Twenty-two years in Congress and what do we get? A lump of gravel in our stocking.

It is now clear that Rep. Howard “Take the Buck” McKeon was not, is not and cannot be a man of honor. He has protected his friends and onetime campaign contributor Cemex by not including the “deal” in the National Defense Authorization Act that would have moved the gravel mine out of Soledad Canyon.

A look at the NDAA finds some strange happenings. For instance, 2,400 acres of Native American land in Arizona are being given away for mining by a foreign company. Yes, you read that correctly. Two thousand, four hundred acres of Apache land are going to an Australian-English mining company, Rio Tinto – the same company that co-owns with Iran a uranium mine in Africa, and all of it is 10-percent owned by China.

McKeon has his name on a bill that may be one of the worst pieces of “legislation” he has ever had a part in. (Of course, there are many of those bills). The NDAA is named the “Carl Levin, and Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act of 2015.” That is the full title. Levin is the outgoing chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, just as McKeon is the outgoing chairman on the House side.

It was his own bill.

The NDAA also places 250,000 acres under “wilderness” and saves 400,000 acres of public land from development. It also creates or expands 15 national parks.

Now I’m sure all of this is part of vital needs in defense of our country.

The NDAA cuts military pay raises, reduces commissaries, exchanges, medical and housing benefits for our military – and doesn’t stop Cemex from mining in the Soledad because that part was left out.

Buck McKeon once again lied to us. His whole 22 years in office is a lie. He was going to stop Cemex. Now he says stopping Cemex is up to his replacement, the Honorable Rep. Steve Knight.

Even though not officially in office, Congressman-elect Knight attempted to get things turned around concerning Cemex. He is working on it as I write this. I think we finally elected the right guy for the job.

So now it is payoff time for all of the folks who really kept “Take the Buck” in office. You know the ones. Large or numerous contributions identify them. Some stand to make millions of dollars if Cemex mines here in Santa Clarita. Maybe some of the millions can help pay of some of the debt “Take the Buck” owes. Folks in Las Vegas will like that, I’m sure.

But it will never and can never pay the debt he owes to us. He has stalled for more than 10 on getting any legislation passed that could have and would have moved Cemex. Now, when it is supported on both sides of the aisle, “Take the Buck” gives the lame excuse that it takes months to get a bill attached to such an appropriation.

That is pretty lame. Most of the riders attached to the NDAA were attached in the last couple of weeks. “Take the Buck” just didn’t want to do it because it is payback time.

Remember the former Speaker of the House, Tom Delay, who left Congress in disgrace and “Take the Buck” gave him some money for his legal defense fund? Yes, the guy who had Cemex folks working for him. Cemex, a foreign company, is corrupting our Congress just like in the country of its origin, Mexico.

A lot of land was set aside in the NDAA for all kinds of reasons including a copper mine in Arizona for a company that has connections with Iran and China.. All this in a “national defense” bill including parks and wilderness areas. Gee, a mine in Santa Clarita was protected, too. All by omission and not by any action that would have removed it.

You remember the “Thank You, Buck” banners on the paseos when he introduced one of the Cemex bills he didn’t fight for? Well, what are the banners going to say this time? I know of a guy in Canyon Country who would want to announce his happiness about Cemex by posting it on a billboard that isn’t going to be taken down. Does anybody have some ideas for what we should put up?

An old tradition in this country is to let someone know your displeasure by conducting a little hanging in effigy. Maybe one of the old mannequins from Howard and Phil’s Western Wear is still around. That would work – and it’s from a store that went bankrupt, just like “Take the Buck” is bankrupt of ethics and morals.

So we folks of the Santa Clarita Valley and specifically the city of Santa Clarita get fleeced by our first mayor. It sums up his entire 22 years as our representative in Congress. He gets a cushy pension and a choice job as a defense consultant. He gets his health care paid almost in entirety.

To get all of that, he only had to sell out to various defense contractors, Cemex and any other high bidders. By the time he was done, he sold his integrity, his honor, and all of us.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Howard P. “Take the Buck” McKeon. Your failure to do your job for us in Congress sort of takes away some of my Christmas spirit. I just hope you decide to move away. Far, far away. Maybe there is a position with Cemex in Mexico City. You’ve done it all for them.

Maybe the SCV will be better off without “Take the Buck” around. Right now it couldn’t get worse. No, we know things will get better without him. I just hope the door hits him hard on the backside as he slinks out of town.

As if snakes had a backside.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com. His older commentaries are archived at DManzer.com; his newer commentaries can be accessed [here]. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].