Bob Herbert made some heart wrenching observations in his OpEd this morning in the N.Y. Times. The oil spill from the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico is beginning to permeate the lifeblood of the Gulf Coast just the same way big corporations have permeated our government. Sometimes it's hard to tell the two apart. Well, that's just the way the corporations like it. They'd like us to think they're in charge, all the time, whether in the corporate boardroom or on the Senate floor. Unfortunately, that's pretty much true. they are in charge most of the time. Don't get me wrong, big, important Congressmen and Senators do a lot of blustering and posturing and speechifying and promising, don't forget the promising, but in the end, they're owned lock, stock and barrel by a very large assortment of corporations who make it financially possible to win their elections. The only thing that stands in the way of that happening is you and me. And that, only once every few years. Two years in the case of Congressmen, six in the case of Senators and four in the case of the President. Don't forget that. It's our only chance to stand up to the corporations. It's our only chance to stand up to their elected representatives and it's our only chance to stand up for ourselves.