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Yes, Siree! Cry me a river, not of pristine waters, but of toxic sludge.
Calls for "investigations" plus all the alligator tears in the world, AFTER THE FACT, will not do. Will we ever learn from our past experiences? Not if money is involved. Money is the ultimate opiate, wiping out any vestiges of reason, logic or ethics.
As the BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico continues to spew oil, the toxic sludge creeping ever closer to land, now only hours away from our shores, the head of BP is calling for any and all help that can be mustered:
An executive for BP PLC, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said on NBC’s "Today" that the company would welcome help from the U.S. military.
"We’ll take help from anyone," BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said.
How come, when BP built this rig and the nearby states approved its construction, our captains of industry and our lawmakers could anticipate only the huge revenues this rig would generate and NOT the possible personal and environmental disaster that might ensue? How can a giant oil producer such as BP not be required to have a plan for such a disaster as we are now witnessing? What? BP can revel in the money they make from producing and selling oil, but not have a plan on hand nor equipment in place, IN ANTICIPATION of a plausible occupational hazard while our powers-that-be in our industries and government find this scenario just fine and dandy?
Do you think it reasonable that now all of their cries for help should be heeded, much less paid for by our federal government, i.e. the taxpayers? Although I must admit, President Obama said yesterday that BP will be responsible for the costs of cleaning up this mess. And what of those tony Nantucket residents who are yelling and screaming against the wind farm that was just approved to be built off their manicured shores? No wind power because it might be an eyesore to property owners (I personally think the windmills are fantastic and beautiful to look at.), but offshore oil drilling is just super, at least until some catastrophe hits. Besides the total lack of any anticipatory analysis and preparation, these builders and politicians, the movers and shakers that drive our economy, are just whacked out of their tiny, little minds.
Aren’t we also then, for electing them? Whether it is fancy-schmancy investments that defy definitions or legislative processes that reward special interests or hateful laws that are reminiscent of totalitarian regimes, when, do tell when, will we say "Enough’? How many times have we been down this road already? And how many more times are we going to allow these old situations to pop up again and again, these oft-repeated scenarios that have a special place reserved for them in Hell?
Cry me a river, but by all means let the oil and money still flow.