The Dead Hand of Ronald Reagan Rises from the Gulf - By Dave Lindorff

[kpete]

The Dead Hand of Ronald Reagan Rises from the Gulf
Submitted by dlindorff on Wed, 2010-06-23 01:36

By Dave Lindorff

As the BP well in the Gulf of Mexico continues to spew out ever more toxic oil and methane into the sea, floating toxic sludge, by the millions of gallons, starts destroying the wetlands across the American Southeast, the dead hand of President Ronald Reagan is at work, making sure nothing is done to prevent yet another such disaster from occurring.

.....................

Feldman, appointed to the federal bench by President Reagan and approved by the Republican-led Senate in 1983, has been a craven supporter of corporations over the public interest for years. In the wake of the Katrina disaster in New Orleans, for example, Judge Feldman ruled against homeowners who tried to bring a racketeering case against Clipper Estates, the corporate owner of their housing development, claiming that the company had stolen money it collected from them allegedly for repairs, for the owner’s personal use. The judge ruled that homeowners had no standing to sue.

Now, using classic Reaganesque logic (remember our senile ex-president’s mocking argument to environmentalist that because trees release carbon dioxide at night, they must be “polluters”?), Judge Feldman has issued a temporary restraining order against the White House’s six-month freeze on offshore drilling. His rationale for overturning the moratorium on drilling: The government hadn’t provided an adequate justification for it.

As the judge put it: "If some drilling equipment parts are flawed, is it rational to say all are? Are all airplanes a danger because one was? All oil tankers like Exxon Valdez? All trains? All mines? That sort of thinking seems heavy handed and rather overbearing".

more:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/53413

[MadMaddie]

1. Then if he believes that then he definitely doesn't believe

in the Toyota recalls. The cars that excelerate for no reason...guess those were flukes..

Reagan has screwed this country over and over....and they still love him.

[laughingliberal]

2. "They," still love him? I regularly see people here advocate for his economic policies. nt

[Cresent City Kid]

3. I don't know what to call his economic policies

"knock the food off my mama's table onomics" is a little cumbersome.

[laughingliberal]

7. Cumbersome but accurate. Interestingly, the policy I expect Alan Simpson's commission to promote. nt

[MadMaddie]

4. Not me! He is one of the reasons this country is in the state it's in.

[laughingliberal]

5. No arguement, here. Not one problem we have today which Reagan did not lay the foundation for. nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. Reagan was just a silly old man who could deliver his speeches well.

Let's not forget who was really writing those rancid policies......



Nope.... not gonna appoint a judge who would stop offshore drilling.

Wouldn't be prudent..... for my bank balance.

[madrchsod]

8. wow another person who figured out who ran the reagan presidency

[Sebastian Doyle]

12. Yeah, I figured that one out about March 30, 1981

A legally elected 4 term President saved this country. A not so legally elected three term President set the plan of destruction in motion. :evilfrown:

[Rex]

9. Ah yes, the Great Destroyer.

Sad that he was such an idiot and an easy puppet to manipulate, but that is what you get when you put someone with low self-esteem in the WH. Just look at how Cheney rode George W like a broken horse for 8 years! I wonder if W even got any carrots?

[JDPriestly]

10. Wrong question. He should have asked himself: If most drilling equipment

parts are not flawed, is it rational to say that none of them are flawed.

He didn't want to ask that question.

As for airplanes. I assume that, before I get on an airplane, the mechanics have inspected it to make sure that it is not a danger.

It only takes one flawed part in one deepwater rig to ruin an entire ocean -- as we are about to find out.

No rig should be permitted to continue to drill until it has been inspected.

By the way, it really is not safe to have drilling going in the Gulf while the Gulf is full of or filling up with oil from the Maconda rig.

[Scuba]

11. Your last point is one that needs more attention.

"By the way, it really is not safe to have drilling going in the Gulf while the Gulf is full of or filling up with oil from the Maconda rig. "