BP Has $9 Billion In Contracts With US? De-Fund BP Now!

Several months ago, following Fox News's barrage of reports on those ACORN "pimp-and-ho sting" videos by some far-right wingers... the GOP's impassioned, indignant cries to "De-fund ACORN" could be heard echoing throughout the halls of Congress. One after another, Republican Congressmen stood at the podium and demanded that the US government end all contracts with ACORN. That, basically, since ACORN had some employees who looked to be (in the heavily-edited video) breaking the law by helping law-breakers, ACORN should not receive any government funding... not any American taxpayers' money. Some GOP Governors and Mayors even jumped on the bandwagon, ordering their people to stop all funding of ACORN... even though none of them had anything to do with funding ACORN.
(Everybody's gotta get into the act...)

The result of the Republican fire and brimstone brouhaha?

Although we now know that the sting videos were very-heavily edited and, therefore misleading, as of April 1st of 2010, ACORN no longer existed as a business entity. ACORN wasn't a perfect organization but, it helped a lot of people after the nation-wide housing disaster. And, besides, there's no such thing as a "perfect organization".

That was on April Fool's Day...

Nineteen days later, BP's oil rig, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded - killing 11 workers - and sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Keeping in mind the above-mentioned, media-frenzied, witch-hunt aimed at all things ACORN by the GOP, here's a run-down on BP's known and verified"sins":

Despite the fact that BP's cost-cutting measures meant that they consistently chose to use parts and materials in the design and building of the oil rig which were known to have flaws and/or be unsafe (BP not only went with a risky type of blowout-preventer — they didn't maintain it).

Despite BP's initial claims that the disaster was no big deal and the amount of oil leaking out - if any - was negligible (a big, fat, ludicrous lie).

Despite BP's refusal for (days and days) to allow access to the live footage - and later, the HD live footage - of what was going on at the broken well head to government scientists and other experts, so that the scope of the disaster could be assessed and the urgency of the necessary response could be known (BP wasn't saying).

Despite not only BP's pitiful - if not criminal - foot-dragging, "Aww... do I have to?", piss-poor response to the disaster, but also BP's utter criminal negligence as shown in their absolute refusal to have invested any of their $Billions in profits in researching and developing effective, state-of-the-art means, methods and technologies to minimize ecological destruction or to in any way deal with such a huge disaster.

Despite BP (in Alaska) having recently been fined $200 Million by the DOJ.

Despite BP's being fined many millions of dollars in recent years by government agencies for repeatedly breaking the law.

Despite BP CEO Tony Hayward's impatient, unconscionable and whiny declaration: "I want my life back.". (Want some cheese with that whine, Tony?)

Despite the fact that all those thousands of feet of "absorbent booms" (which BP crows about putting on the water on the website's homepage) are utterly ineffective and useless when put out on open water due to winds and waves - particularly if they aren't constantly tended and maintained by people.

Despite BP currently holding over $9 Billion (Billion with a "B") in lucrative government contracts with the US government.

Despite the fact that BP has been repeatedly evasive and has repeatedly lied both to the US government and to the American people about everything:
BP fabricated their Gulf of Mexico "Emergency Response" plan. It acknowledges that walruses and sea otters - arctic sea mammals - are in the area (The Gulf of Mexico?).
BP lied and continues to lie about the amount of oil spewing out:

"BP said two days after the explosion that no oil was leaking; three days later, it said 1,000 barrels per day (bpd) were leaking; three days after that, it was 5,000 bpd — even after a "confidential" company memo said that up to 14,266 bpd was gushing out. BP no longer gives estimates, but government scientists Thursday said the true leak rate is has been between 20,000 to 40,000 bpd." (From: theweek.com.)

Despite the fact that...
Eleven people lost their lives in the completely-preventable explosion. Their families lost their loved ones. Their children lost their fathers. Thousands of fishermen have lost their livelihoods. All of those businesses/restaurants/seafood markets who were dependent upon the fishermen are likely going to lose theirs as well. The Gulf states will now be losing their marshlands and outer islands (the ones which protect them from the deadly storm-surges of hurricanes) at a much greater rate. Countless fish, crustaceans, sea birds have died/are dying. The (only-recently off the Endangered Species List) brown pelican's sole nesting sites are getting oil-soaked... and so are the brown pelicans.

Despite the fact that we are all facing what is and will be (hopefully none worse will follow) the single-greatest, man-made environmental disaster of all time. All courtesy of British Petroleum.

(I say "hopefully", because Shell Oil - in spite of this ecological, economic and ongoing disaster - has been issuing self-congratulatory announcements about it's "Perdido" oil rig project, located 200 miles off the coast of Texas, in 8000 feet of water. Apparently, Shell Oil is unaware that the word "Perdido" translates to: "lost; in trouble; done for; hopeless".)

In spite of all of this, I haven't heard any of that good old, Grand Ol' Party Fire and Brimstone.

Hmm... Aren't they angry with BP? With Tony Hayward? With being lied to?

Aren't you angry? Haven't you been angry? I'm angry. I've been getting angrier and angrier.

Surely, all of those brave Republican Senators and Representatives who took ACORN to task, withdrew all funding and brought about it's swift demise... Surely they, too, are mad as hell and are taking their outrage to the podium in both Houses of Congress. Surely, they are demanding that we "De-Fund BP Effective Immediately!"

(If I could wield their power, I would.)

But, this is the "Drill, Baby Drill!" Party. The GOP?... Punish Big Oil?

Yeah, right. "Dream, Baby Dream." And, whilst dreaming, enjoy this great TRMS clip on the topic.

(From: The Rachel Maddow Show.)

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