Memo to BP: You're Doing it Wrong, Part 2

I recently received an e-mail from a childhood friend of mine who lives on the Gulf coast of Florida. It is a pretty good rant and can give readers outside of the area a little perspective. So with his permission, I am posting his rant:


"People here are frustrated, angry as hell, and losing money every hour this continues. Commercial fishermen are stuck at the docks, BP stations are empty, hotels are empty, tourists are non-existent, and all this in the middle of a crap economy. My county has 15% unemployment, and at the moment that includes me.
BP have collectively been named "Oil Quaeda" by the locals, if that shows you how much raw hatred there is, especially after the BP leadership unloaded 30% of their stock and Goldman Sacks ("Government Sucks") unloaded 44% of their BP positions in the weeks before the "spill". Few here believe this is an accident, and the rumors are that this is a way to drive down the BP market cap for a Royal Dutch Shell merger or buyout at bargain prices.
Meanwhile Charlie Crist, once a popular governor, has changed from R to Independent, and is proposing a BP bailout on the Florida taxpayer's dime... can you imagine a Florida Governor proposing such a thing?
People are pi**ed, people are in trouble, people are sick wherever the benzine goes, and people want answers instead of BS. Perfect Storm for trouble.


Thank you for that contribution my friend, and keep us posted.

Memo to BP: You're Doing it Wrong

So, the Chairman of British Petroleum (BP), Carl-Henric Svanberg, met with the Obama White House, and outside, post-meeting, made these comments:   "I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are greedy companies or don't care, but that is not the case with BP. We care about the small people." 
     Hunh.  Interesting.  I think, however, they prefer to be referred to as "little people".  Much more politically correct.  My question is, why does BP care more about midgets than average-sized folk? 
Does the oil contamination in the water affect them differently?  Is there some sort of odd midget malady that Big Oil is hiding?  Dear God, we must know these things!
     OK, kidding aside on the play on words, BP isn't exactly endearing themselves to the local citizenry with that bit of public relations strategery.  That's got to sting, eh BP? Should probably
put a salve on that; perhaps a poultice.  A spokesmouth was quickly sporting a figurative damage-control hardhat like a jaunty chapeau, stating it was a "slip in translation." The small people of the Gulf region, however, were not amused.  One person said "we're not small people.  We're human beings.  They're no greater than us.  We don't bow down to them.  We don't pray to them." 
     And you know what?  They have a right to be indignant and feel they are being patronized.  As someone who grew up on the Gulf coast of Florida, it sickens me that my home state's pristine beaches will be damaged, wildlife harmed, and that citizenry will lose their livelihoods because of this disaster.  
     Now I am not going to single out BP in assigning blame for this debacle (unlike a certain President).  There is puh-lenty of fault to go around.  I am tiring of all of the BS I've read about for the last month-plus on who has offered help that wasn't accepted, the Gummint not officially asking for help from other countries, the politicization, the assigning of blame, etc. etc. ad nauseum.  Fellow Americans, we put men on the Moon, in under a decade, with the same level of technology that exists in a pocket calculator today!  Criminy!   My point is, we have some of the best, brightest, and most innovative minds in the world today here in this great country.  Stop appointing "czars", having hearings, holding press conferences and cabinet meetings!  The Gummint and the corporations involved need to QUICKLY form a task force of the best big-giant brains that can work together to fix the problem.  Worry about assigning blame or giving credit after that. 


Article Link:    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100616/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bp_small_people_4