Until they pass unbiased safety inspections!

Oil rig inspectors took company gifts, watchdog finds

2005, huh? I still say that the Bush Administration will eventually be declared the most corrupt administration in history (but not in Texas).

Follow the bouncing dollar signs. Always. Except when it's the bouncing boobs, of course, or other body parts to taste.

Yes, never sully the bouncing boobs.

If that's all true it is really f'd up. I don't see how you can blame the Bush administration on this though. Just because they were in charge at that time doesn't mean that the oil companies didn't have their claws deep in things for decades, you know that.

It's also been going on through Obama's term, and he's the one that okayed off shore drilling recently. Looks like he didn't look to far into it either, just appealing to some special interest to get something he wanted probably.

Too much politics in politics.

The indiscretions of the MMS are just now coming to light. Besides, it was the entire Bush administration's MO starting with those secret energy policy meetings.

None the less it still persisted under Obama and maybe Clinton too

No one even a President can keep a side eye on every department - its impossible
Keep in mind that there are (Ethics) laws already in place for decades . Any CEO and the President (hopes) that people follow those laws and thats about all you can do .

Now if Bush , Clinton and Obama knew about all this and then did nothing --> thats a different story

True story;
Our Project Managers , dropped of at the Building Department a box of Doughnuts , when they applied for building permits - Not more than 15 minutes we got a nasty call from the building department followed by a nasty letter - Stating how horrified and upset from what they took as a open (Bribe) <-- thats ethics

MMS - they went on vacations , expensive diners yada yada - no where near a 99 cent doughnut

Reported last night on MSNBC:

MMS allowed oil companies to fill out their own inspection forms in pencil, then submit them to regulators who traced over the entries in pen. NYTimes story.

This began under the CheneyBush badministation. Salazar knew full well when he assumed his current post what a dysfunctional cesspool MMS had become, and I don't think he started cleaning house early enough. Dollars to donuts, he's toast within 90 days. Maybe he and Tony What's-His-Face can partner up on a 7-11 franchise and sell Oil Slurpees!

I think Obama can do much more than he is doing now.He has power and authority and can tell BP what to do.He has to have more canones than he has.J

Well working for the Federal Govt at CDC I can tell you that we have been told if we accept anything from a company worth more than ~$5, we can be instantly terminated.

So how did these jerks rate different treatment. I think you go through and clean out everyone who took anything worth more than ~$25 in the past 10 years !

I've personally turned down dinners, drinks, and other perks several times and explained to them why. Most companies respect that. I did accept 1 - $5 lunch (salad bar) about 5 years ago because: (1) I was a newbie in management, (2) I was caugtht off guard (the businessman grabbed the ticket), and (3) I wasn't sure how to politely say "NO !" After that, I decided how to handle the situation should it arise again. It did, and I was better prepared the next time.

The thing that really POs me is Congress does this crap ALL the time, and they're exempted because it goes through campaign donations. They're no better than MMS in most cases.

I don't know what makes me angrier — the corruption within the MMS, or the unfathomable recklessness and arrogance of BP. The following quote is part of the testimony from the chief mechanic on the rig:

“The driller was outlining what would be taking place, whereupon the company man stood up and said, ‘No, we’ll be having some changes to that,’ ” Mr. Brown said. “The OIM, tool-pusher and driller disagreed with that, but the company man said, ‘Well, this is how it’s going to be,’ and the tool-pusher, driller and OIM reluctantly agreed.”

... this is how it's going to be... I hope that prick gets to write those words over and over again on the walls of his prison cell.