Thumb in the Plum

I haven’t wanted to post regarding the oil rig explosion but I find this NYT article regarding Obama and the oil now gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and some things Obama said to be of interest. For example:

Link

WASHINGTON — President Obama established a bipartisan national commission on Friday to investigate what caused the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and figure out where the government went wrong so as to “make sure it never happens again,” as he put it.

That sounds great but you see it is going to happen again. Regardless of many other points the glaring obvious one is that when you are drilling for oil offshore and you are a mile above the site, that is to say, a mile deep down in Davey Jones Locker in one of the most hostile environments on the planet you would be insane to believe that there wouldn’t be problems no matter how careful, or not, you may be or think you are. The temperatures must be near freezing, the immense water pressure is almost beyond imagination, the corrosive effect of sea water, the fact that you can’t go there in person all add up to what recently occurred.

But let’s set all that aside for now and consider how Obama wishes to investigate why the explosion occurred and “make sure it never happens again.” What’s funny about that is Obama already knows since he was intimately involved in the whole affair…

Link

Without crucial environmental and safety studies, the Obama administration intervened in court to ensure that BP’s Gulf drilling operations would go forward. The administration’s efforts applied specifically to the site run by BP. It exploded on April 26, killing 11 workers and creating an oil slick that is an unparalleled disaster on the Gulf Coast.

The Obama administration joined BP in quashing environmental challenges to Gulf drilling in 2009 legal actions by Ken Salazar, Obama’s Secretary of Interior. They asked the federal court of appeals in Washington, DC to overturn their decision that blocked new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico’s outer continental shelf, referring to the same area where the explosion later occurred.

The appeals court partially approved Salazar’s petition, with the condition that the administration produce an environmental impact study for Gulf of Mexico drilling operations. The Obama administration granted BP a “categorical exemption” from producing a legally required environmental impact study and approved its exploration plan for the location of the future spill.

In his headlong rush to please an election time cash cow like BP, Obama couldn’t even be bothered with an environmental study and now he wants to know why. That’s really rich, it really is.

Okay, in lieu of the above quote now consider this remarkable statement from Obama:

Link

“If the laws on our books are inadequate to prevent such an oil spill, or if we didn’t enforce those laws, I want to know it,” Mr. Obama said in his Saturday radio and Internet address. “I want to know what worked and what didn’t work in our response to the disaster, and where oversight of the oil and gas industry broke down. We know, for example, that a cozy relationship between oil and gas companies and agencies that regulate them has long been a source of concern.”

Obama took the law, shredded it, and flushed it down the toilet all on behalf of his moneyed friends at BP and yet he speaks of “enforcing laws” and of where the oversight broke down!?! Jeez, at least Obama won’t have to look too far. The part about the cozy relationship between oil and agencies is too precious for words, how about that impact study Oh Mighty One?

The best part is that none of this will in any way halt progress as Obama forges ahead to expand offshore drilling.

Link

Mr. Obama said he wanted to hold both the government and BP accountable for the spill that continues to spew thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day. But he did not retreat from his plan to expand offshore oil drilling and in fact portrayed the commission as a means to make that possible despite the disaster.

“Because it represents 30 percent of our oil production, the Gulf of Mexico can play an important part in securing our energy future,” the president said. “