Live From Louisiana With A Trashcan, Calliope Music, And More Oil (Now In HD!)

Hi everyone. Well, let's not waste any time. To the bullet points!

• We are now at day 50 of perhaps the largest environment disaster of our time. Day 50, and only now BP is like, "hey, you know that video of the oil coming out? Would you possibly like to see that in high definition?" Kidding! BP would never ask us if we want to see anything (congresscritters got it for us). But the fact that we've gone almost 50 days without said video is sadly totally true.

• Christopher Jones (testifying on Capitol Hill), brother of rig explosion victim Gordon Jones, on BP CEO Tony Hayward's comments: "...he publicly stated he wants his life back. Well, Mr. Hayward, I want my brother's life back. And I know the families of the other 10 men want their lives back. We will never get Gordon's life back, and his wife will live a life without a husband and her two children a life without a father." No commentary needed.

• Anderson Cooper to Ira Leifer (of the government's flow rate panel) regarding BP's apparent reluctance to make images available: "Does that make any sense to you? This is a company which has said they want to be transparent. And you guys are tasked by the U.S. government to try to figure out the flow rate. Why would they be throwing up obstacles in your way? Why would they not be giving you the best video as soon as possible?" Okay fellas, what about 'they are evil liars' do you not understand? BP is out to save BP. Period. But that doesn't mean they're good at that either. Incompetents with poor intentions. Yay for us, huh?

• The interview with Congressman Ed Markey was good, but...that music! The 360 kids do not have the best track record (or luck) with background noises on this field trip (train crossing dinging, anyone?). I have to say, calliope music sets a rather surreal tone for an interview about a massive disaster. It sounded like they were standing in the middle of a carnival. At this rate, I can't imagine what background noise we'll have tomorrow. (The Markey interview is the first portion of the below video.)

• Markey: "I assumed that, by this late date, that BP would finally decide that honesty was the best policy." Well, there's your first mistake. They are never going to decide that.

• Paging The Daily Show. I was wondering when someone was going to show up with a hilariously ridiculous prop. Enter: Tom Foreman with a trashcan. I don't know, maybe it actually helped people understand. But I was too busy laughing to really take it all in. (The trashcan segment can be found in the last half of the below video.)

• Anderson Cooper, did you attempt to flick us off tonight? Okay, no, he did not. But I am amused when the TV peeps get caught on camera doing their little frantic hand gestures that we're not supposed to see. (And if you're wondering, sadly no, no intense snapping.)

• Plumes are scary.

• Oil researcher Dr. Jeffrey Short on NOAA: "I think they have made all the right calls. They have done all the right things. I'm disappointed in how they have been -- their ability to communicate the results of what they're doing with the public has been so limited. But part of that, at least, is due to the fact that they're just overwhelmed with putting studies in the field, and they're getting massive information back. And they have been undergoing budget cuts for the last eight years in the people who do this stuff. So, their staff to deal with it has eroded substantially (emphasis mine). Why?

• Anderson's piece on rescuing wildlife was rather infuriating. Federal wildlife officials won't let them film because they're afraid it will upset the birds? Please. There's probably both bureaucracy and over-caution at play here, but it still smells like a CYA operation. Though I loath Katrina comparisons, during that disaster, the government began blocking the media from filming the bodies. CNN sued for the right, and won. If this continues, they should sue again. And that's no joke.
  

• So hey, it turns out there was an election tonight. No, really! What a difference a news cycle makes! Last time, you would have thought we were electing the president. CNN had their pundit-palooza going on in the Election Center and everything. Tonight they were like, "oh yeah, that." Personally, I like this way much better. It really goes to show you just how absolutely meaningless all their political analysis is, doesn't it? I mean, when you heard the results, were you really thinking to yourself, "if only I had first heard 10 minutes of Paul Begala's thoughts on this"?
  

• Gary Tuchman had our headlines tonight. Mixing it up! When he popped up on screen, one of my chat buddies had this to say: "Ohhhh Gary. I think I have a crush on him. Is that OK?" Don't worry, the rest of us assured her that not only was it okay, it was very much encouraged, and perhaps even required. I mean, really, who doesn't love Gary?

• Oil rig survivor Doug Brown explaining how BP cut corners to save money at the expense of safety:

• Anderson's interview with Steve Gordon, attorney of the five oil rig survivors who talked to 360:
  

• The broadcast flew by tonight. I usually keep track of the time when watching, but our anchor's sign off caught me off guard. I guess that'll happen when they cover what's important, and cover it well.

• This bullet point contains the iPhone 4. Perhaps it'd be more realistic if I said it contained a unicorn?