John A. Farrell

Gulf Oil Spill: There's Something About Halliburton

October 29, 2010 RSS Feed Print

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What is it about Halliburton? Are there corporate rewards for behaving badly?

Not just badly. Badly with self-destructive, short-sighted enthusiasm.

Even if they didn't care about the ecological damage, you would think that somebody at the company, having gotten back the third separate test showing that the cement it was planning to use on BP's deepwater drill in the Gulf of Mexico was unstable, would have said: "Hey guys, we could kill some good guys, put a big hurt on the economy of the southeast United States, and give the oil industry and offshore drilling a big black eye!"

But nobody stopped it. The cement cap failed. Eleven workers died and the Gulf got wasted by the oil spill. Even BP is ticked off, and turning on its fellow energy firm. It was BP that first alleged that Halliburton was having problems getting the cement to stabilize in the weeks before the disaster. Now the federal commission investigating the catastrophe has confirmed BP's findings. Halliburton, in turn, blames BP.

I thought free market economics--you know, survival of the fittest--was supposed to weed out the lame and inefficient. Yes, Halliburton's stock plunged at the news. But the firm will be back, I suspect. Halliburton seems to find its way. I guess there is an exception to the rules of capitalism if you're politically connected. And helping to feed our energy jones.

Check out our editorial cartoons on the Gulf oil spill.
See the oil industry's favorite lawmakers.
See a slide show of a reality check on U.S. energy sources.

Tags:: Gulf of Mexico,; BP,; energy policy and climate change,; unemployment

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"These are summaries only and some were edited to clarify the expenditure."
http://coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=e1e0624e-d02a-42d4-9dbb-f5b9f21b3572
"1) Forest Service to Replace Windows in Visitor Center Closed in 2007 (Amboy, WA) - $554,763
2) “Dance Draw” - Interactive Dance Software Development (Charlotte, NC) - $762,372 [funding to UNC to create a YouTube-type site, but geared towards dance]
3) North Shore Connector to Professional Sports Stadiums, Casino (Pittsburgh, PA) - $62 million
4) FEMA Stalls Two Texas Fire Stations More Than a Year, Increases Costs (San Antonio, TX) - $7.3 million
5) Abandoned Train Station Converted Into Museum (Glassboro, NJ) - $1.2 million [this small building had been closed for 40+ years]
6) Ants Talk. Taxpayers Listen (San Francisco, CA) - $1.9 million
7) Stimulus Project Threatens Pastor’s House (Newark, OH) - $1.8 million [This project shifts traffic over by one block without enhancing or improving traffic in the city. In the process, the city of Newark is trying to take homes via imminent domain, including a pastor's home]
8) Old Abandoned Iron Furnace Gets Facelift after Money Squandered on Same Project Years Before (Fitchburg, KY) – $357,710
9) Power Plant Construction Won’t Start for at Least Two Years (Kern County, CA) - $308 million [BTW, the power plant is owned, in part, by BP....Yay! More of our money goes to BP]
10) Town Replaces New Sidewalks With Newer Sidewalks That Lead to Ditch (Boynton, OK) - $89,298 [The sidewalk replaces an only 5-year old existing ditch and literally stops at a ditch]
11) Upgraded Office Space and Indoor Parking for Kansas Politicians (Topeka, Kansas) - $39.7
million plus . . .
12) Agency Under a Cloud Keeps Pool Open for the Summer at No Charge (Youngstown, OH) -$450,950 [Hmmmm....90 days of summer. That's over $5,000 per DAY to keep the swimming pool open for the summer]
13) Project Costs Jobs, Drastically Reduces Shopping Center Business (Normandy Park, WA) -$3.8 million [Town spruces up the sidewalk, landscaping, etc., but the construction is chasing away cusotmers and business are laying off people and shutting down]
14) Mohegan Sun Casino Owner Uses Funds for WNBA Practice Facility (Connecticut) - $54 million."
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=149151271766233
That's about 3,000 characters. Check links for more..

Bill Hedges of MO 4:22AM October 31, 2010

“Obama biggest recipient of BP cash”
May 5, 2010 5:15pm EDT
POLITICO (Washington) -” While the BP oil geyser pumps millions of gallons of petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama and members of Congress may have to answer for the millions in campaign contributions they've taken from the oil and gas giant over the years.”
“BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company's political action committees - $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about $638,000 came from individuals.”
“On top of that, the oil giant has spent millions each year on lobbying — including $15.9 million last year alone — as it has tried to influence energy policy“.
“During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64420A20100505
When obama complains about Republicans talking foreign money, truth is Democrats take TWICE MORE:
“Dems have raised more than $1 million this cycle from foreign-affiliated PACs”
“By Michael O'Brien and Hayleigh Colombo - 10/17/10 11:32 AM ET
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate alleging GOP groups have funneled foreign money into campaign ads have seen their party raise more than $1 million from political action committees affiliated with foreign companies.”
“House and Senate Democrats have received about $1.02 million this cycle from such PACs, according to an analysis compiled for The Hill by the Center for Responsive Politics. House and Senate GOP leaders have taken almost $510,000 from PACs on the same list.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/124565-democrats-have-raised-1-million-from-foreign-affiliated-pacs

Bill Hedges of MO 6:46PM October 30, 2010

And I might add, that if evidence is sufficient , then criminal charges should be filed.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 1:56PM October 30, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill: There's Something About Halliburton

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