BP=Big Profits=Big Problem

It’s been awhile since I posted because I have been quite busy with other things. Extremely busy as a matter of fact. But I can’t stay silent on this oil spill any longer. I’m far beyond outraged. Outraged is a tiny speck in my rear view mirror. Clean up of this fucking mess will take YEARS and YEARS and YEARS. BP is a joke. I read with interest a recent article focused on the opinions of Scott West, a former investigator for the EPA. Mr. West retired in 2008 after 18 years of service and insists that throughout his tenure he repeatedly saw BP “skirt the law and cut corners”. In fact, he specifically states that the current crisis was “a disaster waiting to happen” and that BP is, in his opinion, a “serial environmental criminal”. How’s this for a quote? “"If I was still on the job and had the area of the gulf, the day I heard this I would've started a criminal investigation just because of the fact that it was BP. If it was Shell or anyone else, I would've monitored it. But the fact that it's BP, I would have assumed it's criminal and started an investigation before evidence disappeared."
If that isn’t enough, in 1999 BP was convicted of dumping hazardous waste on Alaska’s North Slope. I took the following directly from the EPA’s website. “BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., or “BPXA,” admitted in U.S. District Court in Anchorage that it failed to immediately notify authorities of a release of hazardous substances to the environment, and it agreed to pay the maximum criminal fine of $500,000. As part of the plea agreement, BPXA also admitted that it failed to provide adequate oversight, audits and funding to ensure proper environmental management on Endicott Island, Alaska.” They injected a bunch of very nasty stuff into an old oil well. Here’s a link to the page. There are several things in there that should make you sick.

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/016bcfb1deb9fecd85256aca005d74df/5d61856989631e20852567f6004bbbff?OpenDocument

Moving on, 6 years after the conviction Mr. West gathered intelligence from BP employees regarding a burst pipeline in Alaska. According to them they had registered complaints about the faulty pipe and were told to ignore it! Apparently, if you know about a “condition” prior to it becoming a “problem “ that constitutes a felony. Here’s the kicker… the Department of Justice shut down his probe of the incident before he could take it anywhere! Hmmm…. Whose Department of Justice was this? Why it was THE MORON’s DOJ. What a shock. BP dumps a bunch of oil in the wilderness of Alaska and THE MORON doesn’t want to prosecute. I’m shocked, how about you?

Prior to that, in 2005 there was a fatal explosion at a Texas refinery that can also be pinned on BP. Rather than boring you with all the details, why don’t you just Google BP screw ups and see for yourself. This company needs to be held accountable. And we can’t be talking about $500,000 fines for a company that operates in “billion dollar land”. It’s time to get serious.

If you continue to dig into this what you will find is there are “whistle blowers” out there who have been yelling about BP’s disregard for safety protocol and they have been yelling for awhile. One in particular raised concerns about this particular well's lack of paperwork and documentation. It appears to me that BP’s attitude has been one of minimizing expenses, regardless of risk, and if the shit hits the fan so what? Billions have been made and will continue to be made because hey, BP is bullet proof.

Eric Holder has stated a criminal probe has begun. Mr. West says that’s not likely as no one is hearing about subpoenas, task forces, or FBI visits. His take is that something very big is at work to keep these things covered up. Let’s hope the Obama administration breaks that shit down pronto. We need to raise hell and insist that a criminal investigation moves forward.

Remember when the second dumbest member of the GOP was chanting “drill baby drill”? I remember having a debate around that with that online forum I’ve mentioned repeatedly (see previous posts). One of the conservatives was insistent that it was the only way to cut off our dependency on foreign oil. I said no, alternative energy sources were the answer. As the debate heated up I pointed out that when the disaster occurred my only hope was that it was HIS beachfront property in the path of the spill. The guy doesn’t own beachfront property. But when I sent out a query about his thoughts, now that the disaster had occurred, it was met with dead silence.

And speaking of the second dumbest member of the GOP... do you know what her take on this is? It’s the environmentalists fault. That’s right. If the environmentalists hadn’t pitched a fit we would be drilling in shallower and safer waters and this never would have happened (I can not for the life of me comprehend how someone so stupid can garner that much positive attention). Never mind BP’s track record. Never mind their blatant disregard for safety and accountability. Apparently if they had been drilling in safer waters they would have had a change of heart and put safety in front of profits.

So, where am I going with all of this? Glad you asked. For all you conservatives out there who insist government is too intrusive and needs to stay out of our business, I say “why don’t you just go give yourselves a royal fucking?” It seems to me if government had been MORE involved in the oversight of this industry then perhaps we wouldn’t be looking at photographs of chocolate coated pelicans. The entire coast of Louisiana wouldn’t be looking at economic ruin. Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida wouldn’t be thinking “we’re next”. As I said, we will be dealing with the effects of this disaster for YEARS. And the thing that pisses me off the most is the possibility that BP will still be a profitable business going forward. When you conservatives are done fucking yourselves, go fuck BP.

Peace,
Common Sense