The last Democrat in the White House appears at this point to have been LBJ, who for a while at least actually thought he was in charge. What we have since then is an increasing obsession with kowtowing to the real power: corporations.
Since the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig exploded on April 20, the Obama administration has granted oil and gas companies at least 27 exemptions from doing in-depth environmental studies of oil exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico.The waivers were granted despite President Barack Obama’s vow that his administration would launch a “relentless response effort” to stop the leak and prevent more damage to the gulf. One of them was dated Friday — the day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he was temporarily halting offshore drilling[.]
The exemptions, known as “categorical exclusions,” were granted by the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) and included waiving detailed environmental studies for a BP exploration plan to be conducted at a depth of more than 4,000 feet and an Anadarko Petroleum Corp. exploration plan at more 9,000 feet.
The fockers in charge of the Minerals Management Service should be fired, prosecuted, found guilty, and jailed.
I'd prefer that they were shot, but that's just a personal preference.