there none as blind as he who will not see? Call me a conspiracy theorist if you must and in some cases I might even agree with you but only those who refuse to glance at this situation would not be able to see that something is wrong with this picture. I find it quite hard to believe that many judges have disqualified themselves from hearing these cases for the exact reason of looking partial because they own stock in these companies and this one does not see this as a potential problem. Is this another example of poor judgment or just plain old greed?
“A federal judge who overturned a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed after Gulf oil spill refused Thursday to put his ruling on hold while the government appeals.” “The Justice Department had asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman to delay his ruling until the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans can review it.” “Feldman rejected that request Thursday.” “The moratorium was imposed after the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Oil has been gushing from the blown-out well ever since.” “The Justice Department argues that delaying Feldman’s ruling would eliminate the risk of another drilling accident while new safety equipment standards and procedures are considered.” “Feldman had agreed to hold an emergency hearing by phone Thursday on a motion filed by several oilfield service companies who say the Obama administration is ignoring his ruling”, “but the judge informed attorneys only minutes before the call that he would rule without hearing oral arguments.” (Unknown Author, 6/24/2010, Associated Press,Judge Martin Feldman refuses to put deepwater drilling moratorium ruling on hold during appeal, Retrieved from www.nola.com). It appears that there are quite a few who take a position of trust makes us question if they really can be trusted. When it comes to human lives should we not always err on the side of caution?
“Separately, a number of environmental groups asked the court to release additional information about Feldman’s financial interests.” “The judge’s financial disclosure report for 2008, the most recent available shows holdings in at least eight petroleum companies or funds that invest in them, includes Transocean Ltd., which owned the Deepwater Horizon.” “The report shows most of his holdings were valued at less than $15,000; it did not provide specific amounts.” “The environmental groups want to know whether Feldman has a financial interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.” “If so, he could be forced to disqualify himself from the case.” “Feldman said in a court filing Thursday that his most recent financial disclosure report will be released by the federal courts’ administrative office “as soon as their security protocol on the release of (the report) has been satisfied.” (Unknown Author, 6/24/2010, Associated Press,Judge Martin Feldman refuses to put deepwater drilling moratorium ruling on hold during appeal, Retrieved from www.nola.com). The question then becomes how many other advocates of off-shore drilling owns stock in these companies and would benefit from the overturn of this moratorium? Think maybe we should check the investments of certain governors, senators, representatives, CEOs and pundits or is that going too far?
Money is a necessary evil but how much money is enough and is it worth a human life?
