And also, so very many of the Katrina "whiners" were old and/or poor and/or disabled and quite often all three -- the people who needed help the most and given very little.

I bet, just as a for-instance, that no one in Nashville was prevented, at gun point, from walking out to an unflooded area.

Jesse, I totally think you're not being reasonable.

I bet, just as a for-instance, that no one in Nashville was prevented, at gun point, from walking out to an unflooded area.

Or, you know, shot by the cops.

I know - plus, I may be wrong, but I keep getting the feeling that BP just didn't plan for this eventuality. They seem so ill prepared to deal with this sort of failure.

The plan was that the failsafe valve wouldn't fail. Really, it's hard to imagine being able to do much past that at that depth.

Remember the controversy about VP Cheney meeting with oil execs to set US energy police, early in Bush II's first term? Evidently one of the policies they decided on was to skip on requiring a $.5m extra-safety valve for deep wells of this type.

I do get annoyed at the pundits who talk about the oil leak as "Obama's Katrina". The coast guard was there from the very beginning and really, what's the military going to do aside from put out oil booms and I get the impression that those were already getting put out? It's fair to criticize him for not making a public statement earlier though.

Evidently one of the policies they decided on was to skip on requiring a $.5m extra-safety valve for deep wells of this type.

From what I understand, and I might be wrong, it wouldn't have helped. It would be a back-up method of activating the blowout preventer that busted.

Speaking of smoking, I am listening to a thing about the new tobacco laws, and everyone seems SHOCKED that there is ammonia in cigarettes. I smoke Marlboro Lites, and I totally can smell the ammonia when I first open the pack. Also, cleaning with ammonia makes me want a cigarette.

I took Dana's initial point to be that folks are going to say insensitive things in ANY such case where unfavorable comparison will elevate one's position.

We do it all the time, and especially with the 'branding' of every major event...Obama's Katrina, indeed!

We seem to have lost all perspective on 'there will always be greater or lesser people/things/circumstances' so why bother jockeying for position when you could be focusing your energy on dealing the best you can with what is in front of you.

Honestly. That's what bugs me the most. I've never seen a situation where casting aspersions either prevented some subsequent disaster or served as any kind of learning opportunity.

I just want to say to the people who spend their precious energy pointing fingers like that to shut up and help. Or, at the very least, shut up and go away.

Erk. I think I've just uncovered an 'issue.'

I keep getting the feeling that BP just didn't plan for this eventuality. They seem so ill prepared to deal with this sort of failure.

I saw an interview with the president (or CEO; basically a Very High-Up Person at BP) on CNN just a few days ago. Not an in-studio interview, but at the site of the spill. And the reporter asked why there hadn't been a plan in place in case something like this happened, and the CEO basically said, "Well, nothing like this has ever happened before."

Well played, BP.