Cozy Is Nice.

Now here's a deal for ya. You know about the proposed tar sands oil pipeline from Canada to the Texas gulf coast refineries, right? Well part of the approval process required the State Department to do an environmental study. So they asked the pipeline builders to hire a company to do the study. Okay, the pipeline company hired another company that does a lot of business with them, to do the study. Guess what? To no one's surprise, the study found there would be no problem with building and operating the pipeline. Now, that might be true. But then again it might not be true. See the company that did the study still wants to do a lot of business with the pipeline company. Now how would you guess they might wind their way into the good graces of the pipeline company? See the study doesn't guarantee there will be no problems, it just says that in the opinion of the study's author, there should be no problem. Of course, if there were to be a problem, the author would have no responsibility. And if the study turned out to be positive, well then. On the other hand if the study turned out to say it was bad, how soon do you think they'd get more business from that pipeline company? Now. The State Department says it doesn't have the money to pay for such studies and so like other departments it outsources the work and has the pipeline company pay for it. Well, that's not too bad. Where it gets a little too cozy is when they have the pipeline company choose the study author. So following this example, I could apply for a permit to dump radioactive trash in my brother-in-laws back yard. And if I hired my sister to write the environmental study (she doesn't like him either) it wouldn't surprise anyone if it came back positive. So could I go ahead and do it? Well, I suppose my brother-in-law would object. But who likes him anyway?