Massive Oil Spill

[_Danna]

I'd sorta be interested in what bcspace thinks of the situation.

But then, maybe not. My Mormon family don't see the problem at all - Christ is about to come back and return the world to its paradisaical state. Better to use the $ to build up the kingdom.

When I think about the idiocy spawned by millenarianism - arrgh. Wish someone would rapture off all the bloody nutters.

[_solomarineris]

What are we going to do about this? It keeps pumping out nonstop and there doesn't seem to be a fix in sight.

I think Obama is screwing up by agreeing to let BP handle the mess. I think the government should take over the operation. Maybe they could lower a bomb to seal the leak. One thing is for sure, and that is BP is not in a hurry. Has anyone paid any attention to the way the talking heads at BP are refusing to take the blame? This was a symptom of the pyschoathic entity known as the corporation, which by law, is considered a "person." How stupid.

What an idiot! I thought no one for sure could surpass Bush in this department. I can't stand stand him. I never voted for a Republican in my life but this guy was a super dumb not only in his stupid economical decisions as we see.
This guy screwed up royally. There are no words which can describe this mans leadership ineptness. As you said trusting BP was like trusting fox to your henhouse. I'm going to Destin next week, I'm sure I'll have lots of thinking Luisiana.
No wonder I can't run away fast enough from oceans, they are so defenseless.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Hello,

Regardless costs of this fiasco will be passed onto consumers and taxpayers. That behooves us all to place pressure on our politicians in order to expedite a measure to seal the breach.

This would be an opportune time for Republicans to wrest control to the environmental issue away from Democrats. They should be doing everything they can to highlight the incompetent handling of this manmade disaster by the Obama administration, and pushing any and all measures to control and clean up this mess that affects all sectors of American life.

Very Respectfully,

Doctor CamNC4Me

[_Kevin Graham]

I don't understand the concern over using an explosive?

That is the standard procedure in stopping oil springs that have caught fire, so what is the harm in using one to stop an underwater leak that is creating the most severe ecological disaster in history? You guys make it sound like the US military would be sending in a dozen aircraft carriers into the area and sending in a thousand underwater Navy Seals to attack the basin or something.

Good grief guys. Nobody is saying "blowing something up" is the answer to everything. But sometimes it is the only answer.

[_Droopy]

What are we going to do about this? It keeps pumping out nonstop and there doesn't seem to be a fix in sight.

The best thing we could do, per the environmental movement, is return to a medieval agrarian level and form of economic existence.

Or, we could follow the Democratic party in meeting the environmentalists half way, and destroy the American fossil fuel industry and replace it with "green" technologies that are neither economically viable or practical, causing substantial decline in U.S. living standards, economic competitiveness, and national security.

I think Obama is screwing up by agreeing to let BP handle the mess. I think the government should take over the operation.

Clearly, when you left the Church, you didn't abandon theism altogether, as your god at present is clearly the state. I'll have to hand it to you Kevin, this is truly brilliant. Don't allow the people who know what they are doing to deal with the leak (petroleum geologists, engineers, etc.), but turn the whole thing over to government bureaucrats who have not the slightest idea what they are talking about, to solve the problem. Let's let the same people who cooked up the housing meltdown, economic collapse, world wide credit crisis, and who haven't allowed the construction of a single new nuclear or coal fired power plant in upwards of thirty years fix the oil leak.

Let's get the experts in government to "spring into action" for us. Yes, that's the answer.

.
Maybe they could lower a bomb to seal the leak. One thing is for sure, and that is BP is not in a hurry. Has anyone paid any attention to the way the talking heads at BP are refusing to take the blame? This was a symptom of the pyschoathic entity known as the corporation, which by law, is considered a "person." How stupid.

Would you care to make in intellectually coherent argument with some degree of logical continuity between premises and conclusions here?

Why don't we just nationalize all oil production Kevin, like Mexico? Then we could have chronic shortages, rampant inflation of price, decreasing economic activity and output, institutionalized high unemployment, and could more closely approach the stagnant or near stagnant economies of western Europe that are the idea of the American Left.

I have no idea what government bureaucrats and politicians know that the actual experts who explore, drill, process, refine, and sell oil do not about capping deep sea oil leaks. There is no question, however, of the utter dearth of historical evidence that would lead one to believe that government is any more competent in this highly specialized are than it is in most of the other areas it involves itself in in which its performance is poor to abysmal (which is the substantial majority of the things in which it involves itself).

Why would BP want the leak to continue? No reason, but it makes for great pop Marxist hand wringing and moral posturing about the "greedy corporation" (now "psychopathinc") and its malignant motives.

Kevin "Baaaa" Graham, once a staunch conservative, and now a baby Kos Kid, salivates when the Obama/leftist/progressive bell rings.

What a shame to see a free born American crawling and simpering before his betters in government as he does their bidding by attacking and savaging the very institutions, principles and liberties under which he crawls towards the boots he so desperately desires to lick.

[_Rambo]

I would have to agree with most things droopy said except for the comments making fun of you Kevin. I work in the industry and I can tell you the gov would not have a clue how to stop this problem. We should leave it to the experts Bp wants to stop this as soon as possible.

[_Kevin Graham]

Or, we could follow the Democratic party in meeting the environmentalists half way, and destroy the American fossil fuel industry and replace it with "green" technologies that are neither economically viable or practical, causing substantial decline in U.S. living standards, economic competitiveness, and national security.

You're reduced to regurgitating Rush Limbaugh Talking points that reflect your poor understanding of the industry and why it is what it is. Contrary to myth, we have the technology and the means to provide people with efficient transportation without fossil fuels, but the Auto and Oil corporations control everything and refuse to give up their current monopoly. Any attempt by environmentally minded politicians to change our current course, is met with fierce lobbying efforts by these corporations along with aggressive propaganda campaigns by their henchmen over in the Right Wing media. Their end product is a mass of duped fools like yourself.

Don't allow the people who know what they are doing to deal with the leak (petroleum geologists, engineers, etc.), but turn the whole thing over to government bureaucrats who have not the slightest idea what they are talking about, to solve the problem.

Who the hell said anything about bureaucrats? The government hires engineers, but you knew that right? And American engineers with more at stake just might have better luck. Only a moron would think BP "knows what they are doing" when it has been a month gone b and so far their attempts to stop the leak look more like exercises in tom-foolery than expert-based engineering. But hey, your right wing religion says that since they are a privatized organization, nothing can do it any better! So it must be true. Even if that means 12 months later our tourism and fishing industry is utterly destroyed thanks to the new Gulf of Texaco. You'll find a way to blame the Left.

Let's let the same people who cooked up the housing meltdown, economic collapse, world wide credit crisis, and who haven't allowed the construction of a single new nuclear or coal fired power plant in upwards of thirty years fix the oil leak.

The economic crisis was cooked up by Bush's pride and need to go murder a few hundred thousand Muslims, just to gratify the rednecks down south. And Phil Gramm, who is rightly called the "father of the financial crisis," by creating legislation such as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 -- that ushered in the malfeasance that almost toppled the world economy.

Let's get the experts in government to "spring into action" for us. Yes, that's the answer.

What makes people like you so intolerable is your black and white mentality. For you there are only two sides. One is the "government" which represents every aspect of evil imaginable, and then the other is the "private" which represents all that is good and righteous. No amount of education could sway you unless maybe, a Mormon is elected President.

Why don't we just nationalize all oil production Kevin, like Mexico? Then we could have chronic shortages, rampant inflation of price, decreasing economic activity and output, institutionalized high unemployment, and could more closely approach the stagnant or near stagnant economies of western Europe that are the idea of the American Left.

Or like in Brazil, where oil is so plentiful that it is exported and the price is always stable? Another trait of black and white thinking, is the appeal to extremes. You see no grey. You see no middle-ground. And who the hell said we should nationalize anything? This spill is causing an economic catastrophe within our worst economic downturn since the depression, and you want our government to do nothing and just allow a corporation from a foreign country to take control. As long as they promise us they'll do their best? You're satisfied with that?

There is no question, however, of the utter dearth of historical evidence that would lead one to believe that government is any more competent in this highly specialized are than it is in most of the other areas it involves itself in in which its performance is poor to abysmal (which is the substantial majority of the things in which it involves itself).

When we're dealing with a group of so-called "experts" who aren't getting the job done, then what do we haave to lose? More oil? Your hatred of government is so engrained that you can't even accept the fact that BP has screwed the pooch and is making a joke out of the famous Right Wing talking point about how private corporations do everything better. Well Jesus H Christ man, if these guys are so interested in our well being and are so "expert" on the matter at hand, then how is it that they never had any countermeasures in place or any viable crisis planning established beforehand? It's like they never even considered the possibility that a leak could occur, so they figure why spend the time and money developing a fix for such a hypothetical problem when we can just file bankruptcy, cash in our bonuses, and let the little people deal with it. This is typical of corporations. All they see is the short term profit margin, and don't give a damn about anything else.

Why would BP want the leak to continue? No reason, but it makes for great pop Marxist hand wringing and moral posturing about the "greedy corporation" (now "psychopathinc") and its malignant motives.

I don't know if they want it to continue, but I do know that they have no answers to the problem and that their unapologetic attitude towards the offense doesn't invoke confidence in their eagerness to resolve the problem. I guess you follow what some idiot Republicans are saying now... "Accidents happen sometimes."

Kevin "Baaaa" Graham, once a staunch conservative, and now a baby Kos Kid, salivates when the Obama/leftist/progressive bell rings.

Uh, I'm crtiticizing Obama now you assclown. Just because I didn't jump on the racist bandwagon of the Tea Parties and criticize him during the first few months he was in office, didn't make me a "Staunch Conservative." Unlike you, I've always tried to keep my mind open, and I criticize where I see its needed. I dropped criticism of Obama the moment he became our President, and that is documented on this forum. I did so because I said any President deserves a chance to do something. I gave Bush more than six years to prove he wasn't just after his own self-interests. Ultimately, I felt like a moron for giving him one.

What a shame to see a free born American crawling and simpering before his betters in government as he does their bidding by attacking and savaging the very institutions, principles and liberties under which he crawls towards the boots he so desperately desires to lick.

That's the kind of rhetoric that give you and your ilk a hard-on, but you're an idiot if you think I'm attacking the "institutions, principles and liberties" of America. A talking point straight from Beck. Learn to think for yourself Dafty.

Better yet, learn to think first.

Baby steps.

[_Kevin Graham]

I would have to agree with most things droopy said except for the comments making fun of you Kevin. I work in the industry and I can tell you the gov would not have a clue how to stop this problem. We should leave it to the experts Bp wants to stop this as soon as possible.

But BP doesn't have any experts in plugging oil leaks a mile underwater. The leak is getting ridiculously dangerous and that danger increases every passing day. Assuming they have "experts" in leak control is a proved myth. How can experts exist when no such leak has ever taken place, allowing countermeasures to be tested and proved. So far every countermeasure they've come up with has been tried, and failed. The best they could do was lower a tube all the way down to the leak to suck up 20% of the spill.

I don't think you guys fully appreciate what's happening here, and the danger it poses to not only our environment (which the Right cares NOTHING about) but also our economy (which the Right would gladly see go down again so they can continue to blame Obama). I see no sense of urgency or cause for concern in people I speak with. Some aren't even aware of it and others think it is under control. Some listen to Rush Limbaugh and say "the ocean will take care of it naturally."

What will it take to wake people up? How much oil needs to be unleashed into our waters?

[_Rambo]

I do understand and I do worry about this spill all the time. Tell me what would a bomb do. I really do not think a bomb would work. The bop was the countermeasure. They are drilling two relief wells and trying a number of experimental things in the mean time. I am not sure what else could they do.

[_Kevin Graham]

Well in theory anyway, a bomb would seal up the leak. I mean what do we really have to lose in trying that? It isn't something that takes a week to plan. Just try it and see what happens. I doubt a bomb exploding a mile underwater will kill more fish than the oil leaking during that same day.

So that's what I think we should try. It isn't about getting government control so much as it is about getting government's attention to a major crisis. It is difficult to see our government even paying attention to it if they're not even involved in the solution. And it doesn't have to be either/or. They could hire American engineers to work with the BP engineers. What is so communistic about that?