President Obama “Angry and Frustrated” with BP, Halliburton — and Interior Department Does Not Escape Notice Either
EmailAfter being briefed this morning by members of his Cabinet on the latest on the Gulf oil spill, President Obama will make remarks to reporters in which he expresses his "anger and frustration" with the companies responsible for the spill, a senior White House official tells ABC News.
The president, the official said, is chagrined not only with the fact that the leak has yet to be plugged, but at the fingerpointing and blame-shifting seen during a Congressional hearing earlier this week by executives of BP, Transocean, and Halliburton.
The federal government's role in the disaster has not escaped his notice either, the official said. The president believes that the Interior Department's Minerals Management Services did not ensure that every safety precaution was taken. He is supportive of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's proposed changes to the agency, such as separating the division of MMS that collects royalties from oil companies from the division that ensures enforcement.
- Jake Tapper
Santorum: Money Will Not Defeat Obama, Ideas Will 
Rick Santorum's Full Speech at CPAC 2012
Obama is gonna detach himself from the interior dept faster than that woman put her little adopted boy on that plane back to Russia. Let’s see who the press thinks is ultimatey responsible for this suddenly orphaned government agency.
Posted by: cindy | May 14, 2010, 7:24 am 7:24 am
I predict there will be conservatives who blame Clinton for 9/11 because Bush was in office “only” 8 months who will blame Obama for the ok on the drilling from interior granted when he was in office “3 months already”.
Call it a hunch.
Posted by: trifecta | May 14, 2010, 7:28 am 7:28 am
Mr. Cool, Detached and Arrogant.
Posted by: wis134 | May 14, 2010, 8:07 am 8:07 am
What American couldn’t be angry with BP and Halliburton for the disaster befalling the Gulf?
The fact that they objected to further safety measures on off-shore drilling rigs, that would have prevented the spill now happening, shows what happens when profits are the only deciding factor on safety issues.
This spill demonstrates why government regulation is so necessary. Industries left to police themselves don’t. We’ve seen it in the food industry, the pharma industry, in worker safety in countless companies, in the banking industry(!) and now again, in the oil business. To put it simply, we will ALWAYS NEED GOVERNMENT REGULATION OR THE GREEDY PEOPLE WILL CREAT HAVOC.
Anyone who says we need less government regulation is looking to benefit from easier profits at the risk of harm to us all.
Posted by: Lydia | May 14, 2010, 8:12 am 8:12 am
What was that Sarah Palin and the republicans chanting during the 08′ campaign? C’mon, let’s all chime in at once: DRILL BABY DRILL. Let’s see how many more miles of America’s coastline we can waste. The Republicans are something else. This is another result of DEREGULATION! Whey is this country going to wake up.
Posted by: Kurt Fischer | May 14, 2010, 8:25 am 8:25 am
Is the whole 4 years of the Obama regime going to about blaming Mr. Bush for everything? He said he could fix things, he said he could bring change…
When does he man-up and start accepting the problems as his own to solve…
Let’s not forget the dems have held power in both houses of Congress since 2007, and held power in the Senate for 4 of Mr. Bush’s 8 years.
Posted by: Quo Warranto? | May 14, 2010, 8:27 am 8:27 am
Ha!
Obama really thinks America is stupid.
He was the largest recipient of BP dollars.
He gave a NO BID contract to haliburtin.
Ok, Obama…you can stop your charade. But don’t go blaming bush for things YOU are doing now….
Posted by: mjishernameo | May 14, 2010, 8:30 am 8:30 am
This accident in no way should be used (I know it will though) for fodder that we should no longer be drilling for oil offshore. That is ridiculous and dangerous. The resources and energy independence that this oil can provide justify the drilling. It was an accident and we need to learn from it and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Accidents happen, they are a part of life. And if you think we should shut down all oil rigs now, ask yourself, do you still fly on airplanes?
Posted by: J.R. | May 14, 2010, 8:31 am 8:31 am
Now, if you want to talk response to this disaster of a leak, then by all means let’s throw it at the feet of the parties involved. I think its been pathetic. The companies involved need to be held accountable. Although I’m not sure what government hearings will do while the leak is still going on. Let’s fix it, clean it up and then investigate it.
Posted by: J.R. | May 14, 2010, 8:34 am 8:34 am
This is really silly. What does Obama expect? If any of the CEOs of BP or Haliburton would not have “fingerpointed” i.e. would have accepted (full) responsibility at this stage, all shareholders would have lynched the CEO because of dereliction of duty. It is also staggeringly hypocritical, as “finger pointing and blameshifting” is a great political pastime, with Obama is an enthusiastic participator.
Posted by: John van Franken | May 14, 2010, 8:49 am 8:49 am
JR- you are absolutely right, but that won’t diminish the political opportunity that this accident represents to the hard core environmentalists. The most fascinating aspect of this entire event has been the ability of the administration to distance itself from it…and the (by now totally expected) role of the press in paving Obama’s accountablility evasion route.
Posted by: cindy | May 14, 2010, 9:12 am 9:12 am
GOVERNMENT
OIL COMPANY
BIG BANK
POLITICIAN
NEWS MEDIA
ALL ARE WORSE
WHAT IS GOOD IN AMERICA?
Posted by: azby | May 14, 2010, 9:15 am 9:15 am
Get mad enough to drag old Cheney kicking and screaming and get to the bottom of what went on during the secret energy meetings. It’s time for them to may the piper. I’m all for water boarding the old reprobate to get to the bottom of the Bush/Cheney Haliburton/KBR dirt.
Posted by: Trent | May 14, 2010, 9:25 am 9:25 am
Posted by: Lydia
—
I tend to agree with your regulation comment but not regulation crafted rashly by idiots who’ve no idea what they’re regulating and have too much to gain politically.
But don’t buy into that “safety measures would have prevented this spill”. Remember Ubama saying this spill was unique? They’re hammering on these guys right now because they can. They have you focused on some phantom safety measures without saying what they are or even if they’d have applied to this incident. They’re just making political hay. And they’re wasting oxygen and space while they’re doing it.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 9:32 am 9:32 am
As others have noted, I think we all ought to be somewhat angry and frustrated by this situation. As I’ve said before when discussing additional offshore drilling, we need better offshore drilling and good oversight alongside some nuclear energy but most importantly a real push for renewable energy, green tech and innovation so we can wean ourselves off oil in a pragmatic manner.
In other words, I’m not against limited offshore drilling– the fact of the matter is without changes to the status quo when it comes to energy, the oil is going to come from somewhere so these types of accidents are going to be possible– but we need to do EVERYTHING we can to promote safe drilling, limited environmental damage, accountability and speedy disaster relief and recovery.
Now, we have BP saying it doesn’t really know how much oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, AND that the exact number isn’t really relevant.
Seriously???? Never mind that the size of the spill is directly related to the amount of damage that will be wrought in the ocean and onshore, or that there are scientific techniques that would give a more better estimates, as the scientists who have used the techniques assert.
Per NYT: “for decades, specialists have used a technique that is almost tailor-made for the problem. With undersea gear that resembles the ultrasound machines in medical offices, they measure the flow rate from hot-water vents on the ocean floor. Scientists said that such equipment could be tuned to allow for accurate measurement of oil and gas flowing from the well.
Richard Camilli and Andy Bowen, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, who have routinely made such measurements, spoke extensively to BP last week, Mr. Bowen said. They were poised to fly to the gulf to conduct volume measurements.
But they were contacted late in the week and told not to come…”
WHAT?
Meanwhile, it remains very unclear that they will be able to shut down the gusher of oil meaning the spill could get worse until it’s tapped dry.
Frustrating, indeed.
Posted by: progressive mama | May 14, 2010, 9:43 am 9:43 am
And, then as the President notes, there is the MMS.
As Steve Benen at Washington Monthly’s Political Animal puts it, “… the Minerals Management Service, the agency within the Interior Department responsible for offshore drilling, continues to be an embarrassment. In the Bush/Cheney era, MMS became one of the most corrupt government agencies in American history, embracing an anything-goes atmosphere that led to literally Caligula-like corruption and debauchery — including federal officials trading cocaine and sex for lucrative oil contracts.
[Yesterday] we learn[ed] that MMS “gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species — and despite strong warnings from that agency about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf.”
Grrrr.
I like Salazar’s idea, but I’m thinking some heads may need to roll here. Get the bad apples out of there.
To move forward we need better drilling with strong oversight– and an MMS that does its darned job.
Have we learned anything yet about deregulating, rubber stamping, and allowing huge business to self regulate???
Posted by: progressive mama | May 14, 2010, 9:46 am 9:46 am
Seems like this leak is the poster child for drilling in less extreme circumstances, like on land and on the continental shelf.
Posted by: Quo Warranto? | May 14, 2010, 9:48 am 9:48 am
To hell with “green technology”. Maybe not altogether, but until it becomes something worth worshipping I’ll not worship it. I’m certain sex & cocaine had nothing to do with this leak. Let qualified people fix it then find out why it happened. Meanwhile, if you believe that safety measures crap, you should have your head examined.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 10:04 am 10:04 am
The problem with the leak is that it is a real problem in the real world. It does not respond to theorizing by left-wing academicians – it only responds to real actions by real people.
I can’t think of a single problem our academician in chief has solved. While he was community organizer, his forte was creating problems. While a State senator, his job was voting “present”. As a US Senator, his job was running for president. As president, his job has been blaming Mr. Bush, creating demons out of American business, the American people, and the Republicans.
Really Mr. Obama, quit being frustrated like a petulant child. Own the problem and help in solving it!
Posted by: Quo Warranto? | May 14, 2010, 10:09 am 10:09 am
The government has a “oil spill” plan that involves burning off the oil as quickly after it is determined to be such. Why wasn’t this plan put into effect immediately?
Posted by: deanbob | May 14, 2010, 10:13 am 10:13 am
jake- i need clarification: is BO upset and angry with HISSELF?? after all, as we all (should) know, there is an emergency cleanup plan that has been developed and ready as of late 1990. Mr enviromentalist never used this plan. a crisis is a terrible thig to waste…
Posted by: realman1963 | May 14, 2010, 10:15 am 10:15 am
progressive mama wrote: “Have we learned anything yet about deregulating, rubber stamping, and allowing huge business to self regulate???”
.
Apparently not…. Democrats are still pumping BILLIONS of tax dollars into their redistributionist piggy banks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Posted by: gk | May 14, 2010, 10:15 am 10:15 am
Accidents are a way of life. How many screw ups of individual congressmen have their been where that congressman’s Washington job wasn’t terminated ASAP?
Posted by: deanbob | May 14, 2010, 10:31 am 10:31 am
Seems like this leak is the poster child for drilling in less extreme circumstances…
Posted by: Quo Warranto? | May 14, 2010 9:48:42 AM
I get that, with apprehension… though the damage done to the environment is going to give cause and political righteousness to those who oppose any additional domestic drilling, particularly if those on the Right brush off environmentalists and scientists as loons and downplay the seriousness of the damage wrought, simply playing up arguments fed to them by the oil industry that brush all legitimate concerns under the rug. Whining about the inevitably of greentech for a wide array of reasons also isn’t very helpful. It sounds stuck in the past and unwilling to innovate and move forward.
This is where serious discussion and negotiation among grownups not playing political roles would be useful.
Okay, admittedly, that would be useful all the way around– but Republicans aren’t serious about anything except getting elected and mongering fear and war. They aren’t well suited to actual governing.
Here’s part of the problem.Senators Robert Menendez, Frank Lautenberg , and Bill Nelson have come up with a bill called the “Big Oil Bailout Prevention Liability Act.” Bottom line, it would increase the liability cap for oil spills from $75 million to $10 billion.
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska blocked a voice vote, claiming she wanted to protect smaller oil companies. But here’s the thing– what about all the small businesses affected by disasters, regardless of whether they’re accidents?
We need grownups willing to look at the big picture all the way around, not just from their chosen special interests viewpoint, though it makes sense to protect constituents– but our leaders need to think about ALL of their constituents.
Robert Menendez made the accurate argument, per Washington Monthly’s Political Animal:
“”The risk is what has to be calculated here. If you drill, you need to be able to pay for the damages.” As for the notion that large oil companies would have an advantage, Menendez explained that we’re not talking about a “mom and pop in the grocery store around the corner” that wants to drill offshore.
He added: “It’s straightforward, it’s common sense. Either you want to fully protect the small businesses, individuals and communities devastated by a man-made disaster — this is not a natural disaster; this is a man-made disaster — or you want to protect multibillion-dollar oil companies from being held fully accountable. Apparently there are some in the Senate who prefer to protect the oil companies.”
As a rule, when there’s a disaster like this one, and the public has no appetite for defending the industry, politicians are afraid to carry companies’ water. But as is usually the case, Republicans are crossing their fingers and hoping that the public doesn’t notice how far they’re willing to go to help their oil industry buddies.” (MURKOWSKI CARRIES WATER FOR THOSE WHO PUMP OIL; See also TP, After Saying Senate Should Prepare For Other Spills, Murkowski Votes Against Increasing Big Oil’s Liability )
Posted by: progressive mama | May 14, 2010, 10:34 am 10:34 am
“but that won’t diminish the political opportunity that this accident represents to the hard core environmentalists”
And why not? It’s just another glaring example that industry can’t be trusted to not dump risk and the cost of it onto the public, in this case literally on the coasts of the Gulf states. For all you self-described hardcore capitalists let BP pay every last dime for a complete cleanup, losses to all businesses damaged and sweeping safety upgrades and then let the market decide if deep drilling in the Gulf is worth it. Meanwhile footage of devastation will continue to roll across TV screens in the Gulf and Atlantic coast states. As soon as the spill starts to foul beaches and marinas it’s all she wrote. I have the headstones for “Drill baby drill” and “Drill here drill now” ready.
Posted by: Skip | May 14, 2010, 10:50 am 10:50 am
Obama really thinks America is stupid.
Posted by: mjishernameo
only certain people….. do y0u have a mirror handy?
re: Let’s not forget the dems have held power in both houses of Congress since 2007, and held power in the Senate for 4 of Mr. Bush’s 8 years.
On election day, Democrats gained 31 seats in the House, enough to take control, and Republicans became the minority party after 12 years of control. Dems took office in 2007
Posted by: Rukus Amukus | May 14, 2010, 11:11 am 11:11 am
progressive mama | May 14, 2010 10:34:59 AM…….But who prevented the drilling in the shallower waters? Would the same accident have happened? One can only speculate on my last question?
Posted by: deanbob | May 14, 2010, 11:22 am 11:22 am
This is where serious discussion and negotiation among grownups not playing political roles would be useful.
Posted by: progressive mama |
By “grownups” do you mean people who can write more than one paragraph without bashing those they disagree with?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | May 14, 2010, 11:23 am 11:23 am
Interesting…For all those opposed to the oil industry….You do realize of course EVERYTHING that is produced today is dependent upon oil….Everything…Even so called Green Technology such as solar panels, wind turbines…..EVERYTHING….Even the keyboards you are using to spill your propaganda……
Posted by: Parallex View | May 14, 2010, 11:29 am 11:29 am
after all, as we all (should) know, there is an emergency cleanup plan that has been developed and ready as of late 1990. Mr enviromentalist never used this plan. a crisis is a terrible thig to waste…
realman1963 | May 14, 2010 10:15:57 AM
Citation please. The response to the oil spill is well documented in the media, including the Coast Guard onsite beginning oil clean up operations 2 days after the blast (when the failure of BP’s equipment and full extent of the spill was unknowable).
Can you cite your claim that emergency clean up protocol was not followed (or exceeded)? Is this the latest Big Lie Republicans are floating to slander the administration? Don’t forget that weather and search for survivors are both key parameters in determining the response.
Posted by: jhw539 | May 14, 2010, 11:32 am 11:32 am
You do realize of course EVERYTHING that is produced today is dependent upon oil….Everything.
Parallex View | May 14, 2010 11:29:21 AM
You do realize that is an economically driven fact – oil is the cheapest, not the only, option. Or are you one of the Peak Oil doomsday folks who insists civilization will end when we run out of oil (which will surely happen in the lifetime of our kids, by the most optimistic possible estimates, if there is no alternative to oil as you imply)?
Posted by: jhw539 | May 14, 2010, 11:35 am 11:35 am
“Obama will make remarks to reporters in which he expresses his “anger and frustration” with the companies responsible for the spill, a senior White House official tells ABC News”
—
Can Obama due anything that isn’t staged and phony? The guy isn’t behaving presidential, he’s playing the role of president, like he’s starring in a Hollywood movie.
“Today the president is going to act mad (as he reads his lines off a teleprompter). Look for plenty of self righteous uplifted finger pointing ala Osama bin Laden, and every sentence ending with emphesis.
Posted by: OxyCon | May 14, 2010, 11:53 am 11:53 am
Can Obama due anything that isn’t staged and phony?
OxyCon | May 14, 2010 11:53:17 AM
Yeah, why can’t he go from the gut, tell that oil to bring it on, and then scurry off to clear some brush and stay the course. That’s what Real Americans want from their leaders. None of this thinking and planning nonsense! I bet he even staged that live-televised debate with the House Republican caucus.
Posted by: jhw539 | May 14, 2010, 11:58 am 11:58 am
A bigger disaster than the leak is Detroit. That is the Democrat Katrina. That is what happens with uninterrupted control by Democrats for so many years. That is the future of the USA under the Obama regime.
Maybe our community-organizer-in-chief and take on that problem and show us how competent he is in solving problems.
But since there is nobody to demonize and blame but Democrats and liberal social theories, he won’t even bring up the subject…
Posted by: Quo Warranto | May 14, 2010, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm
Gee — now he knows how the country feels about him.
Posted by: R U Concerned | May 14, 2010, 12:22 pm 12:22 pm
What an outrage!
Within hours, obama throughs billions into Hiati, orders the US military to pull out all the stops, in response to
that emergency. Now some 0ne month later , nothing has been done by the US govt., to take care of it’s own people,
Over the long haul, this spill will result in shortened lives of those in the area & financial devastation that will make Katrina a side show.
He’s in charge now, not bush. This guy is a blank slate, just like his supreme court pick.
Posted by: GAR | May 14, 2010, 12:34 pm 12:34 pm
Obama is always mad about something he just doesn’t do anything constructive about the problems. We are a nation of minority extremes. The knee jerk reaction by Obama on the oil crisis is the same as his reaction to the Harvard professor. Obama does not know how to think through a problem and come up with solutions. He needs to grow up.
Posted by: Pablo | May 14, 2010, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
The Good.
Police have just announced they are launching a criminal investigation into a allegations of a massive mortgage fraud case.
The Bad.
It’s in Canada.
The Ugly.
The Obama administration has been unable to find ANY crimes associated with our own financial meltdown. How can that be?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | May 14, 2010, 1:04 pm 1:04 pm
Now some 0ne month later , nothing has been done by the US govt., to take care of it’s own people,
GAR | May 14, 2010 12:34:23 PM
This is how out of touch the right wing is folks. The Coast Guard was there on day one and assets were being called in by the time the search for survivors had turned to a search for bodies. The current state of the response, which includes the military (mostly spraying dispersants; the Navy doesn’t really have a skimmer fleet), qualifies as ‘doing nothing’ to those in the Republican talking points bubble.
Posted by: jhw539 | May 14, 2010, 1:06 pm 1:06 pm
The knee jerk reaction by Obama on the oil crisis is the same as his reaction to the Harvard professor. Obama does not know how to think through a problem and come up with solutions.
Pablo | May 14, 2010 12:45:00 PM
Can Obama due anything that isn’t staged and phony?
OxyCon | May 14, 2010 11:53:17 AM
About the only thing the right wing agrees on now is that they hate Obama. No consistent reason, but man isn’t Obama evil?
Posted by: jhw539 | May 14, 2010, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
For all you self-described hardcore capitalists let BP pay every last dime for a complete cleanup,
Posted by: Skip
—
Let them pay every dime until there’s nothing left, start taking it from the executives first. Sell everything BP lays claim to for scrap iron. Find out what happened down there, if it was criminal put them before a firing squad. But save the guessing and rhetoric. That’s exactly what it is.
What safety measures? A hardhat is a safety measure but it wouldn’t have done a damn thing to prevent that blowout. If they can insert a tube through the BOPs and pump lost circulation material into that hole they can just as easily close the blind rams on that BOP stack and shut in that hole. You people don’t have a clue what they’re dealing with down there, tell them stupid-ass senators to sit down and shut up for a while.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm
But no criticism of how the federal govt. responded (or, more accurately, did not respond) to the spill… Typical from the sanctimonious Obama… It’s always someone else’s fault, never his… He’s The One!
Posted by: tjp612 | May 14, 2010, 1:35 pm 1:35 pm
By “grownups” do you mean people who can write more than one paragraph without bashing those they disagree with?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | May 14, 2010 11:23:12 AM
If you’re referencing me and my posts on here, last I checked I wasn’t a policymaker, nor chatting with others who do as you say. If the Republicans step up to the plate and be the change they claim they want to see, perhaps I’ll alter tone. Plus, reality check, what we do on political forums in comment sections doesn’t excuse the folks elected to govern the country from taking their paid jobs seriously. Finally, I disagree with the President and the Dems on many things and rarely “bash” them or others who actually make sense, despite my ultimate disagreement.
But some folks deserve a bit of bashing. For example, this quote comes from Tony Hayward, CEO of BP: “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.”
As Bob Cesca comments (and I wish I were as witty but alas that’s not a strong point): “And a brain tumor is very small compared with a human body. Thus, harmless!”
Forehead slap.
Posted by: progressive mama | May 14, 2010, 1:56 pm 1:56 pm
We need grownups willing to look at the big picture all the way around
Posted by: progressive mama
—
That sounds like an admission that this was very likely an accident and those hailed “safety measures” are nothing but crap invented by Borak Ubama. But let’s take this opportunity to look at “the big picture” and raise gasoline prices $2/$3 a gallon. XOM did it to us the last time. It’ll be Borak Ubama and his groupies this time.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 1:59 pm 1:59 pm
Posted by: progressive mama
—
Sounds like Hayward is just looking at the “big picture”.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
Translation…. Obama: “It’s everyone else’s fault but mine, since I am omnipotent”
Posted by: LoyalOpposition | May 14, 2010, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm
” I am tired of all this darn finger pointing”
……Is there a chance we can just blame this on Bush?
Posted by: david | May 14, 2010, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm
The President is adversarial with corporate America but is cozy with people who have sworn to the demise of our country. (President Chaves, Castro brothers, Muslim extremists, Vladimir Putin, ect.)
Posted by: tillyerkt | May 14, 2010, 2:13 pm 2:13 pm
At least the Alaskan wildlife have not been affected.
Posted by: lizziestitch | May 14, 2010, 2:14 pm 2:14 pm
” I am tired of all this darn finger pointing”
Posted by: david
—
…my finger is worn out from pointing at his own people. But he has a new “top to bottom reform”. How much will this one cost us?
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 2:27 pm 2:27 pm
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010 1:59:05 PM
Have you ever heard of conversation enders? Birtherism stuff, trutherism stuff… those are conversation enders, because there’s really no space left for conversation. For some, my Republican bashing is a conversation ender, and I’m fine with that. I consider some of the extremely immature Obama bashing and/or racism in the same light.
Anyway, over the past 24 hours I’ve heard three conversation enders from you: (1) people in America who vote their pocketbooks and consciences are greedy, selfish, hypocritical and materialistic; (why? who knows? makes no sense); (2) don’t support green tech until it peaks and everybody else is supporting it., and (3) now you’re acting like I don’t realize that what happened in the Gulf was an accident. Good grief! Eleven people died. What are you talking about??? You think I thought that happened on purpose? Seriously?
Its one thing to follow around progressives, distorting what they say to throw up straw arguments and what not– its not intellectually engaging, but fine, a lot of really dumb tactics end up being somewhat useful. And I don’t find whining about tactics to be very interesting. But, seriously, its gotten to the point where I just don’t see any point in acknowledging your arguments. They make no sense. If you want to try to talk about something that makes sense, okay. Otherwise, I just don’t know what to say. I don’t have to admit that it was an accident. Of course, it was an accident.
Somebody earlier used the example of airplane accidents and flying afterwards. Good example. What wouldn’t be prudent is not investigating what went wrong and acting to prevent similar type accidents in the future. What wouldn’t be prudent is not holding those who failed to follow safety guidelines accountable when those safety guidelines may have prevented the accident.
Posted by: progressive mama | May 14, 2010, 2:34 pm 2:34 pm
Seems to me that BP keeps trying solutions that allow it to ‘capture oil’ versus just STOPPING THE FLOW. Why don’t they just CRIMP the pipe that is spewing out the oil with a robotic submersible until they can figure out how to get the oil flowing from the site again with relief wells. Seems like every solution they provide involves a way to ‘bring the oil up and capture it’
crimp the dam spigot at the source and worry about collecting the oil later!
I hate always thinking the worst…but… Im still astounded that this scenario wasn’t prepared for up front…. seems like deep water drilling preparation 101…
Posted by: FedUP | May 14, 2010, 3:11 pm 3:11 pm
Posted by: progressive mama
—
#1 was in response to a post that you made, then disappeared. You brought it on yourself. How did you disappear that post? Why did you disappear that post?
#2 so far is the biggest, most dishonest, crock to come down the pike. I want nothing to do with it. It is a scam. Example: Look what did ethynol do to the price of corn, the decrease in fuel mileage. Diesel fuel from used cooking oil? What a crock.
#3 sorry, but you literally have no idea what is happening down there but you seem more interested in bar b queing someone and will repeat the stupidest rhetoric out there to do it. Rhetoric from people, elected officials no less, who’ve, more than likely, been briefed on what’s going on out there but choose to do nothing but spew crap. I only have an educated(by experience)idea what has happened down there. And you’re damned right 11 people died. Stop letting a politician make it worse by repeating a bunch of garbage that he/she believes makes him/her sound intelligent. Stupidity. It is evident that those ranting right here have no idea how hard these people work -under normal circumstances- let alone today. Stop repeating half-wit politicians and journalists. Educate yourselves. And leave them alone.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 3:28 pm 3:28 pm
Posted by: FedUP
—
Never mind.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 3:35 pm 3:35 pm
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010 3:28:32 PM
In regards to #1, what I posted was that I vote my pocketbook and my conscience, and that I didn’t prosper under Bush as well as I did under Clinton. You said that made me greedy, self-centered and hypocritical.
No matter that being self-determined and in favor of small business and profit is part of your rhetoric, I guess.
As for getting a grip… its funny how people don’t take their own advice, isn’t it?
yowza.
In any event, conversation enders. So good luck to ya.
Posted by: progressive mama | May 14, 2010, 3:41 pm 3:41 pm
BP and the rest say, not my fault, not my job, don’t blame me, we can’t fix it, we don’t know,
it’s the other guys fault….and so much more…
but they will say emphatically… ‘can’t happen’ and don’t keep a regulatory eye on us….
but the ‘right’ defends them no matter what….
Posted by: Non-Seq | May 14, 2010, 3:42 pm 3:42 pm
Posted by: Non-Seq
—
If you’re saying what I think you’re trying to say you haven’t a clue as to the difference between BP and Haliburton.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 3:47 pm 3:47 pm
but the ‘right’ defends them no matter what….
Posted by: Non-Seq | May 14, 2010 3:42:05 PM
Examples abound.
Posted by: progressive mama | May 14, 2010, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
If you’re saying what I think you’re trying to say you haven’t a clue as to the difference between BP and Haliburton.
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Aside from a crash course given him by a flunkie, your Prez doesn’t have a clue, your congressman doesn’t have a clue, your newscaster doesn’t have a clue.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 3:51 pm 3:51 pm
but the ‘right’ defends them no matter what….
Posted by: Non-Seq | May 14, 2010 3:42:05 PM
Examples abound.
Posted by: progressive mama
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You 2 are funny. There’s no defending against ignorance.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 14, 2010, 4:12 pm 4:12 pm
“Why don’t they just CRIMP the pipe that is spewing out the oil with a robotic submersible until they can figure out how to get the oil flowing from the site again with relief wells.” Very possibly because the strength of the pipe wall would be beyond the ability of any submersible claw to crimp it shut and the pipe might crack rather than crimp. Further, if you only narrow the pipe you also increase the pressure of the oil coming out and that might make any containment solution impossible.
Posted by: Publius | May 14, 2010, 5:08 pm 5:08 pm
We’ve seen this same mistake in every industry. Safety standards are lowered because of industry pressure to increase short-term profit. The industry’s reasoning is: no disasters have happened in x amount of years. This kind of twisted logic ultimately leads to a disaster and the public demands greater safety standards.
Can we learn from our mistakes this time and keep safety regulations high in all industries? The price of failure is too great either ecologically or economically or both.
Posted by: Lydia | May 14, 2010, 8:57 pm 8:57 pm
the difference between BP and Haliburton
Posted by: smartlillena
they’re all not guilty of anything and bear no responsibility….. right?
Posted by: Non-Seq | May 15, 2010, 2:08 am 2:08 am
You 2 are funny.
Posted by: smartlillena
maybe, but certainly not as funny as the 3 stooges of the oil industry blaming each other before congress…. gotta love the ‘captains of industry rattin’ each other out, I did like the Boehner-esque tan the one guy had….
Posted by: Non-Seq | May 15, 2010, 2:13 am 2:13 am
Posted by: smartlillena
only you know the ‘truth’..
typical righty
Posted by: Non-Seq | May 15, 2010, 2:15 am 2:15 am
Oblamer is angry and frustrated with finger pointers ! Everyone is just following the example set by HIM ! Atleast we now know it takes a month of watching a castrophe unfold to decide this is a real problem and not just a political maneuver !!! Oblamer needs a few appearances on the Tonight Show and Letterman to publicly blame and ridicule Bush to cheer him up, and then spend a 100 billion tax dollars for some more give-aways. Two sure solutions !
Posted by: live by blame, die by blame | May 15, 2010, 6:26 am 6:26 am
only you know the ‘truth’..
typical righty
Posted by: Non-Seq
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All I know is the sequence of things out there. What the rig does and what the various service companies do (ie Haliburton) and when they do it. Where/when one stops and the other starts. What I don’t know is what they were doing the minute they lost circulation. There are a couple more key questions but I’ll damn sure not ask them here! But still, you guys sound like you’re blaming a prosecutor because an arresting officer broke a suspect’s arm. That prosecutor had nothing to do with that, couldn’t have. That’s not defending anyone, it’s just the plain truth. At least some of the things these guys are saying is just the plain truth.
Early on, the media published two details they’ve since shut up about, your Prez hinted at one, then he shut his mouth. Now, the prez, the press/media and every stupid ass politician in Washington is feeding the ignorance of this country. (maybe those pols aren’t so stupid)
Now they’ve shifted from some phantom “safety measure” to “regulation”. As vague as they were about that safety measure they still hinted toward something specific that would’ve, supposedly, prevented this specific incident. Not just oversight by a bunch of fools. Now it’s changed to just that.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 15, 2010, 9:27 am 9:27 am
the difference between BP and Haliburton
Posted by: smartlillena
they’re all not guilty of anything and bear no responsibility….. right?
Posted by: Non-Seq
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I have no illusions about them, so, of course, they bear every bit of the responsibility and they aren’t shirking away from it. Yet. As well as every last dollar of the cost. It’ll be telling to see how they come through this and what they change their operating name to.
You’ll have to answer the first part of your question: guilty of what? Any regulations/procedures that have been waived were waived by the United States Government. So, if any of those particular regulations/procedures bear on this specific incident, who is guilty? Biden has, supposedly, suspected something and not said one word. The Vice President of The United States has been screaming “energy reform” for nearly two years and not used his position to voice one word of his -supposed- suspicions.
The Vice President of The United States !!!
I strongly suspect BP et al did their job to the letter, probably beyond, so, at this point, who is guilty of what?
Nothing about this is funny but if one thing could come from it, I’d sure like to know how many “progressives” have BP or any other Big Oil stocks and what kind of quarterly dividend checks they deposit that are, directly or once removed, drawn on companies like BP and XOM.
Posted by: smartlillena | May 15, 2010, 10:35 am 10:35 am
YES WE CAN
Posted by: Drag Dog | May 24, 2010, 10:01 am 10:01 am
“But no criticism of how the federal govt. responded (or, more accurately, did not respond) to the spill… Typical from the sanctimonious Obama… It’s always someone else’s fault, never his… He’s The One! ”
Because the government is in the business of oil drilling a mile deep in the ocean….? Nope.
Posted by: RC | January 11, 2011, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm