When
US Person sees another example of pay for play at work in Washington, DC he brings it to your attention hoping one day a supposedly free, democratic society with engender enough collective willpower to end legislation for dollars that passes as national government. Last Thursday when Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) tried to pass the the
liability cap increase for big oil by unanimous consent, he failed. You would think with the
largest oil spill in US history still spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico on
day 28, he would not face any objections to such common sense legislation. NOT! Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) objected to unanimous consent claiming the issue needed more consideration. Of course Murkowski did not reveal her conflict of interest when blocking the measure. She has accepted
$426,000 from the oil industry during her eight years in office. Seventy-five percent of oil industry contributions have gone to Repugnants. In return for the largesse the industry gets numerous tax deductions, credits, exclusions, rates, exemptions and deferrals in the tax code. As if that were not enough corporate welfare, a 1995 law gives companies operating in parts of the Gulf
relief from payment of federal royalties worth as much as $80 billion. If politicians in Washington seriously want to bring the nation's expanding deficits under control, they can start by ending the kid glove treatment of the oil industry. No pity here.
The latest siphoning effort is not a solution to the spill. Even the industry friendly Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar [photo,
NY Times] understands that (the company estimates the siphon operation is capturing about 1000 barrels a day). Scientists abroad the research vessel Pelican have found
huge ominous plumes of subsurface oil, an indication that the spill is simply enormous. One plume was found to be 10 miles long 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in parts. The oil plumes will suck all the oxygen out of the sea water, killing all life in the vicinity. The result will be 'dead zones' on the bottom that could persists for decades if not longer.
BP's potential criminal liability for the spill is becoming clearing as the calamity continues. An electronics technician that escaped the doomed rig, said on
60 Minutes the blowout preventer was punctured in weeks before the blast but did nothing to fix it. During a test a crewman accidentally caused 15 ft of drill pipe to pierce a rubber gasket inside the BOP that is supposed to close tightly around the well head to seal it. The technician brought pieces of the gasket found in the drilling mud to the control station, but was told it was "not a big deal". He also said the company was concerned the drilling was behind scheduled and costing the company $1 million a day, so it ordered a faster pace which split the bottom of the well. Gas escaping up the well bore caused the fatal explosion abroad the
Deepwater Horizon.
