Good Morning All;
I really need a bit (or a lot?) of help here.
Sadly too, I think I will need it explained on an 8 year old level...
For some odd reason, many people are up in arms about Obama not doing something about the Gulf Oil Disaster.
(First of all, this is NOT a "spill" people, this is a worldwide disaster).
IMHO, If it has not affected your water/wildlife yet, it will.
I cannot wrap my mind around a thought process that would condone pointing fingers at anyone, save for BP.
Why/How can ANY of this possibly be our presidents fault?
What angle am I missing here?
Explain? Please?
XOXO
Me, -feeling dense as the box of rocks above.
picture from CBS.com
Could it be the Washington DC syphrocants sat back and collected lots of $$ from Big Oil to turn a blind eye toward govt. mandated precautions. Obama needs to kick some ass. But then it is too late -- The Horse (and oil) is already out of the barn.
ReplyDeleteit's not his fault, but I think the people want him to have the government step in and clean it all up and stop the flow - obviously BP knows NOT what to do! it's a terrible shame, a tragedy and it really needs to be stopped!
ReplyDeleteI agree with this sentence.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't understand why this hasn't been done already.
Then again, (and once again), it's a "damned if he does,and damned if he doesn't" scenario.
Nasty shoes to be in- And HUGE shoes to fill once he is gone...
XOXO
Me
PS
(I agree with the rest of your statement too).
You are right-
ReplyDeleteBut that is exactly where my damned confusion comes in.
I read these words earlier, From BP no less:
"It's a huge challenge, we're doing something that we hoped we'd never have to do, but we're doing something that no one's ever done before"
I mean, if the fricking so-called "experts" don't know what the hell they are doing, how the hell is one man, (who has NEVER even owned a gas station by the way), supposed to fix it?
See?
XOXO
Me
our government engineers should be knowledgeable enough to come up with a solution, not exactly the president but by his orders to get them involved.
ReplyDeleteAnd an FYI too, from someone that lives in Florida, posted earlier:
ReplyDelete"...what a lot of hype!!! The press, not the oil, is really going to hurt tourism here. Can't control that though."
Bet they don't feel that way now...
When BP, Shell, and all the others (don't think everyone in big oil hasn't had their input), and have no idea what to do, how can anyone in gov't be expected to know???
ReplyDeleteIf they knew the answer Sweet Suzy, they would be working for the oil companies, and not the US government.
I haven't heard anything from my son in law, William, either.
ReplyDeleteThey have a place at Gulf Shores, AL. And i can just imagine how bad it is there already.
William, when you read this, please let me know?
XOXO
Me
Americans always need someone to blame--and most don't understand the huge depth problem involved here--also it is not just B/P who is to blame the three other groups involved are all equally responsible--
ReplyDeleteSweet Heidi;
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it is not just BP. But this one IS their well.
It will happen again, and again, unless they do something now.
And that much on the Washington front, I CAN understand.
A little research will show that Shell could give a damn- Just look what is happening, and is allowed to continue happening in Africa!
If they knew how to fix it, they might have done so already there.
Still, I don't understand why people are blaming President Obama when those companies themselves cannot even fix it?
Again, it's damned if ya do, and damned if ya don't.
XOXO
Me
I think his biggest mistake was claiming he was in charge
ReplyDeleteOff course along those same lines people were pissed off at President Bush because of Katrina... how was that his fault?
ReplyDeleteoh me either but like I said seems like people need to blame someone and poor Obama is easy target
ReplyDeletesure all the other companies are glad it didn't happen to them--
I also don't like the call to put B/P out of business I hope all realize that if that happens Standard oil oh Ohio and Illanois will go with them
one thing this does show is how little even our best scientists know about working at 5000 thousands miles beneath the sea
Sweet Cab;
ReplyDeleteThank you-
Do you have a link to that? I can't recall reading that?
XOXO
Me
he never claimed that !
ReplyDeleteHuge HUGE HUGE difference there Sweetie-
ReplyDeleteKatrina was a natural disaster,
AND, Bush had many many days of forewarning; doing nothing for days afterward.
This disaster is MANMADE, and the only people that saw it coming were the ones that are dead now. I have a feeling even they had little warning, save for the guy who warned his superiors the day before...
XOXO
Me
ReplyDeleteWill be back in 15 minutes,,,
Miss me a little. hehehe
XOXO
Me
Not sure what to say here Annie. Regulations were allowed to be ignored in the last administration , but this one didn't stay on top of them either. JMHO.
ReplyDeleteOXOX,
Snotball.
Evidence is emerging from the testimonies of the rig survivors that corners were cut in order to save time. There is a good chance that the government will pursue charges against BP, including, possibly, negligent homicide.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, no one can figure out how to stop the damn leak.
What Obama said in essence was "the buck stops here", words we never heard from the previous administration. He's taking the high road. But those opposed to him will criticize him no matter what he says or does, as they've been doing since his election.
And yes, Bush had days of warning that Katrina was coming, chose to ignore the situation completely, and headed off on yet another vacation or photo op, I forget which.
As for Obama not having kept up on the mistakes of the last administration regarding oil drilling, I think he was handed the biggest plate of problems of any President in our lifetime. The deregulation of the banking industry, the housing collapse, two ongoing wars and so on. We elected a man, a very bright man of great intelligence and composure, a Rhodes scholar who can even speak in complete sentences. But he's not Superman.
Perhaps he didn't step into the situation quickly enough, but then BP has lied about the magnitude of this disaster from the very start. Perhaps the worst mistake he made was believing them.
I think there are a couple of factors going on with the need to blame Obama. Some people have the need for the president to be like a great father and in charge of absolutely everything and like small children, will blame him for any and everything that goes wrong. Some people hate him so much that they will seize any opportunity to bash him, no matter what. Those are likely to be the same people who compare this to Bush's response to Katrina, when he had to have a specially made CD shown to him 4 days after the rest of us were watching on CNN.
ReplyDeleteYes, he hadn't yet gotten around to cleaning up the corruption in that department. He has been a little busy addressing the host of other problems facing the country.
By the way, someone is surely going to come along and say that Obama is the biggest recipient of BP's campaign money and therefore corrupted by them. Technically it is true that he has been the individual recieving the most money, but it's only $77,000 over 20 years, and it's a weak case to argue that makes him beholden. Just a little pre-emptive fact checking on my part.
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/05/05/bp-and-obama-playing-internet-gotcha-with-campaign-finance-numbers/
My disappointment is not directed at Obama but it does include the US government for the past 50 years. We have been told over and over that so many problems are related to our dependence on oil and that the supply of oil is not going to be available forever. Yet while the technology to have alternatives is out there, it is not coming forth fast enough nor is the infrastructure to use the alternatives being put into place at any rapid pace. We should have been done with oil dependence 25 years ago. I have no sympathy for oil companies that might be put out of business as they could have been putting their massive profits into the new infrastructures and technology and changing their avenue to make the money. Instead it is my understanding that they did what they could to block any progress in these areas. Now with the disaster in the gulf, someone should pull their ears off, along with our law makers who have not acted on paving this new path for the last half century.
ReplyDeleteSweet Snotball;
ReplyDeleteI too have remained mute on my blog with respect to this all, unsure of what to say-
Odd how knowing of the deaths, and of a lot else that went on, it still took the damned pelican in an email to really get my guns out...
Odd too that within that very same blog, http://flintville.multiply.com/journal/item/1015, I actually wrote very little about the disaster; though all that replied had much to say.
I had much to say about ALL KINDS OF THINGS that day, yet I don't think people even read the blog after seeing the top picture-
Many even commented on my iris... But the picture said it all for most.
Anyway,
While I was putting dinner in the oven, I had a reply to you all in my head.
Mr Whatzit has echoed those sentiments exactly in his last paragraph.
Please just see the next reply from your own.
XOXO
Me
Heya Mr. Whatzit!
ReplyDeleteI am happy that you have stopped by my page!
That is what has turned out, from beginning to 'God only knows when it will' end, what should have been known before any drills ever broke Mother Earth.
XOXO
Me
Cutting corners should be reason to do something, whether on US soil or Britains, it doesn't matter to me...
ReplyDeleteBut those same people who did that should ultimately be held responsible, (jailed, or whatever) in the end.
Furthermore, I do hope that whatever happens, those families are well taken care of.
You are right about those opposed to President Obama- (Seems as though everyone who voted for JohnBoy has the bigger mouth and makes the biggest waves with respect to anything... from healthcare to ANYthing else Obama has had on his agenda).
I agree completely with your summation- the last paragraph. You not only took the wordss out of my mouth, you added quite nicely to them.
XOXO
Me
Sweet JoAnne!
ReplyDeleteSo happy to see you here!
You're right about the 'daddy' thing- (Too bad so many parents have given dads a raunchy name).
... And to think there are still some people that, in their 30's, 40's and 50's STILL blame their childhood for everything.
But I digress.
Comparing Katrina to this oil disaster takes about the same intelligence as comparing Obama to Bush.
There simply is NO comparison! (But it sure does separate the people that have and the people that do).
You are correct too that he has been busy. Whether Republican or Democrat, I can remember no other president that was always busy.
I had one gal on here that whined that he wasn't out in the open, then whined when he was on TV too.
Didn't make sense then, and still doesn't (to me anyway). But it was good for a laugh.
About the $77,000. Thank you for this heads up!
But lets really THINK about that...
I am not sure if a man like Barack Obama can really be bought in anyones pocket for $10.00 day.
Yeah, right.
(Yay! Another giggle Sweetie, I thank you).
XOXO
Me
SweetSkeez!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about we should have been done with this dependence on oil for a long time.
But you are wrong to put the entire blame upon the government.
It should always be up to the people.
... And the people, by and large, are terribly misinformed, (and disinformed).
A lot of us, and for a long time already, were out cleaning up our rivers and ditches, and separating our garbage and trash long before it was PC to do so.
Not that THAT abslves the government for not passing the laws...
And not that there are not mistakes that we still make.
I know I make those mistakes from time to time. (With respect to fossil fuels, it is usually because I am too damned cold in Winter). But I make no, (ok, very very few), trips anywhere that are NOT important enough to honestly justify starting my car.
Does that offset my carbon footprint? Probably not enough.
people scream that other countries footprints are bigger. (Good God, if Johnny jumps off a cliff will Obama follow? hehehe I think not)!
So what? Someone has to take charge.
Um, don't they?
If not them, then us.
Works for me.
XOXO
Me
Dear Annie.. you are trying to make sense out of the Fox news spin, good luck with that.! If Obama took over the mess BP's created, he would first be accused of being a socialist and then burned in effigy for trying to help. Most of the complaints about Obama are racist, pure and simple. The way repubs dis him in public (i.e. State of the Union name calling, how embarrassing... Swearing in ceremony botched, unbelievable, etc, etc..). None of that will stop, no matter what issue he is forced to deal with.
ReplyDeleteBP clearly broke rules, safety and otherwise which resulted in a major disaster, including the deaths of people, wildlife, and precious ground. Middle class or poor folks would be in jail forever for much less. I am still waiting for more of the Wall street gang to go to prison... BP execs should be right behind them.
And by the way, Cheney received a check from Haliburton every month he was Vice President... and for a couple bucks more than $77,000.!
ReplyDeleteKnow that I am quickly losing that respect for them.
Yet, what of all the families?
A very delicate balance there.
As far as people investing in big oil, I have no compassion for them.
They have, almost directly, chosen to support these and all atrocities to Mother Earth.
XOXO
Me
On to your link now.
ReplyDeleteI believe this paragraph says it all...
The article presents the money as a largely Democratic problem, highlighting the donations to Obama and Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu at the top of the piece.
Much lower down (of course), do we get mention of the fact that historically Republicans have taken much more money from BP, but this is buried in the assertion that Democrats have almost pulled even with Republicans in recent years. That's one way of slicing the numbers. Another would be to say that in the last 20 years, BP has given 71 percent of its money to Republicans, and 29 percent to Democrats. (That number is not in the story, which also chooses not to count soft money contributions during the 20-year horizon. If soft money, which was given to party committees, not individuals, Obama would no longer be the top recipient. BP, for instance, gave more than $100,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, far more than the money that went to Obama.)
One could also point out that of the top 30 recipients of BP money over this time period, 26 are Republican and only four are Democrats."end quote
Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/05/05/bp-and-obama-playing-internet-gotcha-with-campaign-finance-numbers/#ixzz0qkwDe99A
And sometimes the comments are wirth a read too
Here's one that almost makes sense too.
"Perhaps if someone chokes on a doughnut tomorrow, we can blame Obama..since he received the most money from Dunkin' Donuts"
XOXO
Me
Sweet SissyKrissiePoo;
ReplyDeleteHalliburton was connected at the apron strings to Bush, (or vice-versa), so any money they sent to Cheney must have been for the scissors to cut the cord.
Another example of corruption, ya think?
Or just another example of "do as I say, not as I do" ?
Man could I go off on sleeping with the enemy here!?!
But I won't. (Well, not right now anyway).
How much oil does Bush have?
Where does he fit?
If they are going to investigate anything after BP, I believe this must be addressed too.
Now how much does Boehner have too? And why has he been so uncharacteristically silent here?
XOXO
Me
PS
Loved the analogy of figuring out FOX, but I'm trying to quit. (I'd rather smoke).
Methinks we could ALL have a blast here too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.halliburtonwatch.org/
XOXO
me
I wish this comment would have been included in here instead of in a PM
ReplyDelete"kudos to you for taking on the anti-Obama (i.e. anti-voice of reason) crowd.. i admire your willingness to stand up, state facts and not react to all the emotion. I usually start screaming, my head blows up and then i go outside and stare at the water.
I stare at the water a lot." end quote
________________
Thank you muchly!
I do not understand how one can stare at the water if their head has blown up?
hehehe
Love you!
XOXO
Me
PS
Please know that the people who disagree out of their own bigoted thoughts make me angry too.
Mostly it is frustrating to me because for some strange reason they canNOT be taught the facts.
What's up with that?
I swear I will never understand!
And I don't understand how one can be shown the facts, and still not get it.
Then they get mad at me.
And then THEY block me?
(Go figure THAT one out. And when you do, let me know).
HAHAHA
XOXO
Me
The fault lies with us all.
ReplyDeleteGood points. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend watching the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
ReplyDeleteEveryone who hasn't seen it yet should rent a copy of "Who Killed The Electric Car?"
ReplyDeleteIf you can't find it at Blockbuster's, I'm sure you can pick up a good used copy on Amazon.
It's a must see.
ReplyDeleteSweet Pea;
You are very correct.
Guess I should have just said that and left the rest out...
Forgive my longwindedness.
XOXO
Me
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI shall put that on my rental list. (It HAS to be out there, somewhere, doesn't it)?
XOXO
Me
Sigh...
ReplyDeleteAnd I still haven't the answers I sought... Wonder if I ever will.
Have a wunnaful evening all.
XOXO
Me
Anne, please be advised that if you watch the movie, 'who killed the electric car?' or another great one, 'Capitalism, a love story', you will start screaming, your head will explode and you will go outside and stare at the water......
ReplyDeletea lot.....
I really enjoyed Capitalism A Love Story and will look for Who Killed The Electric Car. I would also like to suggest Food INC. While that sounds off topic, it deals with big business and the food industry burns a lot of gas in its tractors and trucking. So it all ties in.
ReplyDeleteAnd Anne - I don't think we should have to be cold in the winter and stay home all the time. The technology is out there to free us of fossil fuel by using other means. The wind power and the solar power are gaining popularity. Energy storage is an issue to solve as is transporting from the center of our country to the populated coastal areas. As individuals we can't solve those sorts of infrastructure issues.
ReplyDeleteOf course there are things we can do and should do that you indicated such as recycling. Also buying food from local sources.
I did not mean to indicate the lack of progress was all the govt's fault. But I am disappointed that the leadership has not come from that sector. And I do blame the big oil companies for a lot of the reason we have not made progress.
Certainly as citizens we should have made more noise and demanded things move in the directions that would free us from oil.
So I guess in writing all this I could have just said what Deeannes said and not went on so.
"The fault lies with us all"
ReplyDeleteROTFLMAO!
(Which is better than my head exploding).
um... I think!
hmmmmmmmmmmmm......
Still laughing!
ReplyDeleteHoly cow!
Sounds like I gotta crawl out from under my rock and start watching some movies...
Sill Girl, I really did know what you meant. hehehe But had to put my reply in there for those that are cruisin' through, not commenting, and passing bs onward. (Like how I'd replied about the $77,000 thing).
ReplyDeleteI have to address it so NO ONE gets misconstrued.
The technology has been there for 150 years for both wind and solar power. They did not know how to reserve solar power for a long time.
Wind is a different story though. We have used that energy, (and flowing water) for a long time...
Carter was in the White House when we could actually begin to harvest solar energy. (But due to "The Peanut Factor", this was put on the back burner way back then).
Then it only got worse.
We did, after all, allow this to happen.
There were/ARE plenty of scientists etc, that have been showing the govt, in no uncertain terms, that this is something we ALL need to do.
Methinks now it ALL goes right back to big oil and deep pockets.
I know we shouldn't have to be cold. (But I used up all my money on paying for my oil, and now I cannot afford to do the wind or solar)...
About the trucking... I do know that there is a lot of waste there.
Still, with Schneider Trucking here in Green Bay, (and a myriad of other trucking companies based nearby), AND our paper mills, it seems almost wrong to remove the income from it too. (Another of those damnable dilemmas).
Tractors? Wisconsin is the Dairy State. And I grew up on a dairy farm. (See parenthesis above).
*sigh*
And yes, we should demand that something be done!
But first we must answer my two questions.
hehehe (or not?).
XOXO
Me
The answer is no. There is no reason to blame Obama any more than every single one of us are to blame.
ReplyDeleteBuying/eating local supports local farmers. And I believe there are other goods to transport via trucks besides food that can be obtained locally. The large food corps put the little growers out of business so buying local supports local people and uses less oil too.
ReplyDeleteBP should be made, to deal with and pay for, all that this has cost everyone that has been affected by it.
ReplyDeleteNone of it is Obamas "fault." I think what upsets many is that they wish he had expressed more authority in getting BP to fix the danged leak and clean up the danged mess long before the mess became what it is now. There has been too much "BP red tape" to go through in order to get things done. And in the mean time....our earth continues to bleed out a precious resource that will in the long run, affect everyone because of it. This is a disaster that many will not even notice since they are not close to where they can visually see what it has done. But when it starts to affect their pocketbook they WILL take notice. For now, the sea life, the birds, the fishing industries and the vacationing hot spots that all usually help the economy of that area, are the first ones to suffer from this.
I think what most people are wanting is for Obama to ride BP like a cowboy at a rodeo! To get in there and hang on till the job is done and done right.
As far as PCB is concerned..beaches are open (save where they pulled an oil container..w/BP marking..suspected to be from DWH... from the waters on the West end over the weekend and then it just that immediate area that got cordoned off )and the water is beautiful as ever!
ReplyDeleteNow ..in Walton Co (county next to us in Bay Co) they pulled a oil container (same as the PCB,FL one) this morning. They are calling for the "Destin Pass" to be closed by weeks end. We will see. SO far the wind/water current direction is all that is keeping the "oil" away from PCB.
I don't know anything other than what I can see when I ride over and up and down the beaches here.
Just wish whomever is in charge would just get their collective asses in gear and get with it...this has been a huge cluster F&*k from the get go.
A program Bruce watched yesterday..showed people with ideas on how to help clean up the oil and no one is letting them help...at this point beggars cant be choosy on where there help is coming from...as long as its not causing anymore damage...let them have at it..what can it hurt?
I already do that, even the 'large' store I shop at is employee owned, and buys lots locally to sell.
ReplyDeleteAs far as using less oil...
I am not sold on that. Where you might save it on diesel, having 10,000 cars driving TO the store will offset that savings too.
Perhaps our best bet is to do away with all stores and buy over internet?
XOXO
Me
Sweet PeachieBaby;
ReplyDeleteNow you have me wondering 'how' President Obama could get that authority in the 1st place?
Knowing that he is dealing with a foreign corporation?
I would venture to guess that the red tape is from the international law end of it all.
AND the fact that BP has lied to everyone in the meanwhile.
XOXO
Me
PS
That cowboy only has to stay on for 7 seconds...
My sister Barbara was in Sault Ste Marie, (she lives in the same city you do, on the beach), that she would be returning home to a mess.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard from her yet, so am glad that you came by for the update too!
As far as the others wanting to help, I did hear about the Dutch, and that one actor also.
Someone 'should' be allowed to try, but WITHOUT any huge ulterior motive too.
And methinks that BP should be remembered that they are the beggars. (They apparently don't even have a clue how to properly manage their business).
Oh, those dirty bastards!
XOXO
Me
I am much looking forward to hearing President Obama's comment tomorrow evening.
ReplyDelete** Why/How can ANY of this possibly be our presidents fault?
** What angle am I missing here?
XOXO
Me