ace--i don't know how you did it, but you've somehow managed to convince yourself that my interpretation of the regulatory regime is almost the opposite of what it is.
if for some reason you find yourself interested in what i've actually been putting together about the regulatory set-up and the relation between that set-up and this disaster is, read the thread. it's all here.
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rather than keep this to a useless post refuting a non-position, i found this business from texas rep. joe barton kinda amusing, in a pathetic-to-craven kinda way.
Quote:
Rep. Barton under fire after apologizing to BP
By Aaron Blake
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 17, 2010; 3:05 PM
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) on Thursday apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for the way his company has been treated by the U.S. government, drawing heavy criticism from the left and giving ammunition to an administration on its heels over the gulf oil spill.
Barton, in his opening statement before Hayward's testimony to a House subcommittee, decried the Obama administration for pressuring BP to open a $20 billion escrow account and to suspend dividend payments for the rest of the year.
The ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said such arrangements have no legal basis, and that the political pressure exerted on the corporation in the midst of an investigation is a "tragedy of the first proportion."
"I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," Barton said. "I apologize."
Barton called the escrow account, which will be distributed independently, a "slush fund" and said the situation amounted to a "shakedown" by the White House. He said if he, as a congressman, asked for something similar from a corporation he was investigating, he could go to jail.
BP's Hayward said in later testimony at the hearing that he doesn't think the $20 billion escrow account amounts to a "slush fund." Pressed by Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), Hayward repeatedly declined to give a yes-or-no answer about whether he thought the situation represented a "shakedown."
Almost immediately following Barton's comments, the liberal blogs and Democratic campaign operatives sprang into action and the White House denounced Barton. Even before Barton's comments, Democrats had been attempting to connect Republicans to BP, noting the many contributions GOP congressmen have received from it and other oil companies.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement that Barton was taking the side of corporations over the American people.
"Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate these Americans is a tragedy, but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now," Gibbs said. "Members from both parties should repudiate his comments."
Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said: "Republicans should get their priorities straight: Are they going to keep protecting and apologizing for Big Oil or will they finally stand up for families and businesses whose lives have been upended by the BP oil spill?"
Republicans hoping to pin the problems of the Gulf Coast on Obama were immediately put on the defensive.
Rep. Michael Burgess, a Texas GOP colleague of Barton's, appeared to separate himself from his fellow lawmaker's comments after the committee returned from a brief recess for votes.
"I am not going to apologize to you," Burgess said to Hayward. Burgess referred to the many costs of the environmental disaster: "I don't feel that apologies are in order."
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) distanced himself from Barton in an interview on Fox News.
"I don't know what context Mr. Barton was making that remark, but I'm glad BP has accepted responsibility for their actions," Boehner said.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) spent much of his speaking time at the hearing attacking Barton.
"This is not a shakedown of the company," Markey said. "This is, in my opinion, the American government working at its best."
Democrats point out that Barton, represents a district just south of Dallas, has a history of defending the energy industry and making controversial and colorful comments.
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) who represents the Gulf Coast area, called on Barton to step down as ranking member of the committee.
Barton has some company in his position. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) also said in a statement Wednesday that the fund amounted to a shakedown.
"These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this administration's drive for greater power and control," Price said.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews
the article itself is hotlinked.
no comment seems needed.
live stream of the hearings:
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN3.aspx