Tom Toles for June 17, 2010

“You simply get chills every time you see these poor individuals…many of these people, almost all of them that we see are so poor and they are so black, and this is going to raise lots of questions for people who are watching this story unfold.” –CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, on New Orleans’ hurricane evacuees, Sept. 1, 2005

Questions which they promptly forgot about.

So, is Cheney Yellow Matter Custard?

“Yellow matter custard Dripping from a dead dog’s eye Crabalocker fishwife Pornographic priestess Boy, you’ve been a naughty girl you let your knickers down

I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus Goo goo g’ joob”

Now we can understand what the Beatles were singing about … its all an allegory about BP’s coming oil spill … it all makes sense now. And who said it was just a Lennon acid trip???

I’d have thought the carpenter would be the walrus’ partner. They certainly haven’t done the local clams any good.

Oil spills can be SO surreal!

I hate big people when they’re so patronizing~

EVERY oil company in the Gulf had this same “save the walrus” plan, and cited the same biologist as their “lead guy”– even though he’s been dead for four years.

The error people are making, on both sides, for many reasons, is trying to compare a hurricane and natural disaster, which federal emergency response IS responsible for, to a HUMAN CAUSED mess that has specific leasing and regulatory requirements placed on the INDUSTRY.

The “free market” screws up and calls for the government to provide TARPS and booms. Even in natural disasters, corporate profits (as in formaldehyde laced trailers) rates higher than recovery for the “general population”.

Quite right, trout. And even if everything they said about New Orleans is true – and it ain’t – it says NOTHING about why BP isn’t doing what it was supposed to do in the first place, let alone why they aren’t delivering the goods now.

Thanks dtroutma. Most posters seem unaware of the issue the cartoon addresses.

It is astoundingly appalling that oil companies making billions and billions of dollars in profits, can’t find the interest or money to stay current with safety plans. Seems like criminal negligence to me.

Good Anology Chuklit! The Walrus and the Carpenter were crying their eyes out for the oysters, even as they were preparing to scarf them down.

If that’s not big oil, nuthin’ is.

Bruce, they do. The Energy industry is one of the most regulated there is - nuclear the most, but oil, too. Some of the regs were either dropped or not enforced under Bush, but BP went well beyond anyone else in violating the regulations that were there. Which I guess agrees with your last paragraph.

For consideration. In the Gulf at the moment, at depths OVER 1,000 meters of water- 3,487 ACTIVE LEASES, 1,634 APPROVED TO DRILL, and 25 ACTIVE PLATFORMS. Yes, those are JUST the leases in over 3,000 feet of water!!

One failure plan, 50 inspectors- wunnerful, as Mr. Welk would say.