Today in Congress the House Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing on the administration of the Endangered Species Act. They found what everyone has suspected and feared. Decisions on endangered species have become completely politicized. The findings of scientists are ignored and even rewritten to favor development and agricultural interests.
Story. Interior Dept. ripped for political meddling. By Noelle Straub. Helena Independent Record Washington Bureau.
It is damn frustrating for the many people who have spent recent hours commenting on wolf delisting and similar matters that their work will probably be judged by Bush political flunkies who deserve to be wearing prison stripes.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Bush flunkies run the gamut of government agencies. Anyone remember the Bush-appointed NASA PR flack who tried to limit media access to NASA scientists because the administration was uncomfortable with the truth?
What’s most damaging is their utter disregard for the law — and the damage they do to agencies when experienced employees simply give up and leave.
NASA Public Affairs Officer quits…
I agree, while my blog is mostly on wildlife conservation, there has been an effort underway to create a national political machine that would generally subvert the administration of laws to the interests of the Republican Party, and as the affair in the Department of Justice shows, the prosecution of crime as well.
Lets not forget that Dirk ‘I’d walk a mile to sniff Bush’s backside’ Kempthorne is probably working diligently to further this agenda and will definitely need to be held accountable
It’s a shame that we, the citizens of this country, let this happen.
But then again, with economic pressures on the middle class and poor; its no wonder…no one has the time; they are too busy trying to survive, trying to figure out how to get out of debt…or trying to figure out how to keep up with everyone else’s collection of off-road “toys.”