BRIEF EARLY SUMMER MUSINGS

Just a few thoughts on some of our current events:


Regarding the bp oil spill, my thoughts are multi-faceted. On one hand, I view it as a crime against nature and a crime against humanity. That the occurrence is criminal cannot be disputed. bp was criminally negligent and had no safety backup plan, it falsified safety inspections, and regulators did a horribly poor job in inspecting and ensuring the safety of bp's drilling operation. 11 workers are now dead, and entire fishing, restaurant tourist, and hotel businesses have all but been destroyed, just so the gigantic bp could save (squeeze) a few extra bucks of profit. This is proof positive of the absolute need for strong regulation and oversight of the oil industry, and ALL big corporations as well. The conservative Republican, Libertarian, and Tea Bag cry for greater deregulation of business and expanded free market activity rings pretty hollow in the face of the fact that such behavior CAUSED this horrible tragedy. My view is that all bp executives and directors, as well as the lax federal regulators, responsible for this abomination should receive long jail sentences at hard labor, and that bp itself must be made to pay huge reparations to the millions of Gulf residents whose lives have been ruined by this act of greed and resultant economic terrorism.
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Conservative Republican and Tea Bag criticism of President Obama's demand that bp reimburse Gulf businesspersons for their losses due to the oil spill has been most revealing and not a bit surprising. Rep. Joe Barton's (R-TX) apology to bp, in which he called the President's demand for a bp escrow fund a "shakedown", was disgraceful and showed his blatant favoritism for big oil as well as his callous lack of concern for the innocent civilians of the Gulf who have now become victimized by bp's irresponsible greed. Tea Bag favorite U. S. Senate hopeful Rand Paul's characterization of Obama's putting pressure on bp as being "un-American" also shows the underlying conservative insensitivity toward oil spill victims. But ultra-conservative Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) utterly ridiculous claim that Obama's move was to create a "redistribution of wealth fund" proves beyond all doubt that these conservaives only care about the wealthy and care nothing at all for the common laborer or small businessperson. It also proves how these teabaggers and Republicans will castigate the President no matter how preposterous or unjust their claim.
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Gen. Stanley McChrystal's interview with Rolling Stone, in which he severely criticized the President, Vice President, and the entire National Security team over their handling of the war in Afghanistan, has deservedly earned him rebukes from Democrats and Republicans alike. McChrystal's loose cannon mouth has gotten him into trouble before, but this little incident is damaging to troop morale and sends a dangerous signal to al Qaeda about discord in the American military. His irresponsible action is reminiscent of another blabbermouth general's action, that of Douglas Mac Arthur, during the Korean War. It will be interesting to see if other conservative Republican and Tea Bag voices join his chorus in catcalls against President Obama, or if for once they will do the right thing and keep their collective mouths shut...

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