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Did the US government act quickly enough? Should BP be taking the lead in managing the disaster? Who'll stop the leaking?

Pelicans and their eggs are in the path of millions of gallons of oil, 05/22/10. (photo: Gerald Herbert/AP)

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Comments

+4 # Guest 2010-05-23 12:03

The cat watches the chicken-coop, while looking for ways to limit its damages. The government acts like its president, all talk, but no walk. Our congress is owned by the culprits. Why do we expect any positive action?

+10 # cabotool 2010-05-23 12:16

I think that we need a constitutional amendment that mandates a retroactive seizure of all of BP's assets to cover the cost of the cleanup and any damages.

And apply this law to anyone who creates an environmental disaster.

THAT should get the attention of anyone who thinks about creating anything that might turn into an environmental disaster.

+9 # Guest 2010-05-23 13:57

Has anyone ever destroyed 1,000 neighbors' property by letting a backyard barbecue pit get out of control - and walked away without paying full restitution? How can BP be allowed to destroy lives and livelihoods and miles & miles of coastline, all the while raking in billions of dollars, and NOT be held fully accountable? Hmmm - Mr. Cheney, got any ideas?

+3 # Guest 2010-05-23 15:40

BP can get away with it because they own Obama and the Democrats and the Republicans. Do you have enough money to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to Democratic and Republican war chests? I don't think so. They say that money is the root of all evil. It will also end up destroying the human race along with many animal species as well.

Quoting

Has anyone ever destroyed 1,000 neighbors' property by letting a backyard barbecue pit get out of control - and walked away without paying full restitution? How can BP be allowed to destroy lives and livelihoods and miles & miles of coastline, all the while raking in billions of dollars, and NOT be held fully accountable? Hmmm - Mr. Cheney, got any ideas?

+3 # Guest 2010-05-23 14:53

AP has been so far behind the curve on this story and done such a spectacularly poor job of reporting it that I'm actually starting to feel sorry for them. So I offer this angle in the hope that maybe it will give them a clue as to what is coming next which is that BP has so bungled the clean up of the spill that the US government has no choice but to intervene. Does this perhaps suggest who will be footing the bill? Do you think that BP, (a foreign corporation), will be more than happy to turn the job of cleaning up the mess over to the US Government? So far AP has done a great job of passing on as journalism any ridiculous story BP has fed them. Why not try a little skepticism and dare I say it, investigative journalism? You might even be able to feel a tinge of pride next time you cash your paychecks.

+1 # Guest 2010-05-23 17:38

But Jack, who owns AP? I don't claim to know but I suspect that the AP is as beholding to a variety of corporate interests sufficient that actual, professional journalism, would be all too easily compromised. Investigative journalism would expose corporate and governmental elements that would not take kindly to that exposure. Does AP have the stones to do this?

I truly hope for journalistic integrity to rise to the occasion but I sure ain't holding my breath.

-1 # Guest 2010-05-23 16:47

The Government is doing what it is required to do:
After the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, Congress dictated that oil companies be responsible for dealing with major accidents — including paying for all cleanup — with oversight by federal agencies.

+2 # Guest 2010-05-23 17:41

Quoting

The Government is doing what it is required to do:
After the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, Congress dictated that oil companies be responsible for dealing with major accidents — including paying for all cleanup — with oversight by federal agencies.

So tell us, did Exxon pay for all the clean up? Were the parties involved held fully accountable? Oh, I know court judgments favorable to plaintiffs were handed down, but weren't every one of these ultimately compromised, watered down and in some cases reversed?

Damage from the Exxon Valdez spill still remains. The clean up was never completed.

+5 # Guest 2010-05-23 17:00

I do not see how BP can expect to remain in business. I think ALL its assets should be placed in trust. BP has just put out of commission a huge chunk of planet earth. It has liability for environmental damage, for commercial losses, for losses of life, for losses of health, for violations of regulations. In addition to civil suits, and punitive damages, there should be criminal suits. Congress does not have the authority to shift responsibility for this recklessness to the backs of U.S. taxpayers--anymore than as Granny says--it would be right to pre-set limits to the liability of a person who negligently burned down a neighborhood. (Let our wishy-washy, corporation-loving president take note.)

+4 # Guest 2010-05-23 17:04

you expect AP to do a deep dig on this story?
You must be new to AP....they have downplayed every Cheney/Bush disaster or any industrial disaster.....skim the story and never get to the core....
like ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox...MSM Media does not do news.

They do rightwing cover.

+1 # myungbluth 2010-05-24 05:03

Correct me if I'm wrong - oh hell, let's be realistic - just flame me if you disagree with my opinion - but oil disasters seem apolitical to me - neither Democratic nor Republican. BP has every motivation to fix the problem (yes, yes, we KNOW they screwed up, causing the problem) because, if for no other reason, it won't help their bottom line. And the government has every motivation to fix the problem because it harms the country, and neither party wants one more crappy problem. The problem will be so much less if we just know who to BLAME! Want politics? 1. Wah! Wah! Government is BAD! We need more "freedom" and free markets and less tax and restriction! 2. Wah! Wah! We need government HELP! We have a huge expensive problem that will cost billions in damage and jobs. Why didn't the government have more rules and restrictions in place to control these companies? Welcome to consistently inconsistent America!

+2 # Guest 2010-05-24 05:35

Marie Antonette said to the French people: "let them eat bread!" which meant cow dung or something like that. She lost her head for that. Now the corporate bought republican party and the BP are saying to the American people "let them eat bread!" but this time it's the oil mess floating contiminating the ecological wetlands on the Gulf of Mexico.

Perhaps it's for another beheading.

But as long as the Supreme Court five has the power of the land, that won't happen. It's going to take more than that! Throwing out all the republicans in November could and would solve that problema!

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