Mississippi Still Sinking

The L.A. Times reports on a little gift to the energy industry Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran snuck into the emergency military spending bill signed by the president this month. This provision (see this post for more details) allows drilling for natural gas beneath the Gulf Islands National Seashore, an operation that will apparently involve setting off sound-wave explosions, shooting giant air guns into the sea, and maybe sinking an island or two. Mississippi officials, however, have assured the public that they will only allow energy companies to set off explosions on land "if the park service request[s] it" (the sea is evidently fair game).

Yep, that's what the National Park Service is there for -- to explode stuff in national parks whenever the situation (or Haley Barbour) calls for it.