He maintained relaxed body language and a sincere expression, leaning slightly forward in his chair and looking each vote-hungry vulture in the eye. Since the meteoric rise in uranium prices recently, McCreary Energy, among others, had filed hundreds of mining claims in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon. Environmental alarmists scurried to block them and repeal the 1872 mining laws that made mineral rights king over every other public lands use. Climate change, clean fuel, faltering economy—all of it stood squarely in Barrett’s way as he readied McCreary Energy to go after the uranium windfall. Now this hastily convened congressional committee thought they had the power to pull Barrett’s plug. They wouldn’t stop him. Wheelan Deavonshire, Senate representative for northern Arizona, hosted this on-site hearing. Barrett owned Deavonshire, which meant this asinine mining moratorium would go away. Or else. Christ, he hated squeezing his feet into the fancy ostrich-skin boots and confining himself to a suit and tie.
