At the time, I said that "the terrorists" won't have to bother trying to poison us. Our own companies would do it for them.
Yup.
TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE: EPA's top Midwest regulator forced out
Mary Gade, based in Chicago, says Bush administration made her quit over Dow Chemical case
By Michael Hawthorne | Tribune reporter
7:31 PM CDT, May 1, 2008
The Bush administration forced its top environmental regulator in the Midwest to quit Thursday after months of internal bickering about dioxin contamination downstream from Dow Chemical's world headquarters in Michigan.
In an interview with the Tribune, Mary Gade said two top officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington stripped her of her powers as regional administrator and told her to quit or be fired by June 1.
Gade said she had told the agency she would resign her position, based in Chicago.
The gist of the story is that Gade was getting tough with Dow, because of extensive dioxin contamination. By extensive, I mean that it had spread 50 miles from the chemical plant: into a river, and one of the Great Lakes.
Reportedly, Gade had been highly regarded; she even had earned the grudging respect of industry leaders. She negotiated some tough deals.
At the center of the latest dispute was Gade, who as a corporate attorney had represented big companies like Dow against environmental regulators. Her aggressive action against Dow surprised the company, local activists and her Washington bosses. But she still won high marks from EPA officials during her last performance evaluation.
So she was forced out anyway. Mission accomplished, I guess. The surge is working. A heck of a job. Whatever.
Comments
Stupidity can also be a form of terrorism. And it's no less malicious.
Posted by: Mac | May 2, 2008 9:08 PM
The Republican party these days represents only the interests of Big Business, and nobody else. In the immortal words of Lou Reed, "They'll shit in a river/pour battery acid in a stream". I don't understand why a plurality of voters in this country continues to miss this obvious truth.
Posted by: stumpy | May 2, 2008 10:06 PM
How far the USA has fallen from a Scientist President such as Jefferson, and Engineer Presidents such as Hoover and Carter. The Bush Administration beats the Reagan Administration as the most Anti-science in history. As to the sad comment: "I don't understand why a plurality of voters in this country continues to miss this obvious truth" the answer is that the Republican Party, after successive revolutions by Goldwater (who was pro-Science), Reagan, Gingrich, and Bush, is not only anti-Science and pro-pollution, but has exquisitely polished tactics for convincing "Reagan Democrats" to vote against their own self interest.
Posted by: Jonathan Vos Post | May 3, 2008 12:35 AM
Right, but these exquisitely polished tactics are only the tactics of Big Business -- that is, advertising. I'm not a Christian, but I nevertheless consider these words, attributed to JC, to be accurate: "The love of money". ie, greed "is the root of all evil."
Posted by: stumpy | May 3, 2008 8:01 PM