Demagogue

At this point, I am rarely shocked by anything that the Bush administration does.

Thus, I can barely muster any outrage over this even though, in an objective sense, it is utterly ridiculous

Just when you thought you'd heard it all about the Bush administration's disdain for the environment, someone does something to top it. The latest outrage is Interior Secretary Gale Norton's pick as acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Matthew Hogan.

Hogan's job before coming to work at FWS was as chief lobbyist for Safari Club International. The club has set hunting awards for its members like the Africa Big Five, in which a member shoots a leopard, elephant, lion, rhino and buffalo. Then there's the American Twenty Nine or Big Cats of the World.

For a member to get all 29 awards, he would have to kill at least 322 different animals. That can get expensive, so some members cheat by shooting captive animals or using questionable hunting tactics, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

Guess which agency decides who gets to bring stuffed trophy animals into the country? Yes, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.