Do the Gulf State Judges Own BP ... Or Vice-Versa?

We'll find out soon enough, since we all know where the oil spill is going to spend the next twenty years. In addition to the seashores, bayous and estuaries.

ThinkProgress, linked above, notes that federal judges in the Gulf states are so closely tied to the energy industry that, a couple of months back, eight of the 16 judges on the 5th Circuit bench had to recuse themselves en banc from a related case -- meaning that there was no quorum, and the appeal could not be heard. (WSJ blog here).

If you're wondering, as many do, why Tony Hayward hasn't resigned yet, here's why: (1) he isn't answerable to his stockholders in any meaningful way; and (2) he knows he won't be answerable to the courts, either.