Justice, American Style.

Let's say you run a stop sign. A policeman saw it and gives you a ticket. Damn! You call your lawyer for advice and he says to pay the fine. The law places the maximum fine at $50 and it would cost more than that to fight it in court - a fight you would lose.

You appear in traffic court and the judge says, "Guilty. Pay the clerk $13,333.34." What?

But, your honor, the maximum fine for running a stop sign is $50. "Doesn't matter", says the judge, "We need the money. In fact, this is not the cap... you may be asked to pay more."

The court isn't satisfied with an outright theft of your money... they go on to berate, humiliate, and do everything possible to ruin your reputation.

C'mon! That sort of thing could never happen in America!

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The oil giant, BP, wanted to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, where the water was 500 feet deep, and the state of Louisiana granted permission to do so. But, BP needed further permission from the federal government, which said "No. We want you farther out from the shore, to better protect the shoreline in case of a spill."

BP replied that the water out there was 5,000 feet deep and they had no experience drilling at that depth. What if something went wrong? We're not sure it is worth it.

The Feds held firm - and besides, the law specifically places a cap of $75 million on liability in case of an accident.

BP engineers know there is a lot of oil down there! It is worth a $75 million risk.

They drill. Something goes wrong.

The Feds take 20 billion now, and advise they may want more later.

But, the Feds aren't satisfied with an outright theft of BP's money... they drag them into the White House, then to Congressional hearings, where they berate, humiliate, and do everything possible to ruin their reputation.

Ah! Justice!