Suddenly, BP loves Socialism. Suddenly, Sarah Palin—you know, that host of a Nature show on Discovery— and her mob-mongering falls silent.

Spill, Baby, Spill: Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, the Tea Party and BP’s refusal to use a safety valve—”socialism” has never looked better.

Excerpt via Treehugger:

BP Left Off A SECOND Emergency Shut Off!
Climate Progress cuts through the reporting of the New York Times to remind us that in addition to the $500,000 acoustic cut-off switch, that could of prevented this all but was left off in an effort to save money, apparently there was another safety measure, allegedly also left off as a cost-saving measure, that could have been employed by BP:

Another worker familiar with the rig told the lawyers that the company had chosen not to install a deep-water valve that would have been placed about 200 feet under the sea floor. Much like blowout preventers, devices that are meant to seal leaks, this valve could have served as a cutoff of last resort in explosions, the lawyers said.”The company took their chances in not having the valve so they could save money,” said Mike Papantonio, one of the lawyers representing the shrimpers and fishermen.

Mr. Gowers [a BP spokesman] declined to comment on that claim except to say that the investigation was continuing and that it was too early to speculate.

Let that sit for a second.

…click here for the rest at TH.

Video:

Via MIT:

The timing is both ironic, scarcely one month after President Obama opened key coastal waters to offshore drilling, and tragic. It’s migration season for millions of birds, which must now forage amid poisoned marshlands. It’s also nesting season for endangered sea turtles, which must now drag themselves up oil-slicked beaches. The turtles, by the way, face a double threat: They may be entangled in the nets of shrimp boats, which are springing to action in a last-ditch effort to scoop up the crustaceans before oil shuts down the fishery, as it already has the oyster industry and local finfisheries. First estimates predict $2.5 billion in fishery losses, with another $3 billion lost in tourism revenues…

Oh, Rush and company must wish President Obama were throwing taxpaper money at this, so they could attack him. From the White House press conference (via Daily Kos, No Bailout for BP):

GIBBS: In accordance with the 1990 Oil Pollution Act, passed after the Exxon Valdez, BP, as the responsible party, is required to fund the cost of the response and cleanup operations, and they are doing so.

…

NAPOLITANO: As the President and the law have made clear, BP is the responsible party and is required to fund the costs of the response and cleanup operations.

…

Q: You mentioned that there’s going to be a much greater federal response to this.  Can you give us an estimate of how much you think this is going to cost in a worst-case scenario, and who is going to bear the cost of that response?  Will it be American taxpayers?

GIBBS:  Under the Oil Pollution Act, BP pays for all this.

Q: They pay for everything?

GIBBS: Yes.

…

Q: You said that BP is responsible for ultimately footing the bill, but have there been any initial cost estimates that have been —

GIBBS: For — the initial cost estimate for BP?

Q: Yes — Just total.

GIBBS: I would direct that to BP.

Oh, Tea Partiers…if you don’t want government intruding on your life, why don’t you take care of this? Also from Daily Kos:

In a news conference, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called the disaster a “spill of national significance.” That allows the federal government to mobilize additional resources along the coast and to centralize communication. She said 1,100 people were working to contain the spill and that 685,000 gallons of oily water had been collected so far.

“We’ll take help from anyone,” BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said on NBC’s Today show, adding that he welcomes assistance from the military.

Of course, last year, when the government was trying to enact more effective safety measures, BP strongly opposed enhanced regulation, preferring a voluntary set of safety measures instead.

Now, less than a year later, BP has proven itself incapable of safely operating offshore drilling equipment, and the government is stepping in, as it must and as it should. It’s not just that government has the resources to intervene, it’s also that of all the players in this mess, the government is the only one that is ultimately accountable to the public…

Rush, our favorite money-hungry conspiracy-theory fear-mongerer, has the answer:

Sarah Palin:

BP didn’t want a safety valve:

Even Fox is giving a care about the wildlife:

What’s the problem, exactly, at this point?