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.)
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