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BP CEO Tony Hayward's Yacht Outing Outrages Gulf Residents

While Rome burned, Nero fiddled. And while tens of thousands of gallons of spilled oil, natural gas and methane burn near the site of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf Of Mexico ... British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward spends the day off the south coast of England watching his yacht compete in an exclusive yacht race.

"Hayward took Saturday off to see his 52-foot yacht "Bob" compete in a race around the Isle of Wight off southern England. It was a good day for sailing — breezy and about 68 degrees — but anger simmered on the steamy Gulf Coast, where crude oil is still gushing from a blown-out well. 'Man, that ain't right. None of us can even go out fishing, and he's at the yacht races,' said Bobby Pitre, 33, who runs a tattoo shop in Larose, La. 'I wish we could get a day off from the oil, too.'

"BP spokespeople rushed to defend Hayward, who has drawn biting criticism as the public face of BP PLC's halting efforts to stop the spill. Company spokesman Robert Wine said the break is the first for Hayward since the Deepwater Horizon rig that BP was leasing exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and setting off the undersea gusher. 'He's spending a few hours with his family at a weekend. I'm sure that everyone would understand that,' Wine said.

"But Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, who taped an interview for ABC’s This Week called Mr. Hayward’s attendance at the race 'part of a long line of P.R. gaffes and mistakes' that he has made. 'To quote Tony Hayward, he’s got his life back,' Mr. Emanuel said."

The yacht outing comes two days Hayward's hostile interrogation on Capitol Hill. It also comes one day after BP’s chairman announced Hayward would not be as involved in daily operations in the Gulf.

Alabama's conservative Republican Sen. Richard Shelby delivers the money quote to The New York Times: "I can tell you that yacht ought to be here skimming and cleaning up a lot of the oil. He ought to be down here seeing what is really going on. Not in a cocoon somewhere."

UPDATE: Appearing on CBS News' Face the Nation, Shelby calls on Hayward to resign. Think Progress reports: "[Shelby's] comments were echoed by Louisiana Republican Congressman Joseph [Cao], who added BP is 'out of touch'."

WATCH: House Votes 234-194 to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The House of Representatives voted tonight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the 17-year-old policy that permits gays and lesbians to serve in the military only if their sexual orientation remains secret.

The 234-194 vote will attach Rep. Patrick Murphy's (D-PA) amendment  to the National Defense Authorization Act now moving through Congress. Earlier tonight, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 16-12 to approve a similar measure.

Five Republicans supported the repeal: Judy Biggert (Illinois), Joseph Cao (Louisiana), Charles Djou (Hawaii) , Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Florida) and Ron Paul (Texas). Twenty-six Democrats voted against the amendment.

The measure allows Congress to vote now to repeal the current law. Actual implementation begins after completion of the Pentagon Working Group study due December 1 and upon certification. The "compromise" would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and return "open service" authority to the Pentagon. Non-discrimination language would not be included. As of yet, there is no deadline and the Associated Press speculates the process could take "several years" or more.

Watch the final vote and a short report AFTER THE JUMP ...

5 Republican Congressmen Condemn Anti-Gay Ugandan Law

Five Republican congressmen are condemning the proposed extreme anti-gay Ugandan bill that would mandate the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" the Associated Press reports. The members include Joseph Cao, the New Orleans moderate Republican who was the only one in his party to support the House health care reform bill.

"The lawmakers say they are all men of faith, and that the bill is antithetical to the Christian belief of "inherent dignity and worth" of all people. The congressmen used a Tuesday letter to urge President Yoweri Museveni to stop the bill from becoming law.  The letter was signed by Reps. Frank Wolf of Virginia, Chris Smith of New Jersey, Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, Trent Franks of Arizona and Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana."

Museveni—who only recently declared European gays were recruiting in Africa—reportedly told an American diplomat that he will block or veto the proposed draconian Anti Homosexuality Bill. The bill is currently with Parliament's Committee on Legal and Parliamentary affairs. Members are scheduled to begin public hearings on it when members return from their Christmas break. We'll see what happens...

While we're on the subject of Republicans opposing this outrageous bill: One of the first and loudest voices on Capitol Hill against the extremist Ugandan legislation was Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida moderate Republican who is a strong ally on most LGBT rights issues. Back in October, Ros-Lehtinen and Tammy Baldwin, the openly gay Wisconsin Democrat, contacted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with "grave concerns" over "one of the most extreme anti-equality measures ever proposed."

H/T: Steve Rothaus and AMERICABlog Gay

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