The Gulf Oil Leak

Here's what I have to say about the Gulf Oil Fiasco:

First of all, I want to know why BP was allowed to drill without having safeguards in place.  Didn't they have to have a permit?  Who was responsible for making sure that all the safeguards BP claimed to have were actually being used?

Second, I want to know what Dick "Darth" Cheney agreed to in those "secret" talks with the oil industry execs back in 2001-2003.  I've read that Cheney agreed to give the oil companies a "pass" on safety regulations...because they were too expensive and dipped into profits.

Third, I want to know why President Obama hasn't yet declared a national emergency!  I understand that there might be legal implications in doing so, and perhaps Obama is constrained by legalities of agreements made by President Bush with the oil companies, during the previous administration.  If that's the case, I'd like to know and I'm sure most Americans want to know, too.  It's time for Obama to give up the dream of non-partisanship and let the chips - and blame - fall where they may.

Fourth, I want to know why the media - which conservatives call liberal, even though the mainstream stations are now owned by a handful of conservatives/Republicans - hasn't tried to interview Sarah "Drill, Baby, Drill" Palin, or Darth Cheney, or John McCain.  While I usually don't care to hear what any of these individuals have to say, NOW I DO.  What response do these individuals have to the Gulf leak?  I want to know!  Don't you?

These are my questions, and I'd like to have them answered.  I find it very curious that Cheney, who has been so outspoken and critical of President Obama since Day 1 of his presidency, has been so markedly silent about the Gulf leak.  Could it be that his company, Halliburton, is somehow involved?  Cheney played quite a prominent role in deregulating the oil industry, which I believe contributed to this environmental and financial fiasco, so why isn't that being reported?  It's as though the media (or the government?) has declared "hands off" season on Cheney.  Why is he being given a free pass if he helped orchestrate this debacle?

I'm usually sick to death of seeing and hearing about Sarah Palin's escapades, or political backings, and especially her ignorant speeches.  Why isn't she being asked what she thinks of this mess?  Instead, even the more liberal news shows, like MSNBC's Hardball, Ed Shultz Show, Keith Olbermann, and even Rachel Maddow continue to show Palin stumping for her Tea Party candidates - but NEVER question her publicly about her continued support for offshore and inland drilling!  Why not?  Why is she so off-limits?  I want to know how she can still support the deregulation of the oil companies, when we have such a grave consequence because of it.  I want to know if she still supports deregulation and drilling.  Don't you?

John McCain, that wolf in sheep's clothing, is another politician that I'd like to hear give his take on the whole situation.  He's also been strangely silent.  Why isn't the media commenting about that?  I just don't understand why these ultra-critical conservatives are being given a FREE PASS by the media!

Yesterday, I heard a couple of things that give me pause to ponder.  The first thing I heard was that BP may not be able to stop the leak EVER, and the second was that while the oil companies have invested millions in technology research as far as drilling in greater depths, etc., they have NOT invested monies in safety or clean-up technology!  Basically, that means they've been investing money in those technologies that would enable them to drill for more oil and ensure greater profits, but they have NOT invested any money in technology that would enable them to clean up their messes or better yet, prevent them from happening in the first place - because it's not profit-driven.

Norway, for example, has a policy that if any company does off-shore drilling, they must FIRST have a "relief" well in place - "just in case".  That makes good sense to me.  Yet, yesterday, Trent Lott (remember him?), who is now an attorney FOR THE OIL COMPANIES (no surprise there), said that that was a WASTE OF MONEY.  So...Norway is SMARTER than the U.S.?  Apparently so.

I was thinking yesterday, "Why don't they just have big tubes that suction the oil off the water, much like a big vacuum cleaner?"  I got my answer.  The oil companies haven't developed that technology.  Yet, if a layperson like me can think of that possibility, surely there must have been other people out there, particularly within the oil industry itself, that could have developed such a technology.  Was the money just not there?  No one wanted to spend money on it?

I think the time is right, now, for President Obama to declare a national emergency.  I think it's time to call on the scientists of the world for solutions.  I think it's time to send out a global SOS.  It's been almost two months, now, with oil spewing into the Gulf at a rate of thousands of barrels a day.  The environmental and financial damage is destroying ecosystems, industries, and livelihoods - and what's really scary is that it might be forever....

Plus, the toxins from the chemical dispersents that BP has been using is now taking their toll on the people who are doing clean-up.  Respiratory problems, skin rashes, and other symptoms have grown so severe that a team of doctors have now been brought in to treat them.  

Another alarming development is that BP, or agents hired by them, have been "removing" dead carcasses from the Gulf in an effort to downplay the damage to marine life.  They've been caught literally "raking" dead carcasses out of the ocean and in some cases, beheading them.  As if that isn't gory enough, the reason for the beheading is so complete autopsies can't be done.  Can't see what's being done to the "brain" if there isn't one....

And so, on it goes.  When will it end?  We may never see an end to it.  If, as it was discussed yesterday on the cable news channels, BP doesn't have the ability to stop this leak, then the damage will be ongoing and catastrophic.  The ocean currents will carry the oil around the Florida peninsula and up the East Coast and out into the Atlantic Ocean.  What will that do to marine life?  The fishing industry?  Our ecosystem?  

And my final thought - is this the beginning of what Revelations meant by saying that one-third of our marine life on this planet will die in the end days?  Are we so full of greed that we are willing to destroy our planet in the process? Aren't we supposed to be stewards of this planet?  The earth?  Aren't we supposed to protect it?  How can these ultra-conservatives that are for deregulation and pooh-pooh the environmentalists, claim to be Christians, when as such, they have been given the responsibility of stewardship of the earth?  I'd like an explanation, please.