First and foremost, when a post acknowledges its roots in "tin foil hat" territory, would it be too much to ask that you read it that way? I didn't make a post stating "I think oil companies deliberately scuttled their rigs!" now, did I? I posed a question that has been bugging me, for good reason. Those of you with the snide, condecending remarks, save 'em for the "serious" posts. This was a "throwing an idea in the air" post. Lighten up.
Second, speaking of lightening up, I did a Google on Camille and oil rigs and found very little mention of any. Actually, I found one result which mentioned an oil rig "leaking," but not about any breaking free and drifting ashore. Sorry. And remember, Camille had 25 foot surges and 200 mph winds. Hmmm. That's all...hmmmm.
Finally, this is almost off-topic, but well worth a read...Richard Nixon's reaction to Camille, found in one search...
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Immediately after President Nixon sent 1,000 federal troops into the area, Governor John Williams declared martial law. Using federal troops and state police, all roads leading into the area where the eye had crossed the coast were sealed off. Military and local police imposed a curfew. The first problem to overcome was the thousands of dead farm animals, pets, and wildlife. Camille's incredible storm surge had drowned thousands of animals. Heavy equipment was brought in to bury thousands of dead cows, horses and pets. Next, insects and rodents had quickly overrun the stricken area - feeding on dead animal carcasses and rotting food. Rattlesnakes, fire ants, and rats bit dozens of victims as they sifted through the rubble. In an attempt to control fire ants, low flying spray planes roared up and down the Mississippi coast, dropping 100,000 pounds of mirex.
The state and federal government supplied thousands of bulldozers and dump trucks to cart away the twisted wreckage. Some of the debris was simply burned. What was not burned - was buried. Convoys of dump trucks continued removing debris, day after day for the rest of 1969. The disaster relief effort after Hurricane Camille was the largest in United States history until Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Finding shelter for the army of homeless people proved to be a monumental task. As time passed, more of Camille's homeless found shelter or left the area permanently.
http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurricanecamille.htmSo, Bush...now is your Nixon moment. Better take it, because your next "Nixon moment" is likely to trump even this one...your fucking resignation!