The Dusty Dog

NOT Gale Norton, Too

Well, well, well........ It seems that our beloved (NOT) Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, is embroiled, and hopefully skewered in the Abramoff scandal. I found this image at Think Progress. The Interior Department has released this February 2002 photo of Jack Abramoff (far right), Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton (Center) and representatives of the Choctaw Indians, one of Abramoff’s tribal clients

I have always thought she was a horrific dubya selection to oversee the Interior Department, given her ties to mining and industrial polluters, but this is it. She's scum, her hirees are scum, and her associates are scum. In fact, they are crooks. Allegedly, of course, until the ongoing Abramoff probes either indict them all, or exonerate them, which I highly doubt, given the evidence I stumbled across on the web this morning.

It seems that Norton was co-founder of what is known as the Federici Group, or CREA (Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy), an organization with subsequent ties to Jack Abramoff. This apparently took place in the 1990's prior to her appointment by dumbya to the Secretary of the Interior. But, does that let her off the hook? I don't think so, and here's why.

First of all, it appears that CREA was created by Norton and her buddy, Grover Nordquist, a conservative anti-tax advocate. Are we seeing a conflict of interest yet? According to The Stakeholder, CREA "has received financial backing from chemical and mining interests, leading some environmentalists to brand it a front for industrial polluters. Abramoff directed tribes he represented to donate $225,000 to CREA from 2001 to 2003." Is Norton still affiliated with CREA, as these donations occurred during her tenure as Secretary? This is a question that must be answered as part of the Abramoff probe. After all, so much of the Abramoff scandal involves the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which falls under the Department of the Interior's pervue, and for which Steven Griles, Norton's Assistant Secretary, was intimately involved with Abramoff during the tribes' casino scandal.

The Center for Media and Democracy has a page devoted to CREA, describing how, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, CREA is more likely a "green scam" than an environmental advocacy group. The group reminds me of Wise Use, which is also a scam green group, who's main function is to promote property rights over environmental issues, and ultimately at the expense of the environment at large. According to Wikipedia, Gale Norton is also affiliated with Wise Use. Not that I'd be surprised. In fact, both CREA and Wise Use are misnomers, actually representing contrary interests than their names would otherwise imply. Scum floats, as do these groups, and their leaders apparently have floated to the top. Gale Norton is a prime example.

The question I have been asking since her appointment is: How the hell can someone so blatantly anti-environment as Gail Norton be appointed head of the agency she has so consistently fought against during her busy and successful career representing mining and industry polluting interests? It never made any sense. But, in dubya's world, nothing makes sense. It doesn't have to make sense. In dubya's world, he's king george, and that's really all that matters.

If the Abramoff probe isn't bought out by corrupt interests, bribes, cover-ups, and the like, I suspect a whole lot of people are going down, like a house of cards or a line of dominoes. Think Progress also has a page called "Abramoff: The House That Jack Built, which consists of links to all the present administration, Congressional relationships, and others who are associated with the Abramoff scandal. It's a huge house, and as Think Progress states, is the "biggest scandal in Congress in over a century." Interesting that Steven Griles is listed there, but not Gale Norton. Time will tell..........

posted by Dusty Dog at 1/29/2006