Give BP a Break! Yeah, I really said that...

Having grown up in Florida with weekly visits to the beach I am horrified that these rigs have been allowed to run with no regulations at all for so long. There is an inherant trust in the people of our country that there are rules for safety in place to protect us from these kinds of things.

For us to learn that there were no protections in place, that the Oil Companies put forth ridiculous plans with no safety involved in them at all, and that the commision that was set up to check them failed miserably, tells us all that the people of this country have no respect at all.

Families that have made their living from the coast, whether in tourism or fishing, or anything else for that matter, will have lost everything for good. I cannot see any way that the ocean will come back after this. The wetlands and barrier islands along the gulf coast will disappear as we have known them, and I am so deeply saddened by the whole thing that I cannot watch the news any longer. The oil soaked birds struggling in the ocean is more than I can bare.

Who is to blame? A whole list of people. Greedy oil companies who put the interest of profit over the interest of accident prevention and a REAL plan in case of an accident. A government who failed to even look at the  "clean up plans" that were submitted. And with no government standards for companies to follow, and no inspections to make sure oil rigs met the standards I think there is a lot of blame to go around.

I agree that litigation will only slow the process and divert resources desperately needed to clean this mess up. And isn't the government just as responsible? After years of deregulation and allowing big companies to 'keep themselves in check' I think we are painfully aware that there is a need to get regulation back in the government, but this time we need real watch dogs to keep it clean. I don't know what the answer is, but something has to give. With the environment being trashed and the economy a mess, something has to happen before there is no counrtry left to govern and live in.

I cannot forgive the oil companies for their greedy behavior, but I cannot forgive the government for not doing their part to protect us and this precious land we call home. Let's just hope that they can get it together before too long and get this mess cleaned up. It will take years, and the longer they take to stop the leak the longer it will take to clean up.

Thank you John MacArthur (#44). So many seem to have forgotten the 11 real people who lost their lives. Yours is the first time I've seen their names, and a little about who they were.

If laws were broken they should be criminally liable and should pay. That is all. I'm glad the president is making sure that they pay up now, instead of making them wait 20 years, like the Exxon Valdez disaster. Maybe some people could recoup some money now. The region is destroyed for a few generations at least.

This is another example of what years of deregulation, lax oversight and massive lobbying does to an industry.

Until America finds the will and determination to find develop alternative energy, we will continue down this road of environmental catastrophe. 

Jennifer,

I agree that positive energy leads to better solutions, but I can't turn my head and not be angry at BP.  In my opinion, this is the result of lack of government oversight and stringent mandatory precautions designed to protect people and the land.  It kind of reminds me of the banks running amok with little regulation and oversight during the bubble years, and then the mortgage meltdown leading to the recession.  In the end, I still hear about banking CEOs getting ridiculous bonuses and shareholders getting dividends, while the average taxpayer is left holding the bag.  I don't believe our government should run our lives, but these huge corporations seem to be proving over and over again that they can't adequately police themselves.  And I agree with Teresa's comment #63, that our nation's insatiable thirst for oil is contributing to this problem.  I would much rather see more energy and funding directed toward cleaner alternative energy sources.

Thanks for your post and for generating conversation on this!

Sadly Jen, you hit the nail on the head in one of your comments to one of the comments when you said  that you wanted to keep politics out of this.

The media makes it impossible to keep politics impossible out of ANYTHING.  Within 2 or 3 days after the disaster Fox News was asking "Is the oil spill Obama's Katrina?"

While there have been people on both sides of the issue that have been critical of the administration's handling of this situation it became political from the moment it happened.

Nothing is sacred when it comes to one party trying to blame the other for everything. They have to do that because they are trying acquire or maintain control of the legislature.

Look back at Jimmy Carter. There are lot of reasons that one can criticize his 1-term Presidency but there are many historians say that he lost re-election because of his inability to rescue the 52 hostages being held in Iran.  They were taken hostage in November of 1979 - just before our election year.

Even then without 24 hour a day news, his opposition used his inability to rescue the hostages (some even blame him for the hostages being taken in the first place) as political fodder to get him out of office. The hostages were released on January 20, 1981 - the day that Ronald Reagan took office.

Whether you are an Obama lover or an Obama hater, the success or failure of his Presidency will be measured in years to come on a number of issues. Regardless of the widely argued policies, the issue of the BP Oil spill could indeed cost him re-election. 

Americans want action to get the leak stopped, clean up the oil that has spilled and restore the gulf coast.

I don't have any idea if there was a better way to handle this after it happened - it was unprecedented.

Like it or not, our system of government and electing people to office (or re-electing them) is based on the candidates stated positions as well as their actions.

Every President, since the advent of television in the 1950s, regardless of their party, has always had to walk on the edge of doing and saying the right things along with trying to keep themsleves as popular as they can.

So, the administration is walking a tightrope in their position.  Hopefully they are doing all they can to clean things up (I can't conceive that they are not doing all they can) but in addition they MUST say and do ALL the right things to make as many Americans as possible support his efforts.  As you can see from the comments above - there are lots of differing opinions.

Clearly the President and his administration feel that this kind of talk about lawsuits against BP will make more Americans believe in him - and you cannot blame him, even if you disagree with him.  Whether you are a local councilman, a senator or a President, our system has defined their primary job as getting re-elected.

That's the reality of Democracy - and as Winston Churchill once said "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time"

Sorry, but BP has the WORST safety and environmental record of ANY oil company operating in America.  They are repeat offenders and commonly overlook noncompliance in order to save money--at the risk of it's own employees and now our environment.  They have paid two of the largest fines in OSHA history.  Clearly they do not learn.  CLEARLY THEY HAVE HAD ENOUGH BREAKS! Love ya Jen, but I TOTALLY disagree with you on this.

Jennifer, there is so much I could say, but won't...  just this...  you have your head on straight, don't let anyone convince you otherwise!

I consider myself a tree hugger but I actually find myself agreeing with you. It's not that I like BP, it's just that I don't really think all the bashing is helping in the process of getting the mess under control. I expect BP to clean up and pay for all the damage, period.

But we must all accept responsibility for the fact they they are drilling for a resource that this country has an unquenchable thirst for and until we find clean alternatives this is the mess we all have to accept responsibility for, not just one company. And this won't be the last spill either!

Jennifer,

Leave my subscription intact. While I am less patient and more prone to "punish the guilty right NOW". I appreciate your reasoned approach to this complex problem. You even changed my thinking a bit about concentrating on the solutions.

One of our biggest problems as a country right now is we think the presidential election campaign should be an ongoing and continuous process. Oil leaks, health care, schools - I will gladly support anyone of any party actually working on IMPROVEMENT. (Sorry about the shouting, but it's hard to be heard in the midst of all this noise....)

Hi Jennifer.

I would agree with you but the Gulf Coast will suffer for YEARS and 11 men were killed and BP has YET to pay for their lives:

1. Jason C. Anderson, 35, Midfield, Texas, father of two. 
2. Aaron Dale Burkeen, 37, Philadelphia, Miss., married, father of two (14-year-old daughter Aryn and 6-year-old son Timothy), died four days before his 38th birthday.
3. Donald Clark, 49, Newellton, La., married to Sheila Clark. 
4. Stephen Ray Curtis, 39, Georgetown, La., married and had two teenagers. Taught his son to hunt and play baseball and was active in his church.
5. Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, La., married to Courtney Kemp. 
6. Karl D. Kleppinger Jr., 38, Natchez, Miss., U.S. Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm, enjoyed NASCAR and cooking barbecue. Married with one son, Aaron.
7. Gordon L. Jones, 28, Baton Rouge. Wife Michelle Jones was nine months pregnant with their second son when he died.
8. Keith Blair Manuel, 56, Gonzales, La., father of three (Kelli Taquino, Jessica Manchester and Ashley Jo Manuel). Engaged to Melinda Becnel. Had season tickets to Louisiana State University baseball and football games. 
9. Dewey A. Revette, 48, State Line, Miss., married with two daughters. Had been with Transocean for 29 years. 
10. Shane M. Roshto, 22, Liberty, Miss., married to Natalie Roshto, father of 3-year-old Blain Michael.
11. Adam Weise, 24, Yorktown, Texas. During time off, the former high school football star spent time with his girlfriend, hunted deer and fished from his boat.

I hope they continue to protest and make BP pay and pay dearly. I'm glad that despite being criticized some people are still protesting and hope they continue.

In memory of those who were killed and their loved ones. Their wives lost their husbands and the fathers to their children. I FEEL for them....