As a resident of Mississippi who enjoys seafood and wants to help the local economy whenever possible, I have been wondering about the safety of eating Gulf shrimp since the oil spill. According to a recent story in The Clarion-Ledger, it sounds like I have my answer. Here is what shrimp boat Capt. Chris Balius told the paper:

"It's eat it at your own risk from this point on," said Balius, 44, who has shrimped the Gulf of Mexico since he was 6. "I'm afraid to eat it. It's not the oil so much, but the chemicals they're using out there. I don't trust it, and I don't trust BP.

"If you trust the people who are telling you there is nothing wrong with the shrimp, then eat it. If you trust BP that those dispersants are safe, go right ahead."

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In all the coverage of South Carolina State Sen. Jake Knotts (R), now infamous for calling Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley a "fucking raghead" and criticizing her as insufficiently Christian to be governor, a few gems have emerged worth highlighting:

• The audience at the South Carolina bar where Sen. Knotts made his "raghead" comment were "shocked" but "there wasn't outrage" (TPM)
• Sen. Knotts thinks that Haley is being controlled by a network of Sikhs as some sort of manchurian candidate (Free Times).
• Sen. Knotts is an elected representative of the people of his district in South Carolina.

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Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) did not attend a meeting this week with President Obama and the governors of the other states affected by the oil spill (Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama). In fact, this was the second such meeting he's skipped. Evidently, he is not particularly concerned with the impact of the spill on Mississippi.

While the other governors have been active in trying to obtain help for their states, Barbour has "compared small animals suffocating in oil to people covered in toothpaste and has tried to tell tourists that the oil-infested waters and beaches are safe."

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President Obama does not want to condemn Israel for the flotilla raid of Gaza-bound aid ships. While some are calling on him to do just that, it may not be that simple. Obama gave up any moral authority to speak out on matters like this when he refused to authorize a full investigation of top Bush administration officials, including Bush and Cheney themselves, for war crimes. He cannot criticize other nations for criminal acts when he refuses to punish Americans who commit even worse acts.

Dick Cheney confessed to torture in a televised interview, and former President Bush recently did so during an appearance in Michigan. These men have nothing to worry about, however; President Obama has made it clear that he does not believe in holding criminals accountable when it might be politically inconvenient to do so.

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Everyone knows that there are vast differences in the quality of public education throughout the U.S. We usually discuss this by examining differences in a particular community. For example, we may compare inner-city Baltimore schools with those from wealthy neighboring suburbs. However, we also hear about regional differences which can typically be mapped to poverty levels. For example, the schools in some parts of New Orleans are widely known to be some of the worst in the nation, matching the area's dire poverty.

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Newt Gingrich recently appeared on Dennis Miller's radio show, during which he said the following about RNC chair Michael Steele:

And I think overall he is a very impressive guy despite the fact – in fact, I think one of the reasons the elite media attacks him is it drives the left crazy to have an African-American chairman of the RNC because then they can’t attack the RNC for being racist.

Really? This member of the left thinks that Michael Steele is one of the most perfect choices Republicans could have made to be their national spokesperson. He has done as much damage to the Republican Party as anyone, and this is great for those of us on the left. His race has nothing to do with it, but his ability to put his foot in his mouth is priceless from the point of view of those of us on the left.

As Think Progress points out, the fact that the RNC selected an African American does not shield them in any way from accusations of racist behavior. But the real issue, as far as I'm concerned, is that Steele has been a disaster for the RNC and a gift to the Democratic Party.

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