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Image of infant’s buttocks was Trump joke, child-porn suspect says

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Our view: Luzerne County should OK $5 fee, but not as long-term fix

<p>WASHINGTON &#8212; My fellow Americans, I understand that some of you are questioning why I, Scott Pruitt, head of what&#8217;s-its-name, that environmental office that I sued 13 times, spent $100,000 to go to Morocco.</p><p>Or had to build a $43,000 phone booth.</p><p>Or has 20 bodyguards.</p><p>Or gave two talented young women on my staff $57,000 and $28,000 raises.</p><p>Or have a plan to get rid of clean-car standards.</p><p>Or paid an energy lobbyist&#8217;s wife $50 a night for a lease on her condo when I slept there.</p><p>Or flew on a private jet and in first class because those people in coach bothered me.</p><p>I explained all this to Congress, in no uncertain terms. (They should mind their own business.) But because I aspire to higher office, I will reluctantly give you my reasoning. It really doesn&#8217;t matter because I actually have to please just one guy, Donald Trump of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. No matter what I do, he loves me.</p><p>Just a few days ago the president tweeted that I am doing a &#8220;great job&#8221; (at the Environmental Protection Agency). Mr. Trump even explained that $50 a night is the going rate in Washington for a room (although not at Trump International Hotel, which costs about $1,000 a night).</p><p>Now, I am telling you I went to Morocco for four days last December to talk about sending U.S. natural gas to Morocco. I admit I told Congress it was to iron out some environmental issues on a trade deal with Morocco, although usually I have people who have people to do that. I had never been to Morocco, and I love staying in Sofitel Hotels. They serve champagne and strawberries all the time!</p><p>Yes, it turns out my good friend, Richard Smotkin, arranged it all. And how was I to know the next month he&#8217;d start getting $40,000 a month to lobby for Morocco? I think he will do a very good job for Morocco. He certainly showed me a good time. But I want to make clear he did not actually go to my meetings on, well, my meetings.</p><p>And Smotkin cares as much as I do about &#8220;protecting human health and the environment,&#8221; even though I don&#8217;t think EPA should be so aggressive about it. Not for nothing did I sue EPA 13 times when I was attorney general of Oklahoma, which is a very nice state. I go back there about every weekend. When I can, of course.</p><p>I also want to clear up something. People said they heard on Christian Broadcast Network that I said that God wants us to use oil. Well, it&#8217;s true. He gave us the oil for a reason and it shouldn&#8217;t be government&#8217;s role to make us stop using it. We have a responsibility to harvest the resources God blessed us with.</p><p>I take religion very seriously. After all, I was a deacon at First Baptist Church in Broken Arrow, Okla., and I was a trustee at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. But I am no science denier. I just don&#8217;t think climate change is something government ought to be involved in. And I don&#8217;t think all the science is in on the issue of evolution.</p><p>Also, it&#8217;s not true we have a war on science at EPA. I fired certain people because I didn&#8217;t like them, not because they were scientists who disagreed with me.</p><p>Back to my job, which I honestly do think God wants me to do. I have come to the conclusion that we need to roll back fuel efficiency standards. I know 17 states and the District of Columbia are suing me for this, but I am right and they are wrong. We won&#8217;t solve climate change, if it turns out to be real, by government mandates on what comes out of a tailpipe. I don&#8217;t really care if California says it&#8217;s a health issue.</p><p>I hear there are 11 investigations of me for ethics, spending and so-called illegalities. Bring &#8216;em on. I&#8217;ll let you know about my next job as soon as I end the weaponization of EPA by the environmental left and the president gets the Nobel Peace Prize.</p><p>As I told CBN, &#8220;God really spoke to my heart (when reading Isaiah) where God tells Israel, &#8216;I will restore your leaders as in the days of old, your judges as at the beginning.&#8217; There was just a desire that welled up in me to say I want to be like those leaders that we had at our founding, at the inception of our country.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Ann McFeatters is a MCT op-ed columnist. (MCT)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_McFeattersBWtoned.jpg</photo0><caption0>Ann McFeatters is a MCT op-ed columnist. (MCT)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Ann McFeatters</p><p>Guest Columnist</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Ann McFeatters is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may send her email at <a href="mailto:amcfeatters@nationalpress.com">amcfeatters@nationalpress.com</a>.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Their view: A letter from Scott Pruitt