"a Bubblin' Crude"

[Kenyada]

How much bumbling and fumbling with the oil leak disaster can we take? One thing is certain; the shelf life of BP’s lies is only about as long as it takes to measure the square mileage of the oil slicks. Soon there will be no doubt, and no amount of fudging the numbers will dissolve the oil in the marshlands of Louisiana. I used to think that BP execs must be idiots, but the truth is that they think we are.

There was never a Plan A, let alone Plan B. There was never a contingency plan for a one-gallon leak of oil, let alone 100,000 barrels a day. This is the result of relaxed regulation of an industry already full of itself. Too many so-called government regulators are sleeping with too many industry giants, because that’s where their future seven-figure salaries lie. So we are left with executives policing the drilling of oil who have never even set foot on an oil rig.

Remember the 1960’s sitcom, The Beverly Hillbillies? The disaster could borrow from its theme song. “…and up through the Gulf came a bubblin’ crude. Oil that is – black gold, Texas Tea.” The show’s characters may be a good fit, too. BP is Jethro Clampett in a Brooks Brothers suit. But if we are gonna look to the Clampetts for a solution to this mess, I’d prefer Granny over Jethro or Jed. Jethro would appoint a commission to study the problem. Jed would start whittling an oil pipe plug. Granny, on the other hand, would march right into the corporate offices of BP and pull its CEO, by his ear, out of a board meeting. She’d point her trusty shotgun down low to do the most good - not to kill him, but to ensure he would spawn no more fools. Ellie May would have her back. No one harms her critters and gets away with it.

The Taliban doesn’t have to build submarines and chart a course to the nearest U.S. oil rig. All they have to do is be patient. Greed and profit margin madness will eventually implode.

We’re not asking BP to put toothpaste back into the tube; we’re expecting them to put the cap back on. BP lied. There is a difference between having nothing to hide, and having nothing. If you have nothing, transparency is an easy fete to accomplish.

[Glenn]

I agree.