Hey everybody, a couple of days without posting, bit out of character for me but felt the need to take a step back for a couple of days as the rabbit hole I slipped into was feeling a bit deep… That, and the goings ons on Saturday in Wisconsin and nationwide were consuming my attentions…more to say about that coming, including the way they relate … Continue reading Down the Rabbit Hole…
Hello everybody. No politics today, no Feinberg, no GCCF, no BP, no New Orleans. This is just from me to you, saying thanks. When I started this blog last July, I had no idea what I was doing. I was just pissed about the whole Gulf of Mexico oil spill and from my current home up north didn’t feel there was a whole lot I could … Continue reading On a more personal note…
Back in the first week of January, I wrote a little something about how the reparation money paid to claimants should be tax free. In the hard times across the Gulf Coast, the last thing people need is to budget 25% of their payment to the IRS, especially people receiving the quick payment: 25% of $5000 dollars to an individual or $25,000 dollars to business. Well, … Continue reading Really, Obama? No tax breaks for claimants?
A few days ago, I wrote a little something about British Petroleum having the power to make sure people filing claims in the Gulf – quick, interim or final – were treated fairly and generously by Ken Feinberg’s GCCF. Well, it would appear they have decided to exercise that power, for one lucky claimant, and that’s not all…apparently they’ve also given a healthy shove to … Continue reading It would appear BP’s still runnin’ this show…
Dear Claimant, Hey, how’s it going? Weather’s pretty warm for a January, huh? Yeah, I was able to leave all the really cold weather clothes back at the hotel and…okay, first, allow me to introduce myself. Well, kind of introduce myself… I work for a rather unpopular agency down in the Gulf Coast. Let’s call it an insurance company and yeah, turns out we’re about … Continue reading An Open Letter to Gulf Coast Residents…
You might think it would be fair for any denied claimant in the Gulf Coast to be able to take their denial letter to a real person at some GCCF office and talk about it, discuss the reasoning for the denial, figure out a way to improve their claim…in other words, have some kind of a negotiation to come up with a just solution. Nope, … Continue reading It’s good to be the king…
So Feinberg comes down to the Gulf Coast to speak to residents and explain the three options available to people filing claims and is now halfway through his meetings, held in Moss Point, Bay St. Louis and Grand Isle…and what happens? Well, what did you think would happen? In Moss Point: John Fraleigh of Kiln, Miss said he is barely hanging on. He’s a month … Continue reading Nice Meeting, Feinberg…now what? How about a petition?
The Gulf Coast Claims Facility was created with the stated purpose of handling claims brought by the people so harmed when British Petroleum spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It was supposed to be done fairly, and with haste and this was promised by its neutral arbitrator, Ken Feinberg. Neither appears to have happened. The claims process is not perceived … Continue reading The GCCF: Sowing the Seeds of Discord
Transparency. When it come to the GCCF, there is none. The Justice Department has called for transparency in how the claims process is being handled. Attorney Generals in the Gulf Coast have called for it. The residents with claims in the pipeline have demanded it. Feinberg has promised it. But still, there is no transparency. Instead we have a wall of secrecy erected around the … Continue reading Where there’s smoke…there’s Feinberg
Up at five, par usual and scanning the headlines, reading the articles and I don’t know where to begin, what to write about. Brain’s feeling foggy and there’s a whole lotta misery out there: We got birds falling out of the sky, massive fish kills on the rivers and coasts and the bees, the pollinators of a third of our food supply are dying off, 96% … Continue reading Feeling a bit overwhelmed today…
Drake Toulouse: Photography and Words 