Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Feds Exempted BP From Study

As the blame game is playing out, we can see that the Feds and the leftists in power are doing their share of finger pointing in the oil spill. As it stands right now, they seek to use this as an excuse to deny new offshore drilling.

But in case you haven't heard, here is something to ponder:

The Interior Department exempted BP's calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year, according to government documents, after three reviews of the area concluded that a massive oil spill was unlikely.

The decision by the department's Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP's lease at Deepwater Horizon a "categorical exclusion" from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 6, 2009 -- and BP's lobbying efforts just 11 days before the explosion to expand those exemptions -- show that neither federal regulators nor the company anticipated an accident of the scale of the one unfolding in the gulf.


Emphasis on the date was added my me. But as you can plainly see, this cannot be blamed on the Bush Administration. The Obama Administration has complete ownership of this fiasco.

Naturally, BP or any other company would lobby for an exemption. But does it make any sense for the the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to use this as a fundraising opportunity, when it was an agency under the supervision of the Democratic Administration responsible for this oversight?

Here is the e-mail they sent out:

[H]ere's a perfect example of why we must keep fighting:

Last week's deadly oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico has unleashed an oil spill that threatens livelihoods, pristine beaches, and wildlife along America's coast. The spill could eclipse the damage done by the 1989 Exxon-Valdez disaster.

The Obama administration has vowed to "keep a boot on the throat" of BP to ensure the corporation is held accountable for the spill. But Republican Leader Rush Limbaugh has a different plan. He said there's no need to clean up the spill because "the ocean will take care of this on its own," and that oil is "natural. It's as natural as the ocean water is."

Sign our petition. Stand with President Obama to hold BP accountable for this disastrous spill. Rush Limbaugh is entirely wrong: This oil will not clean itself up. Corporations must be held accountable for their actions....


The Obama Administration did not keep a boot on the throat of anything.

As has been the case so many times before this, they were sleep walking. It's just another example of why America must throw out the Democratic Congress, this year.

Someone needs to be awake on guard duty. And from countless events in this realm, and in the world of Homeland security, it is becoming more and more clear that Obama will not be the one to do it.



Addendum:

Maybe there is a logical explanation for why BP was exempt from this impact study. It is being reported that, evidently, BP has given a goodly sum of cash to Obama and the Democrats in the past.

While the BP oil geyser pumps millions of gallons of petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama and members of Congress may have to answer for the millions in campaign contributions they’ve taken from the oil and gas giant over the years.

BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company’s political action committees — $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about $638,000 came from individuals.


Isn't it great to not have an oilman in the White House, anymore? Isn't it great that special interests no longer have influence in Washington?


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm.

I think I agree that an oil spill was —statistically— highly unlikely. Consider the number of oilrigs there are around the world, and discounting Africa’s west coast, where Nigerian oil spills are a daily occurrence and of epic proportions, hardly any of these experience a serious problem.

That said, of course it was Bush’s fault. What in the hell is the matter with you? But it seems to me, beyond the axiom, sh** happens, that anticipating oil spills is a sensible “first line of defense.”

It would appear that in this particular area, oil companies, regulatory agencies, members of congress should have a mind set sans complacency. I’m not sure that’s the case —but once again, we can see what sterling politicians we have; they’ll accept money from literally anyone (including felons) with the tacit understanding that politicians are expected to return the favor.

And this is the genesis of political corruption in this country, following the erroneous assumption among voters that any politician is an honest man or woman.

Semper Fi

A.C. McCloud said...

That is some awesome bloggin, Mr. Sunsett. Definitely won't see that kind of thing in the pages of the WaPo this afternoon, at least not so obviously phrased.

The letter being sent out is typical fundraising nonsense (the GOP has done a few beats as well) but the quip about Limbaugh was amusing. Happened to catch his show last week where he was saying that Obama should just lower the waters of the Gulf (as promised when he was elected) to make the cleanup easier. Of course more oil bellows out of natural vents into the ocean than this particular spill, but that's probably also Bush's fault (global warming). It's only logical, since Gore said the earth's core was millions of degrees, so it must have gone up under Bush to force out all this ejecta from the inside. The Fascist!

I still think someone could have sabotaged the rig due to the timing and what was at stake. Wonder if we'll ever know?

Chuck said...

I'm not sure if it is more disgusting that Obama took money from them and may have given them a break on the study or that he is now throwing them under the bus to save his ass.

It almost seems as if you should have enough integrity to support someone who has bribed you.

Maybe I just have twisted morals.

LA Sunset said...

//And this is the genesis of political corruption in this country, following the erroneous assumption among voters that any politician is an honest man or woman.//

Some may be when they get there, but the culture of the system will eventually break them down.

LA Sunset said...

//That is some awesome bloggin, Mr. Sunsett.//

Thank you AC, but believe me you are way too kind. It's amazing what you can do when you have a day off and have to wait for the air conditioning service man to come and do your annual service.

LA Sunset said...

//It almost seems as if you should have enough integrity to support someone who has bribed you.

Maybe I just have twisted morals.
//

No Chuck, we are just old fashioned. We were brought up under the Rostenkowski style of Chicago politics.

Z said...

Ya, as I read, I wondered how long it would take for you to mention BP MONEY TO OBAMA....and, you never let me down!
AMAZING, INCREDIBLE...and the media keeps giving the WH passes.....man, oh MAN.
THIS type of hypocrisy is why we blog; nobody hears it elswhere..

I just wondered if you noticed our dear Mustang didn't slam you once in his comment; is he losing his touch!? :-)

Chuck said...

We were brought up under the Rostenkowski style of Chicago politics.

LMAO

Oh, for the good old days.

LA Sunset said...

//I just wondered if you noticed our dear Mustang didn't slam you once in his comment; is he losing his touch!?//

NOW you've done it. Thanks for reminding him.

LA Sunset said...

//Oh, for the good old days.//

Funny how my dad thought the world was going to hell back then. He died in 1997, boy... he'd really be sickened if he knew about the crap going on today.

Ducky's here said...

Well, while you're busy pointing fingers, big oil owns your butt regardless of who's in the White House.

Those methane hydrates are going to be a bear. The secondary shaft will probably run into the same problem.

Full scale blowout and all the economic and environmental damage that goes with it.

Come on Baggers, "Drill, baby, drill."

LA Sunset said...

You are right, Ducky. Big oil is here to stay until someone can figure out a good replacement for it.

But the larger point of this post is not whether to drill or not, it's the hypocrisy of the current President and those who worship him and his policies.

Had something like this happened on Bush's watch, the left-leaning media would have led this for days on end.... and would have trumped up the lack of response time just like they tried to do with Katrina.

All things being equal but with the exception of Bush being President, there would be no shutting up the left and their hate-filled responses right now. But as we can all see, the crickets are chirping big time and guys like you are not stepping up to the plate.

I don't mind people who have a principled stance that is in contrast to my own. What I despise is those who base their stances on who the office holder is.

Ducky's here said...

... some poor bubba loses his fishing business , BP ties up any compensation in court till the poor bastard's dead, he has to listen to Sister Sarah screech "Drill Baby Drill" and some rethug schmuck will be screaming to have the guys unemployment benefits cut off.

What a country. Now here in a nutshell is capitalist man's relationship to nature.

Fricking bastards. From the Financial Times:

THE owner of the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people and causing a giant slick, has made a $270m (£182m) profit from insurance payouts for the disaster.

The revelation by Transocean, the world's biggest offshore driller, will add to the political storm over the disaster. The company was hired by BP to drill the well.

The "accounting gain" arose because the $560m insurance policy Transocean took out on its Deepwater Horizon rig was greater than the value of the rig itself. Transocean has already received a cash payment of $401m with the rest due in the next few weeks.

The windfall, revealed in a conference call with analysts, will more than cover the $200m that Transocean expects to pay to survivors and their families and for higher insurance costs.

LA Sunset said...

But as we see from Obama's swift response, he sure cares about that little guy doesn't he, Ducky?

None of what you say negates the fact that your man in the WH took money from BP the company that hired Transocean, even though he said that special interests would not play a role in WH policies.

They'll use the opportunity for fund raising. But to do anything else for anyone affected by this disaster? Fat chance.

Ducky's here said...

That's all you've got, marine? Some crap about Obama's quick response?

What did you expect him to do?

Here's your term for the day - methane hydrates, if you don't know what they are then find out because they are running this show and an understanding is critical to knowing why it may not be possible to prevent a full scale blowout.

But you don't care. The damage is secondary. You care about getting a chance to lob a couple cheap shots. As much as it is a blessing to have the Baggers shut up with the "Drill baby drill" it's hardly worth this kind of price.

But in the Bagger world the whole issue is that Obama could have snapped his fingers, stopped it all and didn't, right?

LA Sunset said...

Ducky,

I want you to read something and read it good:

//“I’m not going to rest, and none of the gentlemen and women who are here are going to rest or be satisfied, until the leak is stopped at the source, the oil on the Gulf is contained and cleaned up and the people of this region are able to go back to their lives and their livelihoods. We will spare no resource to clean up whatever damage is caused." ---Barack Obama//

It's not what I want done or the next person wants done, it's about what the President said he would do. As for me, I have no confidence in government's ability to do much of anything. Neither do I believe liars. But he said it, I didn't.

So you can whine about capitalism being the cause of all of the ills of the world, if it makes you feel better. But this government lied and failed everyone again. And they get a free pass.

Obama has no answers. His staff has no answers. Tom Strickland went rafting while this was developing. So not only were they incompetent, they didn't give a damn.

So, change the argument to anything that you want. Bring up methane hydrates and any other thing you want to be the red herring, the bottom line is still the same. Obama is a failure, Obama took money from BP, and now he's using this crisis to further his political agenda.