George Carlin - You Have to be Asleep to have the American Dream

This just says it all. The Tea Party think they have a BEEF? This is from 2005, and it's still absolutely True.



We're living in the Age of Corporate Fuedalism, the average person hasn't moved forward in wages since 1973, but the top 1% - ONE PERCENT - have seen their incomes TRIPLE. Where do you think that wealth came from? The rest of us.

Vyan

Fox Lies: Obama has Failed to Violate Law & Bring Foreign Help for Gulf

This particular lie, again supporting the narrative that Obama hasn't "done enough" to stop the BP Gulf spill, is rather noxious simply because it's just not true.

CARLSON: Meantime, international help has been offered, but not accepted. A lot of people are asking why. It's called the Jones Act, which prohibits international ships from operating in US ports. Our next guest says it's time to waive the outdated law.

[...]

CARLSON: Let's talk about this Jones Act waiver. So basically, what this means is that currently international ships cannot come into US waters, but doesn't this all boil down to a political discussion about unions?

So basically Fox claims that Obama has failed to bring in more help for this Oil Spill because of those damn dirty Unions!  Let's also recall that President Bush also suspended the Davis-Bacon Act after Katrina which protected the wages of workers involved in the cleanup - and we've all seen how such "swift, decisive action" resulted in a completely restored and renewed 5th Ward five years later... Not.

President George Bush has issued a Proclamation suspending the prevailing wage provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act in geographic areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The proclamation suspends section 3142 of U.S. Code title 40, which provides for prevailing wage standards for federal government construction contracts. Under the Act, federal construction contracts in excess of $2,000 must pay workers under those contracts the area "prevailing wage" under a wage determination for the various classes of workers.

Under section 3147, the President has authority to suspend the Act during a national emergency. "An unprecedented amount of Federal assistance will be needed to restore the communities that have been ravaged by the hurricane," the Proclamation notes. "Accordingly, I find that the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina constitute a 'national emergency' within the meaning of section 3147 of title 40, United States Code."

The suspension applies to contracts to be performed in certain counties of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana parishes; the suspension will remain in place "until otherwise provided."

Yeah, cuz the best way to save the people after Katrina, was the screw the crap out of the people after Katrina and bring in Blackwater/Xe and Halliburton Contractors.

According to Sister Sarah - the Dutch know how to do this because of their experience with Dikes!



Glenn Beck is also on the case and out to say that Obama cares more about the Unions, than the Environment.



Of course the problem with all this is - it just isn't true! Via Media Matters.

National Incident Command: "15 foreign-flagged vessels are involved" in the response.  A June 18 document released by National Incident Commander, Adm. Thad Allen, and a June 15 press release from the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center state: "Currently 15 foreign-flagged vessels are involved in the largest response to an oil spill in U.S. history. No Jones Act waivers have been granted because none of these vessels have required such a waiver to conduct their operations as part of the response in the Gulf of Mexico."

Acting Maritime Administrator: "[T]wenty-three percent of the vessels responding to the oil spill are not U.S.-flag," and they are "not in violation of the Jones Act." David Matsuda, acting Maritime Administrator, stated in June 17 congressional testimony that "[d]uring the current situation in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S.- flag vessels have been used in every situation where U.S. vessels and crew are available. Seventy-seven percent of the vessels providing oil spill response in the Gulf are U.S.- flagged." He added, "Even though twenty-three percent of the vessels responding to the oil spill are not U.S.-flag, none of these are known to be in violation of any U.S. law or regulation. Vessels that do not call upon points in the United States are not in violation of the Jones Act."

Foreign equipment has also been used. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stated during the June 15 edition of Fox & Friends that "foreign entities are operating within the Gulf that help us respond" to the oil spill. Gibbs also stated in a June 10 press briefing that "we are using equipment and vessels from countries like Norway, Canada, the Netherlands. There has not been any problem with this. If there is the need for any type of waiver, that would obviously be granted. But this -- we've not had that problem thus far in the Gulf." Fox News reporter Brian Wilson wrote on June 10 that "[t]he Coast Guard and the Administration are quick to point out that some foreign technology is being used in the current cleanup effort," including containment boom and skimmers.

So Foxes big solution to the Oil Spill problem is to Ignore U.S. Laws - just like they think it's just fine that BP and other agencies regularly Ignore U.S. Safety and Environmental Regulations and that what we really need to do is Invite More Foreign Help in to U.S. Waters. Ok, fine - I guess having a few thousand more illegal aliens running around in the Gulf causing potential Shipping Accidents with the thousands of boats that are already there is just fine, long as they aren't headed for Arizona anytime soon.

Vyan

From the Dkos Comments: Why Doesn't the Obama Administration think they need to waive the Jones Act to allow Foreign Ship to help with a Spill Cleanup? Because they're already exempted from the Jones Act already.

http://www.1800jonesact.com/...
Specifically, 55113 illustrates the exemption of foreign vessels involved in spills and cleanup.

Oops!

Damn

Damn, and with the Cap Blowing OFF today - this will only get worse.

Source

Yes Damnit, Bush Does Share the Blame for the BP Spill

As shown by Media Matters:(Quoted at Length just to emphasis it wasn't just one single point of failure)

Inspector General reports detail MMS ethics violations during Bush admin.

Inspector General found "a culture where the acceptance of gifts from oil and gas companies were widespread" in Louisiana MMS office under Bush. The Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated allegations against MMS employees for conduct that "occurred prior to 2007" in the Lake Charles, Louisiana, district, and "found a culture where the acceptance of gifts from oil and gas companies were widespread throughout that office," and that prior to 2007, "receiving gifts such as hunting trips, fishing trips, and meals from oil companies appears to have been a generally accepted practice by MMS inspectors and supervisors in the Gulf of Mexico region." MMS subsequently "provid[ed] additional ethics training to employees."
IG investigation found email porn, illegal drug use at Louisiana MMS office under Bush. The Lake Charles investigation also found that -- in addition to accepting gifts from oil companies-- MMS employees "admitted to using illegal drugs during their employment at MMS," including a clerical worker who said "he had used crystal methamphetamine the night prior to coming to work at MMS," and an inspector who "admitted that he might have been under the influence of the drug at work after using it the day before." Moreover, while reviewing MMS employees' email accounts "from 2005 to 2009," the OIG found "numerous instances of pornography and other inappropriate material on the e-mail accounts of 13 employees, six of whom have resigned."
IG: Bush MMS employee negotiated a job with drilling company while inspecting their platforms. The IG report states that a Lake Charles MMS employee, who now works for the Island Operating Company, an oil and gas production firm, negotiated a job with the company while inspecting IOC platforms.  
Source told OIG that some Bush MMS inspectors allowed oil and gas companies to fill out their own inspection forms. From the May 24 report on the Lake Charles MMS office:

Another confidential source told investigators that some MMS inspectors had allowed oil and gas production company personnel located on the platform to fill out inspection forms. The forms would then be completed or signed by the inspector and turned in for review. According to the source, operating company personnel completed the inspection forms using pencils, and MMS inspectors would write on top of the pencil in ink and turn in the completed form.
We reviewed a total of 556 files to look for any alteration of pencil and ink markings, notations, or signatures. We found a small number with pencil and ink variations; however, we could not discern if any fraudulent alterations were present on these forms.

Inspector General: "Culture of ethical failure" at Colorado MMS office under Bush. The Office of Inspector General also issued a report on September 9, 2008, stating that several investigations uncovered a "culture of ethical failure" at the Lakewood, Colorado, MMS office. The report stated that "between 2002 and 2006, nearly 1/3 of the entire RIK [Royalties In Kind] staff socialized with, and received a wide array of gifts and gratuities from, oil and gas companies with whom RIK was conducting official business." In addition, the investigation found a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity in the RIK program - both within the program... and in consort with industry. Internally, several staff admitted to illegal drug use as well as illicit sexual encounters." The report further stated:

Our investigation revealed that many RIK employees simply felt that federal government ethics standards and DOI policies were not applicable to them because of their "unique" role in MMS. When interviewed, many RIK employees said they felt that in order to effectively perform their official duties, they needed to interact in social settings with industry representatives to obtain "market intelligence." Some felt their free attendance at industry functions was an absolute necessity given that it was industry's practice to conduct business over lunch, dinner, and golf outings.
One RIK employee opined that because RIK regularly paid a major producer to transport oil, it was perfectly appropriate for him to attend a "treasure hunt" in the desert with all expenses paid by the producer. Another RIK employee went so far as to say that RIK's goal was to be "part of industry."

In September 2009, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced plans to end the royalty-in-kind program, which collected royalties in oil and gas, rather than cash.

Under Bush, MMS relaxed oversight of drilling, ignored safety warnings, downplayed oil spill concerns

Bush MMS adopted regulation stating drillers are "in the best position to determine the environmental effects of its proposed activity." The Washington Post reported on May 25 that the actions taken by MMS, "are shaped in part by a 2005 regulation it adopted that assumes oil and gas companies can best evaluate the environmental effects of their operations." The article stated that "[t]he rule governing which information the MMS should receive and review before signing off on drilling plans states: 'The lessee or operator is in the best position to determine the environmental effects of its proposed activity based on whether the operation is routine or non-routine.' " Rolling Stone magazine reported that these "new rules pre-qualified deep-sea drillers" to receive ... an exemption from environmental review," even though such exemptions were "originally intended to prevent minor projects, like outhouses on hiking trails, from being tied up in red tape."

In April 2008, Bush MMS loosened rules requiring blowout plan. The Associated Press reported on May 5 that a "rule change two years ago by the federal agency that regulates offshore oil rigs allowed BP to avoid filing a plan specifically for handling a major spill from an uncontrolled blowout at its Deepwater Horizon project." AP further reported: "The MMS rule change, made in April 2008, says that Gulf rig operators are required to file a blowout scenario only if one of five conditions applies. For example, an operator must provide a blowout scenario when it proposes to install a 'surface facility' in water deeper than 1,312 feet. While Deepwater Horizon was operating almost 5,000 feet below the surface, [BP spokesman William] Salvin said the project did not meet the definition of a surface facility. The MMS official agreed."

And just to cap it off, this all started at the very beginning of the Bush Administration when in May of 2001 an executive order was issued short-cutting the MMS permits approval process to just 30 days. Via the New York Times

The 2000s....ushered in an era of aggressive, government-backed offshore oil production. In May 2001, Bush, acting on recommendations from the oil industry, signed an executive order that required federal agencies to expedite permits for energy projects and paved the way for greater domestic oil exploration. 

Yes, you could argue that the Obama administration had their finger on the switch at the time of the DW Horizon disaster and they too share some of the blame - but you have to recognize that the MMS had been specifically disabled from properly doing their job - by the Bush Administration, and what we really need to blame Obama for is not FIXING THAT FAILURE FAST ENOUGH to prevent this disaster from occurring.

No matter how many times Republican Pundit argue that anyone who says Bush shares some of the blame for just "scapegoating" or that mentioning these facts are somehow "ridiculous and offensive" as Dana Perino has done, let's just go one step further and remind them that when they were in power they tried to blame 9-11  on Bill Clinton, and further claimed that No Terrorist Attacks Occurred Under George Bush.



The facts do not deflect all blame from President Obama - not hardly. But this reflexive need to protect and deflect blame from irresponsible corporations like BP, Enron, KBR, Goldman Sachs and Blackwater, and to burnish the tarnished legacy of George W. Bush in denial of all facts and reality is practically pathological. 

Vyan

Brooks Equates $20B Restitution Fund w/ War Crimes of Cheney

Wherein New York Times Columnist David Brooks backs up Joe Barton on the "Shakedown" thing.

Brooks: We're a nation of laws, we have laws to protect the unpopular even those who do bad things. We have a set of laws. What President Obama did when he very publicly and very brutally strong-armed BP was that he went around these laws. Well, just imagine if Dick Cheney did it to somebody he didn't like?

I'm not worried about what'll happen with the money, I'm worried about the erosion of the rule of law, the President using the vast powers of the government to strong-arm a company -not matter how unpopular, no matter how badly they may have behaved.

So let me get this perfectly straight, the idea here is that Obama circumvented the rule of law by getting BP to pay for the damage that they caused without first taking them to court? They struck, essentially a "gentlemen's agreement" - the same thing that might happen outside of a courtroom in order to defer or end litigation to accomplish the same goal, which is Restore the people of the Gulf.

Shields nails it (Obama Derangement Syndrome):

Shields: What does Barton do, he takes BP and identifies them with the Republican Party. He puts a Republican face on BP. It's almost an inclination to Blame America First, these people are so consumed with attacking President Obama, they're going to take the side of BP!?

The main objection, and you can see it here in this clip with Bill O'Reilly Grilling Michele Bachman, is that they Obama used the threat of prosecution in order to "extort" money from BP. The thing is this is what just about every prosecutor in the country does when they arrange for a plea bargain for a lesser charge when the accused agrees to admit their guilt and make reasonable restitution.



Even Bill O'Reilly gets it:

O'Reilly: I want Obama to strong-arm these guys, it's one of the best things he's done in this whole thing!

Amen to that.

But when comparing to the Bush Administration, there is not a "Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda" to this - because the Bush Administration actually did the exact same thing with various corporations nearly 100 times.

"Last month, prosecutors and the company reached an unusual deferred prosecution agreement, under which Bristol-Myers has two years to clean up its act and prove it can operate lawfully. If it stays clean, it won't face criminal charges. Also under the terms of the agreement, Bristol-Myers made a $300 million payment to a shareholder-restitution fund and Mr. Dolan (CEO of Bristol-Myers) gave up the chairman's post to Mr. Robinson."

...

...will (not)criminally prosecute Chevron Corporation and its subsidiaries
(collectively, "CHEVRON") for any crimes related to its purchases of Iraqi oil under the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program from in or about mid-2000 up to and including in or about March 2003, that involved the payment by third parties of secret illegal surcharges to the former Government of Iraq, including asset forth in Exhibit A. which is incorporated by reference herein.
..........
It is the intent of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern
District of New York to seek the transfer of $20,000,000 of these funds to the Development Fund of Iraq (sanctioned on May 21, 2003, by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483) to be used as restitution to the people of Iraq asthe intended beneficiaries of the proceeds of the sale of all Iraqi oil made pursuant to the United Nations 011-for-Food Program.

Contrast all of this with Dick Cheney, because there is no "IF" when it comes to his involvement in Circumventing the Rule of Law against people who may - MAY - have done bad things....



Dick Cheney, with his surrogates Liz Cheney and Marc Theissen who continue to this day to argue that it's inappropriate to apply the Rules of War including the Geneva Conventions to Foreign Enemy combatants, who continue to this day to argue that Waterboarding isn't Torture - even though America has prosecuted people for it for over 100 years, going all the way back to the Spanish-American War.

Comparing Obama getting BP to pay for the cleanup of the Gulf and people who've been impacted by the spill is NOTHING compared to the Presidential Overreach and gross bumrushing of the Rule of Law that the Bush Administration - especially Dick (Halliburton) Cheney - perpetrated.

Whether it was illegal rendition, illegal wiretaps, kidnapping, torture, creating an assassination squad - practically nothing stopped Dick Cheney from completely "Circumventing the Rule Of Law" on a regular basis.


Vyan

Sen. Whitehouse EXPLODES! "America . . must never be on it's knees before Corporate Power"!

Full Transcript

This American government of ours should never, never be on its knees before corporate power, no matter how strong. It should never be in the thrall of corporate wealth no matter how vast.

This American government of ours should never give the American citizen reason to question whose interests are being served. Never.

In this complex world of ours, Mr. President, government must protect us in remote and specialized precincts in the economy. In those remote precincts, few people are watching, but big money is made.

We must be able to trust our government, both in plain view in front of us, and in corners far from sight, to be serving always the public interest, not doing the secret bidding of special interests; of corporate interests, because that's where the big money is at stake.

Have we now learned, have we now finally learned, from the financial melt-down and the Gulf disaster, the price, the terrible price, of all those quietly cut corners?

Have we now learned what price must be paid when the stealthy tentacles of corporate influence are allowed to reach into and capture our agencies of government?

I pray, let us have learned this; let us have learned that lesson. I sincerely pray we have learned our lesson, and that this will never happen again. But let's not just pray.

This is not OIl-Trina, it's the Corporate/Enviro-9/11!

From Day One, the Right has been turning hand-springs to try and make the BP Oil-Tastrophe either the fault of The Left (with specters of Greenpeace SCUBA SWAT Teams with explosives in the night) or offering ill-thought comparisons with the 2005 Hurricane Katrina Disaster.

But I think all of this ignores who the clear and obvious villains are in this situation, and the fact that we brought them to the party ourselves - and now we have no one else left to dance with.

The Deep Water Horizon Disaster IS A CRIME - quite possibly the absolute worse and most wide-ranging criminal disaster this nation, and potentially The WORLD may ever see. Although stopping the leak is paramount, and minimizing the long term ecological and health effects is critical we need to start seriously chanting ... "Never Again!"

Then we need to follow that chant with some actions.

The behavior of the Right has been typically psychotic.

Let's take Karl Rove who says this is "Obama's Katrina".

Obama officials have it backwards: They talk tough about BP's responsibilities but do not meet their own responsibilities under federal law. They should not have let more than a month go by without telling BP what to do. And they should avoid recriminations against their partner in solving the problem until after the leak is sealed.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sounds whiney when he rails against BP. It didn't build confidence when his opening statement to a congressional hearing Wednesday focused on future safety and inspections requirements, and not on what the administration will do now to end the leak.

Could this be Mr. Obama's Katrina? It could be even worse.

Even those on the relative Left have been tossing Obama under the Bus proclaiming this is a referendum on the effectiveness of government. ala Frank Rich.

Now Obama is stuck between a rock and a Tea Party. His credibility as a champion of reformed, competent government is held hostage by video from the gulf. And this in an election year when the very idea of a viable federal government is under angrier assault than at any time since the Gingrich revolution and militia mobilization of 1994-5 and arguably since the birth of the modern conservative movement in the 1960s.

So Government can't be trusted because Obama hasn't meet his "responsibilities under federal law" - the same way that Bush didn't?

That's an interesting view since going out the Door Bush whined "Nothing Went Wrong With Katrina".

Bush: You know, people said that the federal response was slow. Don’t tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed.

(Right, sure, and just what did you do with those 30,000 people after the roof top rescues?? NOTHING! Which is the point Chimpass!)

And that's funny too because I remember John Gibson (who was FIRED by Fox News) saying that the Left had "Swiftboated Bush" over Katrina.

"They were lying through their teeth and they got away with it," Gibson told the hosts of Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning -- referring not not to the Swift Boat Veterans but to Democrats and liberals who portrayed Bush as incompetent and indifferent.

It took Fox host Steve Doocy to make the connection explicit. "They looked at the game plan that the Republicans and the Swiftboaters did back against Kerry," Doocy suggested, "and they said, 'Okay, it worked.'"

Rove for example claims that Bush's "Hands were tied" in Katrina by Federal Law.

The federal response to Katrina was governed by the 1988 Stafford Act, which says that in natural disasters on-shore states are in charge, not Washington.

But BP's well was drilled in federal waters. Washington, not Louisiana, is in charge. This is Mr. Obama's responsibility. He says his administration has been prepared for the worst from the start. Mr. Obama's failure to lead in cleaning up the spill could lead voters to echo his complaint in Katrina's aftermath: "I wish that the federal government had been up to the task."

(This ignores the simple fact that under the Stafford act once a Disaster Has Been Declared Federal Assistance becomes available - and the President is responsible for providing that assistance not the state - and Katrina was declared a disaster even before the Hurricane made Landfall and the Levees broke, but let's not belabor that right now)

If Bush was really "so wronged" by the Left for not getting food and water to the Superdome for days, does that mean that John Kerry - the Original Swiftboat Victim - "Did Nothing Wrong" in Vietnam, and that the Right just made up a bunch of Lies about him simply for Political Gain back then?

Oh golly gee Willickers? You mean all those purpleheart band-aids were actually an smarmy insult to an Actual American War Hero and assault on the sacrifices and integrity of our troops?

Heaven Forfend!

If Kerry was "Swiftboated" and therefore if this is "Obama's Katrina" and Katrina was "Bush's Swiftboating" - doesn't that mean the ROVE AND THE RIGHT ARE USING THIS DISASTER TO SWIFTBOAT OBAMA!!

You're Damn SKippy they are.

Is Rove suggesting that what Obama has failed to do is Seize Physical Control BP's Equipment and Technology - toss their technicians out and just plug in somebody else who would have to do on the job training in the middle of a growing disaster? That would be just brilliant.

The problem that Obama faces is technological and proprietary in that the U.S. Military isn't in the Drilling 5,000 Feet Below the Ocean Business - they're in the Blow Shit UP Business. Exactly what a Nuclear Submarine might do to cap the well, no one seems to be able to answer. We don't have an Underwater N.A.S.A.
So unfortunately we've had to rely largely on the hardware and expertise the initial perpetrator in this crime, BP.

And lets make no bones about it, Katrina was a natural disaster compounded with an engineering error followed by lackadaisical indifference - but This was and is an ongoing Crime.

Under Obama Federal Officials are doing their job by looking seriously at Prosecuting BP

Reporting from Washington — — A team of top federal prosecutors and investigators has taken the first steps toward a formal criminal investigation into oil giant BP's actions before and after the drilling rig disaster off Louisiana.

The investigators, who have been quietly gathering evidence in Louisiana over the last three weeks, are focusing on whether BP skirted federal safety regulations and misled the U.S. government by saying it could quickly clean up an environmental accident.

Keeping a "Boot on BP's Neck" is rather like having the criminal lead you back to the Crime Scene and help dig up the bodies. They did the crime, they know where the bodies are - we don't. And there are a whole lot of things buried in this situation...

BP claimed they knew how to stop a leak like this, even this far down, when they applied for the permits. BP LIED. BP claimed that they had procedures in place to prevent this kind of disaster - BP LIED.

Some are beginning to argue that BP may even be guilty of (Ecological) Terrorism.

I read with growing outrage that several Greenpeace protesters were arrested the other day in Louisiana. What was their crime? They painted an anti-offshore drilling message on the side of an oil exploration ship. [...] To compound the injustice, a parish officer said that they might be charged as terrorists.

Meanwhile, the CEO of BP is treated as a privileged member of the wealthy ruling elite as he chronically lies about his company’s latest act of crime against the earth and its inhabitants, as well as other living creatures of the sea and planet. But whether it’s BP, Wall Street, or Wal-Mart, global corporations know that crimes committed on a massive scale don’t get prosecuted; they are just a statistic that goes unchallenged by the paid-off elected officials and regulators in D.C. [...]

We have evolved into an oligarchy that considers cost savings and profit ahead of lives and the preservation of our earth. [...]

Could a terrorist do more harm than BP has done?

That's right, Greenpeace protesters might be charged as "terrorist" for Graffiti For PAINTING A MESSAGE - essentially for tagging! ( Couldn't they just use some Corexit on that tag and call it even?)

Isn't the DeepWater Horizon Catastrophe doing damage that al Qeada could only dream of?

And that's just talking about the Oil Spill itself, add to that the potential damage of spraying hundreds of thousands of gallons of Corexit 9500 into the Gulf, a substance which becomes three times as toxic when mixed with Oil.

Add to that the fact that BP has been threatening to FIRE any Fishermen - whose livelihoods they've already destroyed - who use their own protective respirators while doing spill cleanup work.

Clint Guidry - Louisiana Fishermen's Association: I bought respirators, and I brought them down to these people. And when they tried to wear them, the BP representatives on site told them that it wasn’t a dangerous situation, and they didn’t need to wear them, and if they did, they would be taken off the job.

So BP is not only putting the Fish and the Wildlife at risk, they're deliberately putting their own employees health at greater risk - even when it costs them nothing - simply because admitting that the risk might exist, might mean they could be held Liable and Accountable for it.

This is why they didn't bother to use the right kind of drilling mud, and they didn't bother to drill a relief well - as countries like Canada and Europe require - to cut costs and limit their liability. This may be why BP has been low-balling the size and impact of the Spill from DAY ONE, claiming at first that only 1,000 Barrels-a-day were spilling, only to have that corrected and upgraded to 5,000 Barrels, and now 12,000-19,000 Barrels.

This kind of wild mis-estimate may not be the only one on BP's part, there just might be an elephant hiding behind the mouse of a spill they've been focused on so far.



Here's a telling tweet I saw yesterday...

@BorowitzReport Bin Laden sees what BP's done, and he's like, "Man, I've got to step up my game."

Yeah, it's like that.

George Lakoff doesn't think Obama has yet pounded home the deeper moral narrative of what has truly occurred here and what needs to occur.

The following "shoulds" are not mine. They follow naturally from President Obama’s own values as he articulated them is his 2008 campaign, and as they leaked out, largely unnoticed, during his press conference.

The president recognizes that financial reform requires dealing with systemic risk, which means not mere regulation, but restructuring the financial system to minimize, and if possible eliminate, systemic risk. Applying the analogy to oil spills, it would mean no more deep-water drilling because major systemic risks ("worst case scenarios") cannot be eliminated when you drill starting a mile down where no human being can go and drilling three miles deeper.

Like other large corporations, BP uses cost-benefit analysis to maximize profits. It is no surprise that, to save money, BP chose inferior materials in Deepwater Horizon, materials whose defects may well have caused the explosion. The use of cost-benefit analysis for a corporation’s benefit (and not the public’s) is a dangerous practice in many industries. Cost-benefit analysis itself, used this way, should be considered as an important component of systemic risk by the President’s commission on safety.

What were seeing here will not be a referendum on the Obama Presidency, or his effectiveness as leader no matter how those on the left or right would like to see it that way. IMO this will ultimately be a referendum on Selfish Corporate Bullshit.

There isn't a Oil Company that has gone further out of it's way to advance it's Green and Ecological Bona Fides than BP. Their damn Logo is a Flower for Christ's Sake. Yet when the rubber meets the road they leave a 100 Mile Skid Mark of Oil & Corexit across the Gulf of Mexico.

Look at the Guif, look at the shoreline of Louisiana, Texas and soon Florida. Look at the Death Plumes Beneath the Water's surface.

This is what the Precious, Sacred, "Infallible" Free Market Hath Wrought.




Corporations aren't inherently evil, but when their only priority and fiduciary duty is to protecting the profit of their stockholders by reducing liability and accountability while increasing risk - they can certain become amoral. They're own natural tendency is to askew the pointing finger of a moral compass. They use secrecy, denial and Non-Disclosure Agreements backed with armies of Corporate Lawyers intent on ensuring they're never blamed or held responsible for anything until it's far too late and it becomes so damn big you can see it from Space - and it just can't be hidden anymore.

BP problems didn't begin with the leak, the leak is just a symptom of their rotting internal disease of amorality.

This amorality isn't just on Wall Street, it's not just halls of BP or offices of Massey Mining, or Blackwater/Xe or KBR or Wackenhut - it's something that exists deep in our culture, and just as 9/11 was a hard and cold wake-up call that the world as we knew it was suddenly, swiftly transformed into something completely different - so should we take heed of the Economic Terrorist Attack that was fostered by Goldman Sachs, AIG and Lehman, as much we now watch the Ecological Terrorism of BP, Transocean and Halliburton unfold.

We have to stop the leak, difficult though that may be. We have to clean up the spill, also a difficult task. Unlike Rich I don't that's an question of "If" only "When" -- but after that we need to start looking at the root cause of these acts of blatant myopic irresponsibility and ravenous greed.

Making money is a great thing, but when you're already breaking profit records and still need so much more, and more that you drive yourself and the nation right off a cliff - I think, as Obama himself stated, "You don't get the Keys back".

The possibility of Taking BP Down, revoking their corporate Charter and banning the entire company from our shores, needs to be on the table. There have to be consequences. Companies like this have to be shown the error of their ways like shoving a dog's nose in their own shit pile. We have to take a "Smoke 'em out of their Boardrooms" - "Wanted Divested or Alive" attitude about this.

It's time to re-empower the Corporate Cops.

EPA, SEC, OSHA and MMS should be under the same ethics rules and garner the same respect (and yes, fear) as the FBI, Homeland Security and ATF. The idea of their officers taking gifts and jobs from the people their investigating should be taken as deadly seriously as an FBI agent taking presents from John Gotti.

It's time to reverse decades of atrophy and decay that has crept into the muscles and bones of the people's representative and their enforcement agents to look out for the public good, not just some fatcat's wallet.

The reason I compare this to 9/11, isn't because of the potential casualty count (which I believe in the end will be greater in the long run - more like Chernobyl), it's because 9-11 supposedly "changed everything", we committed ourselves to two separate Wars on Terror - maybe it's time to commit ourselves to a War on Indifferent Corporate Error!

It's time for us to say again as we did that September Day - "Never Again!... Never Again!... Never Again!"

Vyan