While here in Fortworth on George W. Bush Return to Texas ,he was Celebrated like a Conquering King !

I can finally stop waiting. Liberal scum have found a way to blame George Bush for this. However, Barrack HUSSAIN Obama is now the President so he must be to blame!!! Makes sense to me, B.H. Obama could no more change the problems on that rig than than George Bush could have changed the course of Katrina. Saddest part of Katrina was the Louisiana Governor nor the New Orleans Mayor would use their legally available assets. None of the school busses or other local items were used prior to landfall. No State National Guard Units, nothing! They, both as LIBERAL as you, sat on their assets and, in my opinion, murdered their citizens, mainly poor. Don't blame Bush for either, as Federal law prevented him, or anyone, from outside the State, from helping, unless requested by the Govenor(D). Those are the facts. Even though you don't like it, those are the laws put in place by (D) majority Congress and senate, and signed into law by (D) President. Learn to live with it, it's your liberal lackeys that placed these disasters in action, their politics. Oh, yeah, another thing that really bothers you lefties, the Federal Government does not, then or now, have the assets or money available to respond to every disaster, natural (Katrina) or man made ( BP Horizon).

Between 15 and 29 million jobs depend on petroleum. And I am not talking about petro for fuel, I am talking about the millions of by products we produce from medicines, plastics for every purpose (hearts), lubricants, tires, etc, etc, etc.

Look past your political nose and research it.

Yea, Baby face it. Like it or not drilling is where the rubber meets the road.

Ray,

Ignoring for the moment your childish name calling, I will join you in blasting Obama for at least his recent support for more offshore drilling.

I also agree with you that the Federal Government does not have the assets or money to respond to bail out these incessant Corporate screw-ups.

But now that they are legal "persons" (minus the responsibility part of course) with tons of money but zero morality, I hope you enjoy the flood of new legislation their puppet mouthpieces will push. Maybe then you "righties" will also be bothered.

Ray, proud Bush apologist extraordinaire, you spelled HussEin wrong...I would figure y'all would have a handle on that worn out tune by now - but I guess y'all exhibit spelling issues on a regular basis...should have stayed in skool...

BTW, what's your middle name, Dilbert?

Sorry Ray while I'll be on the current President for f**king up responding to this man made disaster I also found plenty to fault President Bush with in his administration's response to Katrina (in particular replacing a squared away and effective FEMA manager with a clueless political appointee), although I do agree the press gave the incompetent Mayor of New Orleans and Governor of Louisiana passes for their share of blame in the poor reaction to the disaster !! As for the Federal Govco. not having enough money for every disaster, that may be true but there is no way the government can ignore disasters of the scope of this oil spill or the floods in Nashville (and of course Katrina) . The bottom line is after the clean up is done, the parties involved need to get a bill for services rendered!!

daphne47,

First of all, you neglect the personal factor. Secondly, Republicans, and I mean the real Republican stand is for small business and less federal government interference in state affairs. They want fair taxes (something you might be interested in reading about) and affordable catastrophic insurance (making it affordable for all to visit the doctors, dentist or optometrist out of pocket). Republicans want the Federal government to back the laws of this country. Currently one of those laws so in the news pertains to illegal immigration. Maybe if the federal government made a stand on illegal immigration showing a real backbone, Arizona wouldn't have to do it for them. (one of the reasons our government do this is because our government allowed our corporations to go into Mexico and disrupt their economy). And by the way... Republicans are not pro-giant-mega-corporations!

I can't personally speak for every Republican here but I can speak for myself; I am not a war hawk. The way I see it, we've been supporting the upper and corporate classes in their foreign endeavors and I, for one, am sick at heart. I've spent allot of time trying to understand what they've been doing in other countries and I can tell you this, once again, none of this is politically one-sided. It is business.

When we speak of politics, we need to remember a few simple things. Money doesn't equate to political affiliation. Corporations are for themselves. They come in all flavors. The banking industry handles MONEY. Governments are supposed to make rules and regulations to keep things in check. Our government has been corrupted for years. Corporations are favored. If one wanted to become President of the United States today, he/she'd have money or be affiliated with those who have MONEY, regardless of the party we speak of. Money, power and control are different creatures; they do not equate to ethics, moral stances, or core beliefs. So please, don't start pointing fingers at Republicans or Democrats, for that matter and think we are really that far apart, after all the media driven political barn-storming Bullsh*! boils out.

The simplest explanation is this: those with money, power and control want to keep it. For the most part, they are the ones who make the rules; it's their game. Corporations have been running this country for years. And as far as "Free Trade" is concerned, we are under the thumb of the Federal Reserve... there is no such thing as "Free Trade". Banks won't even lend to small business right now. They've been loaning to consumers.

What we have been experiencing for many years now is called "short term gain", as opposed to long term stability. It seems nobody gave a darned when the money flowed freely. BP has been negligent for years on end. It's love of profit without regard to what any of it means to the environment or the economy in the longterm. But I can't say I have a high regard of humanity on the whole, as it seems we won't stop reproducing or destroying in the name of civilization until we kill every living thing, including ourselves, or, until mother nature steps in. It doesn't have to be this way, but that's the snake oil we bought into.

sygh - Republicans, and I mean the real Republican stand is for small business and less federal government interference in state affairs.

And what do you think that means, exactly? No EPA. No NOAA. No FDA. No FAA. No SEC. No FTC. No regulation, no inspections, all pollution cases handled within the state where the polluter spends its money. How the hell are you going to deal with problems like global warming with a structure like that? Even water pollution issues run into problems when they're dealt with on a state-by-state basis. The corporations win with divide and conquer, and that's why they're all for your "less government" politics. You can thank your "small government" buddies for our current Gulf catastrophe!

Note: The majority of the 400 Richest people are democrat. In the 2008 Elections over 60% of Wall Street, Heavy industry, Technology industries, Oil industry, and Insurance Industries campaign donations went to the Democrats. Lawyers were the second highest donor group to the Democrats. So much for being for the little guy.

1) Bill Gates (D) - 50 Bln

2) Warren Buffet (D) - 40 Bln

3) Lawrance Ellison (R) - 27 Bln

4) Christy Walton (D) 21.5 Bln

Jim Walton (I) - 19.6 Bln

Alice Walton (R) - 19.3 Bln

Robson Walton (R) - 19 Bln

Michael Bloomberg - RINO - 17.5 Bln Switched to Republican to win NYC Mayor's Race

Charles Kock (D) - 16 Bln

David Koch (R) - 16 Bln

Republican support came mainly from the income range of $40,000 - $2,000,000 Annually.

I could care less about drilling, nuclear energy, ect....but when your company spills milk CLEAN IT UP.

DB Akron - one more time. I don't know how many times people on these discussions have to correct your misperceptions, but you keep posting 'em anyway:

From OpenSecrets.org:

Oil & gas industry political contributions:

2010 (to date): $11,572,527 70% Republicans, 30% Democrats
2008: $35,595,537 77% Republicans, 23% Democrats
2006: $20,364,856 82% Republicans, 18% Democrats
2004: $26,077.264 80% Republicans, 19% Democrats
2002: $25,037,766 80% Republicans, 20% Democrats
2000: $34,323,192 78% Republicans, 21% Democrats

The GOP has always been the party of big business. But it's funny how fast you run away from that when bad things happen.

Daphne: Red states, blue states. So stupid. You narrow-minded, brain-washed people will never learn. This catastrophe was caused by both of them. Where are you coming from? This is now Obama's mess! Obama FINALLY has to use his executive powers, take control, stop the leak, and clean up the mess! NOW!

Ray: Where is Mary Landrieu? Haven't heard a word from her. Have you? No conflict of interest or anything? God will get that woman.

But Fred from NC. It was the leftist-controlled media that convinced me that Brownie was a just a victim of the Bush administration. I guess that you are not subjected to the one-sided, leftist-controlled media. I'm still here on msnbc. Poor me. And I never considered myself a right-winger before "the fall" of 2008.

Sigh: You are way too intelligent and rational for this bunch.

RealAmericansFirst and DB Akron: I got the message. Both parties and the current political system totally suck to high heaven. Where do we go from here?

I am still appalled at - excuse the expression - blithering idiots showing up on these discussions simply for the opportunity once again to launch into their brainless anti Obama rants. Their rants contain absolutely nothing about Blow Out Preventers or the paper trail showing BP should have shut down and investigated the methane bubble problem before this big one came to the surface and blew up the rig.

Keep the focus and the blame on the corporations!!!

Time to take this situation very seriously when we will most likely be losing the wetlands habitat for decades. Time to put partisan differences aside, and fully study what happened, and do everything we can to finally stop the oil spill and learn enough to prevent future disasters.

I can't understand the extremely high risks of deep sea oil drilling where there is little margin for error and the cavalier but careless attitude of BP, TransOcean, Halliburton and Cameron. Beyond the corporations, I am extremely angry at the regulators at MMS not doing their jobs. Republicans voting against the efforts to remove the liability cap for BP gets me angry at the GOP once again protecting billionaire corporations against accountability instead of the American people against corporate exploitation. If BP does not pay for most of the costs of cleanup, taxpayers will. If BP is not held fully accountable, they will just pass on the burden to American taxpayers, as they have done before in previous oil spills.

I'm sorry what did Robert Bea say?

Thank you Heck of a Job, BP!

I also want to give a shout out the wonderful Republicon deregulators of the past 30 years.

More evidence that the Market can solve all problems and that Corporation can police themselves....LOL.

You people are as pathetic as the corporate leaders pointing fingers at each other and not taking an ounce of responsibility.

Both sides are at fault. Our entire government is at fault. You cannot have proper regulations when the companies you regulate are the ones paying for the campaigns of our politicians.

Lastly, mark my words. Next month the headline will read, "Entire Gulf Region at Tipping Point. Oil Reaches Myrtle Beach"

Heck, why do you lemmings think Obama passed expanded offshore drilling a week after he got the Health Care bill to pass?

Lets make a deal!

Our government has failed us ever since Reagan lied to us about trickle down economics or, as I call it, the great golden shower of America. Give all the money to the rich and it will trickle down to the masses. What a F'n joke.

Why is it that a natural disaster like this happens anywhere in the world we have our experts and normally our military on the scene to provide assistance, and to keep the peace.

We have the largest human created disaster and we give complete control to the OIL COMPANY THAT CAUSED IT? They just said on FOX news that experts from Japan, the MIddle East, and Russia have offered expertise and they havent been used?

Was I just hullicinating or did I just hear that BP doesnt need nor want help?

Those people making the decisions at BP should be flown by helicopter to the middle of the sludge and dropped in!

Horrible , disgusting, sad, awful waste

Dale;

Too easy, too cheap financially. I agree it would probably work. However, it hasen't been passed through enough Comities, "Blue ribbon Commissions" , or has enough earmark's attached to any bill presented to try to fix this mess. Good thinker, ya' are, but be careful, government doesn't care for intellegent people to run free in society, especially when they have good ideas.

Good one Ray!

Gallant post Dale , but you just don't understand that BP could give two @!$%#s about the enviroment of the the gulf of mexico. Bp cares about putting crude oil into tankers and nothing else. And the only thing Obama care about is BP's donation to his re-election fund!

You geniuses ever hear of buoyancy ????

You geniuses ever consider that if it were "that easy" - they would have done it by now? Oh ya, there's a huge liberal conspiracy going on to destroy our way of living...sorry, I forgot...

dale,

what ray said.

Thanks for the simple solution, which certainly sounds tempting. I believe the issue is that it is possible to destroy the integrity of the pipe at multiple points along its course, in which case you may have made the problem even more difficult to contain.

I'm no fan of BP; they almost certainly failed to properly install and maintain this blow-out preventer. But I have to believe that they want to cap this leak ASAFP; the current price tag for just the effort to contain the spill is approaching 750 million dollars and that is not even taking into account the long term cleanup, law suites and damage to their public image. So if it was just a matter of crimping the pipe with a big rock, I think they would have done so by now.

Have any of you considered that there IS no easy solution to this problem? That we are capable of breaking things that we can't fix? I've sat at too many agency hearings, listening to experts and organizations plead with regulators not to allow corporations to get us into these situations, that there would certainly come a time when their actions outran their coping strategies if they were allowed to continue what they were doing.

But more and more, the $$$ won out as the corporations got savvier about how to work the system (partly from hiring agency personnel who gave them the inside scoop on how decisions were made.) They downplayed the "worst case scenario" - BP claimed in its permit application that it would be no more than 60,000 barrels spilled and that none would come ashore. Those figures then became the balance against which the cost of all safety requirements were measured. So some of them started to look pretty expensive when the worst that could happen was so cheap. The regulators relented, safety measures were cut short and here we are today.

No one who spoke up wants to say "I told you so" because that would trivialize what has been lost. But it's true.

Add to that, they are out there in the deeper sections because that is where they are permitted to drill. 5000' below the surface is a lot of water pressure and very cold.

Dale:

Good post. Someone with a practical and good idea about stopping the oil spill. I hope you know about the discussion board at the Oil Drum.com - where there is a lot of shop talk about the spill.

I'm sorry what did Robert Bea say?

Add to that, they are out there in the deeper sections because that is where they are permitted to drill.

DB Akron - That is not true. They are out there because the largest proven reserves are in deep water sites, where as recently as 10 years ago, it was technically feasible to drill.

what you are describing is,in the business called squeezing off the pipe.could possibly work if the bottom's not to soft

WHERE ARE THE SUPERTANKERS?? That is what was used to scoop up the oil in the Timor spill and the North Sea..but BP is on a cost cutting mode and they cost more than the dispursents being used that kill the wetlands...

Yes, yu can crimp the pipe but can we trust they put in pipe that will not burst in other places! Do not think so! The Congress should have cut these people off in 2004 when the offenses were first discovered! Additionally , BP does not own the openseas--they should not be allowed to cut off access! Call Congress to shut this down..1.800.828.0498!

Ah the oil experts are in the house. You think its some conspiracy to think that BP wants to collect the oil and not stop the leak....

At present BP is collecting 3000 barrels a day from a leak that our government claims is only 5000 barrels a day.

They wasted 4 weeks building domes with hoses in the top to extract the oil. Those plans didnt work and NOW they are going to kill cap the well and permanently seal it.

(sorry for the caps)

IF THEY ARENT TRYING TO CAPTURE THE OIL WHY DIDNT THEY SEAL THE WELL A MONTH AGO?

You oil babies keep deluding yourselves.

Every drill baby needs to read RealAmericans post.

Take a deep breath before you read it and then understand that what he is saying is 100% truth.

Had to get it out.

Will it be a conspiracy when BP gets their two relief rigs in place and drilling lets say one or two weeks after the Horizon well is capped?

LOL all you can do is laugh about this... Or cry.

The reason they have not closed the leaking pipe is quite crystal clear to me. They want to be able to Siphon as much of the oil that they can, so that they can sell it. If this was just about shutting down the leak, it would have been done by now. And to all the political remarks, It is everyone fault. Us, for having the taste for all things oil & the politicians for letting big Oil bribe them with campaign contributions. Corporations & All politicians are only in this game to make them self's more money. They do not care about us, "We The People!"

CRYSTYE, I would agree with you except for the fact that cleanup and bad PR would be a pretty hard price to pay for the amount of oil they have managed to siphon. Still, I am surprised that it has come this far, and I certainly don't have much good to say about big oil.

BP cares about public opinion? A few more donations and some TV ads will take care of that. They want as much of the oil as they can get before they are forced to shut it down.

You can not clean up marshlands, they are nature's filters and soak it up like a sponge. You would have to tear out all the marsh and start over.

Dick and Lynn Cheney? Think, here. Cheney-Haliburton..Haliburton-Cheney? Please don't tell me you missed the last few years. Cheney nor any of his relatives could could make a statement on this, they would lose too much Halliburton Cash, not money, CASH!!!!!

So Pressure them back into the light to face the questions of their involvement in what happened too all areas of government..who did what ? than let history record them as traders to this nation. Credibility Denied. Jail time imminent.talk or Get sent to Gitmo ?

tmacallin-1043107...........since a nuclear sub would be crushed like a beer can under an 18 wheeler at that depth, I suggest you go back and re take high school physics before you come up with any other brilliant solutions to a problem you clearly do not understand.

okay ... thank you ..Jethro ! imagine for a minute if you will instead of a hollow pipe ..a solid pipe .. at least the end of it that has a metal flange 10' from the end that is off .. bolt something to the sea bed anchor rods .. gradually tighten it down and hope that the pressure doesnt burst a hole in the ocean floor.

The pipe you are talking about is already twisted and damaged, it could well be that the kinks in that pipe are all that are holding back the free flow of oil from the deposit itself. That pipe cannot withstand much more pressure, that is why they are just using a smal pipe to capture some of the oil. The main leak problem cannot be fixed by doing much with that standpipe, it will fall apart and make things worse.

Note: Congress didn't find the illegalities - Halliburton did - and turned it's rotten sub-contractors in to the Fed for prosecution.

BP was a huge contributor to the Obama Campaign. I think they hoped this would blow over quickly. Because it didn't get fixed quickly they are at least publically skewering BP to save face.

DB - I usually give people of the doubt when they post ignorant comments. But you've been corrected so many times (and had no response to those facts) that at this point it's obvious that you're just posting deliberate lies. "huge contributor to the Obama campaign" - give us a link (to something other than Rush or Beck) and prove it.

i will concede that big business lobbyists give money to every politicians campaign.. kind of like covering all the numbers on a roulette wheel.. we need Campaign finance reform not a sold out to big business Chief Justice Roberts . and no each time an investigation into halliburton starts .. it is than stopped by a G.O.P paid for federal Judge..see also bush appointee's. and Sarah Palin is not an M.I.T Alumni anymore than Rush Limbaugh is a man of Character , or Glenn Beck is a Prophet ! and all these nut jobs are still captivating your audience .. I think its the same Audience that we Starring on Jerry Springer.

I think it' fair to say Bush only knew what he was told. Surrounded by a very-pro industry consortium, Bush actually thought that deregulation would grow the economy, the likes of the Clinton years. All right wingers still defend this idea, for some reason. Probably personal greed.

While government causes some problems, eg inflation, as I just learned. Big business and those who live by way of a P&L statement only create most of the problems, as greed takes over common reasoning and religious commandments. Ambition and power, siezing opportunity and markets finish the process. BP and friends are a classic example of an ideology that Americans have been so sold upon since Reagan took office, that Americans cannot see the trees from the forest.

No one today asks himself, "What do I want to leave for my children?", instead they say "What here can I take for myself?" American corporate ideology packaged and sold to largely white affluent and semi-affluent voters. To admonish a green movement, to blow off scientists, to corrupt schoolbooks and to somehow deny obvious culpability to the current fate of America, is to be part of the neo-conservative cult. Very unfortunate as here we'll see that Deepwater Horizon is only one of hundreds of poorly built platform wells.

So ask yourselves, "Isn't every job worth doing right or not at all?", the very question that gets ignored everytime the GOP places someone in office. Short cuts, personal gain, voter forgetfullness and sheer cult-like ignorance....neo-conservatism. extreme irresponsibilty with regard to being shepherds of civilized society and Nature.

RealAmerican, I normally support your posts but im scratching my head at your protection of Obama.

http://watchingamerica.com/News/54847/did-obama-get-too-much-money-from-b-p/

There is your link. BP has been grooming Obama since he was a senator. BP gave its largest donation during the last presidency to Obama. Not that it was a huge amount of money, those amounts are regulated.

Excuse me. In March President Obama called for more offshore drilling. The first off shore drilling began in 1947. So your up Palin's butt for what reason?

so true Eddie

Yes Jeffers, he OKd more drilling - but wasn't you types that dismissed it as not going anywhere anyway?

When it was announced I distinctly recall the same sour negative taste from you turds about how this wouldn't amount to anything, and it was a "token gesture", and "didn't go far enough" - look it up..or would you like me to?

So which is it gonna be? Was it a good thing back then, or now, it's ammo to use against him? Can't have it both ways...

Y'alls opinions change like the wind direction...I suppose it's what ever LimBeck says, goes.

At least Obama had sense enough to call off the offshore drilling. Unlike any GOP'er ever.

Sorry I am going to say. Its obama fault! Because everybody is still blaming Bush for something!

What would be great is if money could fix the damage. It can't. Only education, which is sadly lacking if the responses from the oil apologists are any indication.

Arizona!!!! All of us AMERICANS loudly applaud your wonderful state for having the BALLS to enforce the Federal laws that Obama and company won't enforce, or aknowledge, but will bring the MexPres to a joint assembly of OUR Congress to condem your state for doing the thing that the Fed won't, and recieving a STANDING OVATION for it (PUKEBARFF)!!! Not one, none, nada,members of the Fed can honestly say that they have even seen your bold law, let alone read it(oops...I forgot, their Gov, reading not required to get job) Again, I strongly applaud you and your states move to do what has to be done.

I agree with you landfilltim-- The rest of america just doesn't have the nards Arizona does!!!

Luvenia -- ABSOLUTELY totally right. This is Katrina times 1000

As this mess begins to clear up, compensation to those who lost their lively hood over this will become a subplot. I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, but I believe these people will have a case.

75 years would be getting off easy. This is going to be several hundred years, if ever, before the damage is undone. The spill is not even over, and idiots are rushing to the defence of big oil.

I wish the oil apologists were right, but they are not. Same as last time.

Louisiana is gone....now the exodus of people....how many will be refugees from this. The plant and animal disaster is one thing that is HORRIFIC BUT the HUMAN disaster is AS horrific as so many people will be out of work, out of luck, out of money and during a recession that just began to see some light. Now the darkness again ... it's just unthinkable NOT TO MENTION the HEALTH cost of this, the lung disease from inhaling it and the various kinds of cancer that will strike -- lung cancer, throat cancer, liver and thyroid cancer....if it kills animals it will kill us it just take a bit more of the disgusting stuff and there is TONS of it to go around.

I am amazed at the news broadcasters who go into the thick of it. They have to breath it too. horrible absolutely a nightmare of biblical proportions. A country that brought a HUGE German and Japanese war machine in WWII cannot stem an oil leak...What after WWII has this country done that is right? It's exceptional all right...EXCEPTIONALLY MORONIC, backward and utterly ignorant. Go ahead Texas change your IDIOTIC text books. By the way I think secession is a GOOD idea...when can you manage to do it?

Decades of under funded and under resourced Texas schools has led directly to an adult population that is ill equiped to think for its self , much less deal with the responsibilities that come with a more Civilized and tech savy society. So their leaders with the help of the Christian Churches promise , more like Sell them on a Time and Place to offer up their Sacrifice to God ..the Gays, the liberals, the anti gun proliferation crowd , the people of color..democrats.. Soldiers , Fisherman,,, just about anybody or anything else that they are ordered to do so ...as long as the sacrifice comes at someone elses exspense other than their own.

answer is..........

www.adperfectsystems.com

Setting the wetlands on fire to fix the oil spill would be funny if it was a SNL skit, but it is not. Maybe the Brown Pelicans weren't brown enough for BP. Maybe they should just change their name to Brown Pelican.

'We put the Brown in Pelican!'

Heay, everyone, we are talking here, about the pelicans, the sea turtles, the crabs, the fish; now, everyone, we are talking about the very strands in the web of all life. According to the science of ecology, these species of biological diversity are the job-holders and role-players that support and keep alive the Earth's ecosystems, that which also keeps mankind alive.

Mankind is as dependent upon the Earth's ecosystems, crabs, sea turtles and pelicans as they are upon the atmosphere, a stable and regulated climate, fresh water, food, the nitrogen cycle and the entirety of the Earth's biogeochemistry or all the reasons mankind exists.

The Earth is life-gifting and supporting because of ecosystems, and ecosystems are alive and life-gifting because of its biological diversity or the crabs, fish, sea turtles and pelicans. Man owes his very existence to crabs, fish, sea turtles and pelicans.

The destruction of the Earth's biological diversity is equivalent, at least according to science, as a threat to civilization and mankind, second only to global thermonuclear war. What would this nation do -- if threatened with global, thermonuclear war. duh

Damn, what did Robert Bea say?

Oh yea, it was all preventable and short cuts were taken. Imagine that.

Blah, blah, blah

What?

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —President George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

I bet you morons that voted for this fool are really proud now.

English, please english !

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —President George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

ah yes; the great Texas Chimp-O-Matic.........just one of his many Pearls of Wisdom

Star, they are morons or they would not have the ignorance to destroy the Earth. After all, there exists no rocket ships ready to deploy to living, alive planets. Only the Earth does that for man, except mankind treats the Earth as if she were their enemy instead of their oxygen, their atmosphere, a stable moderated climate, the nitrogen cycle, the hydrological system, the filteration of the air and water, decomposition, seed dispersal, cooling evapotranspiration, which cools the leaves, the soil and the surrounding area, shading the heat of the sun from the Earth, the vital sequesteration of C02, the creation and renewal of the soil, 99% of all pest control and the regulation and checks of pathogens in the food chain with man, some of which can wipe out the majority of mankind.

Gawd, aren't we a dumb specie????? And, it appears, rich rednecks rule the world and our rights to existence??????

How idiotic.

True enough, but even a company drilling on land needs to be held accountable for their errors. The point isn't that environmentalists forced BP to drill at sea. the point is that they undertook a business venture that failed miserably. Like everyone else, they are responsible for the damage they caused. It looks like they will not have to pay for their own mess. Typical big business and republican backing. Just let the American taxpayer foot the bill.

I think it might serve us well to know that the safety standards for off-shore drilling in other countries is more stringent with greater safe guards than is permitted here in the USA. One has to assume that our "relaxed" safety standards have something to do with petroleum lobby groups and accommodating congressmen. Why can't our off-shore drilling use the same standards employed in other more enlightened countries? We can blame corporations all we want to, but the real blame lies with the lower production standards allowed by our government. (By the way.... all of this was put into play under the Bush administration, not the Obama administration.)

Yes, I believe you have the answer. Let the oil companies do what they want. Thanks, moron.

Don, you aren't getting it. What is the equivalent of an oil spill on the land or the Earth's terrestrial ecosystems, the most endangered of all ecosystems? Try on bulldozers, earth-movers, roads, shopping malls, office complexes, housing tracts, freeways, parking lots, apartment complexes. With the butchered marine and coastline ecosystems, they have a chance of renewing, bouncing back. When man entombs the Earth under miles of concrete, glass, bricks, stucco, asphalts and plaster, well, it would take the eaons to shatter this entombment of the Earth's terrestrial ecosystems.

Though heat islands or cities support one specie on the planet, they only support one, which makes these ecosystems, exceedingly unstable and dangerous. Cities and concrete slabs are about as life-giving as the surface of Mars. After all, a dead planet is after all, truly and really dead.

Keep in mind that these are all mostly red states..including the nashville disaster .. always crying States Rights , how much they hate obama and all the rest of the federal goverment . A government that there leaders subverted for big buisiness money ,,Money that has led to this disaster .. now its Help ! Help ! its okay to spend those federal dollars on us ... we really are missing all the G.W subsides .... these confederates should have to sign a pledge to Join The Union " before recieving any money .

Yes, you are so correct rfaber9. The true enemy is man's failure to comprehend why he exists in the first place. The Earth supports man's existence because of her ecosystems, and ecosystems existence is given life, function and stability because of all their living, job-holding and role-playing components or biological diversity, the crabs, birds, fish, pelicans and living species smothered and butchered by the black death.

Man is not an island apart. What befalls the fate of the Earth, befalls the fate of man. All that was alive and is now dead because of this horrific assault on the Earth are the strands in the web of man's very existence. Earth is an ecosystem dependent planet, and man is dependent upon the Earth's ecosystems as any specie. Man is alive and breathing because of all the animals and plants that were slaughered in this catastrophic evil of black death because of man's ignorance.

"In wildness is the salvation of the Earth and the preservation of all life...but seldom perceived by man"

The preceding quote was provided by the father of ecology, quoting H. Thoreau. It is important to remember, before civilization began to chop, rape, deforest, pave, concrete and kill the natural surface of the Earth, this planet was one, stable and supporting behemoth ecosystem! And, man is chopping, plundering and raping her still....

Yeah, let's hear it Lipstick Lady. Share your wisdom. Maybe you can see the oil slick from Alaska?

Sarah's either out Drilling or at home being drilled by todd ..he's a Super snow mobiler ..kind of like Ken and his Car. Bristol however can be seen for $ 75.oo Giving Parenting Leasons ...Really ?

Oh, Palin is too busy shooting the Earth's biological diversity and chowing down on her sweet tater pones, a wearin that bear skin cape and drinkin her homebrew. Gawd, what could we do without the Earth's human garbage.... I justa reflectin on duh white trash.

Yes, let's blame this on the "overzealous enviromentalists" that "block every effort to have us go after our own resourses (sic) and get OFF foriegn (sic) oil".

That is working out swimmingly so far, isn't it?

Moron.

They already had lots of leases that they were not extracting oil from ..they were capping It , the well head when the Failure occured . The Oil Business is about much more than finding and Drilling for Oil . Same Reason why they Keep asking for more leases when they are not always drilling in the the leases they own , its not as proffitable. Same reason why there is no RnD into what ifs ? or the oil company mergers and acquisitions tbtf all ,, most of the money already being made in oil is being used to buy up there own stocks .. a monopoly!

This catastrophe and hopefully the subsequent investigation cannot be allowed to become another Oliver North Trial. Dismissed as a matter of national security

You really think they are drilling in oceans because environmentalists won't let them drill on land ? They used up all the easy oil on land and it is actually easier and cheaper to get it at sea now where there is still lots of untapped oil. The Alaska parklands where they want to drill would only last a couple of years and then be gone, they are not long term. They were drilling at sea while there was still plenty of oil on land because it was easier and cheaper. Not so cheap now !

I stand by what I believe in, and sorry, but I can withstand any namecalling starterup, it doesn't change anything. It's my opinion, and I'm entitled to it.

Funny how these types always resort to "it's my opinion and I'm sticking to it" when confronted with facts. I can't figure out if they started out stupid or became that way from too much FOX News, but anybody who's decided they know all they need to know and won't learn any more is worthless.

Oh, Don, we are putting you in the cat bird seat. These are decisions of your own pickin. Which would you rather have? A car to zip around with, a burger joint, a video store, a taco stand or oxygen, food, water, life and a planet that, with its ecosystems and their biological diversity, gifts you with life itself? If you are not careful here, you would be dead, very swiftly.

It appears that quite a few people commenting on this do not understand that oil is a natural product, made from plant material. Oil seeps have occured over the last several million years, and we were never there to record it. The earth can absorb this and move forward, can all of you? Where is the outrage over the volcano in Iceland? Should we get out there and clean that up? Mother nature once again. Much of the hub bub over carbon in the atmosphere is from volcano activity over the last 5 years under the ocean surface. If all the eco nazis were not so entranced by Gore and his idiotic proposition, real science would come into the discussion. The coastal waters and ecosystem will be fine, if man does not come in and try and clean it up and mess up the microorganisms that break all of this down like they did in Alaska after the Valdez spill. By the way, bird deaths for the month are up about by 100 over same period last year (50), reported on the news last week. If you are worried about birds, get some stats on how many are killed by wind turbines - 100's of thousands per year. If you are truely simpathetic to bird life, we should bail on wind power as a source of energy, as it will wipe out huge portions of migrating birds over the next decade.

Part of the definition of a sustainable society is one that does not produce pollutant in excess of nature's ability to absorb/process them. Nature can certainly bouce back from a natural catrastrophe and man-made ones, too. So, we can continue the "but it's natural" argument and continue on our current course, which will put on us a one-way path to extinction. Keep in mind, these ecosystems that are being damaged by this spill are part of the our life support system. I agree that we are incapable of destroying these ecosystems or even destroying the Earth. What we are destroying (or at the very least damaging) is what makes Earth inhabitable for humans.

BTW, people on this board are concerned that taxpayers will end up footing the bill for this mess. Well, ultimately, isn't it our responsibility? Our demands for cheap fuel have contributed to this mess. Living within our means applies just as much to our natural resources as it does to our finances.

People say its our demand for cheap fuel. What about all of us that for 20 years have been begging that we get off of oil.

I dont see UPS trucks driving around using gasoline. We use oil because our government forces us to use oil.

Believe me when I say that if our government gave subsidies to electric car makers and the wind turbines that would power the grid we would of been off oil 10 years ago. Unfortunately we STILL SUBSIDIZE OIL COMPANIES. Thats right people. The subsidies given the oil companies in the 70's are still mostly in place. Remember back when oil was trading at $10 a barrel? We had to subsidize the oil companies or they would collapse. Standard oil couldnt make its money by drilling and selling $10 a barrel oil.

Its sortof like listening about the upcoming Baseball and Football strikes. Did the either side of greedy SOB's ever consider giving that extra TV revenue BACK TO THE CUSTOMER?

Nah lets keep having $100 baseball tickets so AROD can make $50 million a year instead of $25 million.

ViVa America!~

Genious ? the Idea is to eventually get off fossil fuels all together " what part of Global Climate Change are you failing to understand ? in the mean time some of the decisions that are being made on our behalf ..Are Decisions that should not be being made ,proffit over people.