Why is it that, if I kill someone . . . even accidentally . . . that I can be reasonably sure I’m going to jail.

But something like the catastrophe in the Gulf, a catastrophe that kills 11 people, that stinks of negligence (or depraved indifference), that clearly violates established law regarding the environment, oil spills, and the like . . . Why is it that most people likely feel hardly anyone, if not no one, will go to jail?

Don’t get me wrong, life is precious.  But where’s the balance between one human life (and that likely outcome) and 11 human lives, untold expense and damage to the environment (and that likely outcome)?

This is the discrepancy of Individual verses Corporate Freedoms and Responsibilities that — if there is a silver lining in the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf — may come to a head over the coming years.  Corporations simply can’t act recklessly without a corresponding punishment.

And they can not be apologized to by a Member of Congress (see Representative Joe Barton’s (R/Oil – Texas) apology on LittleDEM).  Remember, this catastrophe starts with the loss of 11 human lives, yet Representative Barton uses much of his opening statement to apologize to BP.