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| Power corrupts |
One generally supposes that governments do all they can to protect citizens, especially during droughts or other global warming induced climate change events.
And that would generally be the case except when the toxins of power corrupt the cognitive ability, not to mention the heart of those exposed to power.
Mass-poisoning of the populace does not seem like a normal government function does it?
A federal lawsuit filed in California alleges just that:
(Comm. To Protect Our Agricultural Water vs Occidental Oil & Gas, p. 1, emphasis added). I guess the case could also be called The People vs. The Bastids."Every month, Occidental and Chevron directly pump 2.63 times more toxic waste water into the San Joaquin Aquifer than oil released into the Gulf during the entire BP spill. The California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) plans to allow them to continue for another 21 months. This lawsuit brought to stop the poisoning of the San Joaquin aquifer and to remediate the damage already done to the farmland of Kern County."
Plaintiff Hopkins
Defendants include officials in the California Government, from the Governor on down, as well as a boatload of Oil-Qaeda executives and operatives.
The complaint alleges Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations, constitutional violations under color of state law, and conspiracy to commit them:
"G. The Conspiracy(ibid, Complaint, pp. 25-27, line numbers removed, emphasis added). In other words, Oil-Qaeda guided the government officials to hide their illegalities.
Beginning in 2011, the Oil Companies kept close attention to the EPA audit.
The Oil Companies knew that they ignored the regulations to protect underground water, and if the public knew of the risks, the Oil Companies would face massive liability for potential contamination of groundwater (historical and future). The Oil Companies also knew that they needed government approvals to engage in hydraulic fracturing. If the public knew of their failure to comply with underground injection control (UIC) requirements for waste water, the Oil Companies would be subject to greater scrutiny for hydraulic fracturing – waste water from fracking includes added chemicals.
The Oil Companies also knew that they needed landowners to approve the hydraulic fracturing, and if these landowners knew of these problems, landowners would not allow the Oil Companies to proceed with actions that would damage the farms and water supplies. By at least October 27, 2011, the Oil Companies agreed that no company would provide DOGGR with the documents to show protection of fresh water including (1) geological studies; (2) engineering studies; or (3) casing diagrams. This continues to the present day.
In early October of 2011, Occidental also directly contacted Governor Brown and told him to fire Miller and Chernow. Brown’s office then requested records about the permitting process as it related to Occidental. On October 14, 2011, Chernow sent documents regarding Occidental’s California operations to the senior officials handling the inquiry from Governor Brown. Chernow emailed that he was “willing to follow any direction as required. If direction is different than what the Department is currently pursuing, I would appreciate as explicit direction as possible.”
Less than a week later, on October 19, 2011, Occidental started reporting that “it cannot get the permits it needs for new drilling projects in California.” This was a misrepresentation of the problems arising from Occidental’s own decision not to follow the law.
On October 27, 2011, Occidental’s environmental engineer admitted to Chernow it had “the necessary information . . . However, he’s been told to stand down (by a lawyer is all I know) and not give us anything. There is apparently a meeting in Bakersfield at Oxy’s offices this afternoon to discuss whether they give us what we need or continue to give us nothing.”
Governor Brown’s office and his senior advisor, Cliff Rechtschaffen, scheduled a meeting with Miller and Chernow held the next day. Rechtschaffen notified them that DOGGR must immediately fast track permit approval. His team presented a document entitled the Temporary Assistance Program or TAP. Miller sought guidance from the United States Environmental Protection Agency about the list of demands.
The EPA representative reviewed and commented on it, and Miller responding by writing ... “I agree with your point that this has similarities to what was prepared by [Western States Petroleum Association ] WSPA.”
On November 2, 2011, Miller and Chernow went to another meeting which Rechtschaffen joined over the phone. Miller told Rechtschaffen the proposal violated the Safe Drinking Water Act. Rechtschaffen told her this was an order from Governor Brown."
This guidance of the California State Government by oil companies is not that rare (A Methanol Economy Way Out of Here - 6)
I know that government propaganda has hardened the public perception concerning "conspiracy theories," but the law is very well aware that conspiracies happen every day:
In fact, you might be surprised how many conspiracy theories are handled by the federal and state governments on a daily basis:(On The Origin of "Conspiracy Theory"). There is even the notion of conspiracy to commit "depraved-heart murder."
Over one-quarter of all federal criminal prosecutions and a large number of state cases involve prosecutions for conspiracy.(Conspiracy Theory, 112 Yale L.J. 1307 (2003), Preface, emphasis added). That is a lot of real, serious as a heart attack, beyond a reasonable doubt, and well documented occurrences of "conspiracy theories" going on in reality before the eyes of anyone who wants to see them.
The case featured in this post is a civil case, but RICO can also be used in a criminal context:
"Defendants Brown, Nechodom, Kustic, Oviatt, DOGGR, WSPA, CIPA, OCCIDENTAL OIL AND GAS CORPORATION, CHEVRON U.S.A. INC., and others known and unknown, being persons employed by and associated with the Enterprise did unlawfully, knowingly, and intentionally conduct and participate, directly and directly in the conduct, management, and operation of the affairs of the Enterprise, which was engaged in and affected interstate and foreign commerce through racketeering activity that included numerous acts indictable under 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy to defraud the United States); 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 (intimidation of any person engaged in free exercise of speech or any Constitutional right); 1341 (mail fraud) , 1343 (wire fraud), 1346.43 (honest services), 1512 (b) (intimidating and threatening witnesses), and 1513(b) (intimidating and threatening witnesses)."
(ibid, Complaint, pp. 43-44, emphasis added; cf. Oil-Qaeda & MOMCOM Conspire To Commit Depraved-Heart Murder).
Hmmmm ....
Anyway, this blog will follow the above case as it develops, while elaborating on long standing Toxins of Power Blog hypotheses concerning the always mystical "toxins of power."
The next post in this series is here.
