Fuck Me Once, BP, Fuck Me Twice, U.S. Government

US District court has dismissed over 100,000 lawsuits brought against BP And Transocean to pay for oil spill clean up costs and environmental damages caused to the Gulf of Mexico from the BP Gulf Oil Spill. The court ruled that injury stopped the moment the well was sealed and the Federal Government, aka The US Taxpayer, is now liable for clean up costs along with any damages caused by deficiencies of the cleanup of the Gulf Of Mexico.

Read the rest of the piece here.

Hey, it's not like any of us were fooled into actually believing that BP would be responsible for the damage done to the ecosystem or the lives of those that live in the Gulf Coast region, right?

Just another example of how the 1% get to screw over the 99%, as usual.

Obama Administration Suspends Scientist Related To Polar Bear Problems In Arctic Region ... Hmmm

Aside from the fact that the Obama Administration is helping bring this nation to its knees, one really has to wonder how much money he is receiving for his re-election campaign from big oil interests, such that he has to resort to this:

It was seen as one of the most distressing effects of climate change ever recorded: polar bears dying of exhaustion after being stranded between melting patches of Arctic sea ice.

But now the government scientist who first warned of the threat to polar bears in a warming Arctic has been suspended and his work put under official investigation for possible scientific misconduct.

[snip]

Some question why (Charles) Monnett, employed by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, has been suspended at this moment. The Obama administration has been accused of hounding the scientist so it can open up the fragile region to drilling by Shell and other big oil companies.

Yeah, well those of us that have wised up to Mr. Obama's "change for the corporate world" can believe this.

Surprise? Coral Reefs Dying Off Gulf Of Mexico

Photo by Associated Press - Dying coral with attached brittle starfish photographed this week near the capped gulf oil well.

Well, well, well. Seems that the oil that "disappeared" from the Gulf spill has settled on the bottom, and is killing off coral reefs.

Drill, baby, drill, because, of course, Americans know there is no impact to the environment. Yeah, that's the ticket!

BP Still Stopping People From Digging In Beach Sand

Well, so much for that theory -- the oil is gone from Florida beaches, all is well, go for a swim, play on the beach. I seem to remember just recently a president taking his daughter into the water off the coast of Florida saying come on in, the water is fine. Well, guess you just can't build sandcastles or make mud pies, or just plain dig in the sand! What's the fun in that?

So, Who Actually Buys The Government's Statement That 75% Of The Gulf Spill Is Gone?

I'm really having a difficult time understanding the Obama administration's position with regard to the BP oil spill. At each and every step in what should have been a government controlled investigation, the Obama administration sidestepped the issue and allowed BP to call all the shots.

Now, the government is saying that "all is good," that 75% of the oil has been cleaned up, and in proving that the water is safe, Obama even orchestrated a photo op with his daughter and him in the water off the coast of Florida!

What part of all of the above reminds you of Bush, his "good work, Brownie" comment, and his planned photo op with firemen in NOLA after Katrina?

Yep, all of the above, gosh darn it! No one has been allowed to investigate, tabulate, videotape, explore, examine, view, work at, work with, work for, or even fucking view the spill site unless you either "work" for BP (wherein you signed a document that says you'll be fired if you so much as sigh in the direction of media, and probably contains a lot worse, but I can't say for sure right now, except I would not put it past BP to have a "we'll sue you" clause in it as well), or your are controlled by our corporate government, which of course, means again, you work for BP and not the American people.

Just like the Bush administration refused to let reporters into the really bad areas of NOLA, how they controlled the "reports" of the levees being fixed, and withheld pertinent information about the trailers they tried to herd NOLA residents in (especially those from the Ninth Ward), and basically ignored anyone's opinion about the conditions that didn't work for the inner circle of the Bushies. It was all about "the right party" during that era, and making sure that all the public agencies were staffed by those that bought the party agenda, and regurgitated it verbatim.

Now, with our new and viewer friendly president, whom we expected "change" in how government was going to be run, is pulling the same shit as the Bush administration did! No transparency, no cracking down on the parties responsible, no real investigation, and whooooaaaa nellie, the unbelievable cover-up of the depth of the disaster such that Obama was willing to put his own daughter at risk by actually getting into that seriously infested water. That's a mind blower to me.

Is our president really that beholding to major, non-American corporations, and to the bloody oil money, that he'd put the entire American population at risk just so that BP can "save some money?" This doesn't just impact the gulf area, we are talking about saying it is ok to fish and SELL the fucking fish and EAT the fucking fish (and shellfish) that are in these waters, when they don't even have a test to determine the toxicity of the Corexit used to disperse the oil? They are relying on SMELLING THE FISH? You have got to be kidding me.

You put tainted fish into the open markets across America, and you have no clue the level of contamination contained, and that's ok with you as POTUS? Wow ...

I realize that Obama hasn't lived up to his various promises such as comprehensive health care reform, repealing DADT, rejecting DOMA, closing Gitmo, having an open and transparent government, etc. But to literally put the entire American population at risk by falsely claiming that 75% of the oil has been cleaned up from the Gulf is not about not living up to any promise, but is a clear and deliberate act to expose the American people to real danger at the expense of allowing a corporation to skate through. That's pretty darn bad.

When it is factually provable that Alaska has not fully recovered from the Exxon Valdez oil spill many moons ago, it is not believable that a spill that was so much larger and dangerous by the tenfold than Exxon Valdez, magically in a few months, has just cleaned itself up! This is horse pucky as my grandfather would say. I am just amazed that these statements can come from the Obama administration, and that they don't feel any sense of duty to humanity to double down on the safety factor. No, it's business as usual. Drill some more, it's ok, there's no oil here ...

We should start a campaign to send Obama and his family fish caught from the Gulf waters on a daily basis and see just how much of it he eats, or he allows his family to eat. Any takers? Any guesses as to whether or not he'll actually eat anything caught in those still contaminated waters?

Uh huh. I thought so.

FDA Smell Test Ok's Gulf BP Oil Spill Contaminated Fish

Stay on track, readers. Gulf Oil Spill. Let's not get behind the corporate controlled government and their internal organizations (FDA) that have given the "go ahead, it's ok to fish in this area, there's no oil, nothing to see here, move along" ok to Louisiana fishermen. The fishermen are not totally buying it. Me? I'm not buying any fish, period, unless I either caught it myself or I bought it live in Santa Monica at a fish market. Done.

The FDA's test for dispersant contamination? SMELLING THE FUCKING FISH. Got that? Just smelling it.

I'd compare it to enacting the “5-second-rule” on food you dropped on the grounds of Chernobyl...

This smells WAY MORE than the Cordoba House non-controversy.

No Money In BP Escrow Account

Now, why am I not shocked at this either? (huge laugh).

Ken Feinberg said today he hasn't been able to start writing claims checks because BP PLC has not yet deposited any money into the $20 billion escrow fund it promised to create.

Feinberg, who was appointed last month to administer individual and business claims stemming from the oil spill, held an early morning town hall meeting in Bayou La Batre on Saturday before meeting with the Press-Register editorial board in downtown Mobile.

[snip]

"I don't want the checks to bounce," he said.

Here, An Oil Lobbyist, There, An Oil Lobbyist, Everywhere, Oil Lobbyists

Three out of every four lobbyists who represent oil and gas companies previously worked in the federal government, a proportion that far exceeds the usual revolving-door standards on Capitol Hill, a Washington Post analysis shows.

What the fuck?

Why don't we just pour the damn oil on our bodies and light ourselves on fire.

The Post analysis found that BP and other companies involved in the gulf disaster employ as lobbyists more than three dozen former lawmakers, congressional staffers and bureaucrats. BP alone has hired at least 31 internal and external lobbyists with government experience, records show.

The American Petroleum Institute, the industry's leading trade group, employs 48 lobbyists with previous federal experience, the analysis shows. They include former senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), who helped deregulate the natural gas industry, and former congressmen Jim McCrery (R-La.) and Charlie Stenholm (D-Tex.), both of whom strongly backed oil interests while in Congress.

"If you want somebody to work on energy issues, you don't hire health-care workers," said Jack N. Gerard, the group's president and chief executive.

With our government constantly talking about getting off of the addiction to foreign oil, no wonder they are salaciously looking to "drill, baby, drill" here on our own soil. Obviously, no one is talking seriously about ridding ourselves of the addiction to oil, period. Just "foreign" sources.

Banging. Head. On. Keyboard.

BP Dumping Waste In Mississippi Landfill

Unbelievable!



This story just never seems to get better, just worse.

BP should ship their stupid waste BACK TO ENGLAND AND DUMP IT ON THE QUEEN for fucking sake. Talk about adding insult to injury.

What is wrong with Obama? What is wrong with our government? Why are they so OBVIOUSLY out of control, literally? BP has just shit all over America and our government has just let them. In fact, many in our government are cheering BP on, if you can actually get your head around that!

H/T to AMERICAblog.

BP Penalizes Locals For Not Helping

Just when you think it can't get any worse with BP and their manipulation of the government and the American people, this comes out:

Kindra Arnesen is the wife of a Gulf fisherman and she's been kicking butt on exposing BP abuses. In this latest news, she's discovered that BP is claiming is that if fishermen choose not to take part in the oil spill cleanup, BP will consider that as potential income declined and deduct it from their claims.

Kindra has previously talked about the serious health problems manifesting in those who have taken part in the cleanup.

In other words, if you didn't want to risk your health and expose yourself to their toxic waste, you're going to suffer financially as a result. But doesn't BP have a pretty sunflower logo?

Obama Administration And BP Very Definitely In Bed Together

I've been reading an awful lot of stories over the weekend concerning BP and the government of the United States jointly banning the American public from knowing anything of substance about the oil spill.

At first, having BP "seem" to be in control was angering, and every news agency was on top of it. But now that it's come out that the President and has administration is also behind deceiving the American public about the deadliness of this oil spill, it's taken me all day and a few drinks to get over my complete anger.

This video and accompanying story from AMERICAblog started my morning. And I was only having coffee then. Watch the video. It's your worst nightmare regarding this government and censorship. And hey, that's saying a lot after eight years of Bush censorship.

That was followed up by this story.

A photographer taking pictures of a BP refinery in Texas was detained by a BP security official, local police and a man who said he was from the Department of Homeland Security, according to ProPublica, a non-profit news organization in the U.S.

[snip]

BP gave ProPublica the following statement after the incident:

"BP Security followed the industry practice that is required by federal law. The photographer was released with his photographs after those photos were viewed by a representative of the Joint Terrorism Task Force who determined that the photographer's actions did not pose a threat to public safety."

Department of Homeland Security? A massive oil spill being covered up as to it's permanent damage to this country, and anyone trying to get to the bottom of this is now deemed under the jurisdiction of DHS? If that didn't start pissing you off ... this should.



But, I think this last piece in the Washington Post pushed me over the edge.

The Defense Department has kept up its immense purchases of aviation fuel and other petroleum products from BP even as the oil company comes under scrutiny for potential violations of federal and state laws related to Gulf of Mexico well explosion, according to U.S. and company officials.

I am beginning to think the teabaggers have the right idea, albeit for the wrong reasons!

Cleaning Out The Abuses Of Welfare - Starting With Oil Subsidies

With all the hot air coming from the noise machine that is essentially the Republican party about "welfare" recipients and those on "unemployment" being pariahs that live off the taxpayer government money, and their hyper exaggerated need to rid them from the government "tit," so to speak, I say we start with getting rid of those fat cat corporations on welfare, you know, the ones that REALLY drive the Cadillacs and Rolls Royces.

Transocean, the company that owns the failed Deepwater Horizon rig that caused the Gulf oil spill, used well-known tax havens in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland to lower its U.S. corporate tax rate by almost 15 points. And due to a break in the U.S. tax code, BP was also allowed to write off the rent it paid to Transocean on its own tax bill, saving it hundreds of thousands of dollars per day:

The owner, Transocean, moved its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Cayman Islands in 1999 and then to Switzerland in 2008, maneuvers that also helped it avoid taxes. At the same time, BP was reaping sizable tax benefits from leasing the rig. According to a letter sent in June to the Senate Finance Committee, the company used a tax break for the oil industry to write off 70 percent of the rent for Deepwater Horizon — a deduction of more than $225,000 a day since the lease began.

So, essentially, the U.S. taxpayer paid BP to lease a rig that was incorporated in a foreign country for the purpose of avoiding the U.S. corporate tax. And the U.S. tax code is actually riddled with breaks for the oil industry, despite that industry’s record profits in recent years. Center for American Progress Senior Policy Analyst Sima Gandhi has counted nine different subsidies that the U.S. government gives to the oil industry, including refunds for drilling costs and refunds to cover the cost of searching for oil. If this corporate welfare were cut, it would save $45 billion per year, and according to the Office of Economic Policy at the Department of Treasury, “affect domestic production by less than one-half of 1 percent.” “The flow of revenues to oil companies is like the gusher at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico: heavy and constant,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). “There is no reason for these corporations to shortchange the American taxpayer.”

Take that in with your morning cup of java and come back to me with a good retort!

H/T to Think Progress.

Stupidity Knows No Bounds As Judge Overturns Government Ban On DRILLING

You know, sometimes you think you've seen just about everything stupid that can be done or said or espoused by a group of people, but the recent overturning of Obama's ban on deep water oil drilling takes the cake this week for me. Add to that Gov. Jindal's irrational and frankly, untrue statement that the ban needs to be lifted in order to put people back to work on "the rigs" and I'm finding my head exploding.

First, let's get educated. The ban is on drilling, not on rigs that are pumping oil or are already functioning in that aspect. Current estimates (they vary as you search the web ... why is that?) put the number of oil rigs currently operating ... not drilling, in the Gulf region at more than 3,800! The rigs that are affected by this ban are about 35! People ... get your brain around the truth, and stop buying into big oil's boo hoo stop the ban drama and lies.

Here's a picture showing the number of rigs currently operating in the Gulf region.

I am quite sure that the average American had no idea there were that may offshore rigs pumping oil in the Gulf region. The ban only relates to the rigs that have yet to reach the oil. In other words, the ones that are DRILLING. The BP accident involved DRILLING, not pumping, DRILLING. The ban is in place for a few months so that a better understanding of how to prevent the blowout that occurred during the DRILLING (not pumping) to the oil!

Fortunately, Obama is appealing the decision by the idiot, Judge Martin Feldman (who has not withheld the fact that he has stock in the very same companies that are affected by the ban).

Americans need to stop allowing themselves to be dumb downed by media and right wing nutjobs and the oil corporation hacks whose sole purpose is to play the Wizard of Oz regarding TRUTHS about DRILLING.

It's mind boggling to me that there are that many oil rigs in operation in the Gulf region. And still, we as a nation continue to consume so much oil that foreign oil is necessary, despite what is produced at home!

PTSD Coming To An Oil Spill Near You

You know it's bad when the locals start committing suicide because they are overwhelmed by the reality of the BP oil disaster. Continuing on earlier post theme:

After waiting a while, the deckhands returned to the boat, which was moored where they had left it, Vinson said. They went aboard and found Kruse at the captain's bridge above the wheelhouse, Vinson said. He had been shot in the head. A Glock handgun was later recovered from the scene, and investigators do not suspect foul play, Vinson said.

[snip]

But he said it's not surprising the oil spill had weighed heavily on his mind, as it has on many local fishermen no longer able to support themselves with deep-sea sport fishing trips for marlin and the like, Vinson said.

"All the waters are closed. There's no charter business anymore. You go out on some of the beaches now, with the oil, you can't even get in the water," Vinson said. "It's really crippled the tourism and fishing industry here."

If You're Going, To Pensacola, Be Sure To Wear, Some Flowers In Your Hair

I've been to Pensacola and other cities in that area. I was blown away by the pristine white beaches and the crystal clear, very blue and aqua water. I found the area to be equal to or better in quality and view than the beaches in Hawai'i.

It's sad what is happening to the western shoreline of Florida from the BP spill. Watching the news day after day is heartbreaking. Anyone with a brain already knows this is it. There is no recovering from this oil disaster. BP and Obama's government can do all the covering up and PR dusting they want. The damage has been done, and it will all be revealed in the months to come just how much has been destroyed and can never be repaired or replaced.

Good-bye and God bless our environment. As this is happening world-wide, not just in the Gulf (but with a lot less press coverage elsewhere) it's impossible not to fathom that we will soon see a polluted world water system.

Republican Joe Barton Apologizes To Big Oil For "Guvment Shakedown"

H/T AMERICAblog. Your congress in action - Republican leaders:

I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown. In this case, a $20 billion shakedown.

This from Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX). He's more concerned about the profits of the oil company that just caused the worst man-made disaster in this country, eveah.

This is what oil money has done to our government. Corrupted it so that not even a sitting congressman is afraid to voice his sentiments that go deeply toward the "unfairness" of our government to "force" the giant oil company to put up money in an escrow account to be sure there are funds to pay for the clean-up and reimburse those AMERICANS who lost money, and will continue to lose money, thanks to BP, et al. Comparing it to a "shakedown," of all things.

You know, last time I looked, Texas has some land that hits the Gulf Coast. Just saying. You Texans with property and business on the Gulf better be praying hard that this oil doesn't end up on your shores. Because, we all know your congresscritter ain't gonna stand up for your rights.

Right Wingers Open To Lifting Cap For Liability To BP? Hold On There, Buddy ...

I read a "rumor" that the Republicans in Congress are now eager to back a raise on the cap of $75 million for the BP oil spill. The reasoning goes that if this does, in fact occur, BP will have no choice but to file for bankruptcy protection -- leaving the clean-up costs, and payouts for the Gulf Coast businesses to the American taxpayer. And, of course, just blowing off the ecological damage to the Gulf that America will probably never ever recover from.

Remember when the Exxon Valdez was given that hefty fine that was eventually reduced to pennies on the dollar after 20 years? Let that be a warning. Oil companies across the globe own America. Drill, baby, drill is not the mantra we should be spouting. Kill, baby, kill is more likely, as the damage done by this man made disaster (let's not get caught up in the right wing meme that this is a natural disaster), could have been prevented but for the bottom line (dollar) that these corporations are squeezing out for their base (shareholders and congresscritters).

And don't get be started on mountain top removal coal mining.

From Ashley Judd:

But the ache I feel for my mountain home is now more than a bittersweet nostalgia accrued through inimitable generations of belonging. There is a searing tear, a gaping wound in the fabric of my life and the lives of all Appalachians. And it gets bigger with every Appalachian mountaintop that is blown up, every holler that is filled, every stream that is buried, every wild thing that is wantonly and recklessly killed, every ecosystem that is diminished, every job that is lost to mechanization, every family that is pitted one against the other by the state-sanctioned, federal government-supported coal industry-operated rape of Appalachia: mountaintop removal coal mining.

H/T to Crooks and Liars.

BP And US Officials Still Prohibiting Press From Covering Spill

Journalists struggling to document the impact of the oil rig explosion have repeatedly found themselves turned away from public areas affected by the spill, and not only by BP and its contractors, but by local law enforcement, the Coast Guard and government officials.

Can't see pictures of the Iraq war and the casualties. Can't see pictures of the Afghanistan war and the casualties. Can't see pictures of the dead from these two wars coming home. Can't see the real pictures of Katrina. Can't see the pictures of the Massey mine disaster(s). Can't see pictures of the BP oil spill.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

The United States Of BP

I have absolutely no ability to comprehend what is wrong with our government regarding the BP oil problem. At first, when the right wing nutjobs were calling it "Obama's Katrina," I was like, ok, here goes the noise machine again.

But the total failure of Obama and his gang to do ANYTHING is just mind boggling.

A fisherman who was hospitalized after becoming ill while cleaning up oil in the Gulf of Mexico has filed a temporary restraining order in federal court against oil company BP.

[snip]

In his affidavit, Wunstell described his experience at the hospital.

"At West Jefferson, there were tents set up outside the hospital, where I was stripped of my clothing, washed with water and several showers, before I was allowed into the hospital," Wunstell said. "When I asked for my clothing, I was told that BP had confiscated all of my clothing and it would not be returned."

And doesn't this sound eerily familiar to this?“

But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President [Bush], I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast — black and white, rich and poor, young and old — deserve far better from their national government.

-----

Increased national attention was on the Gulf Coast yesterday when President Obama made a visit to assess the oil spill response effort. An official in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, is reporting that BP “bused 400 cleanup workers into Grand Isle” — at a rate of $12 an hour — to be there when Obama arrived.

I could go on and on with the comparisons, but we've been hearing and seeing the incompetency of both BP's and our government's reaction to this oil problem for more than a month now.

I'll just close with this from PBS, which is a pictorial of the damage to the wildlife in the region.

It's enough to break your heart.

Someone PLEASE Do Something About BP

According to two surviving crew members of the Deepwater Horizon, oil workers from the rig were held in seclusion on the open water for up to two days after the April 20 explosion, while attorneys attempted to convince them to sign legal documents stating that they were unharmed by the incident. The men claim that they were forbidden from having any contact with concerned loved ones during that time, and were told they would not be able to go home until they signed the documents they were presented with.

Unbelievable! And a double whammy on Americans if they are awake -- a corporation AND an oil drilling company. Spinning from the moment the disaster hit, and they haven't stopped.

In refusing to rely on BP's data on the toxicity of dispersants, Jackson said, "I'd rather have my own scientists do their own analysis."

Finally! The Obama administration has been so lame as to let the samples taken from the ocean to be analyzed for the extent of the oil in the sea, be sent to a facility that, um, shall we say, works for BP! At the time the original order went out, I believe only one city manager said he was sending it to his own lab and not BPs. Good for him. And it's taken the Obama administration what, over a month now, to actually start throwing temper tantrums because of the slow actions on the part of BP.

Actually, it seems more like Congress is waking up. Obama is still sleepwalking through this catastrophe.