[Hugo Chavez and] The EPA's 'Crucify' Politics On Energy Development

Abuse Of Power: An EPA official who apparently made good on a threat to "crucify" an oil company to make the entire energy industry "easy to manage" should resign or be fired. So why is the White House protecting him?

EPA regional administrator for Dallas Al Armendariz told a city council meeting in a taped speech two years ago that his "philosophy" of enforcement was to single out an oil company, punish it "as hard as you can," and make an example of it to scare others into submission.

"The Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean," said Armendariz. "They'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they'd find the first five guys they saw, and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years."

...He put that "philosophy" into action by selectively and baselessly targeting Range Resources, a Texas-based driller that according to Forbes reporter Chris Helman, "was among the first to discover the potential of the Marcellus Shale gas field of Pennsylvania," as well as two other drillers. That was the real problem, not violations. Texas investigators found EPA claims the company was polluting groundwater through its hydraulic fracking bogus. A judge threw out the charges.

......... Armendariz said in the same speech his proudest moment in his first year at EPA was to have its enforcers watch "Gasland," an anti-fracking propaganda documentary financed by the government of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who also opposes all U.S. drilling. Armendariz collaborated with its makers, and got his name in the credits.

..The White House has blocked drilling in U.S. waters, halted the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and sent regulators out like flying monkeys to harass the oil and gas industry....

...Armendariz said in the same speech his proudest moment in his first year at EPA was to have its enforcers watch "Gasland," an anti-fracking propaganda documentary financed by the government of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who also opposes all U.S. drilling. Armendariz collaborated with its makers, and got his name in the credits. ....

"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that he smells hope not sulfur, a small compliment for Barack Obama given that he branded then President George W. Bush “the devil” when he last addressed the world body in 2006. “It doesn’t smell of sulfur. It’s gone. It smells of something else. It smells of hope and you have hope in your heart,” Chavez said during a rambling, 57-minute address where he mentioned close friend and former Cuban President Fidel Castro more than Obama or Bush.

Though at times he waved his arms, shook his fist and pointed for emphasis, Chavez was largely calm and jovial during the speech. He denounced capitalism as being a chief cause of global climate change and accused Obama of making lofty promises but failing to live up to them, asking “doesn’t it seem like there are two Obamas?”

During a raucous press conference after he finished speaking, Chavez said, “I hope the two Obamas join and become one, the one who gave the speech yesterday.”

“Imperialism must end!” he said.

A populist and the leader of a self-declared “socialist revolution” in Venezuela, Chavez also urged Obama to “come over to the socialist side. Come join the Axis of Evil over here.” ..... Source Sept 25, 2009

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