Language I Like.

Schettino has insisted that he stayed aboard until the ship was evacuated. However, a recording of his conversation with Italian Coast Guard Capt. Gregorio De Falco that emerged Tuesday indicates he fled before all passengers were off — and then resisted De Falco's repeated orders to return.

"You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear?" De Falco shouted in the audio tape.

Schettino resisted, saying the ship was tipping and that it was dark. At the time, he was in a lifeboat and said he was coordinating the rescue from there.

De Falco shouted back: "And so what? You want to go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!"

"You go aboard. It is an order. Don't make any more excuses. You have declared 'Abandon ship,' now I am in charge," De Falco shouted.

Sometimes, you need to kick a little ass to get the work done.

Sometimes, "leading from behind" is a bit like leading from a lifeboat.

Don't you wish, instead of making excuses, that the American people demanded better from their presidential leader, and the Congress he is supposed to work with to lead? Let's not pretend he didn't know the dire situation when he agreed to take the job either.

Maybe a little less partying for pay, and a little more leading for real, would show results. Heavens knows, taking rich money from the elite, and making campaign promises to them in exchange for them financing your home property (in Chicago) and your campaign, can make your actual on-the-job performance suffer.

And sadly, not everybody is blinded by the "but he's the first black president, go easy on him" meme that the media is uniting to PUSH.

"Don't make any more excuses. You have declared 'Abandon ship,' now I am in charge"
...
The 52-year-old Schettino, described by the Italian media as a genial, tanned ship's officer, has worked for 11 years for the ship's owner and was made captain in 2006.

Schettino hails from Meta di Sorrento, in the Naples area, which produces many of Italy's ferry and cruise boat captains. He attended the Nino Bixio merchant marine school near Sorrento.

A judge is to decide Tuesday if Schettino should stay jailed, as requested by prosecutors. He could face up to 12 years in prison on the abandoning ship charge alone.

Earlier Tuesday, Italian naval divers exploded holes in the hull of the grounded cruise ship, trying to speed up the search for the missing while seas were still calm. Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the holes would help divers enter the wreck more easily.

"We are rushing against time," he said.