Oil, Oil Everywhere; and Not a Stop In Sight

Other than the late night comics, I haven’t heard a lot from the “drill baby, drill!” crowd. I suspect the disaster of the BP oil platform has made this sentiment politically untimely. But it does provide an object lesson for the American public. When you hear politicians espousing their positions on any given issue, like off-shore oil drilling, you should start from the position that whatever they are telling you that it is based on a complete lack of understanding or knowledge. Further, as they continue to explain the soundness and justification for their position that the intensity with which they support it is in direct proportion to the amount of campaign contributions that they are receiving from interest groups. Now, I don’t want you to think that I am referring exclusively to Republican politicians, the Democrats are no different; nor are Independent candidates.

What can we expect next from the politicos? There will be hearings on how this was allowed to happen and why it wasn’t handled better; and oh yes!, and who is to blame for this? It is very appropriate for these Congressional committee events to be called hearings given what occurs during the process. They called hearings because what you are going to get out of them is ‘hearing’ the assorted congress members who are on committee displaying their outrage and disbelief on how such an event could have been permitted to happen. These public servants will demand answers to their questions from the cast of individuals that are forced to appear before them. The questions will be found periodically inserted amid the long-winded statements and opinions that each Congress member has some need to place into the record concerning this issue. Sometimes the statements are flaccid statements of support for one of the individuals testifying, but more often than not their statements are diatribes condemning the event and the clear and undisputable blame that the particular person must be responsible for regarding the event. Then when they run out of their angry rhetoric, they relent to putting a question to the witness. They will even sometimes let the witness answer the question before they take off on their next bellowing bluster. The last thing that they are actually seeking is an answer, and certainly not any information that could lead to comprehension or understanding of the cause and effect factors that constructed the situation at hand.

After the hearing, there will some attempt to construct legislation to ‘safeguard the public and nation from such a disaster in the future’. The legislation may make it to a bill and be passed after sufficient lobbying efforts have had their opportunity to transform the bill into either a toothless watchdog or into the potential to selectively profit from the provisions and loop-holes strategically placed into the bill.

So pay heed America! Learn to view politicians and their actions for what they are: paid-for agents of special interest groups that are no more capable of serving the public interest than your average five year-old (no disrespect meant to five year-olds).