Judge Andrew Napolitano, by far my favorite Fox News talent, had a brilliant, scathing summary of the White House meeting results with BP company executives in an opening segment on today's Glenn Beck program:
Here are the facts: After the Exxon Valdez disaster [in 1989] had been cleaned up and nearly paid for by Exxon, the oil companies lobbied the Congress for liability limits...A Republican Congress and President Clinton together made it the law that oil companies would be limited to pay $75 million for cleanups ... In return, the feds would be able to tell the oil companies where to drill. In the case of BP, it asked the state of Louisiana if it could drill in 500 feet of water and Louisiana said it could. The federal government vetoed that and told BP could only drill in 5,000 feet of water...Never mind that no oil company had ever cleaned up a broken well at that depth and never mind that the feds had never monitored a broken well at that depth.[Just a correction here: I have not found other sources for Napolitano's timeline, but the $75 million cap was established in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which was passed by a Democratic Congress and signed by President GHW Bush.]
In other words, BP had a high-deductible insurance policy. The federal government had the ability to control for its risk (i.e., the risk of taxpayers) by establishing and monitoring appropriate regulations and/or using location to minimize its exposure. On its part, the oil company had to comply with relevant regulations and it had financial resources available to cover the $75M. It wanted to drill at shallower depths.
What the judge is saying here is that BP complied with the federal government's regulations, and in fact the federal government specifically used its authority to increase its own risk (no doubt motivated by environmental or political factors involving proximity to the shore).
What happened today is a perfect example of the moral hazard of an incompetent, bullying, immoral government. What responsibility is it taking for the fact that its regulation and risk assessment of deepwater oil drilling were clearly inadequate? What price is it paying since essentially BP is waiving its liability, even though its own financial decision was based on capping its own liability. If it realized that its liability would not be capped, it might have decided against the project or taken alternative measures on its own to mitigate its exposure.
So what did BP do today?
- it established a $20B slush fund administered by one of Obama's cronies to pay economic claims. The administrator is not as motivated to protect the interests of BP's stockholders. Furthermore, Obama emphasizes that effectively there is no ceiling, meaning the company is on the hook for potentially unlimited payout. Does anyone doubt how quickly the Three Trillion Dollar man (Obama) can run through a mere $20B?
- it provided $100M potentially for payouts to rig workers on unrelated rigs affected by Obama's self-imposed 6-month moratorium
- it suspended dividend payments, affecting thousands of pensioners or individual investors.
I am not an apologist for BP. In fact, I suspect its own managerial incompetence, its seat-of-the-pants and not-invented-here approach to handling the oil spill, and abysmal contingency planning are exceeded only by those of the Obama Administration. BP has a responsibility to its shareholders. After the Obama Administration rewrote the bankruptcy rulebook to put its crony union interests over those of higher-standing bondholders last year, did BP really expect the Obama Administration to live up to its obligations under the law, when Obama has the bully pulpit and a despised corporation, headed by foreigners, no less, to scapegoat?
However, BP's failure to stand up to the Obama Administration, unilaterally surrendering to each of Obama's unconscionable demands, reinforces Obama's anti-business behavior and encourages similar abuses of executive power in the future.
The Pied Piper of Failed Liberalism: Using Children for Propaganda
I didn't discuss the issue last September, but do you remember the kerfuffle concerning the Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, NJ? You can see a relevant videotape here (as of the current date). Here's a transcript:
Mm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
Yes!
Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama
[The following sung to the melody of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"]
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all [do? doth??] say "hooray!"
Hooray Mr. President! You're number one!
The first Black American to lead this great na-TION!
Hooray, Mr. President something-something-some
A-something-something-something-some economy is number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And the same for all Americans [in?] the great Red White and Blue!
So something Mr. President we all just something-some,
So here's a hearty hip-hooray a-something-something-some!
Hip, hip hooray! (3x)
But now we have a sequel: Lincoln Bassett Middle School in New Haven, CN.
For I, am an Obama scholar.
An Obama scholar.
And I will strive to be.
Outstanding. Brilliant.
I will achieve. I will be motivated with a positive attitude.
Um, what's an "Obama" scholar? Someone who thinks he's ready for graduate school after his sophomore year in high school? More seriously, they think that Obama is "outstanding", "brilliant", and has a "positive attitude"? He's achieved what? An unearned Nobel Peace Prize? The biggest federal deficits in American history? Anemic job and economic growth? The Obama who routinely scapegoats the Bush Administration and BP and whose "non-partisan" politics led to less than 5 GOP votes over BOTH the stimulus legislation and the new healthcare entitlement?
I like the fact that the teacher is advising against drugs and violence, and he is stressing professions other than sports or the performance arts. I did notice he mostly discussed service professions (e.g., doctors, lawyers, firefighters, etc.) Personally, I would have liked to see the teacher mention entrepreneurs, project managers, scientists, engineers, craftsmen, and software designers. My academic success didn't stem from attending summer camp for geeks, singing kumbaya around the campfire. It had more to do with integrating traditional cultural values, including self-reliance, hard work, discipline, initiative, goal orientation, personal responsibility, charity and integrity.
Don't get me wrong; I think these examples of Obama cult activities are the exception, not the rule. But there is no place for these activities in schools. Teachers should not be using their authority in the classroom to promote their own political agenda, and I would be saying the same thing if students instead had been chanting for George W. Bush. In 8 years of college teaching, I never discussed political issues in class. I don't mind teachers wanting to promote a respectful, civil attitude towards the President and other political figures, but there's a line between respect and advocacy.
Political Cartoon
Ken Catalino points out that Joe SixPack doesn't need a group of experts on the oil spill disaster to know whose ass needs to be kicked.
Quote of the Day
We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Musical Interlude: Chart Hits of 1966. The Lovin' Spoonful, the Mama's and the Papa's, Simon & Garfunkel, the Supremes, the Sinatra's, the Beatles, the Beach Boys--it doesn't get any better.. This collection includes personal favorites from the musical acts, all glorious distinct examples of brilliant songwriting, vocals and musical production. I struggled to narrow my list down to 5 selections.
The Lovin' Spoonful, "Summer in the City"
The Supremes, "You Keep Me Hangin' On"
The Momma's and the Papa's, "California Dreamin'"
The Association, "Cherish"
Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations"
