Oh, Good For You

As I watched the President give his update on his BP summit (of note, there wasn't any beer shared at this summit), I could hear Homer Simpson saying, "Oh, good for you." The President got what he wanted. BP is going to give the United States government $20 Billion dollars to be administered by a third party. I liked it when I heard the President state emphatically, "the account will not be administered by BP nor by the government." Of course, the account is going to be administered by someone appointed by the President. I'm sorry, an appointee of the President is the same thing as the President.

I was also amazed the President enticed BP to set aside money to pay to the out-of-work oil rig workers. The last time I checked, the President was directly responsible for oil drilling in the Gulf in hiatus. BP is not responsible for that action. A fear-based knee jerk reaction should not result in a foreign company (or even a local company) paying the salaries of workers who don't work for the company. The workers aren't at work because the President said they can't go do the work they normally perform.

During the last season of "24", the President of the United States, Alison Taylor, coerces the new leader of the IRK nation to sign a peace treaty. The treaty was to be signed by the IRK, the US, and the Russians. The problem was the Russian leader ordered the assassination of the the new leader's husband. President Taylor threatens the IRK leader with annihilation if she doesn't sign the peace treaty. I wonder what was said in that meeting with BP to get them to agree to all of the President's demands?

For the record, BP is liable for all the damages in the Gulf of Mexico and should be held responsible for those damages. If the President ordered or coerced BP to accept his demands, a violation of the Constitution occurred. We cannot afford to have the Constitution ignored for the "greater good."

If BP accepted the President's terms because they felt obligated to do so is a different story. BP knows they are responsible and will have to pay for the damages to the coastline of the United States; maybe by acquiescing to the President's demands they believe they can save some face and at the same time minimize the attorney fees.

I still would like to know definitively what transpired in the closed room. Then I could know who to say "oh, good for you" to...

Mike