If this is Obama's Katrina things have gotten a lot better.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

I remember Bush's Katrina and it sucked!

Every time some bozo asks whether this is Obama's Katrina I am reminded of the El Guapo speech from Three Amigos.

For some, shyness might be their Katrina. For others, bipartisanship might be their Katrina. For Bush, his personal Katrina was a giant hurricane collapsing the levies in New Orleans that happened to be the actual Katrina.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioKto0di3EA

"For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big dangerous guy who wants to kill us, but as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be the actual El Guapo!”

[Jennicut]

1. Bobby Jindal asked for a state of emergency in Lousiana and got one.

The last gov. there asked for help from Bush and got crap. Bush was impossible to work with. Let's face it....Obama can work with anyone. Was 2005 that long ago? Do people forget what actually occurred?

[MadMaddie]

2. Janet Napolitano was on top of this from the beginning!

The other side is trying to gin up sympathy for BP and attack President Obama. Good luck with that. The Gulf Shrimping and Fishing Industry is in the throes of destruction and BP is responsible.

If this rig was in this bad of shape what shape are the others in?

[jeanpalmer]

3. I don't think the government was on top of this

If they had been, we wouldn't have oil all over the place and the ecosystem being destroyed. The way I see it, the response has been totally inadequate. Thirty years after Exxon Valdez, this is their idea of how to contain a major oil spill? It's being run like a circus. The government is pointing the finger ap BP, but BP obviously doesn't have a plan to adequately control the problem. And the government has no effective backup plan or effort. What a bunch of screwups. But we knew it would happen. It was just a matter of time.

[babylonsister]

5. You must have missed the timeline, but I see you take

every opportunity to badmouth the ongoing efforts. So sorry they're not up to your standards, but this admin has been on top of it from the get-go.

http://mediamatters.org/research/201004300053

[jeanpalmer]

6. Being on top of it

means that the government is fully prepared for this kind of problem. Obviously it's not. There should have been a plan in place somewhere that coould be actvated in a short period of time to provide an overwhelming response. Obviously that kind of plan doesn't exist. Certainly wasn't implemented. And yes the government is at fault. It's had many years to develop such a plan, but has failed. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off, spinning its wheels, running in place, is not being on top of something. The ease with which this oil slick escaped over a lengthy period of time to perhap destroy a large swath of the Gulf coat shows that the planning cupboard was bare.

My guess is "being on top of something" to a government executive means being on top of it poltically and pr wise. And that's all we've seen so far, although even there the administration is a step behind. There certainly hasn't been an overwhelming response.

[babylonsister]

8. Years ago I worked for the CG Atlantic division and we covered hazmat

spills. I'm talking 1988 ARO. There most definitely have been and are plans created by the government for spills; I suspect this one is so mammoth no booms could contain it.

[Jennicut]

12. This spill is too big to be able to contain in a few days. Also, there have been spills

that have been way, way worse.
The worst spills ever:

10. The Odyssey: 132,000 tons
In November 1988, the American-owned oil tanker Odyssey split in two 700 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. The tanker spewed about 132,000 tons of crude oil into the sea and caught fire as it sank, setting the spill aflame. Because of hazardous weather conditions, the Canadian Coast Guard could not immediately reach the spill, and much of the oil burned.

9. The Haven: 145,000 tons

A violent explosion aboard the Cyprus-based tanker the Haven killed six members of the crew and spilled 145,000 tons of oil off the coast of Italy in April 1991. About 70 percent of the oil burned in the ensuing fire. In most oil spills, oil remains near the surface of the water, but in this spill some of it sank. Oil from the Haven was later found in ocean beds at depths of up to 1,640 feet (500 meters).

8. The Amoco Cadiz: 223,000 tons

Stormy weather drove the Amoco Cadiz Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) aground on the Portsall Rocks, a 90-foot deep outcrop off the coast of Brittany, France, in 1978. The ship split in two and quickly sank before its 1,604,500 barrels of oil load could be pumped from the wreck.

7. Castillo de Bellver: 252,000 tons

In August 1983, a fire aboard the Castillo de Bellver led to an explosion that caused the tanker to break in two. Oil spilled into the sea 24 miles off the coast of Cape Town, marking the largest spill to date in South Africa. Luckily, the oil caused minimal environmental damage as the direction of the wind moved the oil slick offshore, where it dissipated naturally.

6. ABT Summer: 260,000 tons

ABT Summer tanker, traveling from Iran to Rotterdam, leaked oil and caught on fire about 700 miles off the Angolan coast in 1991. The disaster killed five of the 32 crew members on board.

5. Nowruz oil field: 260,000 tons

During the first Gulf War, a tanker collided with a platform on Feb. 10, 1983, spilling approximately 1,500 barrels each day, until the platform was attacked by Iraqi planes in March and the slick caught fire. The Nowruz oil field was not immediately capped, because the field was located in the middle of the Iran/Iraq war zone. The well was finally capped by Iran in September of that year – an effort that resulted in the deaths of 11 people.

4. Fergana Valley: 285,000 tons

The Fergana Valley, one of Central Asia's most densely populated agricultural and industrial areas, was the site of the largest inland oil spills in history in 1992.

3. Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain: 287,000 tons

In July 1979, a Greek oil tanker called the Atlantic Empress collided with another ship, the Aegean Captain, during a tropical storm off of the island of Tobago in the Caribbean Sea. The Atlantic Empress disaster killed 26 crew members and is the largest ship-based oil spill.

2. Ixtoc I oil well: 454,000 tons

The Ixtoc I oil well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in June 1979. The oil drilling platform then caught fire and collapsed, rupturing valves and making it difficult for rescue personnel to control the damage. The spill continued until March 1980.

1. Gulf War oil spill: 1,360,000 -1,500,000 tons
The worst oil spill in history, the Gulf War oil spill spewed an estimated 8 million barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf after Iraqi forces opened valves of oil wells and pipelines as they retreated from Kuwait in 1991. The oil slick reached a maximum size of 101 miles by 42 miles and was five inches thick.

http://www.livescience.com/environment/Top-10-Worst-Oil-Spills-100428.html


This has not even surpassed the Exxon Valdez disaster yet.And that is not on the top ten.
You are in pure hyperbole mode. No one will ever be able to contain an oil spill. Hence, why many think it is a bad idea to allow more off shore drilling. Now, if that is your argument then I agree with you. But containing oil spills? They always take time.

[Cha]

16. Thank you, babylonsister..

for getting the news out there that needs to be front and center for those who would rather diss Pres Obama than look at the facts.

[totodeinhere]

20. I agree. This may well turn into an environmental and economic tragedy, but...

the administration did everything it could as fast as it could. Barack Obama is not a miracle worker. There probably isn't anything humanly possible that can be done to stop this now.

My main fear is that in spite of the facts, the media will continue to run with the "Obama's Katrina" crap and a lot of people will buy it.

[riskpeace]

13. I totally agree

I've been following this very closely since the morning of April 20. The government's response has been totally incompetent.

[MadMaddie]

14. BP is the company that owns the rig it is THEIR responsibility

to manage, service and react when something happens.

The more that is coming out points to BP not having a real disaster plan in case this happend.

I will tell you something, I am currently studying for a graduate certificate in "Critical Infrastructure Protection". Since 9/11 the DHS has implemented a program for all industries sectors to have a forum for them to come together and talk about protecting their infrastructure from man made disasters, weather and terrorism. This is ALL VOLUNTARY these industries are not forced to implement rigorous protections. It is obvious that BP never expected a disaster of this magnitude and it is their responsibility.

Don't forget for the last 30 years under Repbulican rule industries have been dictating what they will do or won't do. Along that 30 years deregulation weakend existing laws.

FEMA should not be cobbled with DHS that was the previous Administration that did that.

One last thing BP minimized the event, BP should have had equipment etc to respond to such an event. The government does not run the oil industry so let's be clear on that

Gov Jindell is now saying that he is concerned about BP's response. This proves my point, BP was negligent and now the Gulf coast will pay for it.

[ProSense]

18. Well said. BP is a private company that makes billions in profits.

The safety of their operation is their responsibility.

[babylonsister]

4. There is no comparison...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x284028

[jeanpalmer]

7. The difference is

Katrina was so massive and there were so many factors innolved (housing, public safety, food supply) that it was almost impossible to have anticipate and plan for in advance. The oil spill OTOH is a very straightforward basic problem -- oil speading on top of the water -- that is very amenable to advance planning, especially since we've had a number of these spills that we could have learned from and planned based on. So there should have been a plan in place and exercises to implement it should have been conducted every so often, like a fire drill, or military exercises. Obviously, little in the way of planning or execution was done. You knew it would be that way. The whole focus has been on getting the oil out. If they had put as much effort into planning for a spill that they put into drilling the wells, we wouldn't be facing a calamity.

[babylonsister]

9. Wow. You're defending the calamity that was Katrina? Interesting. nt

[butterfly77]

15. Yes, any excuse..

for that PIECE OF SHIT so called president...and the rest of his cronies.

[suzie]

17. That's all so wrong that it's difficult to even know where to start.

But it's the same right wing spin going out everywhere on the internet today. "Don't look at the fact that Republicans have repeatedly stated Drill, baby, drill and tried whenever possible to keep reasonable regulations away from oil companies."

Try to steer attention away from the fact that BP obviously lied about the extent of the disaster from the beginning and is continuing to lie about it.

And then blame it all on Obama.

Nice spin, but it makes no sense. What was the Obama administration to do, given the fact that BP had no backup plan if the well blew out?

There's oil in the Gulf and it's going to severely harm several of the reddest states in the country and it's gonna come ashore.

Not much that Obama or anyone else can do except hope that some of the things BP is trying work, and that the pipelines don't blow off, releasing 4 Valdez spills per week worth of oil.

But nice spin.

[July]

19. "No one could have anticipated" Katrina?

Seriously?

Okay, Condi.

[AlinPA]

10. The NYT is trying hard to pin all of this on President Obama.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/opinion/01sat1.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/us/02gulf.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/us/politics/01obama.html?hpw

[ProSense]

11. They're having a Judith Miller moment.

Time to help the RW.