Outrage du Jour

It occurs to me that with the Trump regime in place, I could make that an actual department on this blog. The problem would be deciding which one to highlight.

This one, however, deserves attention:

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is pushing ahead with the sale of oil and gas leases on land outside of Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other sites revered by Native American tribes, The Associated Press reported.

The latest listing — which quietly appeared on the BLM website not long after the government reopened after the shutdown — comes about a year after then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke postponed a lease sale in the Greater Chaco Region in response to intense public pressure over cultural and environmental concerns.

BLM will open a protest period for comments from Feb. 11 through Feb. 20 for a sale scheduled for March 28, according to the agency's notice. More than 50 parcels in New Mexico and Oklahoma will be on the auction block.

They will keep at it until they manage to do it. And it's not only the cultural and historical significance of the site: we're talking about an extremely fragile environment, in an area that is not so far away from the earthquake-prone West Coast -- and we know fracking contributes to earthquakes, or actually is a cause. I really have to wonder what kind of influence is at work here. Of course, since the GOP is working very hard to institute an oligarchy, this may just be the new normal.

In case you're not familiar with Chaco Canyon:

It happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well.

With thanks to commenter JCF at Joe.My.God.