J' Recuse!

I must declare my interest right up front.

I am deeply concerned that we are leaving behind us a legacy of planet-wide pollution and despoilation for those who follow us as custodians of our planet.

I am not anti-oil.  I do, however, strongly favor regulation of the oil industry on the lines of the aviation industry.

If the aviation regulators grounded all BritAv JingoJets after one such airliner lost its tail in midair, would anyone think it sane to seek a court injunction against that safety notice?

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman should have recused himself, rather than make statements such as:

"If some drilling equipment parts are flawed, is it rational to say all
are?" he asked. "Are all airplanes a danger because one was? ...
The common law on bias makes clear that when a complaint is made against judicial bias it is not necessary to prove real bias.  It is merely necessary to show that any reasonable observer having knowledge of the facts can determine the appearance of bias.  If there is likely to be an appearance of bias a judge should recuse himself.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama believes
that until investigations can determine why the spill happened,
continued deepwater drilling exposes workers and the environment to "a
danger that the president does not believe we can afford."

The oil companies who sued the Obama administration over its 6-month oil moratorium (and won today) couldn’t have had a better friend on the bench than the man who decided the case, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman:
...

According to Feldman’s 2008 financial disclosure form, posted online by Judicial Watch [pdf], the judge owned stock in Transocean as well as five other companies that are either directly or indirectly involved in the offshore drilling business.

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Sources:

http://sayitaintsoalready.com/2010/06/22/judge-martin-feldman-owned-by-t...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXp...