When it becomes history.
So once upon a time one might have thought that those who would accuse the government of being in collusion with the oil companies would have been thought to be "conspiracy theorists." Obviously these oil company executives are decent men. They wear nice suits and fashionable ties. They are properly groomed and maintain a measured tone of voice at all times when speaking in public.
Once upon a time one might have thought that those who would accuse the government of colluding with bankers were "conspiracy theorists." Once again the men appear well groomed and soft spoken. The sentences they construct are grammatically correct and their vocabulary is impeccable.
But once upon a time was before. History determines what is reality. The predictions made on the basis of artfully constructed statistics fail after one reaches time zero…the present. After the events have occurred the probability of the event happening reaches 100 per cent.
We have reached 100 per cent probability of a catastrophic event occurring because of the negligence of an oil company. We have reached 100 per cent probability of a government legislating with the interests of the wealthy in mind over the basic concept of equal protection under the law.
It is time to stop allowing "big corporations" to participate in discussions about how we are to be governed. BP should be acting under constant U.S. government supervision at this point. Glass-Steagal should have long ago been re-instated. Habeas Corpus should have been restored. The Geneva Convention should be being complied with.
The Oil Spill has happened. The economic crisis has happened. The U.S. government has tortured and disregarded its own code of laws. This is not a theory. It is history.
We are lulled into accepting corruption by the argument that some economic catastrophe will occur if banking regulations are radically altered. We are frightened into supporting our government's illegal activities by the supposed threat of terrorism. We are drawn to support the activities of oil companies by the myth of a threat to our lifestyle. I for one do not believe that the application of the laws of the land will cause any sort of disaster.
I believe none of it. If markets are self-righting, as the right-wing economists would have us believe, then they will simply adapt to the new conditions created by the imposition of the rule of law. Large banks will be replaced by smaller ones. Enterprising individuals will find ways to make profits by offering necessary services within the context of new government regulations.
As to foreign policy, all evidence points to blowback as the number one cause of terrorism. Clearly if we behave in a more decent and rational manner towards our neighbors there will be less motivation for terrorism.
With regard to energy, demand creates a market. How that market is filled should not be dictated by special deals cut behind closed doors with a Vice-President.
I wonder sometimes if most people understand that the use of mathematics by business and government is not determinate. The reality is that bureaucrats are tasked with the job of using formulas to predict outcomes. They are paid workers. With hangovers, and headaches and kids and busy schedules. Numbers are plugged in for the sake of convenience. Numbers are strategically used that will guarantee the outcomes that have been asked for.
In addition there there is a great deal of confusion between math that is used to predict outcomes and outcomes themselves. I suppose that from some bureaucratic perspective it seemed perfectly reasonable to project a number of 75 million as the amount it might take to cover damages caused by a major oil spill. After the fact this number seems absurd.
And now back to the topic. After the fact the number of 75 million as a limit to the liability of oil companies for damages caused seems to not merely be an oversight. Rather it seems to be clear indication of the collusion of corporations and government to deny the rights of the citizenry. You might call it a conspiracy theory. I live in Louisiana, for us it is now history.