That's a mighty tall horse you're riding there...

I don't think anyone can say they don't depend on oil for something in their life. Sure, there might be someone living in the mountains of Utah or something, but be realistic, we all need oil for something. I'll put my dependencies up against most anyone and bet I win. To say that our hands are just as dirty as BP though is a bit retarded.

I'll take my share of the blame for demand, but as far as taking blame for the means, that's another story. It's not my fault if they opted to use the lowest bidder to increase profit margins. It's not my fault they decided to go way off-shore, into an unsafe location, rather than somewhere in the sand. It's not my fault that they had inefficient safety controls and it's not my fault that there are inadequate response measures in place.

By your logic, we're also at fault for every vehicle recall that happens because the robot used by some manufacturer didn't tighten a bolt properly, all because we want a car. Just because I want something, doesn't mean I'm the cause for a breakdown in the process.

BP messed up, and they need to own up to it, plain and simple.

Don't just think about monetary or tangible payoffs. Think about the effect that confirmation of ET life would have on world culture. Think about the effect it would have on religion. If "man" was created in "God's" image, what where they created in? How long have they been around? More than 6,000 years? This could cause some serious issues for a lot of people out there.

That aside, maybe this could be the impetus for us to stop looking at things from a country to country perspective and actually cooperate and accomplish some goals as a species rather than individual societies. I think you've trivialized the impact this could have.

+5 Truth

By in large, I doubt they live alone, rather they share the burden. Also, $5/hr isn't unreasonable...

http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecentersdfe9

I don't see how the unemployment rate is a big factor in this.

If I can do Job A in Mexico for $.50/hr and Job B in the US for $5/hr, it's a matter of income, not employment. The rate of exchange and pay is so drastic that it's worth doing menial jobs in the US for what we consider low payment and sending the money back.

Not quite. The auto industry was bailed out because of the massive amounts of people it employed that would have lost their jobs. The banks were bailed out because small business and the average Joe didn't have alternatives to go to for credit. With Google, businesses could easily redirect their advertising revenue somewhere else. People could search with someone else. Email is everywhere. Google is massively convenient, but it's not a cornerstone of our economy.

Fox News?