The arrogant Tony Haywood, the CEO of British Petroleum, announced to the world after a major spill that was dumping approximately 100,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico that the environmental impact would be very small and that the spill was tiny compared to the size of the ocean. And, oh yes, he would like to see this over with because “I would like my life back. The lives of thousands along the coast had already lost their livelihood and sure as hell would like their lives back.
Since the spill, mental health problems, namely, depression, anxiety and anger have soared as well as spousal abuse and alcoholism among fisherman on the coast. Lately there has been an increase in suicidal thoughts and some actual suicides, very similar to the crisis situation caused by the Exxon Valdez tragedy. Mental health clinics have been established along the coast for counselors and therapists to assist those workers who are in crisis.
The company reports in 2010 1st quarter profits of 61 million dollars daily and it has spent 33.8 billion dollars to explore for new oil and gas deposits during the past 3 years. However, spending on research for safety, accident prevention and spill response has been paltry. To top it off, BP has the worst safety record of all the oil companies. They just don't give a damn about the public or the workers. According to Hayward , “Our primary purpose in life is to create value for our stockholders.” And by the way , keep the dividends coming.
Giving the devil his due, Tony Hayward admits that he might lose his job because “we made a few little mistakes early on.” One mistake that should be mentioned was an automatic shut off valve that was not installed. All the other companies claim that they never fail to make that installation. BP is known for cutting corners to benefit the bottom line and, oh yes, to keep the shareholders happy.
The problem is there is no easy extraction of oil anymore. That is why the oil companies are drilling in deep water. And it is not safe. Just recently in Australia there was an oil rig explosion that spewed millions of gallons for ten weeks. A relatively short time span because they were drilling only at a 250 foot depth. BP was drilling at 5000 feet. The oil companies, of course, won't admit it but they just don't know how to stop a blowout in deep water or how to clean up a massive spill. There are federal regulations but BP violates the regs and pays the fines. The fines are in the millions but it is “chump change” to a company that reports a daily profit of 61 million dollars
As a former unenlightened Republican VP once said, “We're all capable of mistakes but I do not care to enlighten you on the mistakes we may or may not have made.”
References:
Wikipedia
Google
Monday, July 12, 2010
Monday, July 05, 2010
The Failings Of Liberalism
Let's take another look at “family values”, how it got started and its link to the demise of the liberal reform movement. You probably don't remember the easily forgettable and barely adequate Republican Vice- President who served with Bush Sr. in 1989. His name was Dan Quayle, a hopeless dipstick. If anyone cares, I am preserving a few of his inane quotations for posterity: “ The future will be better tomorrow.” “We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward.” “ I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.” “ Republicans understand the importance of bondage between mother and child.” There are many more just as cockeyed.
I am remembering him today because he was the one who introduced the BS called “family values”into Republican politics. He cited the TV program “Murphy Brown” featuring Candice Bergen as a single professional woman who derided the importance of fathers and bore a child alone. Quayle attacked the show as an example of the “poverty of values” and the rejection of the “nuclear family” characteristic of American culture.
Over the years the concept became an important part of the conservative political platform, namely the endorsement by the U.S. Government of Christian values and Biblical truth. The Christian Right picked up the ball and are still running with it. The liberals, on the other hand, have been totally unable to counter effectively this right wing ploy. But there is a reason.
It all started in the 1970's when the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), the organization which eventually became associated with Bill Clinton and Al Gore, decided to increase the flow of money by switching their concentration from the poorer blue collar union worker to the more affluent white collar professional particularly those who were liberal on “social issues”, for example pro-choice, universal health care, living wage, family planning and many more.
The next step then was to seek the support of corporations for their campaign contributions. Financial support from this source far exceeded what was possible from trade unions. It was the former Senator, Bob Dole, who once said that poor people do not contribute to political campaigns. So the Democratic party became more friendly to business interests confident that the “working class voters” had no other place to go. After all, the Democrats were slightly better on economic issues than the Republicans. So the DLC drops the “class warfare” language and becomes similar to the Republican representatives of the upper middle class. Thus the two parties become more tweedledee and tweedledumber than ever. I believe we are witnessing today not a dimes worth of difference between the two parties. Can you think of a stupider strategy?
Liberalism is no longer relevant to the traditional base of the party. So what the liberals have always stood for, namely, economic security and social welfare has been relinquished at a time when the country is in critical need.
To quote the dork, Dan Quayle, “I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.”
References:
Frank, Thomas. What's The Matter With Kansas. 2004.
Wikipedia
Google
I am remembering him today because he was the one who introduced the BS called “family values”into Republican politics. He cited the TV program “Murphy Brown” featuring Candice Bergen as a single professional woman who derided the importance of fathers and bore a child alone. Quayle attacked the show as an example of the “poverty of values” and the rejection of the “nuclear family” characteristic of American culture.
Over the years the concept became an important part of the conservative political platform, namely the endorsement by the U.S. Government of Christian values and Biblical truth. The Christian Right picked up the ball and are still running with it. The liberals, on the other hand, have been totally unable to counter effectively this right wing ploy. But there is a reason.
It all started in the 1970's when the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), the organization which eventually became associated with Bill Clinton and Al Gore, decided to increase the flow of money by switching their concentration from the poorer blue collar union worker to the more affluent white collar professional particularly those who were liberal on “social issues”, for example pro-choice, universal health care, living wage, family planning and many more.
The next step then was to seek the support of corporations for their campaign contributions. Financial support from this source far exceeded what was possible from trade unions. It was the former Senator, Bob Dole, who once said that poor people do not contribute to political campaigns. So the Democratic party became more friendly to business interests confident that the “working class voters” had no other place to go. After all, the Democrats were slightly better on economic issues than the Republicans. So the DLC drops the “class warfare” language and becomes similar to the Republican representatives of the upper middle class. Thus the two parties become more tweedledee and tweedledumber than ever. I believe we are witnessing today not a dimes worth of difference between the two parties. Can you think of a stupider strategy?
Liberalism is no longer relevant to the traditional base of the party. So what the liberals have always stood for, namely, economic security and social welfare has been relinquished at a time when the country is in critical need.
To quote the dork, Dan Quayle, “I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.”
References:
Frank, Thomas. What's The Matter With Kansas. 2004.
Wikipedia
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