A couple of stories have my blood really boiling this morning over the whole oil spill mess.

First we have BP ignoring EPA orders to not use the toxic dispersant. BP just ignored them time and time again and the EPA finally threw their arms up and caved:

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said Monday the government isn’t prepared at this point to forbid BP to use a controversial chemical dispersant to fight the spread of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But, she said she expects to see a reduction in the amount of the dispersant, Corexit, that BP is using.

“In my opinion, we have not yet crossed the line where we should take that tool off the table altogether,” Jackson said at a news conference at the Venice Marina, after seeing for the first time oil that has infiltrated marsh near Pass a Loutre.

Then we have another story of survivors of the oilrig explosion being detained for days after being rescued until they would sign a waiver:

According to two surviving crew members of the Deepwater Horizon, oil workers from the rig were held in seclusion on the open water for up to two days after the April 20 explosion, while attorneys attempted to convince them to sign legal documents stating that they were unharmed by the incident. The men claim that they were forbidden from having any contact with concerned loved ones during that time, and were told they would not be able to go home until they signed the documents they were presented with.

Stephen Davis, a seven-year veteran of drilling-rig work from San Antonio, told The Guardian’s Suzanne Goldenberg today that he was held on a boat for 36 to 40 hours after diving into the Gulf from the burning rig and swimming to safety. Once on a crew boat, Davis said, he and the others were denied access to satellite phones or radio to get in touch with their families, many of whom were frantic to find out whether or not they were OK.

Davis’ attorney told Goldenberg that while on the boat, his client and the others were told to sign the statements presented to them by attorneys for Transocean — the firm that owned the Deepwater Horizon — or they wouldn’t be allowed to go home. After being awake for 50 harrowing hours, Davis caved and signed the papers. He said most of the others did as well.

This is false imprisonment, plain and simple. The executives of BP and TransOcean both need frog marched and put on criminal trial. There is absolutely no excuse for either one of these stories to occur in a nation of laws, and any lawmaker who sides with either company is complicit.

And one final thing. Where the hell is our President? He should be doing a prime time press conference and show some damn outrage over all of this. He is really looking like he doesn’t have his finger on the pulse of the people. He needs to start being out front on this issue and order all his cabinet involved that BP does NOT make the calls. If some cabinet member or ranking official in their respective department ignores it, then that cabinet member is out of a job. Heads need to start rolling over this colossal fuckup.