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Bush/Cheney hirings brought “culture of substance abuse and promiscuity”- New York Times Editorial

WDYC — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:05:25 +0000

Four more years?

Editorial Anything Goes, Apparently Published: September 11, 2008

It seemed inevitable that bad things would happen when President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney packed the top posts at the Department of the Interior with lobbyists who had spent their careers representing the very industries they were now being asked to regulate. But it was left to Earl Devaney, the department’s inspector general — and the busiest gumshoe inside the federal bureaucracy — to demonstrate just how bad things could be.

In three extraordinary reports delivered to Congress this week, Mr. Devaney found that officials at the Mineral Management Service — the division responsible for granting offshore oil leases and collecting royalties — accepted gifts, steered contracts to favored clients and engaged in drugs and sex with oil company employees as part of what he described as a broader “culture of substance abuse and promiscuity.”

Perhaps, we now know the real reason the Republicans are so anxious to approve drilling for oil anywhere, anytime and anyhow.

At the center of the scandal is the royalty-in-kind program, under which the service takes delivery of oil and gas in lieu of cash payments from energy companies, then sells it to refiners. The program is vulnerable to manipulation at either end of the transaction, by overvaluing the oil and gas when it is received or undervaluing it when it is sold.

The White House can take no comfort at all. The people it brought to Washington to run the department had no interest in policing the oil, mining and agricultural interests they were sworn to regulate and every interest in promoting industry’s (and their own) good fortune. The most notorious of these was J. Steven Griles, a mining industry lobbyist who really ran the agency for four years and who later pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

The fruit of these terrible appointments was aptly described by Mr. Devaney two years ago when he appeared before a House subcommittee. “Short of a crime,” he said, “anything goes at the Department of the Interior.”

It now appears that crime could be part of the mix.

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Even MORE Palin lies:Gov’s plane NOT sold on eBay & at a loss

WDYC — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:19:27 +0000

Alaska’s luxury gubernatorial jet, delegates and convention television viewers alike were told was sold on eBay. A video said so. GOP Presidential Candidate John McCain said so.
In fact, it was sold.

But in fact, the jet did not sell on eBay. It was sold to a businessman from Valdez named Larry Reynolds, who paid $2.1 million for the jet, shy of the original $2.7 million purchase price, according to contemporaneous news reports, including a story in the New York Times.

Dan Spencer, the director of administrative services for Alaska’s Public Safety Department, said that the Republican speaker of the Alaska House, John L. Harris, brokered the deal.

What happened? It appears that, as promised during her bid for governor in 2006, Palin did try to sell the plane on eBay but that doing so was not as easy as it might have sounded. After putting it up to auction, there was one serious bid, in December 2006, and it fell through. Still, the Westwind II was sold about eight months later, achieving Palin’s goal of ridding the state of a luxury item.

But that hasn’t stopped Palin, or McCain, from implying — and, on Friday, claiming outright — that Palin did sell the jet on the Internet.

“You know what I enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay — and made a profit!” McCain declared in Wisconsin at a campaign stop on Friday. It could not be immediately determined what that profit was.

The video tribute to Palin that aired at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night made the same claim. “She signed sweeping ethics reform legislation, auctioned the governor’s jet on eBay,” the narrator said, citing it in a list of Palin’s achievements.

Palin has been more cautious in her comments. Rather than claiming she sold it on eBay, she gave in her convention remarks a description that was true but, nonetheless, still left the impression she had sold the jet online. “That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay,” Palin said.

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McCain’s VP Palin lies about the “Bridge to Nowhere”; was for it before she was against it.

WDYC — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:03:51 +0000

It appears Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) was for the “Bridge to Nowhere” before she was against it. Her statements indicate she only abandoned the project when the federal well ran dry and after her future presidential running mate Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and others had made it an object of ridicule.

Alaska abandons controversial Ketchikan bridge project

By STEVE QUINN

The Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — Some called it a bridge to the future. Others called it the bridge to nowhere.

The bridge is going nowhere.

On Friday, the state of Alaska officially abandoned the controversial project in Ketchikan that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending.

It closes a chapter that has brought the state reams of ridicule, but it also leaves open wounds in a community that fought for decades to get federal help.

“We went through political hot water — tons of it — and not just nationally but internationally,” said Ketchikan-Gateway Borough Mayor Joe Williams. “We have nothing to show for it.”

The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan to its airport on a sparsely populated nearby Gravina island.

“We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island,” Gov. Sarah Palin said. “The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge.”

Palin has directed the state Department of Transportation to find the most “fiscally responsible” alternative for access to the airport.

Palin said without federal funding, the state cannot afford a bridge, so the best option would be to upgrade the current ferry system.

Local officials called the decision premature, saying it came without warning.

“For somebody who touts process and transparency in getting projects done, I’m disappointed and taken aback,” said Ketchikan Republican Rep. Kyle Johansen.

“This is contrary to about every statement she has ever made,” he said. “We worked 30 years to get funding for this priority project.”

In her speech the other day where Sen. John McCain introduced her as his running mate, Palin said -

I’ve championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. In fact, I told Congress thanks, but no thanks, on that “bridge to nowhere.” If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we’d build it ourselves.

In cancelling the bridge project, she actually said this:

“The federal government is less and less interested in continuing to fund these projects, she said. “It can’t be a state priority for DOT when we have much-needed road and bridge improvements. Our intention is to work with the community to find a sensible and efficient shuttle connection, a better ferry service.”

The bridge project, when it was cancelled, was $329 million short of full funding, according to Palin’s cancellation statement.

The so-called “Bridge to Nowhere” was to link Ketchikan, on Revillagigedo Island, to its airport on Gravina Island.

This is the press release her office put out when she cancelled the project:

State of Alaska > Governor > News > News Archive

Gravina Access Project Redirected Printer Friendly

07-192

Gravina Access Project Redirected

September 21, 2007, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today directed the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to look for the most fiscally responsible alternative for access to the Ketchikan airport and Gravina Island instead of proceeding any further with the proposed $398 million bridge.

“Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer,” said Governor Palin. “Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island,” Governor Palin added. “Much of the public’s attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened.” The Department of Transportation has approximately $36 million in federal funds that will become available for other projects with the shutdown of the Gravina Island bridge project. Governor Palin has directed Commissioner Leo von Scheben to review transportation projects statewide to prepare a list of possible uses for the funds, while the department also looks for a more affordable answer for Gravina Island access.

“There is no question we desperately need to construct new roads in this state, including in Southeast Alaska, where skyrocketing costs for the Alaska Marine Highway System present an impediment to the state’s budget and the region’s economy,” said von Scheben.

“The original purpose of this project was to improve access to Gravina Island, and we will continue to work with the community to help them attain that goal,” von Scheben said.

The commissioner said his department would continue to work with local officials to discuss future plans for development of Gravina Island.

Here’s her 2006 position:

Here’s what she told the Anchorage Daily News on October 22, 2006, during the race for the governor’s seat (via Nexis):

5. Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?

Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now–while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.

Just how does Gov. Palin really feel about earmarks? Ask her special counsel:

My Turn: Palin not abandoning earmarks altogether
By John Katz | Juneau Empire

With the coming of spring in the nation’s capital, Congress has begun its annual ritual of producing a federal budget.

While Congressional earmarks represent less than 1 percent of the federal budget, a much higher percentage of the appropriations debate focuses on this topic.

One reason for this is several controversial earmarks and election-year politics. Another is that earmarks have become a metaphor for the federal budget generally. It’s a lot easier to talk about earmarks than to address difficult budget issues, such as burgeoning domestic entitlement programs and defense spending.
…
Earlier this year, President Bush and the congressional leadership announced that the total number and dollar amount of earmarks must be reduced significantly.

The Palin administration has responded to this message by requesting 31 earmarks, down from 54 last year. Of these, 27 involve continuing or previous appropriations and four are new. The total dollar amount of these requests has been reduced from about $550 million in the previous year to just less than $200 million.

Further, the governor has insisted that each Alaska request must demonstrate an important federal purpose and strong public support.

We also have heard that, wherever possible, a state or local match should be provided. The state’s budget requests incorporate this principle.

So, it is important to note there is no longer a “free lunch” at the federal level. Most federal requests have state or local budget consequences as well.
…
Congressional earmarks for roads and bridges have received much attention in Congress and have become a principal impetus for reform. Unfortunately, Alaska has featured prominently in this discussion.

The Palin administration has responded to this unwanted attention in a number of ways. Certain previous decisions concerning transportation earmarks are being re-examined. Currently, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is conducting an audit to determine the status of all recent earmarks.
…
Palin has said the state can either respond to the changing circumstances in Congress or stick its head in the sand. We believe that by recognizing the necessity for change, we can enhance the state’s credibility in the appropriations process and in other areas of federal policy as well.

The governor is very much aware of the importance of the federal budget to virtually every Alaskan. In responding to the new realities, we are not abandoning earmarks altogether but are seeking to constrain and document them in the ways discussed here.

The Juneau Empire identifies John Katz as director of State-Federal Relations and Special Counsel to Gov. Sarah Palin.

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