by Cheryl Seal

"This land is your land, this land is my land....." - Woody Guthrie

Nowhere in Woody Guthrie's famous song does it include a line that says "This land is your land until the mining companies and their pals in Congress decide otherwise." But that is exactly what is happening this month in Congress in what amounts to one of the biggest giveaways of US public lands to corporate interests ever perpetrated. The land grab is being promoted by Republican Congressman Richard Pombo (CA).

Richard Pombo is one of the most odious people in Washington. He is an environmentalist's worst nighmare - an American lover of the land's deepest fears come true. A good pal of Gale "Screw the Native Americans" Norton, Pombo is a holdover from the 1800s "rape and run" attitude toward the land. And, in fact, Pombo wants to shove America back into the 1800s - 1872, to be precise. That year, the mining barons pushed the US into passing the 1872 Mining Law, which, in essence, tells US citizens: "What is yours (in terms of public land) is mine to mine." Activists, including Westerners for Responsible Mining, say Pombo's proposed law is a disaster that will be far worse than the 1872 law. The WRM says that Pombo's bill amounts to fraud on a massive scale, a colossal corporate giveaway. Tucked into the bill is a provision that will allow mining companies - which are the biggest toxic polluters (as in arsenic, cadmium, mercury and other goodies) on Earth - to buy up archaeic mining claims, even those made under dubious circumstances over a hundred years ago - EVEN if these claims now lie with a protected area -- including, for example, National Parks or Wilderness Areas. It will even allow foreign companies to come in and scoop this land up. SOLD! To the highest bidder - YOUR land.

So how can anyone think of doing this to Americans? Easy! The latest polls show that many Republicans are likely to be given the boot in 2006 by disgusted voters. Just ONE IN TEN of those polled said they would ever vote for a Republican who supported the Bush agenda (and those which don't amounts to about 3 Republicans total, despite their current claims to the contrary now that their ship is sinking). So, these unscrupulous sleazebags are scrambling to feather their future post-Congressional nests by kissing corporate ass now as fast as they can pucker up. These lower-than-slime life forms don't care about your future, the future of the nation, the future of the land, the quality of air, water, or life, for that matter. All they care about is whether they land that juicy consulting position with this or that corporation after they leave Washington as payment for services rendered.

http://www.bettermines.org/pombo.cfm

P.S. Note how much coverage the mainstream media gave this citically important story.....as in ZERO.