Dallas Adult Entertainment: The BP shakedown
… Let me be clear about something – BP must pay. They’ve created an environmental disaster (sorry, Mr. President, but it’s probably not the biggest in American history – look up the dust bowl sometime) that will probably devastate economic and natural life in the Gulf of Mexico for years and years. I don’t think $20 billion plus clean-up costs is too much to demand. It might in fact be too little. If BP cut corners on safety and if the cut corners greatly increased the probability of this disaster, it deserves every legal penalty we can throw at it. But let’s not forget that a prostitute can be raped, church-going family men can commit rape, and you’re more likely to get away with rape if everyone thinks the victim deserves it. A corporate vandal can be shaken down, our saintly president can probably manage a pretty good shakedown, and he’s likely to get away with it if everyone thinks the victim deserves it.