressive community, the Democratic base, and the majority of the American people. The vast majority of Americans want a public option as part of health care reform. Reid fully has it with in his powers to get a health care bill passed with a public option. He could use reconciliation to pass a bill with a simple majority. He could even use the “nuclear option” to eliminated the silly filibuster, like Bill Frist threatened to do only a few years ago.