U.S. Government in Bed With Big Oil--Literally

Yesterday, the Interior Department's inspector general revealed that 13 government officials "handling billions of dollars in oil royalties improperly engaged in sex with employees of energy companies they were dealing with and received numerous gifts from them."

The report notes that nearly a third of the Denver Minerals Management Service's 55-person office "received gifts and gratuities from oil and gas companies." The report reveals that government officials tried to rewrite ethics rules in order to accommodate their partying and cover up their misdoings.

In the summer of 2006, Royalty in Kind (RIK) employees wrote up a document titled, "Initiative to Clarify Guidance for RIK Interaction with Industry," which would codify employees' "uniqueness." Employees also illegaly took drugs, often while at the office. Gregory Smith, Program Director of the RIK, referred to cocaine as "office supplies" and rewarded his employees for obtaining it for him. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) criticized "how cozy the relationship between Big Oil and the Administration's regulators have been." The AP called the scandal part of a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity."

This is yet another example of the things that are happening under the leadership of George Bush. And with McCain's close relationship with Big Oil, we can only assume that things like this will continue if he is elected.