Posted on 08/20/2012 4:23:48 PM PDT by bayouranger
PJM EXCLUSIVE: Louisiana's GOP senator on how the cover-up to trump sound science in favor of political ideology keeps growing with each chapter.
Heres the book-jacket teaser: A major U.S. environmental disaster strikes. As Coast Guard and other heroes struggle to contain the unprecedented damage, a different scene unfolds in a dimly lit conference room in Washington. A small group of high-ranking political hacks and overzealous ideologues see an opportunity to manipulate the situation to advance their agenda. They doctor a key report on the disaster by experts in order to justify shutting down all exploration and new production. They explain the sweeping decision as something sound science requires.
Several weeks later, members of Congress and a few in the media dig deeper into the alleged science behind bringing an entire industry to a screeching halt. Thats when the cover-up begins.
A catchy political thriller? If only it were fiction. Instead, its what seems to have happened in the Obama administration following the BP disaster. Advertisement
And as a U.S. senator from Louisiana, I suffered through seeing it firsthand.
Some aspects of the 30-day experts report seemed suspect to me from the beginning. So I called for an inspector general to investigate the Obama administrations claim that science supported the decision to shut down the Gulf. That investigation revealed that high-ranking officials in the Department of the Interior and the White House inappropriately manipulated the 30-day experts report to justify the offshore drilling moratorium all in violation of the Information Quality Act and contrary to sound science.
On June 21, 2010, new reports revealed that the scientists in question in fact opposed the moratorium. They were shocked that their report was doctored to justify it. They even actively lobbied Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to soften the ban.
However, on Nov. 10, 2010, Mary Kendall, the inspector general for the Interior Department investigation, concluded that Interior officials were really only guilty of sloppy editing. She determined that Interiors moving some words around in the experts report was more akin to a clerical error, and that Interior Secretary Salazar had already apologized for that.
I wish this were fiction. Good article by Sen. Vitter.
It’s ALL true, and was calculated.
To quote a famous person...”I hope he fails!”
LLS
Bless your heart...and I mean that in the kindest and most fond way possible.
You have always been one of my favorites, and I am very concerned about your well being.
Hopefully, after this election, everything will be coming up roses...ala Reagan with real economic improvement. It can’t get much worse.
Know that you and yours are in my prayers.
Exactly, just the same old BP M.O.
I am really fed up with BP, trying to play the fascist partner game with the Democrats. Even after the Horizon spill and the other accidents at BP refineries, after having parts fall off their oil tankers in Alaska and the delayed maintenance on the Alaska pipeline, BP is still trying to position themselves as the crony partner of the Obama administration.
LLS
The rig was NOT sabotaged. There were corners cut, and there were inspectors ON the rig at the time, trying to tell the operators NOT to perform the action that they believed would cause the blowout.
They were ignored, and we saw the result.
There are no more exceptional people in this great country than you “country boys.” Y’all, and those like you, built this country.
I have NO doubt that you are resilient, innovative, and creative.
I know you will be fine.
It’s those Harvard educated, city slickard, tassel loafered people I worry about. ;o)
What you say is very true. If things get as bad as they could get... those kind of people are in for a rude awakening and a major attitude adjustment. As the Warden in Cool Hand Luke said, “Luke, you gonna have to get your mind right”.
LLS
That is SO true!
There’s another quote, the quote I remember best...
“What we got here is... failure to communicate.”
In these times, that would be between Obama and the American people.
AND...it would be on purpose.
How else do you explain the contrived War on Women?
I love that movie... old George Kennedy rubbing Newman's belly and telling him he can eat more eggs. Loved it!
Have a great Saturday friend.
LLS
Knowingly disabling the safety systems is the same as sabotage.
Gas detectors, fire alarms, safety valves, and numerous other systems were either turned off or bypassed.
The definition of sabotage is:
n
1. the deliberate destruction, disruption, or damage of equipment, a public service, etc, as by enemy agents, dissatisfied employees, etc
2. any similar action or behaviour
Turning off or otherwise disabling the safety systems is “not” sabotage?
The general alarm was in manual override at the time of the blast which means that someone would have had to physically hit the alarm switch to sound it.
The emergency shutdown system which would have cut off all ignition sources when the gas alarms went off. But ooops that didn’t work now did it?
Same goes for the automatic gas pressure valves that shut down once a certain pressure is reached thus preventing gas from blowing into the rig. The valves were in bypass mode at the time of the blowout and explosion.
And there were no inspectors on board when the Blowout and explosion happened.... They were some corporate hacks “visiting the troops” who were more preoccupied with playing a simulator than doing anything else.
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