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BP Well Bore/Casing Integrity Issues and Senator Nelson’s Statements

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One week ago, on the morning of June 7, I wrote about questions on the substantive physical integrity of the BP Macondo well casing and bore, and statements by Florida’s Senator Bill Nelson on the same, as well as potential resulting seepage from the sea floor surrounding the well head. To say the least it raised a few eyebrows.

I have again attached the FDL video from the appearance Nelson made on the Andrea Mitchell MSNBC show where he became the first official to materially discuss the game changing issue of sea floor seepage from a structurally compromised well below the surface. Since Nelson first made the statements and raised the questions, I have spoken to his office several times.

Here is a quote given directly to Emptywheel/Firedoglake by Senator Nelson:

Why do scientists and others suspect the well casing is breached beneath the seafloor? Well, for one, in one of my briefings I learned that a lot of mud used in the so-called “top kill” attempt didn’t come back up after it was pumped down there.

Clearly, from Senator Nelson’s quote, he has received multiple briefings in addition to the information in the public domain, and he is hearing other private disturbing reports. Quite frankly, this should be of no shock in light of that which is, and was, already in the public domain. In this post, mindful of the fact there is likely a wealth we in the public do not yet know, I would like to delve into the public evidence Senator Nelson was relying on and why this is an issue that should, and must, remain squarely in the forefront of public and media conscience.

First off, it is clear Senator Nelson’s measured statements to Andrea Mitchell were not an off the cuff or uninformed gaffe by Nelson. Quite the contrary, he and his staff had been probing the issue of the integrity of the well bore long prior to the MSNBC appearance. On June 2, Sen. Nelson directed the following correspondence to BP:

June 2, 2010

Mr. Lamar McKay
Chairman and president, BP America, Inc.
501 Westlake Park Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77079

Dear Mr. McKay:

I understand the priority of your company right now is capping the Deepwater Horizon well. But new information about the accident has come to light in two recently published accounts that raise serious questions I hope you can promptly Read more →

Top Journalist’s Husband Argues People Are Too Stupid for Debate

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Hopefully, you’ve already seem Ryan Grim’s explosive report on how, in 2004, Alan Greenspan argued the Fed should keep worries about a growing housing bubble secret because the chumps buying the houses were too stupid to engage in a debate about whether there was a bubble or not.

As top Federal Reserve officials debated whether there was a housing bubble and what to do about it, then-Chairman Alan Greenspan argued that the dissent should be kept secret so that the Fed wouldn’t lose control of the debate to people less well-informed than themselves.

“We run the risk, by laying out the pros and cons of a particular argument, of inducing people to join in on the debate, and in this regard it is possible to lose control of a process that only we fully understand,” Greenspan said, according to the transcripts of a March 2004 meeting.

As you read the entire story, note carefully Grim’s description of what appears in the transcript, but not the minutes.

Aside from outrage about Greenspan’s arrogant view and the missed opportunity to pop the bubble before it decimated our economy and millions of lives, I’m particularly interested in whether or not Greenspan ever shared this with his wife, Andrea Mitchell (who has been defending Wall Street pretty aggressively even as the rest of the press begins to sour on the Banksters). That is, did Alan Greenspan share the news that Atlanta Fed then-President Jack Guynn worried about overbuilding and speculation with Mitchell? In which case, Mitchell would be complicit in hiding this information from NBC’s viewers.

Or did he keep this secret from even his wife, on the grounds that he considers her too stupid to understand it all, and telling her would induce her and her viewers to join in the debate about the housing bubble?

Greenspan’s position is unforgivable coming from anyone playing with our economy and people’s lives, as he was. But it’s all the more curious coming from a guy married to one of the smarter DC reporters who presumably has a firm belief in the importance of the news and an ability to present a balanced report on concerns about speculation in the housing market.