THE COOP

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Chicken Gets Serious....

Hi World:

I've said it many times....I'm not political. 

My (previously) private theory is that some people go into politics for the wrong reasons and are by nature corrupt, some go into politics for the right reasons but end up corrupted or compromised, and a few people go into politics for the right reasons and are non-corruptable, but they make up the minority, leaving us with a largely untrustworthy governing body, regardless of who wins the election(s).  Cynical is what I am. I'm not offering solutions and my opinions are defeatist, so I just keep waiting, along with John Mayer, for a change. 

All that said, I do have a few opinions that I've been trying to suppress for a week, but they just keep coming back.  The cliched "but".   The proverbial cat that won't die. The hypocritical Chicken who claims no opinion but is, even now, dragging her soapbox to the microphone.  Lowering the microphone.  Catching the eye of each audience member in turn.  Clearing her throat.....

"Spill" is a fairly inappropriate word for what has happened, don't you think?  When I think of a spill, I think of a glass of milk, not 40,000 gallons of oil.  A day.  Still, I'm so tired of seeing Tony Hayward dragged across the coals.  He is one guy.  Yup.  He sure seems callous, maybe he's arrogant, and he's definitely put his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion.  Tony Hayward could very well be an asshole.  I don't really know because I don't really know Tony Hayward.  But unless he is Satan or Lex Luthor, I'm pretty sure he does, in his heart, wish this had never happened and not just because it threw his lifestyle out of whack.

This happened. Tony Hayward didn't make it happen and he isn't going to make it go away.  We all have to figure out how to make it stop.  I guess this is where I am treading that fine line. Am I being political?  Not sure. There sure are a lot of politics involved, though, and I can't help but wonder whether the energy being spent placing blame could be better spent finding a solution.  This is America. We can place blame later.  If Brown University can take responsibility for their relationship to the slave trade 200 years after the fact, I'm thinking we can catch up with BP later.  Right now, we need to make it stop, and that is up to all of us because ultimately it does not matter who is responsible. Ultimately, seriously, will we even be able to live on this planet long enough to seek reparations from BP in 200 years if we don't make this stop soon? 

Here is a link to a NY Times series of photographs that chronicles the spill.  The pictures speak for themselves.  These are not all aerial photos.  They are close up and personal and I can only imagine what the real thing is like for those living it right now. The Times has done a great job of tracking what's happened and I think they have been pretty objective. There are also a lot of twitterers following and giving up-to-the-minute reports.  There are a lot of people focused on solutions and not blame and that is really heartening.  Frankly, if Louisiana wants to have a day of prayer, good for them.  I think that it is probably more productive than another congressional session, so why throw darts at Louisiana's prayer bubble?  Let's all join in. 

Click here for 10 things you can do to help.

Okay. I'm done now. 

Oh. Hellllllll. I forgot about Abby Sunderland. While I'm handing out opinions, here is one on Abby.  I think we parents today baby our kids too much. Guilty.  But if my 50-year-old husband informed me he wanted to sail around the world by himself, I would tell him he's crazy.  It's not the age that gets me.  It's the idea.  It is a well documented fact that Chickens do not like water.   I think Abby's parents are very brave to let her try.  Crazy, just like Abby, but brave:-)

Hopefully the ocean is still available in ten years for crazy 16-year-olds to try and conquer.

Chicken out

21 comments:

  1. I just makes me so sad to see that beautiful water and the wild life being coated in such ugly sludge. But you are right: Tony Hayward is just a man, a person like the rest of us, and he screwed up--or rather his company screwed up. What we need to do now, together, is clean up the mess and THEN decide what to do with whom.

    I feel more for the families of those 11 men who died during the explosion. What about them?

    I'm a little nervous being the first person commenting on this.... gulp!

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  2. Katie-I think you are always the voice of reason. Thank you for being the first.

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  3. I agree with you- ugh it's so depressing...I can't even watch the news because it spins me into a spiral of sadness. I keep screaming- FOR THE LOVE OF GOD FIX IT!!!!!!

    No one in the universe seems to hear me.

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  4. LSLW. I hear you. Even though we are screaming the same thing. Wait...maybe I'm hearing myself?

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  5. Joining all of you on the soapbox.

    Completely agree . Fix the problem then sort BP out and make them pay. God knows they've made enough profits over the years.

    This is a prime example of man's greed over taking care of the planet. Why weren't there contingency plans in place for an oil "spill" of this magnitude? There are ecologically sustainable alternatives to oil but heaven forbid the oil companies should lose out on billions because we give a rats arse about our waterways.

    Stepping off the sopabox now.

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  6. Mrs. P: Way to get on the soapbox! I feel guilty every time I fill up my car, though. Definitely, I'm part of that little problem.

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  7. Chicken,

    You know I love you (and not like most people love you--extra crispy with a side of slaw and fries)--but love you like a sister. But on this BP topic I do not agree with you.

    I whole-heartily support the bashing of Tony Hayward--if only so that the heads of Exxon, Shell, et al sit up, take notice and say: "Man, I never want to get into the cross-hairs of those bitches from the USA" If it makes any/all of them realize they do not want to go through a PR nightmare the likes of which no company has ever seen, then yes I'm all for it. This is a company who placed people over profits. This is a company who in the spirit of wanting to squeeze a few extra million dollars into their bottom line sacrificed the safety of their entire crew (and killed 11 members) while taking the livelihoods of millions more and flushing them down the proverbial sewer (which is what the Gulf is looking like. This is an evil company. It is headed up by an evil man. Criminal charges should be brought. He deserves to hang. Fish rots from the head. To whom much is given, much is expected. (He didn't seem to mind his 4 million dollar annual salary...) Tony, like all CEOs should man up and take the wrath when things go south--especially when they did NOTHING to ensure things would not go south.

    I think BP should offer a 100 million dollar reward for the individual or company coming up with the actual solution to capping the wells.

    You and I can agree to disagree. But the Scorpio in me wants my pound of flesh.

    To your point that we're part of the problem...I'll give you that, but let's all remember that both "Big Oil" has bought up one sustainable energy patent after another (so they can shelf the project) and only to keep us dependent on their product. Yet another reason why Tony and all the executives in big oil, need to be tied up and beaten with a sock full of pennies until they puke blood.

    I'm totally with you on the sailing girl, brave crazy child. My kids won't go up to the counter at Burger King and ask for a spoon, so I don't have to worry that they'll be circumnavigating the globe via sail boat any time soon.

    xoxo
    CB

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  8. Quick edit: Placed PROFITS over People!

    CB

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  9. Chicken, I will give ya the -2 Drumsticks in the air award for that post.
    I agree with ya here Tony did not cause it and BP as a whole company needs to correct a horrible situation.
    Have a great day :-)

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  10. It's 40 thousand gallons of suck in a five gallon bucket.
    I agree with you on so many levels.
    Are we ready to make a fundamentally drastic change to curb the flow of oil.
    ARE WE!!!!
    FU#$ the oil company's, SCREW BIG business, Whre in the hell is the outrage. WERE is our government.
    We can put little robotic cars on Mars (soory did not mean that) but we cannot stop this GodDamn oil gushing into our gulf and onto our beaches killing everything in its path.
    Whos has a plan. You, ok you up you have the chance. Who's on deck. You, ok you up next who after that. We keep account then send the god damn bill to BP. If they can't pay then we send the Fu#(*%& bill to the Brits. After all BP does stand for British Petroleum, Right.
    OK I sick to my stomach now so let go take some TUMS.

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  11. Hey, chook...glad you're back.
    Can I, the grizzled old eco-warrior, have a whack at the soapbox? Thanks. I, also, love you like a fat kid loves cake. But CB is right on this one. In fact, "need to be tied up and beaten with a sock full of pennies until they puke blood." is now my war cry - and I'm a pacifist. Brilliant, CB. I'll not add to your argument that Tony Hayward, as the ludicrously compensated figurehead of BP, deserves a thrashing. You said it all.
    Here's the thing that Americans don't want to hear: on multiple levels, THIS IS NOT FIXABLE.
    For every 5 gulf sea turtles found, only 1 is alive. Most are not even visibly coated with oil. Gulf Bluefin tuna are in spawn right now. Who knows if any juveniles of that species will survive? No one knows what undersea oil plumes will do to plankton. And if plankton populations crash - the base of the ocean food chain - fish, marine mammals and birds will fall like a house of cards. Scientists haven't even begun to assess what a worldwide film of oil on surface waters will do to prevent the evaporation which fuels our global climate, possibly accelerating global warming as we could not have seen in our worst nightmares.
    We have opened Pandora's box. And we might not be able to shut it. Even if they manage to plug the hole, one of the world's most fragile ecosystems has been decimated. For our lifetimes, and beyond.
    And if we all look at those heartbreaking pictures of dead turtles, blackened pelicans, and devastated marshes - and don't act to change our own wasteful, entitled, hyper-consuming lifestyles, then we are all as guilty as BP. Gandhi said: "Be the Change you want to see in the world". I'm thinking this would be a good time to get started on that.
    GG

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  12. Wow. I love this. I love all this passion and opinion and the helpful suggestions (penny beating being a new one on me:-)

    Scrappy-thank you for the two fingers up and BP does need to do their part.

    CB: I love your suggestion for the "reward" and not only that, I LYLAST, and one reason why has always been your ability to see the big picture. In this case, you've presented a very reasonable argument for a conflict that I would have put off or bypassed, that being setting an example. While I believe that BP should be held very responsible, I also believe that many people get to high places without merit and that many people get into hot water when they may not be deserving and for that reason I'm withholding judgement on Tony Hayward, but BP. Yup. Go get 'em. Of course, it did occur to me that we could boil Tony Hayward in oil just to set a really good example....but that's my agressive Leo side talking. It doesn't happen often. I may have been born on a cusp.

    GG-as always you are up to the moment on the subject and doesn't sound too sexual to say we would probably eat each other (if we were cake)? But I think we are saying some of the same things. We all need to take responsibility. We all need to figure something out.

    Anonymous: ILYLAB:-) And I love your idea. Next. Next. Next. Bill goes to BP. Someone is going to come up with something and anyone who wants to should have a chance. Not to make light of the situation, just a thought, but I was thinking my ass just might be getting dense enough to drop like a space shuttle approaching earth and plug that pipe.

    Thanks everyone. Keep it coming.

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  13. Oh and anonymous? 40,000 gallons of suck in a five gallon bucket? That's poetry.

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  14. Oh and as long as we're getting political...Glen Beck is a fucktard. He needs the sack 'o pennies until puke renders it's ugly bile, right after I finish up with Tony.

    Bring it on!

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  15. Screw pennies. The like bringing a pea shooter to gun fight. Tie ole Tony to the wipping post. A barrel full of Louisville sluggers and let the Gulf fisherman have a few go's at ole Tony. Better yet Water Board his ass but use leaking oil instead.

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  16. Chicken--I am ready to wear a t-shirt with with this post on it. Agree. Agree. Agree.

    Go Abby!

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  17. Anonymous 1 and Anonymous 2....Never ever getting on your bad side.
    Betty-Thank you. I'll have to get busy on those t-shirts.

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  18. One T shirt, size small, please.
    Thank you.

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  19. I don't love Tony either, but I agree that it's fruitless to spend all our time trashing his ass instead of focusing our brain power on solutions. If we're lucky, we'll have plenty of time to trash talk him when this is all said and done.

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  20. Write something, dammit.

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  21. Write something, dammit!

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Say something. You know you want to.