Interior official quits ahead of hearing

[sabra]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Interior Department official accused of pressuring government scientists to make their research fit her policy goals has resigned.

Julie MacDonald, deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, submitted her resignation letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, a department spokesman said Tuesday.

MacDonald resigned a week before a House congressional oversight committee was to hold a hearing on accusations that she violated the Endangered Species Act, censored science and mistreated staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

MacDonald was recently rebuked by the department's inspector general, who told Congress in a report last month that she broke federal rules and should face punishment for leaking information about endangered species to private groups.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/politics/index.ssf?/base/politics-12/1178050450119200.xml&storylist=washington

[AndyA]

1. FLEE ROACHES FLEE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!

This is getting to be an almost daily event. Another one resigning, just ahead of an indictment, investigation, subpoena, etc.

:popcorn:

[eppur_se_muova]

8. **FLICKING LIGHTS** nt

[damntexdem]

25. Please, be careful with your metaphors:

this is more like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

;-)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

43. no, more like infected fleas escaping fleeing rats fleeing a sinking ship

or some other mixed meta four, eight or sixteen.

[jazzjunkysue]

41. Will this help?

[proReality]

69. No

They don't deserve the lemon scent...give them the stinky original.

[ck4829]

2. K&R

[Kookaburra]

3. Good riddance to bad rubbish

Poor stupid Julie -- I hope her karma catches up with her.

[damntexdem]

26. I'd rather the law catch up to her.

But I guess that's asking too much under a Gonzo Justice Department.

But the Congress at least needs to catch up to her.

Leave the karma to run over her dogma.

[Mister Ed]

28. "Leave the karma to run over her dogma". LOL! n/t

[OnyxCollie]

62. Oh, it'll catch up to her.

[depakid]

4. "should face punishment"

As in- serious jail time.

I surely hope someone is keeping a list of these criminals just in case the Dems actually take back the executive and have enough integrity to hold them accountable.

[IChing]

6. Damn right, I'm sick of these criminals getting a walk.

Can we be more outraged? Yes, every day there is something new.

[Ian David]

5. Julie MacDonald has resigned to spend more time forcing her family to alter scientific findings n/t

[YDogg]

13. Speaking of her family, how is she gonna put food on them?

[Ian David]

15. It'll trickle-down to them. n/t

[myrna minx]

19. She believes that human beings and fish can coexist peacefully. n/t

[jazzjunkysue]

42. "Fish are our friends, not food."

Great film.

[Roland99]

7. Don't let the door hit ya!!!

[calimary]

9. Ah, jumping before they push you off the plank, dahling?

Does she think that relieves her of having to sit in the hot seat? I hope not. And what's she going to be up to having "resigned"? Now that she assumes she's not under a Congressional probe, that is. IS she safe?!? Has she eluded capture???!?!?! Music fade up - and out...

[Peace Patriot]

12. What she going to be up to? She's writing a book.

Title: "A Convenient Truth."

[WoodyD]

18. ROFLMAO

Or perhaps, "Some Convenient Truthiness."

At this point, maybe it would be easier to ask everyone in the government who ISN'T an utterly corrupt and hopelessly inept partisan hack to raise their hands.

[progressoid]

10. " a civil engineer with no formal training in natural sciences..."

Perfect choice for the job.

jeez

[loudsue]

14. That's INSANE!! Another "bushie" who doesn't know what the shit she's doing!

He couldn't have FOUND any more people who were incompetent. I don't believe there are any buffoons left in the general population...Bush appointed them all to head important government agency jobs.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

30. The last six years...

Have been government by Monty Python Skit.

[jazzjunkysue]

45. NO ONE expects the Democrat Inquisition!

Now, fetch the pretzles, and the puffy cushions!

[crossroads]

60. LOL Good One! n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

29. beats a horse trainer

[Sapere aude]

11. And another one bites the dust, and another one bites the dust, and another one's gone and another

one's gone and another one bites the dust!

[Warren DeMontague]

16. Let me guess. Another graduate of Pat Robertson U. nt

[ncteechur]

17. She is already off the website listing of personnel--I was interested in finding

out just how unqualified she was for her position. I'm sure she was selected because of her excellent poaching abilities.

[Reader Rabbit]

20. OMG, I just used this as an example for my students!

We're studying the Constitution, and I used this as an example of "checks and balances," because that's OUR senator! Go Ron! Whooo!

[Joanne98]

21. Copitulation

[RiverStone]

22. How can we impress upon John Q Public....

Just how many unqualified righties with personal and/or corporate special interests have been convicted, charged, fired, or resigned from the BushCo regime?!!!

WTF will it take for a tidal wave of public disgust to sweep out the rest of these incompetent idiots?

[Buzz Clik]

23. We'd like to express our thanks to the Republicans in Congress...

... for taking such good care of the country while they were in charge. It's nice to see that they cared so much that they were actually paying attention.

Assholes.

[marmar]

24. They are scurrying like rats when the No. 7 train arrives...

Would the last person left in this administration turn off the lights?

[skipos]

27. How does the appointment process for someone like this work?

Does the senate have to approve them?

[truthisfreedom]

31. How to dismantle an administration from hell...

Turn on the lights!

[jazzjunkysue]

46. "Drain the Swamp!" n/t.

[lonestarnot]

32. Another Mission Liar splashed! heh heh heh

[nam78_two]

33. K&R.nt

[rocktivity]

34. Maybe she works for the DC madam...

:evilgrin:
rocknation

[emilyg]

35. They're falling

like dead flies. Hurrah!!!!

[MikMouse]

38. Bet She Moves To A Nice, Cushy Job

Naturally she next appears with a fat salary at the power
companies who run the dams or the contractors who killed off
the endangered species. The Repugs have to do that or soon all
the scum will stop doing what they do. 

[Fresh_Start]

36. Loyal Bushie = traitor to America

another one bites the dust

[Gman]

37. So many felonies, so little time

Congress is probably hiring extra staff to handle the load.

And we're just starting to see the tip of the iceberg.

[depakid]

39. self delete- wrong forum

[Robbien]

40. She is only the Deputy. Her boss,the awful Secretary of the Interior, is still there

Her boss is in the news this week urgently pushing the granting of drilling leases to oil companies in ANWAR and offshore the Gulf and Atlantic states.

MacDonald may be gone, but there are plenty still there ready to help big business plunder Mother Nature.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

44. Goddammit, I'm getting confused.

*Which* scandal does this relate to, again? I'm having trouble keeping them all straight.

[jazzjunkysue]

47. I bet Tony Soprano would do a better job of keeping the "operations"

limited to the ones he could at least monitor.

[jamesinca]

48. With her resignation does she have to go before congress?

Does her resignation get her out of that appointment? I think here sorry butt needs to go before them regardless of her employment status. If it does not get her out of the hearing, why resign?

[Lasher]

64. Congress has the authority to subpoena anyone

I don't know if they'll still make her appear or not but Congress can summon anyone.

[jamesinca]

65. Thanks

In that case drag her sorry butt over the coals, well maybe just leave her sorry butt in the coals.

[YankeyMCC]

49. Well she'll still be easy to find at the "Medal of Freedom" ceremony nt

[Fawkes]

50. Goodbye Julie

She was a really bad actor in a critically important position.
 She was unethical in "sharing" inside information
with enemies of the Endangered Species Act and she was abusive
to Fish and Wildlife Service biologists (some of whom I know)
who are trying hard to do their jobs in the best interest of
increasing numbers of endangered wildlife and plants and the
earth.  Good riddance, Julie.  

I can hardly wait for an administration that doesn't try to
destroy the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and
wetlands protections, and the Clean Air Act, and the agencies
responsible for enforcing these laws and regs.  

Now for a quiz:  WHo signed into law the Endangered SPecies
Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act?  No googling
allowed.

[gristy]

51. I guess Nixon

[Sedona]

53. No Googling......

Richard Nixon, at least he had the decency to resign.

[Fawkes]

54. Nixon

is right!

[FloridaJudy]

52. The new Republican slogan: "Not Indicted Yet!" n/t

[lovuian]

55. She only did what bush told her Videos of what she did

i video documented
such as these tid bits

UnBearable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR9Ys-x0FO8

and the Best one was
the only book approved for sale at the GrandCanyon was Noah's Flood Book which said Noah floated down the GrandCanyon
and geologists were not allowed to say how old Grand Canyon was since it went against the Bible dates of when the Earth was made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dDIStd8Fj8

She was only doing the New World Order regime's work

[anotherdrew]

56. the cow is still going to testify I hope. I'm so sick of these republican bastards

everyone of them seems to be a hatefully little shithead who's only joy is wielding power over others.

[tabasco]

57. Another Bush mafia stooge forced to resign in disgrace.

The criminal Bush cabal must be held accountable for the extreme damage it has done to my Nation!

[crossroads]

59. Well Said! nt

[Maestro]

58. Run, run, run!

Truth hurts. Now let's expose the whole department for presurring scientists!

[aaronbees]

61. Another miscreant leaves the gang of thieves .... eom

[whistle]

63. Go after the bastards and force them to testify under oath

...or go to jail

[Theduckno2]

66. Just another "cut and run" Republican.

I would like to think that George Bush used some of his political capital to land her a cushy job; cleaning cages at the Washington D.C. Zoo.

Yep, a bad case of schadenfreude here. ;)

[lazyriver]

67. First it's the top aid followed shortly by the head of

whichever department has currently been exposed for their incompetence and illegalities. Will she do a Lampson and sell out her boss just enough to get him a subpoena? Tune in next week for the exciting continuation...

[Marie26]

68. More rats off the ship.

Wouldn't it be great if Condi did the same thing?

[chemenger]

70. From Wikipedia

"Through interviewing various sources, including FWS employees and senior officials, and reviewing pertinent documents and e-mails, we confirmed that MacDonald has been heavily involved with editing, commenting on, and reshaping the Endangered Species Program's scientific reports from the field. MacDonald admitted that her degree is in civil engineering and that she has no formal educational background in natural sciences, such as biology... MacDonald's conduct violated the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) under 5 C.F.R. 9 2635.703 Use of Nonpublic Information and 5 C.F.R. 5 2635.101 Basic Obligation of Public Service, Appearance of Preferential Treatment.<6>"

"At one point, according to Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall, MacDonald tangled with field personnel over designating habitat for the endangered Southwestern willow flycatcher, a bird whose range is from Arizona to New Mexico and Southern California. When scientists wrote that the bird had a "nesting range" of 2.1 miles, MacDonald told field personnel to change the number to 1.8 miles. Hall, a wildlife biologist who told the IG he had had a "running battle" with MacDonald, said she did not want the range to extend to California because her husband had a family ranch there."<7>

Sure seems like there should be some jail time for her.