More Foxes
Bush Continues to Put Corporate Types in Federal Agencies
More bizarre appointments by the Bush administration. This problem is reaching fox-guarding-the-chicken-coop proportions.
Those of you who know how government works are fully aware of the difference agency heads and other top officials can make in the workings of a bureaucracy. With a president who is notoriously uninterested in details, those in charge of the details often actually set the policy. As we have seen in Texas, even when George W. has what might be a good idea, like charter schools, sloppy execution can result in disaster.
"Captive agencies'' are a constant problem in government. They are agencies supposedly in charge of regulating an industry or group, which then acquires undue influence over or even control of the agency. In Texas, the most spectacular example is the state's equivalent of an environmental protection agency, to which then-Gov. Bush appointed three commissioners who literally represent major groups of polluters. Texas is, of course, Number One in toxic pollution. The pattern continues in Washington.
In another case, also reported in the Journal, B. John Williams (beware the man who parts his initials on the wrong side) tried to justify disputed tax credits taken by his client, Shell Oil Co. He did so by hiring a private investigator, who provided false information to destroy the credibility of the government's expert witnesses. One witness later sued for defamation, a case that was settled out of court, the settlement paid for by Shell.
Some of these appointments are merely ironic, if you have a strong stomach. Others literally involve matters of life and death. As Arthur Miller once wrote, ``Attention must be paid.''
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More bizarre appointments by the Bush administration. This problem is reaching fox-guarding-the-chicken-coop proportions.
Those of you who know how government works are fully aware of the difference agency heads and other top officials can make in the workings of a bureaucracy. With a president who is notoriously uninterested in details, those in charge of the details often actually set the policy. As we have seen in Texas, even when George W. has what might be a good idea, like charter schools, sloppy execution can result in disaster.
"Captive agencies'' are a constant problem in government. They are agencies supposedly in charge of regulating an industry or group, which then acquires undue influence over or even control of the agency. In Texas, the most spectacular example is the state's equivalent of an environmental protection agency, to which then-Gov. Bush appointed three commissioners who literally represent major groups of polluters. Texas is, of course, Number One in toxic pollution. The pattern continues in Washington.
In another case, also reported in the Journal, B. John Williams (beware the man who parts his initials on the wrong side) tried to justify disputed tax credits taken by his client, Shell Oil Co. He did so by hiring a private investigator, who provided false information to destroy the credibility of the government's expert witnesses. One witness later sued for defamation, a case that was settled out of court, the settlement paid for by Shell.
Some of these appointments are merely ironic, if you have a strong stomach. Others literally involve matters of life and death. As Arthur Miller once wrote, ``Attention must be paid.''
More bizarre appointments by the Bush administration. This problem is reaching fox-guarding-the-chicken-coop proportions.
Those of you who know how government works are fully aware of the difference agency heads and other top officials can make in the workings of a bureaucracy. With a president who is notoriously uninterested in details, those in charge of the details often actually set the policy. As we have seen in Texas, even when George W. has what might be a good idea, like charter schools, sloppy execution can result in disaster.
"Captive agencies'' are a constant problem in government. They are agencies supposedly in charge of regulating an industry or group, which then acquires undue influence over or even control of the agency. In Texas, the most spectacular example is the state's equivalent of an environmental protection agency, to which then-Gov. Bush appointed three commissioners who literally represent major groups of polluters. Texas is, of course, Number One in toxic pollution. The pattern continues in Washington.
In another case, also reported in the Journal, B. John Williams (beware the man who parts his initials on the wrong side) tried to justify disputed tax credits taken by his client, Shell Oil Co. He did so by hiring a private investigator, who provided false information to destroy the credibility of the government's expert witnesses. One witness later sued for defamation, a case that was settled out of court, the settlement paid for by Shell.
Some of these appointments are merely ironic, if you have a strong stomach. Others literally involve matters of life and death. As Arthur Miller once wrote, ``Attention must be paid.''