Well, noone ever accused Republicans of lacking gall when breaking the law.

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Dear Weakkneed, spineless Dems,

THIS is what happens when you let Republicans walk all over you.

When the Bureau of Land Management announced that they were going to allow uranium mining along with oil and gas drilling around the Grand Canyon, Congress members who cared about the canyon, or national parks, or the environment, or common sense were more than a little miffed, and fortunately for them (and us) Congress had a means to act that didn't involve issuing a subpoena.

The 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act gives the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee the power to order the Secretary of the Interior to put a temporary hold on allowing mineral extraction on public land. So they did. The House Natural Resources Committee voted 20-2 to block block mining in the area the BLM had proposed to open. And, well. First they refused to follow the law cause they said not enough Repubs were in on the vote. No, I am not joking. And THEN...

Oh. And whole they are at it:


I. I just. And we'll let them get away with it of course. Just like we let Nixon get away with it. And all those NIxon era guys came back and did WORSE. And teh next time the Republicans get back into power? All the Bush people? And going to fuck us to hell.


Oh, and

On Election Day---when people were probably thinking about one or two other things---the Interior Department announced plans for oil and gas leases on lands adjacent to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Desolation Canyon in Utah. It gave the public until December 19 to raise objections.
Among those objecting was John Podesta, President-elect Obama's transition chief, and Rep. Raul Grijalva who sent a letter to Secretary Dirk Kempthorne objecting to the leases as a "last-minute fire sale."
Even the Interior Department's own National Park Service raised concerns about drilling rigs right next to our parks, and the BLM relented, pulling 22 of the original 90 leases.
On Tuesday, the BLM temporarily deferred leasing on some additional sites near Nine Mile Canyon, a famed archeological site with thousands of panels of Native American rock art.
So, a couple of partial and temporary wins in Utah. But there's still well over 100,000 acres there up for leasing before Bush leaves office.MORE