Interior Secretary Gale Norton Resigns

[ProSense]

Interior Secretary Gale Norton Resigns

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer
12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Gale Norton resigned Friday after five years in President Bush's Cabinet and at a time when her agency is part of a lobbying scandal over Indian gaming licenses.

In a letter to Bush, Norton said she the resignation would be effective at the end of March.

"Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb, catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector," she said in the two-page resignation letter.

Norton, who turns 52 on Saturday, said she and her husband "hope to end up closer to the mountains we love in the West."

The leading Republican and Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee have said that e-mails uncovered by the committee show that Steven Griles, Norton's former deputy, had a close relationship with Abramoff.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/interior_norton_5

[MadMaddie]

1. Is this the actual text?

Me thinks that someone sounds a bit bitter!:popcorn:



<snip>
"Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb, catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector," she said in the two-page resignation letter.
<snip>
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Dem2theMax]

39. Here she is, climbing that mountain!

No. That didn't work. Try this.


Didn't work either? Well, my guess is she'll be doing this as fast as she can.

[smtpgirl]

52. your emoticons are

Totally humorous, so Gale did THE LONG HARD SLOG FOR 5 YEARS, whew, it makes me tired. ;)

[newscott]

41. Must be a typo.

Surely she meant "mountain of CASH".

[shaniqua6392]

2. Could she possibly take George and the rest of them with her?

We would appreciate it immensely!! :sarcasm:

[boobooday]

3. Return to PayBack Mountain

"Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb, catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector," she said in the two-page resignation letter."

I love how they get all literary and stuff when they are trying to slither away from their foul deeds.

Do the "aspens turn together" on your mountain too, Gail?

Is Jack Abramoff an aspen? Or is he the chill wind that blows, causing the leaves to tremble and the branches to crack?

:rofl:

[sendero]

30. Well said! nt

[NVMojo]

46. Bushie, I just can't quit you!!!

[valerief]

4. Will she pick up Abramoff's lobbying activities as a post-admin gig?

[caligirl]

5. This puke would never have left her post unless forced out.

Fitz must have the goods on her. She can't worm her way out.

[eggplant]

7. Are we confusing scandals here?

What would Norton have to do with Plame?

[Lindsay]

14. So many scandals - sometimes it's hard to keep them all

straight.

[caligirl]

21. Abramoff, Okay who is investigating Abramoff again, LOL, too

many scandals to keep up with. No not Plame , the other one.

[yellowcanine]

6. She retired to get closer to the the mountains? Could have fooled me

that she gives a rip about mountains.

[centristo]

22. I hope she retires to Yucca Mountain.

:evilgrin:

[wordpix2]

32. deep within the nuke waste vault

[Buzz Clik]

27. Don't buy land in coal country, Gale.

The companies have the right to pull the land out from under you and dump the waste back on top. Thanks to you.

Good riddance.

[Hand]

55. Well, there's a lovely view of the mountains...

...from Canon City Federal Penitentiary. :evilgrin:

[derby378]

8. "WHAT?"

"Gale Norton resigned."
"WWWWHAT?"
"She resigned as Secretary of the Interior."
"WWWWHAT?"
"Gail Norton resigned today."
"YYYYYYEEEEEAAAAYAAAAAAAA!!!"

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
:toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

Someone gimme a DEAN SCREAM!!!

[TheModernTerrorist]

47. a bit of Lil Jon there?

[FreedRadical]

9. I think she knows there is an indictment in her future

[pstans]

10. Friday news dump?

:shrug:

[electropop]

13. Just like Safavian: resign on Friday,

frog-march on Monday.

[electropop]

11. "New goals in the private sector"

Many jails are privatized now.

[librechik]

26. she'll run for Gov of Colorado

Pukkkes here too dumb to know about Abramoff yet--she's a Bushoe, that's all they care about.

[Hawkeye-X]

37. Unlikely.

We don't want her here in Colorado either. One of her Bush-kissing sycophant partyman, Bob Beauprez, is running for Governor, and he'll lose, BADLY.

[librechik]

42. hope you are right--she might seem like a milder alternative to Bob

to some.

[Hawkeye-X]

38. Unlikely.

We don't want her here in Colorado either. One of her Bush-kissing sycophant partyman, Bob Beauprez, is running for Governor, and he'll lose, BADLY.

[wordpix2]

33. so many mountains more to climb, er, lay waste to, & she gets better pay

working for privateers.

Halliburton/Carlyle, here comes Norton

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. "when the birch trees blossom in the spring" . . . Damn, Wrong sycophant.

[katinmn]

15. Now the cabinet members are starting to fall.

Won't be long now.

Chimpeach!

[wordpix2]

36. CHIMPEACH! Love it, wonder who's next? Gonzo for obstruction?

[BobF]

63. But don't we have to have...

...'Cheneypeach' first?

I know it's not quite as catchy as 'Chimpeach', but I don't want to go from Dumb and Evil to Smart and Evil.

[ronnykmarshall]

16. When does the ship's band start playing ......

"Nearer My God to Thee"???

Looks like the rats are starting to jump off.

[geniph]

48. LOL!

Good one, ronny!

[More Than A Feeling]

17. Her new goal in the private sector?

To show those corrupt lobbyists her office was involved with how corruption is REALLY done!

[TankLV]

18. Let me guess - "Spend time with the family"?

Awweeee...

[susu369]

54. No, she wants to "spend more time with the mountains"

Jack Abramoff - boogey, boogey, Gale.

[TlalocW]

19. As much as I don't want more nature spoiled by these clods

I hope that whatever moutain her backyard faces part of it has all its trees cut down and is subjected to strip mining, and the part is given to a pig farm.

TlalocW

[Janice325]

20. Oops!

Jumping ship? Bailing out, are we? :bounce:

[SteppingRazor]

23. Another rat jumps ship...

Funny how, in the midst of Clinton's problems, no one resigned -- or, for that matter, was ever convicted of a crime.

[ypsiguy]

24. Gale

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[Vickers]

25. Gale, you have much to be proud of! Like, um, er....hmmmm, well, um...

:shrug:

Just exactly what the fuck DID you do? What sweeping changes did you bring about? What GOOD did you do for the environment in the last 5 fucking years?

ANSWER ME, YOU TREE-HATING ASSCLOWN!!!

[arcane1]

29. THIS is what she did (different link)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/interior_norton

Bush called Norton a strong advocate for "the wise use and protection of our nation's natural resources."

"When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, she played a leading role in my administration's efforts to restore badly needed offshore energy production," he said.

...

A former Colorado attorney general, Norton guided the Bush administration's initiative to open Western government lands to more oil and gas drilling.

As one of the architects of Bush's energy policy, she eased regulations to speed approval of drilling permits, particularly in New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming's Powder River Basin.

She also was the administration's biggest advocate for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Alaska's North Slope to oil drilling

[PegDAC]

62. Under Gale Norton's watch

the National Park Service now requires mid-level managers (Pay Grades above GS-12) to sign a loyalty oath as a condition of employment.

http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/27/features/story01.html

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[Buck Rabbit]

28. So many deferred chips to cash ... so little time .. sigh ..n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

31. I'd like to say good riddence to bad trash, but . . .

. . . the Frat Boy will just appoint another James Watt wannabe to the post and Democrats will do little to stop it.

[wordpix2]

34. hahaha, she founded "Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy"

I'm sure it's some non-profit, Jackoff was great at that kind of org. OH, :think: maybe this is what got her in trouble!

what a joke, "Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy" LOL :puke: :rofl::rofl::puke::rofl:

snip:
In 1996 she sought the Republican Senate nomination in Colorado but was defeated by Wayne Allard, who now holds the seat. Later she co-founded the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, a group that has become embroiled in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

[sofa king]

44. CREA was why she never should have got the job in the first place.

Other members and friends of CREA were Trent Lott, Newt Gingrich and of course, Tom DeLay.

We tried to use this against her when she was nominated. The Senate did not listen. But when this story bleeds all over the press like a gutted antelope, remember that everyone was warned about Gale Norton within hours of her nomination by the President.

Now it's pretty obvious what CREA really was: a laundry and cutout for Jack Abramoff. Abramoff was contacting his buddy J. Steven Griles through the other co-founder of CREA, Italia Federici, who is so busted she actually tried to hide from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Fuck yes, I'm saying, "I told you so," even if I'm preaching it to the choir. It damned near cost me my life trying to tell everyone the first time, so you can bet I'm crowing now. Unfortunately, the damage is already done, and I think it's possible that Norton's successor will be just as evil and possibly more competent.

[bostonbabs]

45. her "non profit"C.R.E.A. made an anti Kerry film

I heard the senate hearings...non profit-non taxed dollaRs used for POLITICAL reasons......against the law.....It was newt'S BLUEPRINT SAME SENARIO.... BLUEPRINT THAT GOT HIM FINED $300,000 10 YEARS AGO BY THE HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE.

[Pachamama]

61. That's like Council of Rapists for Protection of the Victims

:puke:...

[For PaisAn]

35. Buh Bye Gale

n/t

[VaYallaDawg]

40. Maybe she'll have some time to go hunting ... with ....

[ncteechur]

43. It will be that much easier to indict her.

[geniph]

49. They left a couple words out of the quote

Rather than "hope to end up closer to the mountains we love in the West" I believe the correct quote should be "hope to end up closer to the mountains we love to strip-mine in the West."

[Dangerously Amused]

50. Ooh! Ooh! The Aspens are turning!

[confludemocrat]

51. Norton mum on Abramoff calling Indians "monkeys" and "morons". Figures.

never objected when it came out, never condemned it. What trash. I wish her only ill, as I would any enemy of that degree

[smtpgirl]

53. How many more rats are going to jump ship?

Will Bush have anyone else to "lean" on for "support & guidance".

[sofa king]

56. Dozens are going to ditch, but not so many big cats.

The proverbial levee is breached at this point, I think. Ashcroft and Powell saw the writing on the wall first, but it might be too late for the rest of them.

One thing you probably won't see much more of though is the implication of cabinet-level personnel. This is because the Bush Administration has quite deliberately been evading the Senate confirmation process and instead is running its various agencies with hand-picked loyalists recruited from within their respective Departments. Safavian-sized small fry, minions of the Devil.

Who's running the Office of Insular Affairs right now? I don't know offhand, but I'd be willing to wager that he's contributed heavily to the Bush campaign and, if there is any rule of law left in this country, he is going to go to jail sooner or later. Same goes for the entirety of the Department of Homeland Security, and to a lesser extent, it's the same across the board. Anywhere there is money to be made or a conservative agenda to be railroaded without study or approval, there's a little Bush-bot breaking the law, and a Republican Senator whistling and looking the other way.

[sofa king]

57. Dozens are going to ditch, but not so many big cats.

The proverbial levee is breached at this point, I think. Ashcroft and Powell saw the writing on the wall first, but it might be too late for the rest of them.

One thing you probably won't see much more of though is the implication of cabinet-level personnel. This is because the Bush Administration has quite deliberately been evading the Senate confirmation process and instead is running its various agencies with hand-picked loyalists recruited from within their respective Departments. Safavian-sized small fry, minions of the Devil.

Who's running the Office of Insular Affairs right now? I don't know offhand, but I'd be willing to wager that he's contributed heavily to the Bush campaign and, if there is any rule of law left in this country, he is going to go to jail sooner or later. Same goes for the entirety of the Department of Homeland Security, and to a lesser extent, it's the same across the board. Anywhere there is money to be made or a conservative agenda to be railroaded without study or approval, there's a little Bush-bot breaking the law, and a Republican Senator whistling and looking the other way.

[Botany]

58. And after all those nice letters from congress & senate ....

.... to Ms. Norton about those "tribes" that were friends w/ Jack Abramoff.

I wonder what Fitz has on her? Or the grand jury that indicted Abramoff.
Old Jack A is starting to sing.

[Redneck Socialist]

59. Well, that's good news.

I wonder what raving fucktard bush will appoint to replace her?

[Pinko]

60. This is as good an indication as any

that indictments are right around the corner in the Abramoff case. I'm expecting more resignations.