All of what you say is correct and accurate...BUT.. as it's coming to light, BP was pumping seawater, not mud, in an effort to hold down drilling costs.. They, as much as anyone else, caused the accident in the first place. The feds were not out there on the rig, and, while I hate the present administration, I have a hard time blaming them or the previous administration for this accident. It was caused by BP taking shortcuts that cost 11 people their lives.

Let them fix the problem, then suck them dry with lawsuits. Hell, if I was a boater in that area I'd be starting a class action just for them depriving me of my fishing grounds. Hang em' I say.

Guys, this thing has got me sick, boycotting is the immediate response, but as many have said these stations are not necessarily carrying their own brand. The real issue for me is the lack of a emergency response, these companies understand the ramifications of an error like this, they should have had every emergency scenario ironed out before they put a hole in the mud. It was only a matter of time before this happened.

I am thinking they likely could have closed it up right away but for the sake of losing the well and the associated investment they thought they could salvage it, hence the delay in the response and lack of media coverage in the first two weeks.

Now my biggest fear is that while this underwater volcanoe is gushing it's wallowing/compromising the surrounding area of the ocean flow, which if it fails God only knows how they will stop it from flowing!!!

I have never bought BP gas. Back in the day, we used to call the local BP station the "Water Works" because their gas was so weak and crappy.

I have a particular bone to pick with all of them because I DO live in the area affected by the gusher, and I am far from alone. Feelings of anger and hopelessness fill the air. If you could see the meetings with the fishermen down here, you would see how angry they all are.

Imagine if something like this happened in the waters where you fish and boat and, as a result, fishing season was totally closed in your area. You would be pissed, no?

Honestly, having seen some of these meetings, I have to wonder when the pitchforks and torches will come out for real.

Valiant, the pictures I see on TV make me physically SICK...and it's only getting started...all these half-@$$ed attempts thus far are designed to only show, "we're doing something" until the so-called "relief" wells can be put in place and keep that well productive...not if, but when the oil starts flowing along the FL coast and eventually up the east coast, your pain will be felt by many more...I'm glad to see criminal charges are being investigated against individuals at BP, but I also believe there are certain individuals inside the US government who should be held accountable too...this disaster was forseeable and preventable...if you loosen the checkbooks for a bunch of engineers, they CAN develop a way to extract this oil SAFELY...this trajedy didn't have to happen...and I don't believe for one second that everything's being done to STOP that gusher or soak up all the oil that's been loosed on that beautiful, vital ecology down there... :bat:

Dusting off my pitchfork now. Where do we meet up? :bat:
With all that oil and dead birds, we ought to easily be able to tar and feather all those BP ba$$tards!:bat:

BP could start by firing Tony Heyward's little sniveling @$$...kick his limey-@$$ to the curb and then let him get his life back...he said there would only be "minimal" damage the the local environment...my @$$...he needs some "minimal" damage upside his punkin-head...:bat:

Agreed. Start at the top with the board members and officers of the corporation, that's where underfunded projects originate. Take a well known procedure and have smart and qualified people stretched to the limits by cutting budgets beyond what they know is feasible. That's a recipe for disaster on land, much more likely off the continental shelf. Problem is that in court a board member is well removed from actual nuts and bolts of exploration and production. That's their story and they'll stick to it. I believe criminal charges will follow for ignoring best practices and cutting corners. Unfortunately it will be middle management and front line supervision that takes the fall. Some smart attorneys need to be working the improbable budget cutting angle. I'm on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, we still have good water over here for now. Meetings are scheduled locally to discuss the potential for oil getting over here near the Texas state line. I'm a bit closer than most, looking at the gulf now. Yeah, I'll sign onto the lawsuit, this is criminal in my opinion.