Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 29, 2010

Left Turn / Right Turn

9

 Mountain Views News Saturday, May 29, 2010


GREG Welborn

Memorial Day 2010

 Who’s to blame?   I want to point fingers.   I 
want to “play the blame game”.   President 
Obama, usually criticized for doing too much, 
is now being accused of not doing enough in 
addressing the BP oil spill.   One critic suggested 
a link between campaign donations and “taking 
so doggone long to get in there, to dive in there, and grasp the complexity and the 
potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico.”   That was from Sarah 
Palin, whose ticket in the 2008 election received $2.4 million from oil and gas, vs. 
$900,000 for Obama.

 

 There’s been a reference to another Louisiana tragedy in calling this “Obama’s Katrina”.   But in 2005 
we had an administration ignoring days and weeks of warnings (as it similarly ignored warnings of an 
impending terror attack four years earlier).   No doubt there were inadequate preparations, but here’s 
what happened after the initial April 20 blast on the offshore rig:   The next day, April 21, President 
Obama held a briefing on the event with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Interior 
Secretary Ken Salazar, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen, EPA Deputy Administrator 
Bob Perciasepe and FEMA Administrator Bob Fugate.   Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes was 
dispatched to the site to “assist with coordination and response”.   The Coast Guard had four units at 
the scene fighting fires and engaging in search and rescue, with additional units on the way.

 

 By April 23, the Coast Guard and the Interior Department had “technical teams in place overseeing” 
efforts by the “responsible parties” (BP and Transocean) to “secure the well”.   At that time it looked 
like the situation was under control, but the Coast Guard said they were working with BP to “prepare 
for a worst-case scenario”.   On April 25, a “unified command 
team” of federal, state and industry personnel was in place.   A 
plan was approved to activate a “blowout preventer”, and BP 
had another rig on the way to drill a relief well.

 

 By April 26, 1,000 personnel, 10 offshore vessels and 7 
skimming boats were involved in the clean-up.   Air crews from 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and teams from the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted their 
own surveillance, and their findings led Coast Guard Rear 
Adm. Mary Landry to declare on April 28 that the spill was 
at least five times worse than what BP had led everybody to 
believe.

 

 On April 29, Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano declared the spill to be of “national 
significance”, allowing the draw-down of resources from across the country.   EPA Administrator Lisa 
Jackson described onshore teams already in place in advance of landfall, as well as continuing flights 
monitoring the situation from the air.   Two Air Force planes were sent to Mississippi to prepare 
for a chemical drop.   On April 30, the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. Navy had sent 12 miles 
of inflatable booms, seven skimming systems and 50 contractors to the Gulf, and made available 
facilities in Mississippi and Florida to the effort, as part of what it described as President Obama’s 
“robust response” to the crisis.   All this occurred within 10 days of the initial blast.

 

 Who’s to blame?   Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal acknowledged that “BP is the responsible party, 
but we need the federal government to make sure they are held accountable and that they are indeed 
responsible”.   Commandant Thad Allen of the Coast Guard explained, “To push BP out of the way 
(as suggested by Interior Secretary Salazar), it would raise the question, to replace them with what?” 
  
There’s the reality that, despite the resources of the federal government, fighting a major oil gusher 
fifty miles offshore and over 5,000 feet beneath the surface requires a rather specialized set of skills 
and equipment.   Regardless of blame, it appears BP is in charge of taking care of the situation, and the 
federal government is in charge of making sure they do.

 

 Who’s going to pay for it?   BP has committed to covering all “legitimate” costs, but it’s unclear how 
long it might take in court to define the term “legitimate” (there’s been twenty years of litigation in the 
Exxon Valdez case).   Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has introduced legislation to remove the relatively 
insignificant $75 million cap on damage liability, but has been stopped by Republicans who want to 
treat oil companies the same as Wall Street investment houses; fully entitled to profits, but able to turn 
losses over to taxpayers.   Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) advances the argument that removing the cap 
would have a discouraging effect on small businesses (like those Mom-and-Pop entrepreneurs who 
can’t decide whether to open a corner deli or an offshore drilling platform).

 

 Who’s to blame?   There’s BP, who invested heavily in buying off politicians and federal agencies in 
order to avoid investing in safety equipment and inspection teams.   There’s the federal government, 
which allowed itself during the last administration to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Big Oil.

 

 And, there’s us - specifically the “us” of thirty years ago.   At that time we had a president calling for 
“the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our nation’s history to develop 
America’s own alternative sources of fuel” and achieving “the crucial goal of 20 percent of our energy 
coming from solar power by the year 2000”.   We had a governor calling for conservation and taxpayer 
subsidies going to wind and solar energy rather than to Big Oil.   An early act of the incoming Reagan 
Administration was to remove the solar panels Jimmy Carter had installed on the roof of the White 
House; Jerry Brown was derided as “Moonbeam”. 

 

 I don’t know what crisis will be occurring some thirty years from now, but I’ll bet some columnist 
will be writing about warnings given back in 2010 - about global warming, for example - that were 
ignored.   And we won’t have to ask who’s to blame for ignoring them.

HOWARD Hays 

As I See It


This week’s article is going to be shorter than most, and so I offer apologies to the 
editor who has to now figure out how to use the space I would have otherwise taken. 
My rational for brevity is simply to direct the most attention possible away from me, 
my opinion, or anything else that might distract, and to place the attention where 
it more rightly belongs: on those who have given the last full measure of their 
devotion in support of the values and blessings we hold most dear as Americans. 
This week’s article is dedicated to those who have served, and most especially to those who have died, 
in defense of this great country. 

I have been able to travel a great deal in my life and in so doing developed a habit which has only 
been reemphasized in the years since 9-11. Wherever I am, in whatever airport I am transversing, 
restaurant I’m eating or hotel I’m staying, I make a point of approaching anyone who wears the 
uniform of one of our services in order to thank them for their selflessness and to ask how things 
are going for them. In all the years I have done this – both before 9-11 and after – I have never 
experienced a bad attitude or heard a complaint. Given the number of soldiers, sailors, airmen and 
Marines I’ve met, that’s an amazing occurrence. And it’s not accidental.

If you’ve ever really looked into a soldier’s face, you’ve seen the same thing I have. Now sometimes 
that face belongs to a kid, too young to bear the burden we ask, sometimes it belongs to a wizened 
middle ager who’s born more of that burden than we should ever ask, but always it belongs to 
someone who radiates a determination to do what’s right, to do what’s needed at the moment, to do 
what his or her country asks in order to bless the rest of us who call ourselves Americans. That face, 
that certain look which they all bear, speaks of pride in how that responsibility has been shouldered 
over the years of their own time in uniform, but also pride in the long line of those who have gone 
before. Band of brothers is more than a movie title; it’s more than a description of the bond shared 
by members of the same unit. It’s a description of the loyalty to one another that they all share across 
the years, decades and centuries – a description of the mutual respect they have for one another and 
the acknowledgement that they all are responsible for what we enjoy today.

Some of them are more responsible for these blessings than others. They are the ones who didn’t 
come back to these shores after doing their duty. They are the ones who have indeed given the last 
full ounce of their devotion. Their comrades in uniform owe them much, but we owe them more. 

I want to close this week by paraphrasing a poem. I don’t know it’s author – so I hereby thankfully 
give attribution to an unkown – and with acknowledgement that it originally applied to all who wore 
a uniform, I hereby dedicate it on this Memorial Day specifically to those who did not come home.

It is the one who has fallen, not the preacher,

who has given us freedom of religion,

although many a man of the cloth condemn

all who bear arms.

It is the one who has fallen, not the reporter,

who has given us freedom of the press,

although many a journalist can’t wait

to fault the soldier for his honest mistakes.

It is the one who has fallen, not the pundit,

who has given us freedom of speech,

although many an orator has mocked the idea

of duty, honor and country.

It is the one who has fallen, not the campus organizer,

who has given us freedom to assemble,

although many a student has sought to expel

the uniform from the commons.

It is the one who has fallen, not the lawyer,

who has given us the right to a fair trial,

although many a jurist has sought to hamstring

the military and destroy its warrior culture.

It is the one who has fallen, not the politician,

who has given us the right to vote,

although many who hold public office

have sought to use the military as props or

weapons for their own political expediency.

It is the one who has fallen, not the rest of us,

who knows the price of what we have.

May we honor them publicly today and

in our hearts always.

May you all have a wonderful Memorial Day holiday and may we each be purposeful about taking 
a moment to remember those who made this all possible. Churchill was right. Never have so few 
owed so much to so many.

About the author: Gregory J. Welborn is a freelance writer and has spoken to several civic and 
religious organizations on cultural and moral issues. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife 
and 3 children and is active in the community. He can be reached at gregwelborn@earthlink.net.

 Who’s to blame?   There’s BP, who 
invested heavily in buying off 
politicians and federal agencies 
in order to avoid investing in 
safety equipment and inspection 
teams.   There’s the federal 
government, which allowed itself 
during the last administration 
to become a wholly-owned 
subsidiary of Big Oil.

WRITING SERVICES 

 Could you use help in preparing written communications for your business? I have extensive experience 
in writing and editing business documents including brochures, proposals, newsletters, resumes, 
customer success stories, press releases, and articles for newspapers and magazines. 

 Current work includes writing the column, “Looking Up with Bob Eklund,” in Mountain Views News, 
and writing newsletters for the Mount Wilson Observatory. I recently published a book, First Star I See 
Tonight: an Exploration of Wonder, and am finishing a second book, Winds Aloft. 

For writing samples and resume, see my web site: www.bobeklund.com. Bob Eklund beklund@sprynet.
com (310) 216-5947


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