Being a canine politico, I enjoy the Sunday morning news shows. I was watching Meet the Press this morning, and, I must say, I was getting pretty angry when talk of the oil spill got going. As you know, dear readers, I have been very upset about this environmental travesty (in case you missed it, please refer to my “Shrill Baby Shrill” post).
As the law stands today, big oil companies are only liable for $75 million in damages, a cap put in place in the 1990 Oil Pollution Act. Considering the Exxon Valdez oil spill cost approximately $2.1 billion in clean up and damages, the cap seems a bit on the low side (that’s obvious even to this thoughtful canine). Sounds like an awfully sweet deal for Big Oil. You’d think the lawmakers that passed that bill were in the pockets of Big Oil, or something. Oh, I forgot...1990... Big Oil was running the White House.
Last week a group of Senators, led by Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), offered a bill that would push that cap from $75 million, to $10 billion. Big Oil reaps obscene profits quarter after quarter, regardless of the economy. They mess it up, they clean it up. Even a dog understands the importance of cleaning up what you dirty, so to me, it’s a no-brainer to up the cap. Those who make the mess need to take responsibility to clean it up... common sense, right?
Well, it’s not common sense to the GOP (Grand Obstructionist Party) side of the Senate. They effectively filibustered, and blocked the proposed legislation last week. As a canine, I’m dumbfounded by the plain old dumbness of some humans. I know that it’s their agenda to “just say no” to any and all proposals coming from the other side, but at the expense of taxpayers, their constituents? I simply don’t get it.
This morning on Meet the Press, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala) said that raising the cap legislatively was unnecessary because “BP people have told me personally, they are going to be responsible for all legitimate claims made against them”. Well, gosh darn it, why hold BP lawfully accountable when they made the pinky-promise with Senator Sessions?
To me, this all stinks of graft and corruptionx. For a canine to say something stinks is quite a strong statement, because most anything humans find vile smelling, I adore. But this does stink. Even to one who loves the aroma of critter carcasses, spoiled cottage cheese, and cat feces...it stinks.
No comments:
Post a Comment