Five weeks have passed since the oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. After five weeks the citizens along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are still waiting for government to respond appropriately to an ecological disaster that effects hundreds and potentially thousands of miles of coastline.
The companies involved in the oil rig certainly bear the bulk of the responsibility. This is the reason BP agreed almost immediately to pay for the costs of containing the leak and cleaning up the aftermath.
But this in no way absolves the Obama Administration from much of the responsibility for the failure to contain the spill adequately and quickly, preventing the oil from reaching the shore. The EPA and FEMA have oversight of disasters of this magnitude. Both have failed the American people miserably.
Immediately upon assessing the looming disaster resulting from the spill, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called for the federal government to do its job for which the taxpayers pay dearly--guarding the coastline and protecting vital industries and wildlife. He asked for the U.S. Military to be deployed to the Gulf in a massive concentration of manpower. He asked for barriers to be built in the Gulf to contain the oil, preventing an historic disaster.
Jindal is still waiting on a answer from the federal government.
Instead, the Obama Administration listened to BP as it insisted that it would do what was necessary to address the looming disaster.
This, clearly, was a big mistake.
BP and other oil companies are not in the business of guarding an entire coastline. They have neither the manpower nor the resources for such a gargantuan task, despite their assurances to the Obama Administration.
A correct assessment of the nature and extent of the looming environmental disaster, such as Bobby Jindal's, should have been a clear indication early on that BP would be inadequate for the task.
Thus, Obama, and FEMA, and the EPA waited, and waited, and waited...until now the oil is coming ashore and killing not only the wildlife but decimating several industries upon which citizens rely for their livelihood.
A key component of the willingness of the Obama Administration to listen to BP and refuse to act is that Barack Obama has benefited handsomely through the years from BP campaign contributions. Obama is the single largest beneficiary of money that BP hands out to political candidates.
It is difficult to defy the very people who are bankrolling your political activities. This is made clear by the fact that Obama did not defy them but quickly acquiesced to their demands that the government stay out of the containment effort. The result is a disaster that could have been prevented had the appropriate steps been taken, and the appropriate manpower deployed, by the one entity that is equipped to do the job--the Feds along with the military.
Thus, this is 'Obama's Katrina.' As with the Bush Administration in the aftermath of the destructive, devastating and deadly hurricane, the Obama Administration has shown once again the complete ineptitude of the government to do what citizens fund through their tax dollars.
Obama apologists on the Left attempt to draw a distinction by their claim that this is different from Katrina due to the fact that a hurricane is a 'natural' disaster and the oil spill is a 'man-made' disaster.
That has absolutely nothing to do with the current situation. The issue is not the cause of the disaster but the disaster itself--the result of the mishap whether it be a devastating hurricane or a devastating oil spill. The consequence is the same--an enormous economic and environmental meltdown in the region effected.
Thus, inaction on the part of both Administrations led to a tragic and unnecessary calamity.
In addition, the knee-jerk calls for the cessation of oil drilling in the wake of the catastrophe is nothing more than political opportunism at its worst. When Americans stop using computers, tires, cars, makeup, certain medicines, and other petroleum-based products, then and only then can we with any credibility call for the cessation of oil drilling. We need the oil whether we admit it or not, and those who pretend that we can simply stop drilling with no severe consequences to our way of life are in abject denial.
Even the fishing industry in the Gulf, which will be devastated by this disaster, depends on the oil to get their boats into the water.
The fact is that oil rigs, even offshore, have been incredibly safe. The last time an oil spill caused this kind of damage was the Exxon-Valdez spill in Alaska, and that was not caused by a rig but a ship.
That disaster occurred all the way back in 1989.
Politicians are going to engage in spin and propaganda in situations such as this, particularly when it involves a group of far-Left ideologues in this Administration who believe that you 'never let a good crisis go to waste.' They will use this unfortunate event to advance a cause, to convince gullible Americans that oil is evil and therefore all drilling must be stopped.
Is this, perhaps, yet another reason for Obama's lack of response to the disaster?
For commentary on the issues of the day, visit my blog at The Liberty Sphere.
Comments
The EPA has failed the citizenry of the Gulf residents. For a supposed environmentally caring agency, approving an unknown toxin seems rather hypocritical. They simply don't care about nature or the environment unless it involves taxing us to death.
Heidi--Very true! This government cannot with any credibility wash its hands of this disaster. They were not responsible for the oil spill itself, but they ARE TOTALLY responsible for the lack of appropriate response, which led to the oil coming ashore.
Yes, But the Exxon Valdez disaster is still a disater "going back to 1989." Dump oil and go to alternatives...nuclear. They already exist!
Steven--I support nuclear energy and a host of other alternatives. But it is highly unrealistic to call for no more oil. In fact, such a thing would be so disruptive to modern society, from top to bottom, that the mere suggestion is reckless.
Do you know how many products we use on a daily basis that are petroleum-based? It is astounding, actually. Thus, we need the oil too.
true dat
And as they say, 'The truth shall make you free.'
The problem that I have with the B.P./Barry O. connection is that we are allowing offshore corporates to contribute to political campaigns here in the U.S.!Off shore monies influencing OUR electoral process ! These entities are self serving cannot be in the best interest of the people of OUR nation! This problem is endemic within the confines of our political system and permeates itself into the highest offices of OUR government. It is these same special interest groups that corrupt the people within OUR government in those famous closed door meetings. Long after the meetings are over the smell of greed and corruption still lingers in the air. Oil companies are among the most powerful forces on this earth...without them the world doesn't work ! But at what price...whats the price of a government of a sovereign nation ? Two years ago the five largest oil companies had a combined profit of 123 BILLION DOLLARS....that buys a lot of governments and presidents in today's world economy !
Phil--it is becoming all too clear that neither big government, nor the large corporations that get into bed with it, have the best interests of Americans at heart.
Anthony..correct! This problem plagues the entire world. The financial elitist who control the I.M.F. control numerous nations around the world through their loans to financial faltering nations and their pay back scams. This is apparent in third world nations...most noticeably in South America where their scams are now known and they are no longer welcomed. This same process is employed by big oil ! With out a doubt the processes used by large corporates insure that their man will get into office no matter what party wins. Their bought and paid for candidates have been "groomed" by them long before we go to the polling stations and cast OUR votes. Barry O. is a prime example of this process. Another example is in Haiti where a defacto government and puppet president was installed by the U.S./U.N. combine and assisted by the I.M.F.....I won't go into the 20 million barrels of off shore oil in and around Haiti or "W" Bush being the oil man that he is having his foot firmly in the door!
Phil--And, as we are witnessing, the IMF is a VERY dangerous body, and Obama is right there with them. The IMF is now dictating to Greece and other EU nations what to do now that they have been 'bailed out.' We don't need a small group of powerful financiers who control world banks dictating to the rest of world what to do. Obama's push toward 'global governance' and a 'new international order' has the IMF right at the center of it.
The predicted (planed ?)next financial crash in the U.S. is going to bring this nation to it's collective knees and the I.M.F. will come running ! This process will almost insure the destruction of OUR nation.
"When the rabbit screams the fox comes running....but not to help"!
FEMA was ready to enter Louisiana within 48 hours of the hurricane hitting, but were prevented from entering by the Governor and later were kept out of N.O. by the Mayor for a period of time. Don't forget all the idiots who refused to leave and obey the evacuation order, which caused the problem to be even worse....welfare families waiting on the feds to save them rather than doing something for themselves. And you know the media coverage on this was inordinantly biased.
Scarlet....some of those people whom you have referred to as "idiots" who didn't leave were among the poorest people in OUR nation and had no viable means to leave, age was another means by which these people couldn't get out. The same Bush/Clinton cartel was in place after Katrina, with their 501(c)never to be audited, tax exempt accounts ...just like in Haiti and just like with the sunami in Indonesia. Little if any of the monies ever got to the people !Both the governor and the mayor of New Orleans placed phone calls to the White House but were never put through to the president as they both have stated on television and radio! F.E.M.A. is a disaster and a ruse....maybe you should consider looking into REX 84 and find out what they have planned for you !
Did you see the pictures of the busses lined up and ready to go? Grab a seat and go! Being poor is not an excuse for being stupid or lazy. This is what you get with dependency on government. I'm no fan of FEMA, but the point is they were ready to enter. The larger point being, the response time was clearly better than what we're witnessing today with the oil spill.
Scarlet....and how were the poor supposed to get to those buses, and the elderly who were unable to walk the distances to get to them. There was the problem of lack of information about the buses and where they were in and around the city. Many didn't even know about the buses. F.E.M.A. needs no approval by a governor or a mayor to enter any city in the U.S.!The head of F.E.M.A. at that time, Mr. M. D. Brown, lost his job because of his handling of the Katrina disaster.He could have ordered F.E.M.A. into that city at any time !
Scarlet--I hear you loud and clear, and yes, local authorities in Louisiana and New Orleans were much more to blame for the inaction than the Bush Administration. I suppose my point is that government in general failed just as it failed here. Perhaps it is too much to expect government OR a large corporation to handle such disasters.
The ONLY thing this administration is concerned about is power. Pure power and control. All the other issues are tools to use to manipulate. I have bit my tongue and tried not to be reactionary and dramatic but I do have to finally say EVIL.
Scarlet....I will agree with you that more could have been done on the local levels by governor(s) and mayor(s). The problem New Orleans was faced with was the lack of infrastructure, finances, and emergency preparedness...even though they are in a major hurricane area. Long before Katrina ever existed F.E.M.A. could have worked with the governors and mayors in coordinating emergency evacuation plans, informing citizens of those plans. Like wise the governors and mayors could have set aside the necessary resources (monies)to insure that the evacuations plans would work. Japan is a prime example of how a community or communities can work together in case of a pending disaster. They train for earth quakes and volcano's, and whole communities get involved along with city and local governments.F.E.M.A. needs to get away from being big brother and their off spring the D.H.S. needs to be done away with completely !
Laurie--You hit the nail squarely on the head!
Mr, Martin is way too biased here to make judgments. The Bush administration IS at fault for not responding quicker. It doesn't matter if local government or the populace at large were in part responsible for citizens being stranded. It was what it was. By not acting, the federal government lost its moral high ground. It gave our enemies in the world the satisfaction in knowing that we are either incapable or unwilling to help our own people. The damage done of our image alone as the greatest country on Earth was devastating.
As for the oil spill, anyone who thinks the Obama administration could have acted quicker or more effectively is not a conservative. That is, unless you wanted to spend our tax money to create a magic net thousands of miles long to clean up the oil spill. Or create a big government entity to handle future oil spills. Or takeover BP in some kind of socialist coup. Or support regulation. And lastly, in the libertarian theater of reactionary society, supporting the right of the businesses affected by this blunder to sue, but of course not without tort reform. No one of course in business is fully accountable.
Political arguments for the sake of arguing are a dime a dozen. As are political columnists.
Sean--How much did the Obama-thugs pay you to put their propaganda on this site??? HUH>>??? Get lost, fool.
Martin, cool down and actually read what Sean wrote - he's correct on the fundamental point: NOWHERE in the federal government is there the capability to deal with something of this magnitude; never has been - and could not be without a MASSIVE increase in federal spending for the rare contingency; spending you almost certainly would oppose.
Katrina was nature generated. The Gulf Oil Disaster was Obama generated.
Too many coincidences.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!