Dear Senator...

"Signed, Pissed"

I grew up in Central New York, and the closest decent-sized body of water we had was Onondaga Lake. It was also known as "America's most polluted" lake: I can still remember the thick, acrid stench from the raw sewage and chemical/industrial waste, and the signs warning people to stay out of the water. Rotting mats of gunk and the occasional dead carp littered the shoreline, not far from where we would sit in the park and eat our Heid's Hotdogs. That pales in comparison to the desecration and cultural genocide of the local Native Americans and their relationship with the waters.

The Alaskan Republican version of the future Chena River

The other half of my family lived out in the farmlands of Western New York, right by Lake Erie. This was the most notorious of the Great Lakes, with an equal history of toxic contamination, most notably the Cuyahoga River catching on goddamned fire, which was the rallying cause of the 1969 Clean Water Act, in turn administered by the EPA.

Yeah, about that whole EPA thing: Fast forward to the end of February 2017, and the signing of an executive order that begins the rollback of protections for clean air and water (one-quarter of its budget) that this administration has begun to attack now that it's off the leash.

(link)

But wait: here comes Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan with some simply stunning hypocrisy and bald-faced Orwellian double-speak:

"This new order signals a return to the rule of law and prioritizes environmental protection, keeping our waters clean without running rough shod over the Clean Water Act and our economy."

I have addressed here in the past over multiple posts the obsessive fixation and hatred Representative Don Young has for the environment. Now Senator Sullivan aspires to take his place in the pantheon of hyper-partisan posturing. Adding insult to injury Sullivan is simultaneously attempting to capitalize on the wholesome image of Alaska's wilderness with his "Frontier in Focus."

 I'll close with an excerpt and link to a far better perspective on Sullivan's hypocrisy by the astute Wickersham's Conscience:

"Once you know that the Koch Brothers own Koch Ag and Energy Solutions, which in turn owns Koch Fertilizer, which manufactures and markets a wide variety of fertilizer products used in the agriculture industry; well, it all makes sense. The Clean Water Rule would limit the amount of fertilizer that be applied to land, which might hurt the billionaire brothers’ profits. And their profits are always the most important thing.3 And Senator Carpetbagger’s mean little soul is owned by the Koch Brothers. 
Once again, it is crystal clear – clearer than the waters of America’s rivers – that Senator Sullivan apparently represents the Koch Brothers, not Alaskans."