It seems I am the only letter-writer my local newspaper has ever fact-checked. This is classic Alabama wingnut run rampant:

First, I will confess I am not an oil driller, but I was trained as a physicist and have some knowledge of explosives.

He’s not a doctor, but he plays one on TV? I’m familiar enough with this writer to assure you that what follows has only the semblance of being informed. Yes, I know…it’s only an opinion. But the right has emphasized this editorial-page business for decades because it circumvents the factual filters of journalism. Just getting the lie out there is the whole point of this exercise:

The Feds have threatened a criminal investigation of BP. An investigation is certainly in order, but BP is not the only target. Oil rigs are easy terrorist targets and could be attacked by ad hoc groups such as the one that brought down the World Trade Center.

The Feds have not “threatened” a criminal investigation of BP, but have in fact begun one. That investigation already extends to the all-too-familiar contractors who screwed the pooch at Deepwater Horizon. But the beautiful parts of that paragraph are (A) the statement that oil rigs are “easy terrorist targets” when the explosion happened 5,000 feet below the surface of the ocean, and (B) al-Qaeda is an “ad hoc” terrorist organization, i.e. improvised for the sole purpose of 9/11, when it had actually existed since 1989.

But it gets even better:

I find the published explanation blaming methane or natural gas to be unbelievable. An explosion or fire is not likely if the gas is being dispersed into the air as opposed to being confined. It is certainly true the safety valve that was supposed to cap the well did not function. This is partly BP’s fault, but the government oversight system failed as well. (Emphasis mine)

Get that? “An explosion or fire is not likely if the gas is being dispersed into the air as opposed to being confined.” Again, we’re talking about an accident that happened a mile underwater because of methane hydrate crystals encased in water molecules. His confusion may arise from the fact that surface crew struggled to stop the blowout (but failed because of sloppy contracting) which led to explosion and fire at the surface…but I think it’s more likely this writer just prefers a different narrative than the factual one. IOW, he wants it to be the government’s fault:

Many have said the cozy relationship between BP and the Feds was the reason and it is undoubtedly a factor, but the truth is more troubling. An oversight organization of lawyers and political appointees is not qualified to judge the technical quality or safety of a complex drilling platform. I have watched the emphasis on technical quality erode in favor of cost and schedule, with the contractor acting as watchdog of the suitability and performance of his own product.

Technically, it’s correct to say the Minerals Management Service acted as a rubber-stamp for contractors who eschewed safety for speed and flubbed the installation of major safety equipment. But rather than see this as an example of deregulation fever run rampant, the writer says it’s the natural result of bean-counting gummint lawyers trying to tell the drilling men how to do their jobs. See how that works?