Louisiana Rep. Joseph Cao is quite upset about the whole bloody mess.
I understand.
Everybody is.
What we have here is a man-made disaster of gigantic proportion.
It didn't have to be: it could have been prevented.
But seriously now, let's keep a cool head about this.
In what, let me ask you, would BP America President Lamar McKay committing seppuku help solve anything?
Would it somehow miraculously help reverse the damages in any way?
I don't think so.
Seriously people, this is not some science fiction fantasy television drama series, you know. Let's deal with the problem in a constructive and realistic way.
Everybody just calm down. I am sure the White House has a plan and the President is already working on something a bit more sensible.
This comment, from President "Pollyanna" 's press conference on 5/28/10 is priceless:
ReplyDelete"Where I was wrong was in my belief that the oil companies had their act together when it came to worst-case scenarios."
Why Did Obama Trust Big Oil?:
ReplyDelete"I just can’t understand why anyone would believe that a business with 'organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels' — that had just been hit with a record fine and a $1.6 billion dollar legal settlement — 'had its act together' with respect to accidents."
Neither can I.
It could happen:~~~~~Science hopes to change events that have already occurred
ReplyDeleteAw, shucks. The big O just believes in the American dream, that's all.
ReplyDeleteIn America, we know, we believe in the honor system. We don't regulate because that impedes progress. We defer, what's more, to our betters. That's the message the CEOs and CFOs and COOs constantly offer us. What we see as perks they see as the acknowledgements of their advanced superiority. The goffer at the bottom who complains is just jealous, that's all.
I wonder how much truth there is in the supposition that since FDR was a patrician he wasn't impressed? And JFK too. Even Eisenhower who came to the White House from his success in the European war, the Supreme Commander, could have been described as a guy making a simple career move. Guys like Nixon and Reagan had roots in the "deferent class." And always felt slightly humble when facing a CEO, even if, the latter, was a prick. But they never forgot and always felt a certain class intimidation. Though Nixon never let anything like that deter him.
So why is the Big O so deferent to Wall Street, the military, and the judgement of corporate CEOs, even Big Oil? This was the brightest guy in his class at Harvard Law, after all. Shouldn't the bright boys who climbed to the pinnacles of corporate power defer to him? He is, after all, the President of the United States. And an intellectual too. (How many American politicians write books? They do it all the time, whatever point of view, in Europe. Over there they seem to believe a nation's leaders should have some smarts. Here that works against you. A Washington insider, oy, we don't want that! Someone who actually knows what's going on!)
Or is the Big O simply deferring to the guys who actually hold on to the reins? The money bags who finance everything holy and near to him? Has O really been bought by Wall Street? Is he indebted to corporate power? Frankly, I don't think he's vulgar enough to merely want a slice of the pie. Nor does he come across as a protector of class privilege. So what is it with him?
You figure. There many routes to go down this particular trail. Much we don't know. Or do we?
In case you missed this one....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/17/white-house-guts-reform-t_n_615952.html
I'm sure Jazzo will catch this one. But to beat him to the punch by offering it at large, here goes....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/opinion/20rich.html?ref=opinion
Frank Rich on the Big O today, Sunday, June 20. The Rolling Stone link should be good too.......
Quinty I hate to say it but you have absolutely no idea as to the depth of damage to the very fabric of our lives that is being done nor the enormity of the anger we feel towards both BP and our government which is once again a month or more late and billions short. To poo poo our sentiments is somewhat insulting quite frankly. My marshes are full of oil and sludge, and brown pelican eggs and chicks are being trod under BP jack boots as they spread boom too late to pretend that they tried. My fisheries are closed, property values will take as much as a 20% hit all across South East Louisiana, an already bad employment problem is about to escalate and we frankly don't give a crap about your 'larger discussions' of policy. Our lives as we know them are being destroyed RIGHT NOW and we do not have the time for anything but action NOW! Sure, some of you will visit in a year or two and complain that oyster and shrimp po-boys have doubled in price and what a shame but this is the quality of my life as a New Orleanian that I'm talking about and I am mad as hell and I want the people who chose profits over my way of life to be in jail or dead!!
ReplyDeleteActually Quinty, in rereading I must appologize and redirect to Ben - My mind is consumed by this disaster for large segments of every day as we inch bt inch realize the magnatude of the price we will pay for this act of blatant greed and disregaurd for planetary health and safety. Come visit us soon because most of what you know about South East Louisianna is about to change for ever even more so than in the wake of Katrina. You can pour in all the compensation you want but if we lose our Gulf Coast and fisheries we lose the purpose of our restaurants and they close, then the tourists leave and we lose the bars and music clubs and most of our jobs. This could well spell the end of everything that I treasure about my home and life as I know it so excuse me me if I sound a little over the top angry. There is no sign that this will even stop growing for at least another month and a half - their 'cap' is turned off and the well is spewing at full strength again at a rate they are too terrified to tell us the truth about. I could rant for the rest of the day and discuss the depth of BP's criminal indifference to anything but profit but that would get seriously boring - how about we just take the BP executive commitee,George Bush and Dick Chaney and Haliburton's execs as well and shove them all down the tube - surely those giant egos would be enough to plug it!
ReplyDeleteI don't see that anyone here is "poo pooing" anything.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that what you fear though is about to become true, which is the destruction of an ecosystem and the way of life built upon it. And billions can't bring any of that back. "Not all the king's horses or all the king's men...."
So I'm sure all of us here, ranged along the bar, can understand why you are mad. And angry as hell about this disaster. Though it appears that in that "human plug" you describe above Obama and Salazar could be added. For this is Obama's 9/11 in that he too, like Bush, could have prevented it if he had acted appropriately, sooner.
No one here at the bar, so far as I can tell, will object though if you raise your voice, holler in anger, and unleash a great cry of outrage. Nor will we dismiss it merely as the drink, I don't think. In fact, I'm sure some here might want to buy another round.
Thank you my friend - we are frankly quaking in both terror and rage as we watch the end of life as we know it for every single soul in SE Louisiana and much of the rest of the Gulf Coast. By the projected date of stopping the flow from the relief the spill will be 100 X Exxon Valdez and our fisheries will be devastated for pretty much the rest of my life. For now we savor every shrimp and oyster po-boy as if will be our last because soon it will be.
ReplyDeleteI am hearing Louisiana cane that is growing on the offshore barrier islands is dying fast as oil is sucked into roots. It's the cane root system that holds the islands together, yes? Without the barrier islands, hurricanes will hit direct. KingCake, you know what a friend I am to you and your great blog. What can we do? Are you on FaceBook. Let's make more noise on the Internet!
ReplyDelete