Polluters get control of water resources By Curt Andersen News-Chronicle It is nothing new that powerful interests have had their way with us since time began. When democracy appeared on the scene, it was the hope that things would get better. Indeed, that is what the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are all about É protecting the weak from the strong. Our government shoulders the responsibility to protect citizens from all foes foreign and domestic, be they armies, terrorists, well-connected grifters and/or polluters. Somewhere along the line, some folks got to thinking they were special, that they should be shielded from regulation, taxation and responsibility to their fellow man. The love of money is the root of all evil (Timothy 6:10). When the pursuit of money becomes a compulsion, the pursuer will begin to nudge the legal or moral boundaries for more of it, like when special interests lobby their legislators for favors. Those without the dough? Sorry. No! Wisconsin stands out from other states because of water. We have thousands of pristine lakes and rivers and quiet wetlands that filter surface water so that our wells provide sweet, clean water to slake our thirst. Managing this water resource is a full-time job for our Department of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency and hundreds of environmental and conservation groups, particularly because of the continuing political interference by special interests who don't give the south end of a northbound rat for clean water, unless it's in front of their cottage or running from their faucets. Imagine having the lofty ideal of protecting a resource that you find holy, like our fresh water, then taking a job to make sure this resource is protected. Imagine the frustration of doing your job while some polluter gets a break from a spineless weasel higher up. How did the polluter get that special favor? Campaign donations. How is anyone to do his or her job right when there is political interference like this quid pro quo? With the Bush Misadministration hacking away at the Clean Water Act, one has to wonder if the people who voted for him had hoped for polluted water. In the style of Wisconsin's Tommy Thompson, "The Polluters' Best Friend," Bush has turned over the rewriting of the Clean Water Act to the polluters it was supposed to control, rather like foxes rewriting the rules about chicken coop security. Like Thompson, to make life easier for the polluters, Bush has cut funding for monitoring. It is now more important than ever that our DNR enforce the laws that protect our fresh water. The Fox River is the imperfect example of the future. Who cares if the public suffers from polluted water? Should it only matter when it's our kids or grandkids? As the polluters might say, "You with the cancer! Out of the gene pool!" What bad timing that Green Bay is planning a new pipeline to Lake Michigan, where the Fox River dumps its evil burden. It's rather like peeing in your own beer. Imagine how few of our tax dollars would have been spent for a pipeline if it could draw clean water from the Fox River. And you wonder why your taxes are so high. We need better enforcement by the DNR to compensate for the damage done by the Bush Weevils.