If the government took over the BP, Haliburton, Transocean LTD gusher disasters,

[lonestarnot]

who would the call on to step in and take over?

[tekisui]

1. I don't know, but maybe they could keep that destructive gang from

making it worse?

Tell us straight-There is nothing to do until the relief well taps into it.

Don't shoot chemicals and landfills into the well. Don't cut the riser pipe. Focus on containment efforts that don't have the risk of making it worse.

[lonestarnot]

7. I have no ifuckingdea what the hell to think. If people knew the real truth of the matter,

they may schred BP, Halliburton and Transocean LTD.

[AllentownJake]

2. The government takes over the literal nuclear option is about to be excercised

Because the government is the only entity with the access and the authorization to detonate a nuke on the seabed.

[Toots]

12. So you think we need to make the hole bigger?

I thought the idea was to plug the hole not enlarge it..

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AllentownJake]

4. I don't think the President wants to deal with the political ramifications

of setting off a nuke off the coast of Louisana

[lonestarnot]

5. At what point does he get caught between a shit and a sweat here?

[AllentownJake]

6. When a dolphin washes on shore covered with oil and is posted

on every blog, facebook profile, and the MSM actually has to cover the story.

[lonestarnot]

8. I am so tired and depressed from worry about it all I think

I'm shutting down early tonight. to the hope of better days.

[Junkdrawer]

15. It's happened. The MSM is portraying it as a mystery...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Ozymanithrax]

9. The government would hire the same experts BP is using.

The pool of people who manage things like this is rather small, and all that would be done is to change the source of the paycheck.

[Scuba]

10. Nailed it.

[northernlights]

11. but changingthe source of the paycheck would also change the priorities

BP's PRIORITIES:

1. MAKE A PROFIT -- eg if at all possible, get the oil
2. CLEAN UP AS CHEAPLY AS POSSIBLE -- without regard to damage caused by "cleanup"
3. HIDE THE MESS IF IT'S CHEAPER THAN REAL CLEANUP
4. PR, PR, PR
5. BLAME GAME -- IT'S NOT OUR FAULT, WE DID AND ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE (as opposed to doing everything possible)
6. PASS ON THE EXPENSE TO SOMEONE, ANYONE, ELSE
7. NOT COMPENSATE THOSE WHO'S HEALTH AND LIVELIHOODS ARE DESTROYED
8. oh year, that other one...stop the fucking gusher, clean up the mess, save what animals can be saved

GOVERNMENT'S PRIORITIES (hopefully) WOULD BE:
1. STOP THE FUCKING GUSHER, without doing further harm
2. CLEAN UP THE MESS, without doing further harm
3. GET PAID BACK IN FULL AND THEN SOME


See the difference?

[Ozymanithrax]

13. Using the limiter "hopefully" shows why there is not difference...

Regardless of who signs the check, the first goal is to stop the gushing oil.

Both would result in that being done as cheaply as possible, which includes hiding the mess if it can't be cleaned up. Niether the government nor BP will do things that are just not economically feasable.

The government taking over lets BP evade responsibility, and the government would still use BP and their experts. In fact, what it would lead to is the U.S. government paying BP to clean up their fucking mess.

We need to remove "hopefully" from the equation.

[northernlights]

14. well then, presumably instead of hopefully

I see no evidence that BP's first priority is to stop the gushing oil.

I see plenty of evidence that their first priority is to tap into that well and collect oil, protect their image and protect their wallets. All of their behavior to date supports this.

If they wanted to stop the gushing oil, they could use explosives. And they probably wouldn't have to be nukes, either, contrary to popular belief. They could drill down a short distance nearby by, use explosives and the well would collapse in on itself.

The fact that they haven't even entertained such an idea -- although it's been done in the past by the Russians -- tells me that stopping the gushing oil is not their first priority.