Our thirst for oil, drill ‘n spill

By now even the most die-hard oil-drilling supporter must have noticed the “environmental incident” unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil Spill Silences Once-Raucous 'Drill, Baby, Drill' Camp
“'Drill, baby, drill' is now, 'Hush, baby, hush'.

The Republican battle cry that crystallized the growing popularity of offshore drilling has dropped from view since the Deepwater Horizon rig sank last week and the well it drilled started shooting crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.”

What did Congress (present and past) think was going to happen when you allow greedy cost-cutting corporate demons to poke holes into the earth’s crust at will? Partisan bickering aside, all sides of the political spectrum are equally culpable in this almost deliberate disaster.

BP disaster: Worst oil spill in U.S. history
 “Obama said he would end the "scandalously close relationship" between regulators and the oil companies they oversee. He also extended a freeze on new deepwater oil drilling and canceled or delayed proposed lease sales in the waters off Alaska and Virginia and along the Gulf Coast.”

Talk about closing the barn door after the horse has been poisoned. To stop such "scandalously close relationships" one would have to fire most of Congress. I really don't foresee that happening any time soon.

BP resumes 'top kill' effort to stop leak
“In Washington, Elizabeth Birnbaum stepped down as director of the Minerals Management Service, a job she had held since last July. Her agency has been harshly criticized over lax oversight of drilling and cozy ties with industry.
An internal Interior Department report released earlier this week found that between 2000 and 2008, agency staff members accepted tickets to sports events, lunches and other gifts from oil and gas companies and used government computers to view pornography.”

While viewing pornography may cause spills, it certainly is not responsible for this oil spill. They were corrupt, yes, as were their bosses and their bosses, all the way to the top. Scapegoating this group of minions by pinning the proverbial pornographic tail on their asses is hardly a regulatory shakeup.

BP's Profits Far Outweigh The Cost Of Cleaning Up Gulf Oil Spill
“The cost per day of the oil spill to BP so far has been $16 million. That number is dwarfed by the $66 million per day the firm made in profit in the first quarter of this year. Indeed, in 2009 BP's total profits were $14 billion.”

British Petroleum Profit Doubles to $6.1B
“BP PLC, Europe's second-largest oil company, said Tuesday that first-quarter profit more than doubled from a year earlier to $6.1 billion due to higher crude prices and lower production costs and taxes.”

Due to "lower taxes"? Right.

As anyone who pumps gas into their car, or just plain has a pulse, knows; oil prices are through the roof. Past administrations have encouraged this profit taking as it lined their election coffers. Or in the case of Dick "Darth Vader" Cheney, a million bucks a year in cash while a sitting VP.
The same mentality carries on even after our domestic regime change, lower oil stocks will lower the stock market, ergo they must maintain the status quo.

Leaking Oil Well Lacked Safeguard Device
“WSJ.com - The oil well spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico didn't have a remote-control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations as last-resort protection against underwater spills.
The lack of the device, called an acoustic switch, could amplify concerns over the environmental impact of offshore drilling after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig last week.
…
By 2003, U.S. regulators decided remote-controlled safeguards needed more study. A report commissioned by the Minerals Management Service said ‘acoustic systems are not recommended because they tend to be very costly.’”

A little proactive investment into environmental protection would have gone a long way. It costs more to clean up an oil spill than it would to prevent it in the first place. Something the fiscal geniuses at BP apparently were unaware of.

Halliburton's Return: Oil Spill Puts Symbol Of Cronyism And Corruption Back In The News
“It seems increasingly likely that when investigators determine the precise cause of the oil-rig explosion that threatens to poison huge swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, what they'll conclude is that something went catastrophically wrong with the work done by Halliburton.
BP owns the well, and Transocean Ltd. owns the drilling rig, but Halliburton was the subcontractor in charge of sealing the bottom of the well. At two Senate hearings Tuesday, executives from Halliburton, BP and Transocean will be furiously blaming each other for the diaster.
For Halliburton, it's just the latest in a seemingly endless series of brushes with notoriety.”

And when it comes to corporate greed, our “friends” at Halliburton can’t be far from the frontline.

Halliburton moving CEO from Houston to Dubai
“Monday, March 12, 2007
HOUSTON — Halliburton, the big energy services company, said on Sunday that it would open a corporate headquarters in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai and move its chairman and chief executive, David J. Lesar, there.”

They skipped, with the Bush II administration on its way out the door in ‘07, these bandits grabbed their loot and made their bed with their true love, the extradition-free zone of the UAE.
Where's the outrage? Enough is enough!

It's time Congress did something about these criminal corporations. Seize all BP assets. Investigate and prosecute whoever is “really” responsible for this accident, and we’re not talking about porn lovin’ government watch/lapdogs. Get the CEOs, the corporate directors, the decision makers. Seize their portfolios, their Malibu homes, their Rolls Royces; there’s going to be a lot of rebuilding and cleanup costs down there in the Gulf States. Get some good done from that blood money. Let these corporate thugs languish in jail, we didn’t shut down Guantanamo yet, did we?