Blowout

The story in Oklahoma continues, as Harold Hamm’s life began to unravel. After an ugly and public divorce from his wife Sue Ann, Hamm’s wealth was reduced by half. His commitment to oil profits, already the primary motivation in his life, kicked into the highest gear possible. Nothing, least of all the reports of a seismologist, would get in his way. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for the people of Oklahoma, Austin Holland left his post in Oklahoma, just as the state government was starting to accept that the “earthquakes rocking the state [were] largely caused by the underground disposal of billions of barrels of wastewater from oil and gas wells” (313). While Austin Holland had argued for open, transparent scientific studies on what was causing the earthquakes, he was pressured by his bosses to put the brakes on the studies. In Oklahoma, Big Oil and Gas were not to be opposed, especially not after the industry had done so much for the state’s economy. Hamm, relentlessly fighting to maintain the status quo, was “still insisting that Holland’s conclusion about induced seismicity was flat wrong” (315). He also insisted that the troubles he was having stateside were somehow linked to Russia’s oil-driven agenda.

Maddow opens this chapter with a curious scene from St. Petersburg in March 2015, which gathered together hard-right groups from all over the world for the International Russian Conservative Forum. The hero of the day, Vladimir Putin, was not even in attendance. One Scottish delegate argued that “Putin understands that the rights of the majority should be put before the whims and perversions of the minority” (319). The conference was a small, unimpressive event, but the sentiments inside the Holiday Inn in St. Petersburg were fervent. Many of these sentiments later made their way into the stories propagated by the Internet Research Agency, which infiltrated social networks with the intent of spreading Russian political interests worldwide. As Maddow points out, “the United States was the key and crucial target; Putin’s Kremlin was committed to the mission of mucking with American democracy in general and the 2016 election in particular” (326). The Internet Research Agency, headquartered in St. Petersburg, was there to provoke unrest and dissatisfaction, turning America against itself.

Maddow continues the story of how the Russian-based Internet Research Agency sabotaged the US election in 2016 with false propaganda and paid advertisements, such as “Ohio Wants Hillary 4 Prison” and “Hillary Is Satan.” Russian interference in US politics resulted in an investigation that spanned two years. US democracy took a major hit, as people on differing sides of the political spectrum were moved to increasingly extreme positions. As Maddow argues, “at basically zero cost, Putin succeeded in his biggest aim: he corrupted and polluted our most treasured possession, our democracy” (332). Maddow argues that Putin could have helped Russia develop into a major economic and democratic force in the world, but instead he chose to follow a path where he would have complete control of Russia, to use the country however he saw fit, like many of his predecessors had done, to the great detriment of the Russian people. Maddow cites the startling statistic that a 15-year-old boy in Russia has a life expectancy three years shorter than a 15-year-old boy in Haiti. The chapter’s title refers to a quote from German Chancellor Angela Merkel: “[Putin’s] afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have is this” (339). This was not the first time that Putin interfered in another country’s politics, as the people in Ukraine can attest—several changes in their governments were orchestrated by Putin.