EPA Chief Refused To Sit With Tribal Officials In House Hearing

Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop tore into EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy for refusing to sit at the same table as state and tribal officials during a congressional hearing on the massive mining spill caused by agency workers. “I understand Administrator McCarthy agreed to come only if she appeared first and on her own panel — refusing to sit alongside representatives of states and tribes that traveled across the country to discuss the disaster her agency unleashed in their backyard,” Bishop said during Wednesday’s hearing. McCarthy appeared on her own panel that came before a second panel that included officials from the Navajo and Ute tribes, whose lands were impacted by the EPA-caused mine spill, along with state officials from Colorado and New Mexico.  State and tribal officials have been furious with the federal government’s response to the spill. Critics say the EPA didn’t notify states and tribes quickly enough and was reluctant to share informationwith those affected by the spill...more

There's a certain pecking order in D.C., and to have a federal agency lower itself to be co-equal with a state or tribal nation is a no no.  

One way to see what has happened to our nation would be through a Pecking Order Index (POI).  Under the Articles of Confederation the states were at the very top and the federales way down at the bottom, and this was the case for 12 years.  Then came the U.S. Constitution which set up a system of dual sovereignty, with the states delegating a larger number of powers to the feds.  The feds were supposedly limited to the increased delegated powers.  Over time, through wars, laws and federal court decisions the POI has totally reversed.  Now the feds are clearly at the top of the pecking order, and boy aren't they a bunch of peckers.