In a way, it is a shame Al Armendariz was forced out of his regional administrator's job for the Environmental Protection Agency. He was just being honest in the comment that got him into trouble, after all.
About two years ago, Armendariz said this in a speech: "My philosophy of enforcement was kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere. They'd find the first five guys they saw and they'd crucify them. And then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years."
After apologizing for "my poor choice of words," Armendariz resigned. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson claimed his remarks "don't comport" with agency policy.
Nonsense. Armendariz merely articulated standard EPA policy, particularly regarding the coal industry.
In a letter to Jackson, U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-1st, has requested an investigation of what he considers the EPA's unfair enforcement policies.
"Dr. Armendariz's comments have seriously undermined public confidence in the EPA and its treatment of energy producers," McKinley said. "Energy companies employ millions of Americans and provide the energy our country depends, and it's inappropriate for a high-ranking EPA official to treat them with such a heavy hand in order to affect or intimidate others."
But while treating a politically incorrect industry with severity, the government hands out billions of dollars to "alternative" energy firms - and doesn't worry if they squander it.
Again, that's policy under President Barack Obama.
