WTF ?

For almost two weeks now, I've been trying to start writing the follow up to my investigations into StandardOil/BP/Gulf/Exxon/Chevron&etc. history and politics, and how they affect the Gulf  Oil Spill. I did, after all, promise to write my conclusions as to just what the hell might be really going on - but every time I try, something else crops up that I wanted to check into. And sometimes there have been moments so ludicrous that if this weren't such a serious situation, I'd laugh my ass off. Actually, because this is such a serious situation I have laughed my ass off. And just when you think nothing can ever top the latest moment of sheer stupidity. someone does it!

Start, for instance, with BP's Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward's quote, "There's no one who wants this thing over more than I do, I'd like my life back." or "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume."

Or this from BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg:
"And we care about the small people. I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are greedy companies or don't care. But that is not the case in BP. We care about the small people." (Best blog comment  - I'll bet the Lollipop Guild was pleased to hear that.)

But the best (so far) happened today at the Congressional hearings with BP execs.
Rep. Joe Barton ( R - Texas) who used to be the chair of  the Energy and Commerce Committee, apologized to BP and Tony Hayward saying, "I am ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday, that a private corporation would be subject to what I would characterize as a shake down,"
and this topper, "I apologize…I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong it is subject to political pressure that amounts to a shake down."

I'm not making this up, you know. Here's the whole sorry thing - the  good stuff starts about 1 min and 40 seconds in...



Now, if you are wondering why he made such idiotic statements, you  might note that over the years, BP has donated $27,350 to his campaigns. Which is  kind of paltry considering they donated $44,899 to John McCain, or George W Bush's $47,388. Their top contribution? $77,051 to Barak Obama. Which may help explain why the Prez took so damn long to do anything.