Environment

Government Takeover of the Oil Spill

This is a step in the right direction.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government will move aside BP from the operation to try to halt the Gulf of Mexico oil spill if it decides the company is not performing as required in its response to the well leak, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Sunday.

But why wait? Get in there now. Again, I don't know the legalities of actually nationalizing BP, but I wouldn't just take over the capping and cleanup effort, I would take over the whole damn company. They've forfeited their corporate status. This is one of the biggest corporate disasters in the history corporate disasters.

Meanwhile, today we're hearing from Sarah Palin and Pat Buchanan and others that the government ought to get in there and do something. But when the administration actually takes this advice, these same people will be screeching about a "government takeover." The tea party people will scream about the government "bailing out" BP. Suddenly Palin and the Republicans will rally around Rand Paul and endorse his "un-American" line. The cable news people will hector congressmembers and administration officials about how they plan to pay for the cleanup -- what about the CBO?

The stupid will reach all news levels of ear-bleeding hackery.