It is often said that the definition of the word gaffe in Washington-speak is when someone accidentally tells the truth. Al Armendariz, the EPA administrator for Texas and surrounding states, certainly made a gaffe when he said in a speech in 2010, that the best way to enforce environmental laws was to crucify a few oil companies so that the rest will fall in line. He noted that the Romans used this technique when they conquered a new town, crucifying the first five people they could get their hands on so that the place would be very easy to manage for the next few years. (I expect that that is actually a slander against the Romans, although they had no scruples against selling whole populations into slavery.)
Armendariz was, let us hope, using a metaphor. But his actions indicate that he is all too willing to act first and get, well, evidence of wrong doing, later. The New York Times reported on December 8th, 2010, that he had signed an emergency order:
Dallas-based EPA Regional Director Al Armendariz issued an emergency order yesterday against Range Resources Corp., charging that its drilling in the Barnett Shale contaminated at least two water wells with methane and benzene. The order gave Range 48 hours to provide clean drinking water to affected residents and begin taking steps to resolve the problem.
Armendariz’s order is not simply an action against the company, but a slap at regulators at the Texas Railroad Commission, whom he accused of not doing enough to help the people living near the drilling operations in the Fort Worth area.
Earlier this month, the EPA finally withdrew the order, having been able to produce no evidence whatever that Range Resources was in any way responsible. (It might be noted in passing that while the emergency order was a major story in the Times, its withdrawal was not news fit to print. Nor is the news of Armendariz’s recently revealed remarks.)
The United States, which invented both the petroleum industry, in 1859, and the transportation of natural gas over long distances by pipeline, in 1891, is on the cusp of what could be the greatest boom in energy production in its history, a boom that would not only reduce the price of energy—a major input into the struggling economy–but would greatly improve the country’s trade balance, help the dollar, and improve America’s foreign policy options.
The Obama administration, in thrall to the anti-capitalist environmental lobby, is doing everything possible to prevent it.
I think crucifixion as a policy tool is a fine idea. Let's start with Washington bureaucrats.
CA recently decided not to allow Barrett firearms to sell their .50 rifle to police departments in CA. Barrett intelligently responded by refusing any longer to service Barrett rifles in CA. n nThe oil companies ought to respond to this kind of nonsense by MINIMUM refusing to deliver gasoline and diesel and any other petroleum products to the Federal government – ANY AGENCY – and MAXIMUM, by refusing to deliver ANY petroleum product to ANY customer in ANY Blue state, country or municipality. It's a free country and the Courts long have held viable: "We refuse the right to refuse service to anyone." n nIf folks vote for governments that want to destroy an industry, why should that industry deliver their products & services to those people? As long as Democrats are elected by voters who want oil products, those voters have no cause for complaint when they no longer can get the oil their representatives demonize once in office, right? n nI know the Left cannot spell "CONSEQUENCES" or "RAMIFICATIONS," but I know the oil executives can.
Its funny. The economy is slowly tanking back into a recession as the booze of printed money wears off, but for two bright spots: The IT industry and petrochemical boom. In both those industries you see the government getting in the way – PIPA and SOPA and now anti-trust actions against Apple and Google for the IT biz, and whole bureaucracies and a Carbon Cult against the petrochemical industry. And in neither of those industries do you see unions around (except pipe-fitters screwed by Keystone getting scrapped). n nNow think where the economy would be without those two bright spots. n nBut when the good numbers from those business roll in, whether it be employment up or wages up or a possible future as a net energy exporter or how we still technically out-invent and crush everyone else in the world (remember lefties pining how good Europeans had it with their centralized GSM + Nokia cellular duopoly only five years ago?) out the woodwork the Donkeys come. To take credit for any good thing even as what lays the golden eggs they try to choke, first among them of course their half-Kenyan chief clown. Yuck.
sniff… those poor oil and gas companies. They don't have enough lawyers to defend themselves. Keep up the good fight, John Steele Gordon!
They NEED to be crucified!
Refuse to deliver gasoline and diesel and any other petroleum products to the Federal Government??? Even to the military? I doubt that–It would go to the courts, and you know who would win!
Spelling was fine and the thought of the federal government running dry was WONDERFUL!!
Well, ok, no gas or diesel to anyone in the federal government EXCEPT the military.
This is no surprise. The pillory treatment for a few chosen examples of "wrong" IS a real principle of government. The issue is more what one considers worth encouraging vs. discouraging…
EPA is a menace to civilized society and should be shut down, it's employees investigated and put in jail when that's warranted (and it likely would be in most cases).
I have a friend who works in the EPA. He told me about a year ago that what has been going on in the agency under the Obama administration bordered on the unbelievable. n nIn his words …. "All of the nuts have been let out of the basement."
There is no limit to the self destructive instinct in California. A few years ago, I took some friends from Britain to see the Central Valley, telling them that this was the real source of California's wealth. Today, I would not do so as the Central Valley has been devastated by shutting off the water from the Sacramento delta because a tiny non-native fish was endangered. The result is a man-made dust bowl and hundreds of thousands of jobs lost.
Hard to take anyone seriously who throws around phrases like "anti-capitalist environmental lobby." Really? So we have to be anti-environment to be pro-capitalist now? What a bunch of hogwash.
The bigger scandal is Al Armendariz's ignorance of history. Here he's got the Roman army sacking Turkish towns—centuries before Turkey existed! No doubt he'd be surprised to learn that there wasno such thing as Islam back in the day when Rome was conquering the Mediterranean world. Duh.