from SLATE:
Judge Who Overturned Drilling Ban Has Significant Oil Holdings
The federal judge who overruled the administration's six-month
moratorium on deep-water drilling, stating that the government did not
make a strong enough case for the ban, "has reported extensive
investments in the oil and gas industry," the Associated Press
reported. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman wrote that
the administration had acted "arbitrarily and capriciously in issuing
the moratorium" and sided with corporations who said that the ban
would cost the region thousands of jobs. The "blanket moratorium, with
no parameters," Feldman wrote, "seems to assume that because one rig
failed and although no one yet fully knows why, all companies and rigs
drilling new wells over 500 feet also universally present an imminent
danger." While Feldman, a Reagan appointee, described oil revenue as
"elemental" to the Gulf, ThinkProgress points out that it may also be
elemental to the judicial system: "Like many judges presiding in the
Gulf region, Feldman owns lots of energy stocks, including Transocean,
Halliburton, and two of BP's largest U.S. private
shareholders—BlackRock (7.1%) and JP Morgan Chase (28.3%)." Further
investigations into Feldman's financial disclosure reports show that,
while he claimed less than $15,000 in Transocean stock back in 2008,
he also holds shares of Houston-based Ocean Energy, Peabody Energy,
Atlas Energy Resources, Parker Drilling, Quicksilver Resources,
Prospect Energy, and others. "If Judge Feldman has any investments in
oil and gas operators in the Gulf, it represents a flagrant conflict
of interest," Josh Reichert, managing director of the Pew
Environmental Group, told the Associated Press. Reichert added that
the ruling should be rescinded. The challenge was backed by Louisiana
corporate leaders and Gov. Bobby Jindal, who worried that lucrative
oil jobs would disappear to other countries during the ban. The
moratorium was first issued on May 6—several weeks after the April 20
spill—and Obama extended it for six months on May 27. The White House
says it will appeal the decision.
Read original story in The Associated Press | Tuesday, June 22, 2010
--
Jim Devine
"Those who take the most from the table
Teach contentment.
Those for whom the taxes are destined
Demand sacrifice.
Those who eat their fill speak to the hungry
of wonderful times to come.
Those who lead the country into the abyss
Call ruling too difficult
For ordinary folk." – Bertolt Brecht.
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