Jimmy Buffet was one of my favorite musicians growing up. Like him, I myself grew up on the Gulf of Mexico coast in the town of Venice, Florida. Before I joined the Air Force, my life there was all about hanging out at the beach with friends, snorkeling, and doing a lot of fishing all the while listening to Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” and “Margaretville”. While I completely agree with what he said about being an angry native: "If you're born and raised on the Gulf Coast and it's kind of in you, and you don't feel anger and rage initially over what's going on down there, I think you're a hypocrite," But when he makes statements like this: "To me it was more about eight years of bad policy before (Obama) got there that let this happen. It was Dracula running the blood bank in terms of oil and leases," he said. "I think that has more to do with it than how the president reacted to it." I have lost ALL respect for the man. Apparently, he is just another liberal hack who will support Obama no matter what the facts are. So, let me enlighten you, Jimmy...Here are the facts.I hope you and all the other “Bush Blamers” choke on them!
In February 2010, Deepwater Horizon commenced drilling an exploratory well at the Macondo Prospect (Mississippi Canyon Block 252), about 41 miles off the southeast coast of Louisiana, at a water depth of approximately 5,000ft. The Macondo prospect exploration rights were acquired by BP in 2009, with the prospect jointly owned by BP (65%), Anadarko (25%) and MOEX Offshore 2007 (10%)
On April 20, 2010, when drilling at the Macondo Prospect, an explosion on the rig caused by a blowout killed eleven crewmen and ignited a fireball whose flames were visible from 35 miles away. At 09:45 p.m. during the final phases of drilling the exploratory well at Macondo, a geyser of seawater erupted from the marine riser onto the rig, shooting 240ft into the air. This was soon followed by the eruption of a slushy combination of mud, methane gas, and water. The gas component of the slushy material quickly transitioned into a fully gaseous state and then ignited into a series of explosions and then a firestorm. An attempt was made to activate the blowout preventer, but it failed. The resulting fire could not be extinguished and, on April 22, 2010, Deepwater Horizon sank, leaving the well gushing at the sea floor and causing the largest offshore oil spill in United States history.
During its lifetime the rig received 5 citations for non-compliance under the Bush Administration, 4 of which were in 2002 (safety, including the blowout preventer) and the other in 2003 for pollution. A sixth citation in 2007 related to non-grounded electrical equipment was later withdrawn when the equipment was determined to be compliant with regulations. The Minerals Management Service (renamed on 18 June 2010 by the Obama Administration to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, or Bureau of Ocean Energy (BOE)) is the regulatory and inspecting body for offshore oil drilling and rigs. Overall they cited the Deepwater Horizon's safety record was "strong" according to a drilling consultant reviewing the information. In 2009 the Obama Administration’s new Minerals Management Service "heralded the Deepwater Horizon as an industry model for safety". According to AP's investigation "its record was so exemplary, according to MMS officials, that the rig was never on inspectors' informal 'watch list' for problem rigs".
Now, after knowing the facts, Jimmy and all you other Bush Blamers out there, how can you or anyone else honestly blame George W. Bush for this disaster?
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