Who Hijacked Our Country

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Protection for Manatees vs. the Koch Brothers

A euphemistically named organization called Save Crystal River is trying to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove all protections for manatees.  Because property rights.

Save Crystal River has petitioned twice! the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove all manatee protection in Kings Bay.  Both petitions were denied.  But like a cat that keeps jumping up on the table no matter how many times you push him off, Save Crystal River is baaack.  This time they're suing the federal government, and they're being bankrolled by the deep pockets of the Pacific Legal Foundation.

And the Pacific Legal Foundation is one of umpteen jillion Astroturf front groups for...drumroll...the Koch Brothers.

When I lived in California, it seemed like every time there was a conflict between a developer and a local environmental ordinance, some shadowy group called the Pacific Legal Foundation would step in and offer free legal counsel to the developer.  Food stamps for millionaires, you might say.

At the time I'd never heard of the Koch Brothers, but it turns out that the Pacific Legal Foundation for that matter, most organizations that are called __________ Legal Foundation is indeed one of the Koch Brothers' front groups.

Is there any environmental cause the Koch Brothers aren't trying to sabotage?

(It was a rhetorical question.)


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3 Comments:

Blogger Mr. Charleston said...

Public Enemy #2. Behind Rupert Murdoch.

August 18, 2014 at 2:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not reading a real compelling reason why this group wants the protection lifted. Oil? Minerals? Timber? Is it really because some rich guys want to race their yachts without worrying about hitting a Manatee?


Erik

August 18, 2014 at 10:31 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Mr. C: They're two of the worst, that's for sure.

Erik: As far as I know, they just want to exercise their constitutional right to race their yachts through the swamps without having to worry about any smelly animals.

August 18, 2014 at 8:22 PM  

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