re: #486 Obdicut

Again: BP was given exceptions by the regulators. As I said, bad regulation is often functionally deregulation; if the regulators simply wave everything through, the system acts in a deregulated fashion.

The regulators failed, and the regulation failed. But the concept of regulation didn’t fail; it proved that we need more stringent regulation, a thorough examination of MMS and especially the ties to industry, and a very thorough look at the response plans of other companies that are so disturbingly close to BPs.

If a gang of criminals plan a bank heist, and a cop fucks up the investigation and is unable to prevent the heist from occurring, it is still the fault of the criminals, and we still need cops.

What you are missing is that the regulations were there and the regulator oversaw the process. It was not a lack of regulation but rather a failure to properly regulate. People at the MMS screwed up just as people at BP did. It took both of them to result in this failure. BP could not have made the fatal mistake without approval from the MMS. This is all documented.