THAT is priority one and hoping it works.
I don't know if BP cut corners, but if so, they should pay. However, it seems to me they are doing everything within their engineering prowess to stop this and clean it up. They are already paying out millions to gulf victims, not to mention the 20 billion obambi extorted from them, far beyond the current international legal liability.
That alone shows a reasonable person that BP is willing to go the extra mile. They didn't need to succumb to obambi and could have fought far into the future through the courts, while they still reaped profits from their world-wide ventures. Looks to me like they did right thing to maintain their viability and worth for the thousands of stock holders. It's called - free enterprise.
Cry all day about how bad BP is, but in the end, there are thousands of retired Americans and Britains who worked their lives and invested in a company that has paid huge dividends over the years, to find that they won't get that fixed income for (3) quarters. More loss buying power. Think those retires will pull back on their purchases? I do.
I've been truly amazed that BP has kept a camera on the riser since almost day one. Anybody who thinks BP is not doing all they can (PR aside) is out of touch of with reality.
The true conspiracy lies with obambi who finally accepted the offers of 17 nations to help, after what? 70 days? And just how many of those offers did he accept? And what is the reasoning if he excluded some? And what are the limitations? And why is the giant skimmer still sitting in Newport? Weather? Possibly.
This is going to be discussed and debated for years to come. It's going to look bad for obambi, eventually.
Obambi's priority one has been golfing, concerts with Sir Paul-the-Cute-Beatle...eww, and vacations, while letting the bureaucrats at the EPA dictate to the States affected to slow their own efforts. Once people understand the comparison of State responsibility for Katrina and this Federal waters mess accountability, the shoot is definitely going to hit the fan.
Here's a sound bite and/or clip: Bush asked Governor Blanco for permission (in writing) to send in help prior to Katrina making landfall, while he was mobilizing FEMA and other resources. That is official record. Blanco waited for days after Katrina made landfall to say yes, please.
Nagin was missing in action and didn't have the foresight to load 10's of hundreds on the busses we've all seen sitting in a parking lot. What would you have done with the worst hurricane bearing down on you? Got commonsense?
Obama needed no such permission due to Federal waters and could have activated every resource at his command, including accepting the offers of some 17 countries for their skimming resources. After 70 days, he finally got around to saying "okay" for a few between rounds of golf.
Yes, I'm being repetitive. It needs to be hammered home to the I-hate-bush-for-a-hurricane-devasting-a-below-sea level-city-and-not-sending-in-FEMA-or-the-National Guard-early-enough-due-to-its-Governor-not-making-the-legal-request. Law dictates the Governor MUST request assistance from the Fedgov. Blanco (who is now replaced by Jindal) didn't do such.
Botton line: Obambi has had the authority from day one to declare this situation a national disaster. He also had the authority to declare Tennessee's flooding as a natural disaster. This man/child has NO idea how to lead. He is all about campaigning and talking points, and making kissy face with the World...which is not turning out so well as his socialist mindset told him it would.
Sheesh, even I, as a lowly owner/operator of a company of some 30 employees could understand crisis management. When the Northridge quake hit us back in early '90's, got on the phone and directed my second to evacuate the building in case of a larger shock. She told me, "I have to ship so much...blah, blah". I told her if you don't get you and our employees out right NOW, you may not have the chance to argue with me again. MOVE THEM OUTSIDE NOW OR LOSE YOUR JOB WHEN I GET THERE! She did so. That's called leadership, coming from a lowly E-6 Navy puke.
Sorry to get off point. I just know BS and poor leadership when I see it.
This man/child has NO idea how to lead.
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Only if you are assuming that he wants to go the same direction that you or any country/humanity-loving person would want to go.
He is so petulant, that he is actively denying the Gulf States the aid that they should have, because they have the gall to vote for Republican governors and presidents.
Some people call him cool, but he is cold as ice. He is as unresponsive to human need as any of the great dictators of the past century. He does not care if the economy of the Gulf states collapses. As a matter of fact, the thought of their collapse probably does give him a little bit of a warm feeling.
Which, from my elevated position, is about where leadership in the military starts and ends. I was recently involved in the disaster of an organization resulting from a retired 4 star general brought in to organize a new activity. It took him a year and a half to get the place "stood up" and it was a mess. The guy lacked the leadership skills to march a platoon across a parking lot.
I have tried telling folks that a Navy bos'un could have done the job in about five minutes. "youse, youse and youse, you're up here. Your in charge. The rest of you a$$wipes fall in behind them. Ok. we're done organizing around here, now get back to work. Anyone who doesn't have a job, your fired."