How the World Works

Sex, drugs, corruption and oil

For a muck-raking blogger, there's really nothing better than a blockbuster scandal breaking out at the Department of Interior involving cocaine, marijuana, widespread corruption and rampant sex between government officials and representatives of the industry that they are supposed to be regulating. This is a doozy -- the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior delivered three separate reports outlining the abuses to Congress today.

The New York Times sums it up well:

The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration’s watch.

I am going to have much more to say, I'm sure, as I work my way through this horrifying account of sordid behavior. But for now, I'll just share one line from one report that suggests someone has a sense of humor in the Inspector General's office.

"Sexual relations with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length."

(An example of a "prohibited source" would be someone that agency rules forbid you from accepting gifts of any kind (and one presumes, especially cocaine or blow jobs) from, because you are involved in official government business with them.)

Google vs. Microsoft: Haven't we seen this movie?
Shades of 1995: A Web-based upstart threatens to topple Windows from its throne
Is the Obama economic rescue plan a failure?
Swayed by GOP attacks, independent voters are abandoning ship. But the summer of stimulus love has hardly started
Are automaker woes skewing unemployment figures?
In the summer, the Big 3 usually idle factories and lay off workers. But this year, they're ahead of schedule
The Pope's liberal Christian values
Social justice, wealth redistribution, a new morality for Wall Street -- the pontiff throws down on capitalism

About How the World Works

A conversation about globalization.

Recent Posts

Is the Obama economic rescue plan a failure?
Swayed by GOP attacks, independent voters are abandoning ship. But the summer of stimulus love has hardly started
Are automaker woes skewing unemployment figures?
In the summer, the Big 3 usually idle factories and lay off workers. But this year, they're ahead of schedule
The Pope's liberal Christian values
Social justice, wealth redistribution, a new morality for Wall Street -- the pontiff throws down on capitalism

Full Archive

RSS Feed

Posts by date

July 2009
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031

Comments?

You can e-mail me directly at aleonard@salon.com. But to join the conversation with your comments, please use our letters to the editor feature at the bottom of each article.