You've all been following the news, so you all know that the Department of the Interior has been throwing "coke and hookers" parties where the oil giants provide the sex for government workers, and in exchange, are let off the hook for billions of dollars. Or, in other words, on GWB's watch, American tax payers are being screwed out of $10,000,000,000.00 so that staff bureaucrats can, well, "get some".

I know, I know, Republicans will object to anybody pointing out that this Graft for Sex happened during the Bush Administration. This happened on Bush's watch, under Bush's leadership. Oil royalties are the 2nd largest source of revenue for the American people, after tax itself. Quote

The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration’s watch.

The ethos of "private sector always does best" is contradicted not just by the failure of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, AIG, etc, but also by the way modeling government agencies on the private sector has failed us

Based in suburban Denver and modeled to operate like a private sector energy company, the decade-old royalty-in-kind program sells oil and gas on the open market. Its employees are subject to government ethics rules, such as restrictions on taking gifts from people and companies with whom they conduct official business.


One of the reports says that the officials viewed themselves as exempt from those limits, indulging themselves in the expense-account-fueled world of oil and gas executives.

The most shocking thing is how Republicans are trying to spin this and actually suggesting that less regulation is exactly what the American people need. (In fairness, it sounds like less regulation in the oil industry might help Columbian cocaine dealers.)

Sorry, not really GWBs scandal..

Anyone that has lived in the Southwest for any real length of time has known that the Interior Department has been corrupt since about 15 minutes after it was first created.. Including it's run as the Bureau of Indiana Affairs..

Day late, dollar short in trying to get that department fixed.. But thanks for the help..

I suppose I should expand on this a bit.. When I was in New Mexico in the late 80s early 90s, I worked with Artisan Miners (small 1 and 2 man mining operations) that were trying to recover material, silver, gold, turquoise, etc., from already mined deposits.. They were simply going through the tailings piles to recover additional material that modern techniques made possible..

I got to deal first hand with the state and federal mining commissions and interior departments.. Even then the place was horribly corrupt.. And had been for decades before I got there.. Like several other departments at the federal level, they tend to not really change all that much from one administration to the next or one party to the next.. Except for the heads of the departments, the people actually doing the work never change..

We tried to get things changed for years before finally giving up and playing the game with them just to get people jobs..

And while I do agree that things need to change and be fixed, again, this isn't really news to anyone that knows the system or has been involved with it.. The exact same things happened under Clinton, Bush 1, Reagan, Carter, Nixon, Kennedy etc.. So playing it like it's all GWs fault, right before an election, while entertaining, isn't terribly useful..

And one more thing -

Statement by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne on Inspector General Reports

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today issued the following statement following receipt of Inspector General reports on Minerals Management Service (MMS) Royalty In Kind (RIK) program employees:
“I am outraged by the immoral behavior, illegal activities, and appalling misconduct of several former and current long-serving career employees in the Minerals Management Service’s Royalty in Kind program. These individuals have eroded the trust the American citizens deserve to have in their public servants.
“During this investigation, as we awaited the Inspector General’s final reports, individuals were transferred out of the RIK program. Now that we have received this report and have the information to proceed further, we will take swift action to restore the public trust.


“In the memo conveying the report, the Inspector General affirmed my frustration with the length of time it has taken to receive this investigative report. The Inspector General has acknowledged the assertive steps we took to replace the key leadership and staff in the affected components of MMS.


“I am heartened by the fact that in his report the Inspector General stated that ‘99.9 percent of DOI employees are hard-working, ethical and well-intentioned.’ I share that view. Unfortunately, as the Inspector General pointed out, the conduct of a few has cast a shadow on an entire agency. We must and we will eliminate any remaining negative elements in the Minerals Management Service.”

Bolding mine.. Just thought I'd add a counter point..

So if I'm reading properly, what you're saying is that you don't mind at all that the Bush Administration donated $10 billion of the American People's money to oil conglomerates in exchange for sexual favors and cocaine, because the Bureau of Indian Affairs has always been corrupt?

That's great apologetics and all, but please tell me you don't really believe GWB can by definition do no wrong, and that it's all well and good to give away the ship as long as someone has done something wrong at any point in the past? We both know if a Democrat had been responsible for the operation of the federal government, you'd be screaming that it's unacceptable for this kind of corporate welfare in this instance instead of pointing to corruption in the 1980s as an excuse and saying nobody has any right to object to $10 billion of all of our money being given away.

No, you are not reading properly.. Just like usual..

What I said was that this department has been corrupt since it's first incarnation and to think that you can suddenly lay the blame for that on the last guy in office is just a wee bit out of line.. Why didn't you throw a fit about it when Clinton was in office?? Or Bush 1?? Or Kennedy??

And you'd be wrong about your WAG about me throwing a fit about a democratic administration.. They are ALL corrupt.. I fix what I can in my small way and move on.. I don't try to pretend that corruption is something new and can be laid at the feet of the current people in charge..

We can play this game with every single person to ever hold office..