Evil index	Evil act	Evil details
10-20-2003 USA Today	Bush pleads with China and Japan to save him from his economic failures.	Bush likes to say that his enormous tax cuts that give hundreds of billions of dollars to America's wealthiest people are job-creation programs. But America has bled millions of jobs since Bush's tax cuts became law, so it's time to try something new. Bush's new tactic? Beg China and Japan to increase the value of their currencies, which will make American manufacturers more competitive. But Bush has nothing to offer in return -- and has done little to make other countries inclined to offer him favors. Instead of making pointless pleas to other countries, maybe Bush should come up with an economic plan that would actually create jobs instead of just putting more money in the pockets of those who need it least.
10-15-2003 Washington Post	Bush uses EPA funds to make campaign ads.	Well, the EPA probably has a lot of money sitting around, what with it not enforcing environmental regulations anymore. So why not spend some of that dough getting President Bush reelected? The EPA runs Spanish-language ads on radio touting the Bush environmental policies that destroy the environment.
10-15-2003 CBS	Bush misrepresents evidence on Iraq to the United Nations.	Colin Powell's speech to the United Nations was a watershed moment in the run-up to the Iraq war. Powell's reputation as a moderate and credible voice made the evidence he presented about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction seem that much more impressive. But as State Department employee Greg Thielmann reveals, it was nothing but twisted and misleading evidence, trumped up to sell Bush's Iraq war.
10-11-2003 Washington Post	Bush proposes loosening protections of endangered species.	Sure, species extinction is a bad thing, but is it as bad as, say, not having a wastebasket made out of real ivory? That's the position of the Bush administration, anyway, which lifts restrictions on killing and trading endangered species. But at least it's only foreign animals. Who cares about those animals in other countries?
10-10-2003 Associated Press	Bush overturns limits on mining waste sites.	In another victory for the mining industry, which has been as generous to President Bush as a donor as he has been to it as a president, the Interior Department overturns a rule put in place by the Clinton administration that limited the land mining sites could use to dispose of waste.
10-8-2003 CNN	Bush starts new public relations campaign on Iraq.	Faced with failure, effective leaders change policy. Ineffective leaders figure out new way to sell their current policies. President Bush chooses to do the latter in Iraq, creating a new public relations push to make people feel better about the soldier-per-day death rate since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished."
10-3-2003 White House Proclamation	Bush declares Marriage Protection Week.	Is the institution of marriage in danger? Because as far as I can tell, people are still getting married. But President Bush apparently thinks marriage is in dire need of protection, and hops into action by declaring "Marriage Protection Week." Bush, of course, thinks that marriage needs protection from gay couples, who want to attack marriage by, uh, getting married. I'm not quite sure how that works, but Bush must know what he's doing, right?
10-1-2003 CNN	Bush does nothing to reveal who disclosed Valerie Plame's identity.	The White House likes to tout President Bush as a "strong leader." If there's even a modicum of truth to that, Bush already knows who leaked Valerie Plame's identity as an undercover CIA agent. But when asked, he refuses to do anything to reveal the truth, instead just claiming, "I want to know the truth," and passing the buck (as usual) to the Justice Department.
9-28-2003 Washington Post	Bush discloses undercover CIA agent's identity as retribution against her husband.	When Joseph Wilson revealed that the Bush administration had used false intelligence to justify the war in Iraq, a smear campaign against him was predictable. But it was impossible to predict that the White House would reveal that Wilson's wife was an undercover CIA agent who worked on weapons of mass destruction -- supposedly the reason we went to war in the first place -- just to get back at Wilson.
9-24-2003 New York Times	Bush tells Congress not to offer a Medicare prescription drug benefit to the poor.	Traditionally, Medicare benefits go to all Medicare recipients. But President Bush wants millions of low-income seniors to lose out on any new prescription drug benefit. He would rather those seniors rely on the states' Medicaid benefits, which vary from state to state (and year to year) and worsen the states' already severe fiscal crises -- which Bush has made worse with his enormous tax cuts.
9-23-2003 Washington Post	Bush takes away the discretion of career prosecutors.	Conservative politicians like to reduce law enforcement to simple "tough on crime" platitudes. But the actual enforcement of law and prosecution of crime can't be reduced to simple black-and-white thinking. That's why prosecutors ought to have discretion over charges they file. But Attorney General John Ashcroft issues new guidelines forcing federal prosecutors to file the most serious charges possible in every case, because that "tough on crime" stance still looks great in the papers.
9-22-2003 Associated Press	Bush gives federal funds to religious groups.	President Bush continues his efforts to chip away at the wall between church and state by issuing new regulations that allow new federal funds to go religious groups. But this is about more than church-state separation. It's also about Bush's attempt to move the federal government out of the business of helping people.
9-21-2003 The Observer	Bush tries to cover up global warming.	Seriously, can we just stop it with the global warming denial already? I know it's inconvenient for conservative ideologues, but facts are facts. Actually, facts aren't facts if you work for the Bush administration, because facts can always be covered up. And when it comes to global warming, that's just what this administration does.
9-17-2003 Washington Post	Bush continues to hide energy task force proceedings.	Back in 2001, the administration released an energy policy that was filled with gifts to President Bush and Vice President Cheney's friends in the energy industry. So it would hardly be surprising to find out that the energy industry dominated the meetings at which the policy was written. But Cheney goes to the Supreme Court to try and keep records of his energy task force's meetings secret, simply because of the administration's distaste for open government.
9-16-2003 New York Times	Bush attacks librarians for opposing the Patriot Act.	Librarians have criticized the Patriot Act because it allows the federal government to invade the privacy of library patrons. And how does the Bush administration respond? "Mr. Ashcroft mocked and condemned the American Library Association and other Justice Department critics for believing that the F.B.I. wants to know 'how far you have gotten on the latest Tom Clancy novel.'" Silly people who want to protect civil liberties! Don't you have something more important to do, like celebrating "Patriots' Day"?
9-11-2003 Washington Post	Bush uses the September 11 attacks to justify all his policies.	Why should we pass tax cuts for the rich? The September 11 attacks. Why should we clear cut forests and let polluters write environmental policy? The September 11 attacks. Why has America lost millions of jobs since Bush took office? The September 11 attacks. Next thing you know, he'll be saying we went to war with Iraq because of the September 11 attacks! Nah, he wouldn't go that far...
9-11-2003 Washington Post	Bush tries to expand the Patriot Act.	President Bush celebrates the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks by calling for an expansion of the Patriot Act, which restricts civil liberties in the name of security. But at least he renames the day "Patriots' Day," so we all know that we're bad Americans for valuing our freedom.
9-10-2003 Agence France-Presse	Bush tries to expand the death penalty.	This really speaks for itself. In a time when the death penalty ought to be shrinking into nonexistence what with dozens of innocent people being discovered on death row, President Bush pushes for an expansion of the death penalty, saying the current law is one of the "unreasonable obstacles" to fighting terrorism.
9-1-2003 USA Today	Bush allows the sale of PCB-polluted lands.	Remember when EPA stood for Environmental Protection Agency? President Bush's EPA -- who knows what the hell it stands for under that guy -- reverses a 25-year policy of not selling lands polluted by PCBs. The bans prevented people from spreading the pollution until the EPA could ensure the lands were clean. Not any more.
8-29-2003 Associated Press	Bush expands global abortion gag rules.	One of Bush's first acts in office (see 1-21-2001 below) was to limit funding to international organizations that provide abortions. Now he expands that rule so that no federal funds can go to international organizations that provide any abortions, even with their own funds. The result, of course, is devastating for the health of the world's poorest women.
8-29-2003 Washington Post	Bush chooses not to regulate auto emissions.	It isn't often that government agencies choose to limit their own power, but President Bush's EPA is a notable exception. The agency announces that it conveniently doesn't have the power to regulate auto emissions, providing another big win for the auto industry. The reason? The EPA claims carbon dioxide isn't a pollutant. Which is true, if you don't believe in global warming. (See 9-21-2003, above.)
8-29-2003 Associated Press	Bush cuts Energy Star program.	President Bush likes to praise programs in front of the camera and then slash them when the camera is turned off. One good example is the Energy Star program, which Bush touts (correctly) as an effective environmental program, providing $70 in benefits for every one dollar spent. But the EPA shifts funds so that the Energy Star program doesn't get the funds Congress intended for it to get. When Bush praises a program, watch out -- it maybe destined for big cuts.
8-28-2003 Washington Post	Bush awards no-bid contracts to Halliburton.	Look, Halliburton may be the best company to provide contracting services in Iraq. It may not be. But one thing is certain: it looks awfully suspicious for the Bush administration to award a no-bid contract to Halliburton when Vice President Cheney used to be the company's CEO. What's more, it completely contradicts the White House's professed distaste for government interference in a free market. A bidding process would drive down the costs for the taxpayer and guarantee improved services. But it would mean smaller profits for Cheney's old firm.
8-27-2003 Associated Press	Bush cites war on terror as reason for small federal pay raise.	Justifying a miserly 2 percent raise for federal workers, Bush says that a higher raise would harm our ability to prosecute the war on terror. So he does realize that we need money to win the war on terror. But he hasn't realized that his multi-trillion-dollar tax cuts do much, much, much more to destroy the nation's financial health than a decent raise for those who work for the government.
8-23-2003 Washington Post	Bush relaxes clean air rules.	We have to be honest with you: we thought this was a done deal back in November 2002. (See 11-22-2002 below.) But apparently the EPA is now getting around to implementing the rules that will gut the Clean Air Act. Under the new Bush rules, older power plants will be able to expand their operations without installing new anti-pollution technology. But why should Bush care? Prevailing wind patterns push all that pollution toward the northeast, and those states didn't vote for him anyway.
8-22-2003 Associated Press	Bush lies about air quality after September 11 attacks.	There's nothing funny about this at all. After the September 11 attacks, the EPA told New Yorkers it was safe to live and work near Ground Zero. It turns out that under White House pressure, the EPA lied about the data it had and omitted important information about the quality of the air and what New Yorkers needed to do to stay healthy. It may take years to see the effects -- possibly birth defects or increased cancer rates -- of what may be Bush's worst lie yet.
8-18-2003 Time	Bush defunds Teach for America.	If you run a nonprofit organization, beware the photo-op with George W. Bush. It's like the kiss of death: it may seem friendly at the time, but you'll learn to regret it later. While those who run Teach for America were optimistic after meeting Bush the presidential candidate, they found their funding taken away under Bush the president. Now the program, which gives top students money for college for teaching in underprivileged communities, has to eliminate scholarships.
8-17-2003 Washington Post	Bush blocks plan to upgrade nation's power grid.	You would think that in the wake of an enormous power outage that paralyzed much of the northeast United States and southeast Canada, it wouldn't be difficult to unite behind a plan to upgrade the power grid. But President Bush opposes his own handpicked chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and sides with (surprise, surprise) the energy industry to oppose the plan. Instead, the administration thinks that more deregulation is the solution, even though deregulation is largely the problem in the first place. A deregulated power industry has no financial incentive to pay the costs of upgrading the grid. Apparently, Bush hasn't quite learned the lessons from Enron that he needs to learn yet.
8-14-2003 San Francisco Chronicle	Bush cuts pay for soldiers in Iraq.	"And tonight, I have a special word ... for all the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States: America is grateful for a job well done," said President Bush as he declared an end to fighting "major" combat operations in Iraq. Bush has a funny way of showing he's grateful. Under Bush, the Pentagon cuts imminent danger pay as soldiers die every day in Iraq and family separation pay as soldiers are separated from their families for months.
8-12-2003 New York Daily News	Bush uses the IRS and federal funds to send out a campaign letter -- again.	Just as with his enormous tax cut in 2001 (see 6-22-2001 below), President Bush is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to send a letter to folks letting them know about the rebate checks they'll receive in the mail. The purpose of the letter is nothing more than to associate Bush's name with the checks, providing a little campaign boost for the president's reelection.
8-11-2003 Associated Press	Bush pushes plan to make it easier for timber companies to plunder national forests.	Just as President Bush fights the freedom-hating terrorists by taking away our freedoms, so he fights tree-burning forest fires by selling off the trees. (See 8-21-2002 below.) On a break from his annual month-long vacation, Bush takes the opportunity to promote his tree-destroying program and pretend to be an environmentalist.
8-9-2003 New York Times	Bush proposes eliminating protections for historical sites from highway projects.	Another no-brainer that's no-brained by the Bush administration. Of course protecting historical sites should be of vital importance when you're deciding where to put a major interstate. And those protections are written into federal law. But if the Bush administration has its way, they'll be taken out, opening all kinds of historical sites to desecration and even destruction.
8-7-2003 LA Times	Bush gives oil companies in Iraq blanket immunity from lawsuits.	Whether you think Iraq's oil was a small factor in the decision to go to war or the main reason, you cannot deny the potential that some of the companies given contracts to deal with the oil in post-Saddam Iraq may abuse their new privileges. After all, any company can abuse any contract. But Bush ensures that oil companies can engage in all the abuse they want with an executive order that gives them blanket immunity from lawsuits.
8-7-2003 Washington Post	Bush seeks retribution for judges who use their discretion in sentencing.	Laws that restrict the ability of judges to use their discretion when sentencing criminals can be the source of grave miscarriages of justice. Attorney General John Ashcroft wants to make sure those miscarriages happens as often as possible, so he has asked federal prosecutors to report any instances of judges imposing more lenient sentences than the law allows. The law is a blunt instrument, and discretion in sentencing allows judges to take appropriate action based on mitigating circumstances. Is it any surprise that Ashcroft doesn't approve?
8-6-2003 New York Times	Bush proposes cuts to Medicare funding for cancer drugs.	Cutting government healthcare costs is a good goal. When it involves cutting services for cancer patients, you'd hope the compassionate would rule out the conservative. But not for the Bush administration, as the Department of Health and Human Services proposes cutting the amount of money the government spends on cancer drugs. The administration says we overpay, but patient advocates say "instead of expanding access to lifesaving drugs, [the cuts] would limit access to cancer treatments for some of the most seriously ill Medicare beneficiaries."
7-31-2003 CBS News	Bush promotes a federal ban on gay marriage.	Conservatives believe that gay people getting married somehow threatens heterosexual marriages. (They never seem particularly clear on how that works.) President Bush believes that an unsatisfied conservative base somehow threatens his reelection chances. (It's pretty clear how that works.) The solution is clear. Bush attacks gay marriage, suggesting that his administration is working on a way to make it illegal everywhere in the country. His attack comes at the expense of equality and dignity for homosexuals, values that Bush has never seemed to hold in high regard.
7-31-2003 Guardian	Bush shuts down nuclear weapons advisory panel.	President Bush has been pushing for new kinds of nuclear weapons (see 7-6-2003 below), and there's nothing more inconvenient for that kind of goal than independent oversight. So the Bush administration eliminates the independent advisory board to the National Nuclear Security Administration. Members of the committee had criticized Bush's plans for new nukes, and the administration hadn't called the committee together in the year before it was disbanded.
7-29-2003 New York Times	Bush creates a system where people can invest in the possibility of terror attacks and international upheaval.	This one didn't last long, and it showed just how important it is to have open government. From the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the same folks who brought us "Total Information Awareness" (and, years ago, the Internet), comes a project that would encourage investors to risk real money against the possibility of future events, like the overthrow of Jordan's king, or terrorist attacks. The idea would be to see whether such a system would have a predictive effect that would help us see world events before they happen. But the obvious ethical problems of essentially betting on chaos, death, and destruction forces the Pentagon to shut down the sickening project the day it becomes public.
7-22-2003 Reuters	Bush threatens veto if Congress overturns new FCC rules.	When President Bush eased media ownership rules (see 6-3-2003 below), he never expected trouble from the Republican-controlled Congress. But an unprecedented public outcry against the new rules has put pressure on Congress to overturn the FCC's decision. But Bush isn't one to let something like "the will of the people" get in the way of his pro-corporate agenda. So he lets Congress know that if it overturns the new rules, he'll exercise his first veto. How appropriate that it will go to protect the profits of megacorporations!
7-16-2003 The Nation	Bush exposes an undercover CIA agent in an act of petty vengeance.	Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson recently went public to say that he had investigated President Bush's State of the Union claim that Iraq tried to purchase uranium from Africa and had found the story not credible nearly a year before Bush's speech. Given the Bush administration's record, you'd expect some kind of retaliation or attempt to discredit Wilson from the White House or its surrogates. But Bush hits a new low when "senior administration officials" expose Wilson's wife as an undercover CIA agent to reporter Robert Novak, ruining her career and possibly endangering her life. Wilson calls it "a shot across the bow" to others who would speak out against the Bush administration. Seems like a pretty direct hit to me.
7-9-2003 New York Times	Bush obstructs September 11 investigation.	Remember when President Bush's complaint with the weapons inspectors was that all their interviews were conducted in front of Iraqi government "minders"? Apparently he objected to the instance but likes the principle. When the independent commission (long opposed by Bush) investigating the attacks of September 11 interviews intelligence personnel, the Justice Department insists on having a "minder" in the room, chilling testimony before the commission. And that's just the tip of the Bush administration obstructionism iceberg. The commission complains of interference and noncooperation from all over the administration, noting that "problems that have arisen so far with the Department of Defense are becoming particularly serious."
7-8-2003 Washington Post	Bush proposes weakening Head Start.	Head Start is that rarest of gems: an effective and universally lauded educational program. So why mess with success, right? But instead of expanding this preschool program that has been proven to give children a jump on learning, President Bush proposes changing the specific federal outlays to block grants that will give states more "flexibility" to spend the money. Given that states are in their worst fiscal crises since World War II, it's likely that they'll stretch the money and direct as much as possible away from Head Start.
7-6-2003 USA Today	Bush continues to push for new nuclear weapons.	Radical conservative activists like the current President Bush a lot more than they did his father, and here's one reason why. Where Bush 41 put a moratorium on U.S. nuclear weapons tests in 1992, Bush 43 not only wants to resume tests, but wants to create entirely new kinds of nuclear weapons. Continuing with earlier efforts (see 2-20-2003 below), the Bush administration argues for smaller nukes that are much more likely to be used in combat.
6-30-2003 The Army Times	Bush belies pro-military rhetoric with cheap treatment of troops.	President Bush sure talks a good game when it comes to the military, doesn't he? Whether he's embedding the media with troops in combat or flying jet planes to victory celebrations, Bush has used the military as a political backdrop more effectively than any president in U.S. history. But what does his real military record look like? Not his personal record of bravely protecting the skies of Texas from the Viet Cong. Rather, Bush's record as president shows a pattern of disrespect to the military that the Army Times describes as "nickel-and-dime treatment." Whether he's opposing an increase in payments to families of troops killed in action or capping raises for low-ranking soldiers, Bush never matches his pro-military rhetoric with action.
6-27-2003 LA Times	Bush tries to remove Yellowstone from UN World Heritage Site list.	When it comes to the environment, the Bush administration's top officials and the career agency staffs just can't seem to agree on anything. Although a Bush official tries to get Yellowstone National Park taken off the United Nation's World Heritage Sites list, officials at the Interior Department insist the park still faces "continuing threats to the quality of the park's streams, bison herd and cutthroat trout populations -- and to visitors' overall experience of the park."
6-27-2003 CNN	Bush proposes to eliminate overtime for 8 million American workers.	Back in January (see 1-31-2003 below), President Bush proposed changes to labor laws that could mean millions of workers lose overtime pay. Now we know just how many millions. A study from the Economic Policy Institute showed that 8 million American workers would lose the right to overtime under the proposed rule changes from Bush's Labor Department.
6-23-2003 Washington Post	Bush pushes school-sponsored religious activities.	Students have a right to pursue their own religious activities in public schools, but any implication that a religious activity is sponsored by the school or any authority figure violates the first amendment by giving the appearance of state-approved religion. But the Bush administration files an amicus brief asking a court to allow Child Evangelism Fellowship to distribute its materials through school officials, essentially trying to drill another hole in the wall separating church and state.
6-20-2003 The Globe and Mail	Bush intimidates non-governmental organizations.	Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) work closely with the government to provide aid to foreign populations. But under the Bush administration, NGOs have another role to play: public relations for President Bush. One NGO director said that under Bush, "It looks like the NGOs aren't independent and can't speak for themselves about what they see and think."
6-19-2003 New York Times	Bush suppresses EPA report on global warming.	President Bush has repeatedly said he'll base environmental decisions on "sound science." Apparently by "sound" he means "funded by polluting industries." When the Environmental Protection Agency delivers a draft report to the White House that cites several studies linking industrial and automotive pollution to global warming, the administration makes some minor tweaks here and there, just enough to change the entire thrust of the section on climate change. An internal EPA memo says that after the White House edits, the report "no longer accurately represents scientific consensus on climate change." But it does accurately represent the American Petroleum Institute's consensus on climate change, and if you can't trust the petroleum industry to do accurate, impartial studies, who can you trust?
6-17-2003 Washington Post	Bush guts Americorps.	President Bush has used both of his State of the Union addresses to highlight volunteerism. In 2002, he created a sort of parent agency -- USA Freedom Corps -- for the federal volunteer agencies. In 2003 he called for even more funding for volunteers. But when the cameras are turned off, his actions don't match his rhetoric. Bush allows Congress to slash funding to AmeriCorps, the successful community service program. AmeriCorps' largest group of volunteers faces a reduction from 16,000 to just 3,000.
6-7-2003 New York Times	Bush overstates the case on weapons of mass destruction.	When the military found two trailers in Iraq that might have been used for biological weapons production sometime in the past, President Bush was quick to jump on the find as evidence of WMDs, declaring, "We found the weapons of mass destruction." Unsurprisingly, that assessment came a little too quickly. First of all, there were no weapons. Second, many analysts dispute that the trailers were used in the production of biological weapons. But the question remains: even if Bush was right, did we really go to war to defeat two trailers?
6-7-2003 Washington Post	Bush refuses to issue proclamation for Gay Pride Month--again.	For the third year in a row (see 6-12-2002 and 6-1-2001 below), President Bush throws a bone to his right-wing nut-job base by refusing to issue a proclamation for Gay Pride Month. Attorney General John Ashcroft jumps on board and bans a gay pride celebration at the Department of Justice, citing the lack of proclamation as a reason. (Justice held the celebration the previous two years.) Bush claims he doesn't want to "politicize" anyone's sexual orientation. Funny, no one in the gay community seems to mind the idea of a month for celebration. Could it be that Bush is just a bigot?
6-3-2003 Washington Post	Bush eases media ownership rules.	Greater media consolidation means fewer voices and fewer sources of news. It means people hear fewer perspectives, and that the interests of a few media moguls can influence virtually all the news we consume. It also means big profits for media conglomerates, which explains why the Bush administration relaxes rules to allow media companies to gobble up more newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations.
5-30-2003 Washington Post	Bush blocks human rights cases from reaching U.S. courts.	A quirk in a 200-year-old law allows the United States to provide a legal refuge for the victims of human rights violations, rather an appropriate role for the world's only superpower. But sometimes, those human rights abuses can involve oil companies. (See 8-5-2002 below.) When Unocal is the subject of a suit in Burma, the Justice Department asks for the suit to be dismissed, saying it will interfere with foreign policy. Isn't that the State Department's job? Funny, State asked Justice to stay out of this case! But when it's Unocal's bottom line vs. the rights of Burmese laborers, well, we know who wins in the Bush administration, right?
5-29-2003 Financial Times	Bush buries a report warning of disastrously enormous deficits.	One thing we learned from the war in Iraq and the search for weapons of mass destruction is that if there's evidence that doesn't support the Bush administration's agenda, it won't see the light of day. But this doesn't just apply to foreign policy. When then-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill commissioned a report to gauge the long-term U.S. budget picture under Bush policies, he should have known President Bush wouldn't like the answer. So the post-O'Neill Treasury department kept the news -- which warned of a disastrous $44 trillion federal debt -- out of the annual budget report. After all, catastrophic deficits aren't a very good argument for new tax cuts for the super rich.
5-28-2003 CNN	Bush signs another huge tax cut.	Here we go again. With the economy stagnant, states cutting vital services and raising taxes, and the federal debt growing by record-breaking leaps, President Bush signs another huge tax cut. (See 6-7-2001 below.) Two notes. First of all, although the nominal cost of the tax cut is $350 billion over ten years, in fact it will cost $800 billion to $1 trillion if the administration and Republicans in Congress have their way. Second, the increase in the child tax credit doesn't help the working poor -- those who need it most -- thanks to last-minute Republican maneuvering.
5-28-2003 Mother Jones	Bush ensures that hydrogen cars will still pollute.	Hydrogen cars are the wave of the future. The engines won't pollute at all; the only emission will be water. Great, right? Wrong. If President Bush and his allies in the fossil fuel industries have their way, the hydrogen fuel will all come from the same fossil fuels we rely on now, and extracting the hydrogen will produce just as much pollution. So while the smog won't come out of your tailpipe, thanks to Bush, you know it will still be there.
5-26-2003 News.com.au	Bush plans executions at Guantanamo Bay.	The suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay don't get access to the guarantees of our judicial system: jury trials, appeals, and the like. But they will see the worst of our system: executions. In the past few years we've seen dozens of cases of innocents on death row. Imagine how much more likely it is that innocents will be executed when the rights we enjoy are stripped away.
5-25-2003 Scotland on Sunday	Bush makes Columbia shuttle investigation more secretive.	The explosion of the shuttle Columbia and the subsequent investigation are not matters of national security. Clearly this is an example where openness can only improve the investigation, and the only thing secrecy can accomplish is protecting people's hides. So why does NASA put the members of the investigation board on the federal payroll, thus allowing them to conduct the investigation in secret?
5-21-2003 Washington Post	Bush tries to revive military database of every American with public relations push.	Back in November, the public learned about the Pentagon's Total Information Awareness system (see 11-12-2002 below) a Big Brother database of financial, medical, and other personal information about all Americans. Predictable public outrage put the kibosh on the system -- temporarily. The solution? In a classic move for this administration, the Pentagon just changed the name -- not even the acronym. TIA now stands for "Terrorist Information Awareness." See, by keeping a big database on all of us, they'll be able to pick out the baddies. That's OK, right? If you haven't done anything wrong you have nothing to fear...
5-16-2003 Knight Ridder Newspapers	Bush charges dozens of people as terrorists for no reason.	Protestors who opposed the Navy's bomb tests on Vieques. Illegal aliens who used fake Social Security numbers to get jobs. A check forger. Someone who cheated on a test. What do all these people have in common? They were all charged as terrorists despite having no connections to terrorism whatsoever. Welcome to a brave new world, where the Justice Department shows no compunction about abusing its broad new powers.
5-12-2003 Newsweek	Bush fails to protect Iraqi nuclear site from looting.	We may not have found any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything dangerous lying around. For example, there's the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center -- just 12 miles south of Baghdad -- which has two tons of uranium. Or it did, before the looters got there.
5-8-2003 Washington Post	Bush lies about aircraft carrier landing.	Karl Rove is smart. Really smart. The image of Bush flying a jet and landing it on an aircraft carrier, emerging in a flight suit surrounded by the military might be the best political image ever created. Of course, the White House had to lie about the reason for doing it, saying that the carrier was too far away for a helicopter landing. But it's a hell of a campaign commercial.
5-7-2003 USA Today	Bush interferes with Canada's decriminalization of marijuana.	Whether you think that first-time marijuana offenders should face a light fine or a harsh jail sentence, it's hard to argue with one fact: nations should be allowed to make these decisions for themselves. The Bush administration has already interfered with states' medical marijuana laws -- usually voted into law by referendum -- so why not interfere with the legislative process of another country? Drug czar John Walters goes on a cross-Canada trip to tell Canadians how they should treat their criminals, because Canadians carrying small amounts of pot clearly pose a serious threat to the United States.
5-3-2003 Newsday	Bush seeks new domestic investigation powers for the CIA and military.	For obvious reasons (namely, freedom), the CIA and military have been traditionally shut out of domestic law enforcement and intelligence gathering. But if the Bush administration has its way, that wall will be shattered. President Bush secretly pursues giving the CIA and military the power to issue subpoenas with no judicial oversight, an unthinkable attack on our most basic civil liberties.
4-30-2003 Newsweek	Bush suppresses September 11 report.	Don't Americans deserve to know the circumstances leading up to and surrounding September 11? Won't that knowledge help us prevent future attacks? Those rights and that security play second fiddle to President Bush's political needs as the administration suppresses a report on September 11 that could indicate Bush might have done more to prevent an attack.
4-26-2003 Washington Post	Bush defends Senator Santorum after anti-gay remarks.	When President Bush calls Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) an "inclusive man," he's not kidding. Santorum includes lots of stuff on his list of activities government should forbid, equating incest, adultery, and polygamy to homosexuality. Santorum fundamentally believes that his personal religion and its disapproval for gays and lesbians should be enshrined in law. (Funny how his Catholicism didn't affect his approval for Bush's war despite the Pope's opposition.) Bush's refusal to offer even the slightest disapproval of Santorum's remarks is yet another sign of his fealty to the right-wing extremists who make up his political base.
4-25-2003 New York Times	Bush creates stringent proof requirements for earned-income tax credit recipients.	Here's a quiz. If you have a large group responsible for about $9 billion in fraud and a small group responsible for $54 billion in fraud, which group do you pursue? If you answered the big group responsible for one-fifth the fraud, you might be President Bush! Bush's IRS creates stringent new rules for the working-poor families who receive the earned-income tax credit, requiring "documents that will be difficult or impossible for people to get within the six-month deadline." When it comes to choosing between going after the working poor (responsible for $8-5-$9.9 billion in tax fraud in 1999) or going after big corporations (responsible for $54 billion in tax fraud in 1998), this administration bravely takes on poor families every time.
4-25-2003 ABC News	Bush lies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify war.	Now that military action is winding down in Iraq, you'd expect the U.S. military to be tripping over Iraqi weapons of mass destruction at every turn, judging from the administration's pre-war rhetoric. But so far, we have yet to turn up a single cache of WMDs. Now the administration admits that it may have, well, overstated the case of WMDs a tiny little bit to convince people that the war was a good idea while hiding the real agenda. But they didn't lie, according to one administration official. "It was just a matter of emphasis." Well that explains everything.
4-22-2003 New York Times	Bush plans re-election strategy around September 11 anniversary.	"The convention, to be held in New York City, will be the latest since the Republican Party was founded in 1856, and Mr. Bush's advisers said they chose the date so the event would flow into the commemorations of the third anniversary of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks." There really isn't anything you can add to that. Despicable.
4-21-2003 Time	Bush sidetracks a study of ballistic fingerprinting.	Ballistic fingerprinting is clearly a good idea, if it works. If you shoot someone, after all, you have no right to privacy in the matter, even if the shooting was legitimate self-defense. So the only question is whether it works, but if the Bush administration has its way, we'll never find out. Attorney General John Ashcroft puts aside a study to test the efficacy of ballistic fingerprinting, doing the bidding of his extremist friends at the National Rifle Association.
4-19-2003 Washington Post	Bush privatizes federal jobs.	When the Bush administration first proposed privatizing thousands of federal jobs, it claimed that the resulting competition would save taxpayers millions of dollars. But according to a National Park Service memo, Bush's "competitive sourcing" plan will result in the direct privatization of hundreds of Park Service employees -- with no competition from the public sector. In other words, it's not about saving money. It's about ending the protections federal employees have won over decades. The move hardly comes as a surprise, given that Bush insisted that employees of the new Homeland Security Department lose protections.
4-13-2003 Associated Press	Bush limits protected wilderness areas.	One top priority of Bush campaign donors in the mining and energy industries is to see as much public land as possible opened up to their potentially exploitive activities. Step by step, President Bush's Interior department, led by Secretary Gale Norton, has removed the protections on some of America's most valuable expanses of land. Now Norton's Interior takes an enormous step backward when it stops all review of lands to be designated as protected wilderness. Under the new rules, no new lands will gain wilderness protections without an act of Congress, and Interior can roll back current protections to reduce the size America's wilderness even further.
3-26-2003 Associated Press	Bush delays declassifying documents.	The Bush administration is quickly becoming famous for its secrecy, restricting Freedom of Information Act Requests (see 1-6-2002 below), making scientific documents secret (see 2-17-2002 below), refusing to turn over records of the energy policy task force (see 7-19-2001 below), and delaying the release of Ronald Reagan's presidential records (see 6-9-2001, 9-1-2001, and 11-2-2001 below). So it's hardly a surprise when President Bush issues a new executive order that delays the declassification of decades-old documents and makes certain documents classified by default. One expert at the National Security Archives pointed out that "making foreign government information presumptively classified drops us down to Uzbekistan's openness norms."
3-26-2003 Washington Post	Bush uses the war in Iraq to justify his tax cut.	It is no longer a matter of question whether Bush's tax cut is good for the economy. Every serious, nonpartisan economist says it won't help, and even the Congressional Budget Office (run by a former chief economist of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers) says the tax cut won't have a significant effect. So the administration resorts to the last resort of a scoundrel: patriotism. Bush uses the war on Iraq as a political tool to push bad economic policy. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says we need the cut "to make sure that the economy can grow and that jobs can be created, so that when our men and women in the military return home, they'll have jobs to come home to." We already know the tax cut won't grow the economy. But there's another lie here. Those who serve in the military full time don't need to worry about employment; they already have jobs. And under a 1994 law, employers must reinstate reservists when they return from active service.
3-22-2003 ABC News	Bush requests secret bids for post-war aid contracts in Iraq.	One thing is certain in the uncertainty of the ongoing conflict in Iraq: some people are going to make some money. One big profit opportunity will be providing aid to the Iraqi people. Usually when the US Agency for International Development seeks bids for such contracts, it puts out a public request for proposals and accepts bids from any company. But that's not how the Bush administration does business. Instead, USAID requests bids in secret from some of the administration's closest friends. The highlight of the list? Halliburton, Dick Cheney's old stomping grounds.
3-21-2003 Washington Post	Bush invades Iraq.	What brought us to this point? Perhaps diplomacy never had a real chance. Certainly no one in the administration save Colin Powell ever seemed that interested in winning the hearts and minds of the world and its leaders. But we could have done it. We could have let the inspections go on for a few more months and tried to disarm Saddam Hussein without bombing the hell out of Baghdad. And if the inspections had failed, any military action would have been backed by a broad international coalition and supported by all but the most ideological pacifists. Instead, Bush rushes to invade Iraq with glee, even pumping his fist and saying "feels good" before announcing the invasion to the American people. American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will die needlessly. I hope that when we win this war, we remember that there were avoidable tragedies.
3-18-2003 Mother Jones	Bush undermines international treaty on tobacco.	Undermining international treaties is what the Bush administration does best, whether they are for human rights, the environment, arms control, or a host of other issues. Working with the tobacco industry, the administration reverses the U.S. position on a treaty that would restrict tobacco advertising, eliminate second-hand smoke from public areas, and set cigarette taxes that would discourage smoking.
3-17-2003 Washington Post	Bush breaks his promise to call for a second United Nations resolution.	When asked by a reporter on March 6 whether he would call for a second United Nations resolution authorizing military action in Iraq, Bush insisted he would, saying it's time for nations to "show their cards." Not only does Bush break this promise and withdraw the resolution, but he defies logic and blames France's veto for other countries' refusal to support the resolution. If France is going to veto the resolution, and thus make the vote a forgone conclusion, doesn't that give the other nations on the Security Council the freedom to take whatever position they want with no consequences? Bush simply takes advantage of his ability to trash France with impunity to shift the blame for his own broken promise. This New York Times editorial does an excellent job of laying out the incompetence and failures of diplomacy that has led up to the conflict with Iraq.
3-16-2003 Washington Post	Bush proposes curbs on Medicare appeals.	For someone who claims to dislike Washington bureaucrats, President Bush sure doesn't seem to mind them making medical decisions. The fact is, seniors sometimes don't get the coverage they need and deserve under Medicare, and rely on appeals to federal judges to ensure they have the coverage they need. More than half of the people who make those appeals win them. But Bush has proposed replacing the independent judges with arbitrators at the Department of Health and Human Services. Because HHS is the department that pays for Medicare, these arbitrators would have a vested interest in rejecting the appeals. More bureaucrats, fewer health benefits for seniors.
3-11-2003 Washington Post	Bush discontinues budget report to states.	States rely on an annual report from the federal government called "Budget Information for States" to see just how much money they're getting from the federal government. But the Bush administration, which has refused to make aid to states a part of its latest tax-cut-for-the-wealthy plan to help the economy (see 1-7-2003 below), has decided to discontinue the report beginning in 2004. Now states won't be able to hold Bush accountable for all the help he isn't giving them.
3-8-2003 Washington Post	Bush fakes evidence on Iraq.	President Bush and the administration have consistently insisted that Iraq is currently pursuing nuclear weapons. But every shred of evidence of that has failed to hold up. Taking this to the extreme, Secretary of State Colin Powell continues to cite false evidence about anodized aluminum tubes that he says are for nuclear weapons production. But the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency insists that this is untrue, and that the very evidence Powell cites actually shows that the tubes are unsuitable for the purpose the administration claims. It's a sad day for Colin Powell, who has bought into the administration's war-driven rhetoric at the expense of the truth.
3-8-2003 New York Times	Bush exempts oil and gas industries from clean water regulations.	New clean water regulations require small construction sites to ensure that they have plans to handle storm water, preventing pollution from entering waterways. But the Bush administration is granting the oil and gas industries an exemption to the new rules, claiming that the issue needs "further evaluation." But according to six senators who have opposed the exemption, the issue has already received plenty of study. Could it be that Bush is simply doing a favor for old friends?
3-5-2003 Washington Post	Bush proposes pushing seniors into private insurance plans for a Medicare prescription drug benefit.	Again letting his friends in the insurance industry write legislation (see 3-5-2003 below), President Bush proposes forcing seniors to join private health plans to receive a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. His plan would give private health plans enormous power over Medicare, allowing them to set the prices for prescription drugs, squeezing seniors for higher profits.
3-5-2003 New York Times	Bush proposes caps on malpractice lawsuits.	The rising cost of malpractice insurance is a serious problem affecting the medical industry. But President Bush's proposal to cap awards from malpractice suits at $250,000 is like using an axe for heart surgery. Instead of working to prevent frivolous lawsuits, Bush is essentially making the victims of genuine malpractice pay for reform. He also refuses to hold the insurance industry accountable, and in fact is letting them write the legislation. I wonder why.
3-1-2003 Washington Post	Bush opens Alaska forest to logging.	The Tongass National Forest contains 30 percent of the world's temperate coastal forests -- for now. The Bush administration rules that no more of the forest will be declared protected wilderness, opening up hundreds of thousands of acres for logging. If the administration succeeds in reversing the Clinton ban on new roads in national forests (see 5-4-2001 below), then millions of acres could be at risk.
2-27-2003 New York Times	Bush lies about homeland security funding and blames his allies in Congress.	Since September 11, President Bush has consistently fought to block spending on homeland security, even opposing the creation of a Department of Homeland Security until he saw the political upside. Looking at the recently passed 2003 budget, the White House praised the Republican Congress for providing "critical funding for our nation's homeland security." He even urged them to block a Democratic proposal to provide an additional $5 billion for homeland security needs. But at least he's consistent about endangering the nation, right? Wrong. In a breathtaking act of hypocrisy, Bush turns around and blames the Republican Congress for not providing enough funds. This 180-degree flip-flop comes as an enormous surprise to his GOP allies, who predictably react with fury.
2-26-2003 Detroit Free Press	Bush restricts family-planning programs from AIDS-prevention funds.	When President Bush announced increases for AIDS prevention funding in Africa, even his critics were pleased to see the additional funds (regardless of the political reasons behind the proposal). But anyone with common sense knows that family-planning advice is crucial to serious AIDS prevention. Under restrictions attached to the funding, doctors and nurses may not even be able to discuss basic contraception use with people as part of AIDS prevention. A State Department memo indicates that the administration is using the new AIDS funds as a tool to expand the gag rules it has put on foreign aid as a gift to the right-wing extremists who have Karl Rove's ear.
2-24-2003 Time	Bush relaxes rules on ready-to-eat meat products.	In 2002, an outbreak of Listeria bacteria killed seven people, caused three miscarriages, and sickened dozens. In response, the Bush administration proposed tougher rules on plants that produce products at risk for Listeria, including ready-to-eat deli meats. The meat industry (which, big surprise, gave a bunch of money to the Bush campaign in 2000) cried foul and urged the White House to weaken the regulations they had proposed. And when campaign donors talk, Bush listens. So the strong regulations were shelved and replaced with ones the meat industry could live with. An industry newsletter crowed that "a number of key [USDA] personnel have bought into much of the industry proposal" and that the changes came thanks to "industry efforts made at the White House level."
2-24-2003 LA Times	Bush proposes canceling tests for a missile defense system.	You can argue all you want about whether a national missile defense system will work or not, or whether it's a good idea in the first place. But one thing is for certain: if you're planning on building a NMD system, you should definitely test the thing to make sure it works. But even this seemingly obvious bit of logic is beyond the Bush administration, which tries to bypass testing requirements for major weapons programs so it can have the system up and running by 2004. Given the administration's reckless and incompetent handling of the North Korea crisis, it's understandable that it is in a rush to get NMD working. But shouldn't they make sure it works first?
2-23-2003 Newsday	Bush lies about economists' support for his tax plan.	Serious, nonpartisan economists are fairly unanimous about President Bush's latest tax cut proposal: it won't do anything to help the economy. After all, most of the cuts come years later and most of the benefits go to those most likely to save rather than spend the money. (Boy, that sounds a lot like his last tax cut plan to help the economy. Which didn't.) So when White House spokesman Ari Fleischer claims that the Blue Chip Economic Forecast had endorsed his plan, it comes as quite a surprise. What isn't surprising is when the editor of the Blue Chip newsletter says that he had published no such endorsement, and that the White House was simply lying.
2-20-2003 Reuters	Bush delays report on the dangers of mercury.	When the public faces danger from environmental hazards, the Bush administration doesn't rush to inform them. When the EPA recently put together a report on a dangerous form of asbestos, the administration kept it from the public for as long as possible. (See 12-27-2002 below.) Similarly, a report was due last May on the dangers posed by mercury. But the administration delayed it, forcing the report to go through an unprecedented review from other federal agencies. The EPA's report will be coming out soon. Who knows what's missing, thanks the administration's review?
2-20-2003 Washington Post	Bush explores creating new nuclear weapons.	You know what this world needs? More nuclear weapons. New kinds of nuclear weapons! Nuclear weapons that do less damage, making it more likely that we'll use them, especially given Bush's enthusiasm for preemptive strikes! (See 9-21-2002 below.) And now you'll get those new nukes, thanks to the ridiculously irresponsible Bush administration. How about this new rule: if the president can't pronounce "nuclear," then his administration doesn't get to create new nuclear weapons. Can we make this happen?
2-16-2003 San Diego Union-Tribune	Bush cuts education for military dependents.	It is impossible to emphasize this point enough: just because Republican administrations are good for military contractors doesn't mean they're good for the men and women who serve in the military. Not only did Bush stop telling veterans about the health care benefits they're entitled to (see 8-1-2002 below), but now he's cutting funds that help pay for the education for the sons and daughters of the people he's about to send off to war. When will the military -- and everyone else for that matter -- realize just how bad President Bush treats them?
2-13-2003 BBC News	Bush proposes no aid for Afghanistan.	The reason the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s was that they had one thing to offer: law. It was a harsh and oppressive law, but the lawlessness that preceded the Taliban's rule set the stage for their ascendance. The worst possible thing the United States can do now that it has deposed the Taliban is allow Afghanistan to sink back into lawlessness, a country united only in name that is controlled by warlords. Such conditions would allow extremists to rise to power again, or at the very least, ensure there are always places friendly to terrorists in the country. But with the Taliban gone, the Bush administration apparently thinks the job is done. President Bush's 2003 budget includes no money to aid Afghanistan, despite the fact that Hamid Karzai's government has no power outside the capital. If this is the kind of commitment to democracy we are planning to show in Iraq, the Iraqi people should be very worried.
2-11-2003 New York Times	Bush cuts federal housing subsidies.	Sometimes little changes are the most devious. The Bush administration proposes changing the phrase "not more than $50" to "at least $50" in the law setting the amount that those receiving federal housing subsidies pay in rent per month. Now the sky is the limit on the rent paid by America's poorest families, those for whom every dollar counts most.
2-8-2003 New York Times	Bush proposes national sales tax.	Sales taxes are by far the most regressive taxes. Unlike income taxes, where higher incomes are taxed at higher rates, sales taxes hit families harder the less they make, since they spend a bigger portion of their incomes on necessities. Thus it should come as no surprise that Bush is looking at the possibility of eliminating income taxes in favor of a national sales tax, given his earlier attempts to find ways to justify increasing the tax burden on the poor. (See 12-16-2002 below.) What's more, sales taxes are bad for the economy since they reduce consumption -- just what our country needs!
2-8-2003 Washington Post	Bush proposes more restrictions on civil liberties.	Call it "USA PATRIOT Act II: The Freedom Eliminator." (See 10-26-2001 below.) In what can only be described as an attempt to gauge just how much political capital the administration has left from the September 11 attacks, the Justice Department is proposing a new law to strengthen law enforcement powers even further. It would allow more wiretaps and more clandestine searches with even less judicial oversight. Once again, Bush is trying to stop the "freedom-hating terrorists" by eliminating our freedoms. A brilliant strategy.
2-6-2003 New York Times	Bush proposes retirement savings plan to benefit the wealthy.	Most retirement savings plans that offer tax benefits include provisions that ensure they don't bankrupt the Treasury. Income caps and deposit limits are the most common. So when President Bush proposes doing away with those restrictions, it is only people with higher incomes who will benefit. Best of all for Bush, the real costs of the plan are hidden because they don't appear until 15 or 20 years down the road.
2-4-2003 Washington Post	Bush cuts aid to the poor in his budget.	When President Bush declares a war on poverty, he means it. He'll do whatever it takes to make sure America's poor don't get the help they'll need. (What, you thought a war on poverty was supposed to help the poor?) His latest budget is an excellent example. While he creates enormous, record-breaking deficits with big tax cuts for the rich, he cuts programs to the poor, like rural redevelopment, vocational education, Medicaid, the earned income tax credit, and even school lunch programs! More money in the hands of the wealthy and fewer services for America's neediest. Bush's 2004 budget is an abomination.
2-2-2003 Washington Post	Bush weakens "dolphin-safe tuna" regulations.	The idea of "dolphin-safe" tuna was something of a revolution, one of the few times that activism on behalf of animals made an enormous mainstream impact. Regulations that require tuna fishermen to protect dolphins save tens of thousands of the marine mammals every year. But now President Bush wants to allow tuna caught by Mexican fisherman to carry the "dolphin safe" label, even though they don't follow the same recommendations. Not only will this result in the death of more dolphins, but it will squeeze out the responsible companies that actually make sure the tuna they sell is safe for dolphins.
1-31-2003 Associated Press	Bush proposes changing labor laws.	When business bleats, President Bush answers. Such is the case when the administration calls for a revision to labor laws that could make millions of workers no longer eligible for time-and-a-half overtime pay. The Labor Department is also looking into changing the Family and Medical Leave Act, adding new restrictions on the law that allows people to take care of new children and ailing relatives.
1-31-2003 New York Times	Bush ignores his administration's own report on snowmobiles in Yellowstone.	Everyone knew President Bush was going to reverse the Clinton-era ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park. (See 11-12-2002 and 6-24-2001 below.) But what he has not told the public is that his administration did so despite its own report saying that banning the snowmobiles was the only way to protect the park, its wildlife, and the rangers who work there. Bush has made a habit of saying that he makes decisions based on "sound science." When the science doesn't fit his politics -- and that happens a lot -- he tosses it aside.
1-26-2003 LA Times	Bush proposes privatizing National Park Service jobs.	Free-market enthusiasts believe that competition is the solution to every problem, and that regulations can only hinder all that is right and good. But when put into practice, these idealistic laissez faire attitudes often lead to unfortunate circumstances, like environmental destruction. That's why the Bush administration's suggestion to privatize jobs in the department that protects national parks seems ill-advised. In what could turn out to be the quote of the year, a former Park Service employee who managed Joshua Tree and the Mojave Reserve says of the Bush proposal, "Ask Enron about the efficiency of the unregulated private marketplace."
1-21-2003 New York Times	Bush proposes a tax break for the biggest SUVs.	If the administration isn't going to raise fuel-economy standards for SUVs, the least it could do is not make it more profitable to own one. But that's just what the administration is proposing when it suggests increasing the tax deductions for small businesses when they purchase vehicles over 6,000 pounds. Originally designed to help farm and blue-collar businesses that needed heavy trucks or tractors, this law now helps doctors, accountants, and other professionals who feel like buying a behemoth SUV even though they don't need it for their work. Bush's proposal would only further encourage people to buy a gas-guzzling vehicle, increasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil and the profit of Bush's friends in the energy industry.
1-21-2003 LA Times	Bush opens federal lands for road building.	In a policy change meant to please a plethora of campaign donors -- ranging from energy companies to timber companies to mining companies and more -- the Interior Department makes it easier for states and counties to build roads across federal lands, endangering the wildlife and natural splendor of places like Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and the Mojave National Preserve. Once again, given a choice between priceless natural treasures and big corporate profits, the administration picks the profits.
1-16-2003 Washington Post	Bush joins court fight against affirmative action.	It's easy to mischaracterize and attack affirmative action. President Bush did it plenty when he was campaigning. Just equate it with "quotas" (which the Supreme Court declared illegal years ago), and strongly imply that it favors less qualified applicants. But affirmative action isn't about giving jobs or educations to less qualified people. It's about making sure those who are qualified don't miss opportunities because of their minority status. Racism is not dead in America, as much as we wish it were so. Bush's decision to intervene in a Supreme Court case against the University of Michigan's affirmative action policies proves his ignorance of the problems minorities still face in this country.
1-15-2003 CNN	Bush declares "National Sanctity of Human Life Day."	Never one to shy away from using public declarations as political tools (see 6-12-2002 and 6-1-2001 below), President Bush appeases the far right extremists of the Republican party by declaring a day for the sanctity of human life. In a clear (if mild) attack on women's reproductive rights, Bush calls on Americans to "reaffirm the value of human life and renew our dedication to ensuring that every American has access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In other words, "please don't be angry that I haven't declared abortion illegal yet. Just wait until there's an opening on the Supreme Court."
1-7-2003 Washington Post	Bush proposes yet more tax cuts for the rich.	Paul Krugman put it best (as usual) when he said, "Faced with a real problem ... the Bush administration's response has nothing to do with solving that problem. Instead it exploits the issue to advance its political agenda." That's just what President Bush does when he proposes a new round of tax cuts that will help the richest Americans. They include a speeding up of the last cut, which means the richest Americans will get the cuts promised in 2001 even sooner. They also include a $300 billion ending of taxes on dividends. If you have an enormous income and huge stock holdings, this is pretty good news. If you're, say, the American economy, it won't do much to help you.
1-3-2003 San Francisco Chronicle	Bush kills Labor Department report on mass layoffs.	The Bush administration loves reversing Clinton administration policies, especially if they involve informing the public. So when Bush's Labor Department ends a program that reports the numbers of mass layoffs (more than 50 workers fired) -- a program killed by his father and revived by President Clinton -- it's hardly a shock. It's also the first shot fired by the Bush camp for the election in 2004. Layoffs certainly don't make a president look good, especially if unemployment is on the rise. According to the axed program, there were more than 2 million layoffs between January and November of last year. By ending this report, Bush hides one more bit of bad news for his administration from the public.
1-3-2003 Associated Press	Bush grants taxpayer funds to religious organizations to promote marriage.	Everyone knows that staying married is always the best option, no matter what the circumstances. Well, anyone who follows President Bush's religion knows that, anyway. After ignoring Congress and implementing his faith-based initiative by fiat (see 12-13-2002 below), Bush takes the first step of implementing it by granting money to religious groups who will help the poor by teaching them that marriage is really, really great. A spokesman for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State said it best: "Whether a person gets married or stays married is none of the government's business."
12-27-2002 St. Louis Post-Dispatch	Bush blocks the EPA from issuing a warning about asbestos.	The EPA planned for months to warn Americans that millions of homes could contain an especially lethal form of asbestos. This would have been an unprecedented move for a public agency, declaring a health emergency that would have ensured those who had been affected by the lethal asbestos got the care they need. But at the last minute, the White House overruled the EPA and kept the agency from making the announcement. The White House decision puts millions of Americans at risk for cancer, all to save a few bucks. Well, we have to pay for those big tax cuts somehow.
12-21-2002 BBC News	Bush blocks agreement that would provide cheap drugs to the world's poor.	Sure, this World Trade Organization agreement would provide desperately needed low-cost drugs to the world's poorest and sickest people. But it would also cut into drug company profits! Which will the Bush administration choose? Yeah, it's the drug company profits. With the Bush administration, it's always the big corporate profits, even when the lives of the world's poorest people are at stake.
12-19-2002 Salon.com	Bush attacks reproductive rights at an international conference.	The Bush administration has made an international attack on women's reproductive rights one of its top priorities from its first day. (See 1-21-2001 below.) It has eliminated millions of dollars in funding for programs that provide essential health care services to the world's poorest women. But just in case anyone wasn't sure about the administration's position, Assistant Secretary of State Arthur E. Dewey made it clear at a United Nations population conference when he said, "The United States supports the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. There has been a concerted effort to create a gulf by pushing the United States to violate its principles and accept language that promotes abortion." This means that the U.S. won't support any programs that condone abortion by, say, providing medical services to women. Or any programs that condone underage sex by, say, providing information about contraception. So while third-world populations explode and poor women suffer and die, the Bush administration sits back in self-righteous smugness.
12-18-2002 The New Republic	Bush blocks respected scientists from commission on lead standards and stacks it with nominees approved by the lead industry.	The Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention advises the Centers for Disease Control on federal standards for lead poisoning -- essentially, how much lead is in your system before you're considered poisoned. Just before the Commission met, the Bush administration filled the panel with appointments recommended by the lead industry, taking the unprecedented step of rejecting nominees suggested by the CDC. When it comes to choosing between respected scientists and corporate benefactors, the Bush administration chooses big business every time.
12-16-2002 Washington Post	Bush supports new methods for calculating tax burdens on the wealthy to garner public sympathy for them.	Pity the folks earning hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Sure, they never worry about how to pay for things like housing, health care, education, food, transportation, or any of the other day-to-day necessities average Americans sometimes struggle over. But they pay more taxes than the poor, unless you count payroll taxes and sales taxes! Why, the situation is so bad the Wall Street Journal editorial page even called America's poor "lucky duckies!" Bush clearly feels sorry for his compatriots among America's wealthiest, so he instructs the Treasury Department to come up with a new way of calculating the tax burden to make it look as though they pay too much. That way he can justify increasing the burden on the poor, which will make them want tax cuts, which will make them vote for Republicans. Now that's compassionate conservatism!
12-13-2002 Washington Post	Bush implements faith-based initiative without Congressional approval.	Putting public funds in the hands of private religious charities is a two-edged sword. It sets a dangerous precedent that leads down the road to state-sponsored religion. For the charities themselves, it can create a dependence on those public funds that can have a chilling effect on their ability to practice in freedom. When Bush circumvents Congress and implements his faith-based plan by executive fiat, he avoids the most controversial portions of his original plan -- more tax cuts and enabling anti-gay discrimination, for example. But it's a step in the wrong direction, and he ignores the proper legislative process to do it.
12-11-2002 Washington Post	Bush signals an increased willingness to use nuclear weapons.	Is "nuclear war bad" not a clear enough proposition for President Bush? Shouldn't it be one of the top priorities of U.S. presidents to avoid nuclear conflict at all costs? But Bush keeps inching closer to the big red button, as he does when his administration issues a new military strategy emphasizing its willingness to strike first against enemies and an enthusiasm toward nuclear retaliation that any American -- or citizen of any other country -- should find frightening.
12-10-2002 New York Times	Bush makes it easier for companies to screw older workers.	"Cash-balance" pension plans are cheaper for companies. But these savings come at a price, and that price is paid by workers -- in this case, older workers. This type of pension plan is so disadvantageous for older workers that they're subject to age-discrimination suits. Well, they used to be, anyway. Bush's Treasury Department issues new rules that chart a path for companies to implement cash-balance pension plans while avoiding the age-discrimination suits they engender. Big corporations save a few bucks, and older workers pay the price. That's Bush administration policy in a nutshell.
12-4-2002 New York Times	Bush kills rule allowing new parents to collect unemployment.	Conservative Republicans are the ones voters can depend on when it comes to helping mothers stay home from work and take care of children, right? Not if it gets in the way of making money. The Clinton administration created a rule that would allow new parents to collect unemployment benefits after their children were born, giving the parents a chance to stay home from work without worrying about losing an income. But President Bush kills the rule before any states put it into effect because business groups opposed it, proving once and for all that conservative Republicans will never let their social agenda get in the way of helping business at the expense of families.
12-4-2002 New York Times	Bush restores cash bonuses to political appointees.	Just days after President Bush says the war on terror means the government can't afford tax cuts for the rich -- no wait, that's not right. Just days after President Bush says the war on terror means the government can't afford a full pay raise for government workers (see 11-30-2002 below), the New York Times reveals that the administration had secretly restored a policy of awarding cash bonuses to political appointees. The policy had been discontinued under the Clinton administration for the obvious reason that the bonuses could be given just as much for political loyalty and corruption as for genuine merit. Wait, which is the ethically challenged administration again?
11-30-2002 Washington Post	Bush cuts pay raises of federal workers and blames it on the terror war.	Let's get this straight. There's enough money in the federal budget to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. But the war on terror is so expensive that the federal government has to cut raises for its employees to pay for it? The very people who are on the front lines of protecting us from terrorism are expected to pay for the war on terrorism now? Bush cuts a pay raise passed by Congress from 4.1 percent to 3.1 percent, enough to save the government a billion dollars. Bush says the full raise "would interfere with our nation's ability to pursue the war on terrorism." That'll show Osama bin Laden!
11-28-2002 LA Times	Bush makes it easier for timber companies to plunder national forests.	The last two decades have seen a marked improvement in the way we treat our national forests, as we realized the danger human activity represented to the ecosystems within. But President Bush continues to roll back this record, changing rules to make it easier for timber companies to get at the trees within while making it more difficult for employees of the U.S. Forest Service to object, reducing public comment periods and moving wildlife protection down the priority ladder.
11-27-2002 CNN	Bush names Henry Kissinger to lead probe into the causes of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.	You've got to give it to President Bush: if nothing else, he's got a wicked sense of irony. Henry Kissinger has done as much as anyone in the 20th century to encourage secretive, covert, unaccountable, and just plain nasty behavior by the U.S. government. Kissinger has interfered with the peacemaking process -- and lied about it. He's bombed innocents -- and lied about it. He's overthrown governments -- and lied about it. He's wanted by courts all over the world for war crimes, and for good reason. He may very well be the least trustworthy person ever to hold office in the federal government, even beating out his old boss, Richard Nixon. If you want someone to subvert the work of a fact-finding commission, you absolutely, positively, could not pick a better man.
11-26-2002 New York Times	Bush removes medical information from HHS website in order to promote abstinence.	The gifts to the far right, holier-than-thou extremists of the Republican party continue. In the last year, the Bush administration has removed information on using condoms to prevent AIDS, abortion not causing breast cancer, and running effective programs to reduce teenage sexual activity from websites belonging to the Department of Health and Human Services. These efforts -- supposedly done to "update" the information -- are clear efforts to push an ineffective, religion-based moral philosophy in place of sound science proven to reduce sexual activity and protect health. As long as Bush is in office, the ridiculously short sight of conservative social policy might be the number one danger to American teenagers.
11-26-2002 Reuters	Bush asks court to seal records on vaccines and autism.	The connection between childhood vaccinations and autism is not yet clear. But the possibility is strong enough that there are several lawsuits in the works, where parents are suing the manufacturers of vaccines. After making sure the drug companies had protection from these suits built into the homeland security bill (see 11-19-2002 below), President Bush undermines those lawsuits again by fighting to make sure that important information connecting vaccinations to autism never sees the light of day. Again and again, we see that Bush considers an uninformed public to be his greatest asset.
11-25-2002 Environment News Service	Bush backs out of another treaty on the environment.	Reporting pollutants and their sources are one area where the United States outstrips Europe and other regions of the world in environmental responsibility. Thus environmentalists hoped we would take the lead in setting the terms of the Aarhus Convention, which would set international reporting standards. When the Europeans pushed for weaker standards, the U.S. delegation didn't fight for stronger language. Instead, it just took its ball and went home. Could it be the Bush administration doesn't actually want stronger language? Nah...
11-25-2002 Daily Mirror	Bush undermines U.N. weapons inspectors as they begin their work in Iraq.	It was a significant victory for the few cautious members of the Bush administration, led by Secretary of State Colin Powell, when President Bush reversed course and decided to seek a U.N. resolution calling for weapons inspections in Iraq instead of pursuing an immediate and meaningless war. But administration superhawk Richard Perle made it clear yesterday that this strategy was nothing more than misdirection, telling stunned members of the British Parliament that the United States would attack Iraq no matter what the outcome of the inspections. That's right. To Bush and his cronies, the weapons inspections are nothing more than a charade to drum up international support for an inevitable war.
11-22-2002 New York Times	Bush leaves unemployed workers with no benefits.	For decades, it has been a simple matter: in times of recession, Congress passed extensions to unemployment benefits without question. It was a given. With a difficult job market, Congress saw it as a duty to make sure those hit by layoffs could still feed their families. No more. Democrats have been pushing for such an extension and passed one in the Senate, but the Republicans have refused to pass one in the House of Representatives. With just one word to GOP leaders, Bush could have made an unemployment benefits extension into law. But with his silence, Bush ensures that more than 800,000 Americans will lose their benefits on December 28, with 95,000 losing benefits each week after that. Merry Christmas.
11-22-2002 Washington Post	Bush finally implements weakening of Clean Air Act.	After taking slow but steady steps toward an inevitable conclusion (see 6-14-2002, 4-25-2002, 12-20-2001, and 8-8-2001 below), President Bush finally implements rules that will weaken the Clean Air Act. He allows coal-fired power plants to make significant upgrades and expansions to their operations without any new pollution-control technology, ensuring that the increased production of these plants is accompanied by increased pollution.
11-19-2002 New York Times	Bush pushes special interest provisions in homeland security bill.	It's an old story: members of Congress insert special provisions into bills that have nothing to do with the intent of the bill itself. It's a great way to sneak gifts to campaign donors and special interests by the American public. But when Democrats in the Senate try to strip out some of these provisions in the homeland security bill -- including one that lets tax cheats do business with the new Homeland Security Department and one forbidding people from suing pharmaceutical companies when they're injured by vaccines -- President Bush calls wavering Republicans and demands that they vote to support those provisions. Three Senators who are wavering, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, eventually vote the way their president asks them to, ensuring that those provisions stay in the bill.
11-12-2002 Washington Post	Bush creates military database of information on every American.	It's finally clear what Bush meant during the presidential debates when he said he trusted the people rather than the government. It meant he wanted to hire someone who was convicted of lying to Congress about selling weapons to Iran to set up an enormous database in the Pentagon that would track every bit of data available about every American: financial, travel, medical, and much more. Thank goodness we have a president with such a healthy distrust of big, intrusive government!
11-12-2002 Mother Jones	Bush gives the military access to students' private records.	The military certainly should have the right to recruit in high schools, just as colleges do. But should the military have unrestricted access to the private records of students, access that no one else has? President Bush obviously thinks so, since he ensured that his "No Child Left Behind Act" gave the Pentagon full access to the school records of every public high school student in America.
11-12-2002 Chicago Tribune	Bush reverses snowmobile ban in Yellowstone Park.	After much public hand-wringing on the issue (see 6-24-2001 below), President Bush finally makes the decision everyone knew was inevitable. Rather than implementing the ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone Park put in place by the Clinton administration, Bush decides to increase the number of snowmobiles in the park, and pretends that he's come up with a compromise.
11-2-2002 San Jose Mercury News	Bush backs off population treaty.	Imagine being so enslaved to an ideology that avoiding the slightest offense to your beliefs is more important to you than the health of poor women all over the world. If you can imagine what that's like, then you have an insight into the mind of President Bush, who has removed U.S. support for an international agreement to curb population growth, because the agreement's support for reproductive services for women implies that some of them might get abortions. Because the phrase "reproductive services" reminds Bush of "abortion," poor women worldwide won't have access to the kinds of services that actually prevent abortions, like adequate health care and birth control.
10-19-2002 New York Times	Bush breaks his promise on SEC enforcement funding.	Remember Corporate Reform Action Bush with CEO-Crushing Grip? Well, you'll have to go on to eBay if you want to find one, because apparently that model has been discontinued. With corrupt companies out of the headlines, President Bush's newfound dedication to cleaning up boardrooms proves to be -- surprise, surprise -- short-lived. Part of Bush's tough package (actually passed by Democrats and reluctantly signed by him) was to increase funding for the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission, well-known to be understaffed. But less than three months after making the promise, Bush breaks it, urging Congress to give the agency 27 percent less money than authorized by the law Bush signed.
10-17-2002 New York Daily News	Bush opposes gun fingerprinting.	While there is certainly a legitimate debate over the public's right to own firearms, one thing shouldn't be a matter of debate: owning and using a gun shouldn't entitle anyone to more privacy than owning or using a car. If you use a gun against another human being, no matter how legitimate a use, you have absolutely no right to privacy about the matter. That's why opposition to gun "fingerprinting," which would make it easy for law enforcement to identify what gun shoots what bullets, is limited to the worst gun extremists. But those extremists have the president's ear, and he quickly falls in line behind them.
10-10-2002 New York Times	Bush tries to keep California from keeping its air clean.	Proving yet again that his devotion to states' rights is nothing compared to his adoration of corporate campaign donors, President Bush joins with auto makers to oppose a California law requiring that 10 percent of all vehicles be zero-emissions. With a chief of staff who used to be the head spokesperson for the auto industry and a bunch of campaign contributions from the same folks, it's hardly surprising to see Bush going to bat against California, against the environment, and for the profits of the car manufacturers.
9-27-2002 Washington Times	Bush lies about the threat of nuclear weapons in Iraq.	Iraq was just six months away from creating nuclear weapons in 1998, according to a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Wait, no. It was a report from the IAEA in 1991. No, that's not right, either. The White House has resorted to simply making up facts in order to justify an imminent attack on Iraq. The Bush administration claimed a 1998 IAEA report said that Iraq was just six months away from developing nuclear weapons. When the IAEA said the report didn't exist, the White House said (is this the first time ever?) that it had made a mistake: it was a 1991 report. But the IAEA said that didn't exist, either. In fact, in 1998 the IAEA said, "There are no indications that there remains in Iraq any physical capability for the production of weapon-usable nuclear material of any practical significance." The White House is now telling lies so it can wage a war so it can win an election. Honor and dignity, indeed.
9-22-2002 New York Times	Bush proposes a reduction in Medicare payments.	The costs of the Bush tax cut for the rich keep pouring in. Once again, the Bush administration is shifting the burdens to society's neediest people, the ill, the old, and the uninsured. By cutting Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals, Bush will force medical providers to raise rates on the uninsured, making adequate medical care even harder to get. But hey, the really big parts of the Bush tax cuts (the parts that don't affect you) are just around the corner, and we have to pay for them somehow.
9-21-2002 Washington Post	Bush changes U.S. foreign policy strategy from deterrence to preemptive strikes and military dominance.	It used to be our enormous military was justified as a defensive measure. As long as we were unrivaled in military power, no one would be so foolish to attack us. No more. President Bush is using the attacks of September 11--carried out by criminal terrorists rather than another country's military--to justify a complete overhaul of our foreign policy. No longer does the United States wait for an act of aggression before taking military action. Now we can send our troops in where we feel like it, when we feel like it.
9-17-2002 Washington Post	Bush eliminates scientific advisory boards whose conclusions don't match his ideology.	One of President Bush's favorite catchphrases is "sound science." He claims to use sound science when considering everything from stem-cell research to environmental policy. In reality, science is one of his biggest hurdles. The problem with science is that the truth tends to get in the way of conservative ideology. Stem cells might actually prove extremely useful. The planet really is getting warmer. But those are just the tip of the rapidly melting iceberg. So Bush is cleaning house at the Department of Health and Human Services, eliminating or restaffing several advisory boards that have come to conclusions at odds with his ideology. One committee found that certain chemicals may be harmful to your health, so Bush is replacing the staff with scientists friendlier to the chemical industry--including one who defended Pacific Gas & Electric against Erin Brockovich.
9-10-2002 Washington Post	Bush pushes phonics on schools.	One of the strangest controversies to arise in the past decade centers on the best way to teach children to read: phonics vs. whole language. Conservatives have mystifyingly latched on to phonics as the only appropriate way to teach reading; it even had a plank in the 2000 Republican platform. Unsurprisingly, the answer lies somewhere in the middle: some children learn better with phonics, others with whole language, and a combination of the two techniques usually proves most effective. But the Bush administration is siding with small-minded conservatives and abandoning his states-rights principles (for the umpteenth time) in pushing phonics-only education programs on schools. While the concentration on phonics will be a big help to publishing executives who were on the Bush transition team, it's impossible to tell how it will help children, since the same companies that write the programs also write the standardized tests Bush seems to think will magically fix our nation's schools.
8-21-2002 New York Times	Bush tries to relax logging rules and pretend it's for fire prevention.	Do you remember how President Bush figured out the best way to fight freedom-hating terrorists was to eliminate our freedoms? Now he's applying that same thoughtful strategy to fighting forest fires. You can't have forest fires without trees, after all, so thinning out our forests until they look like suburban subdevelopments is just the answer. But who will do the work of cutting down all those trees? Hey! Doesn't President Bush have some friends in the timber industry? Maybe he could ask them to help!
8-15-2002 New York Times	Bush resists Congressional oversight of Justice Department.	I'm not sure most Americans understand the foundations on which our freedoms sit. For example, one of the reasons we're not supposed to fear our government is that our elected representatives have oversight of both the military and law enforcement. Now, when Congress passed the (do I have to say it?) USA PATRIOT Act, it gave the Justice Department overly broad powers, but at least we knew there'd be Congressional oversight. Oops! Forgot who was president! Bush and Ashcroft have made an art form of avoiding Congress, and PATRIOT Act law enforcement is no exception. Ashcroft refuses to provide the House Judiciary Committee the tools it needs to watch over the Justice Department, returning America to a colonial-era style of enforcing the law. The Bush administration does what it wants, and we just have to accept it.
8-14-2002 Washington Post	Bush holds ridiculous sham of an economic forum.	Take 250 of the nation's biggest Bush boosters, including plenty of campaign donors and corporate CEOs, stick them in a room, tell them to talk about the economy, and--surprise, surprise--you'll get a lot of praise for Bush's economic policy. That's just what happens at President Bush's economic forum when he invites average Americans--like Cisco CEO John Chambers and Charles Schwab CEO, uh, Charles Schwab--to get together and just talk about what's going on with America. All of these executives and business owners want more tax cuts? Hey, Bush never would have guessed!
8-14-2002 New York Times	Bush withholds $5.1 billion in antiterrorism and other important funds.	After making a $1.35 trillion tax cut heavily tilted to the very wealthy the centerpiece of his economic policy, Bush tries to prove his dedication to fiscal discipline by withholding $5.1 billion in spending mandated by Congress. While in comparison to the tax cut, the spending seems close to nothing (less than 0.4 percent of the size), the money Bush is withholding is vitally important to those waiting for it. This list includes firefighters (safety equipment), workers at New York's Ground Zero (tests of the effects of working there on their health), veterans (health care), Israel and Palestinians (foreign aid), overseas AIDS workers, the FBI, the Coast Guard, the National Guard, and on and on and on. While Bush's action will have an enormous impact on all of those groups, it will have no impact on the problems he claims to be attacking: the deficit and the economy.
8-10-2002 New York Times	Bush issues weak medical privacy rules.	Hey, it could have been worse. The Bush administration was considering letting pharmaceutical companies use your personal medical information to market their drugs to you. Thanks to political pressure, Bush caved on that issue. But the rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services are still weak enough to please the insurance industry. They don't require a patient's written permission before doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and--of course--insurance companies get to look at your records. Plus they allow drug companies to pay your pharmacist to recommend a different, more expensive drug no matter how similar it is to what you're taking. So next time your pharmacist recommends a particular drug, you'll have to take the recommendation with a grain of salt, thanks to President Bush.
8-10-2002 New York Times	Bush tries to roll back environmental protections in our oceans.	The United States' official borders extend three miles from the shore on all our coasts. But for another 197 miles, there is an "exclusive economic zone," territory still controlled by the United States. The navy wants to conduct tests on a new kind of sonar in that zone, but environmentalists fear the sonar could present a risk to marine life. At issue is whether the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which would require the Navy to investigate the impact of the experiments before conducting them, applies to the economic zone. Bush's Justice Department sides with the Navy over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in saying that the zone is not subject to NEPA, a decision that could open our shores to all kinds of environmental hazards.
8-7-2002 Washington Post	Bush ignores judge's orders on U.S. citizen labeled an enemy combatant.	It's an interesting legal question: what rights does a U.S. citizen who fights against the United States have? Whether you think he's entitled to the same rights as the rest of us or none at all, one thing is clear: the courts are a better judge of this question than the Bush administration. But when a judge requests the information necessary to make that determination, the administration refuses to provide it, insisting that it has the right to pick and choose which of his orders it has to follow. Bush's expansion of executive powers is getting ridiculous as he refuses to share information with both the courts and Congress--not to mention the public.
8-5-2002 Financial Times	Bush interferes in a human-rights suit against Exxon Mobil.	A law suit by a human-rights group against Exxon Mobil, the enormous oil company, alleges that the company's security forces protecting an Indonesian pipeline murdered, raped, and tortured villagers. Did they do it? If the Bush administration has its way, we'll never find out. In the name of the war on terrorism, the State Department tries to stop the suit. Which is more credible: the Bush administration is stopping the suit because it will hurt the war on terror, or the Bush administration stopping the suit because it will hurt Exxon Mobil? Bonus fact: when the State Department asked oil companies to institute voluntary measures to prevent the kinds of abuses alleged in the suit, Exxon Mobil chose not to adopt them.
8-1-2002 Boston Globe	Bush stops telling veterans about the benefits they're entitled to.	How do you cut benefits for veterans without cutting benefits for veterans? It's a Zen koan worthy of the Bush administration. The answer: stop telling them about the benefits they're entitled to. And that's exactly what Bush's Veterans' Affairs department does, sending a memo to local VA administrators to stop marketing healthcare programs to veterans and their families. When there's a crisis in veteran healthcare, it doesn't occur to Bush that stopping his massive tax cut for the rich and increasing the VA's budget is the answer. Instead, he decides to stick it to those who served their nation in the armed forces by making them guess about the healthcare programs available to them.
7-31-2002 CNN	Bush undermines corporate responsibility bill right after he signs it.	President Bush made it clear when he made his Wall Street speech that he supported only weak reforms for corporate responsibility. When Congress actually managed to send him a strong bill thanks to a public outcry, Bush had no choice but to swallow his pride and sign it. But veteran Bush watchers know Bush has a way of fighting bills he doesn't like even after they become law (Presidential Records Act of 1978, anyone?), and this bill was sure to be no exception. But who knew he'd act so fast! Just hours after signing the bill, Bush releases a statement that interprets the whistleblower protections to be much weaker than the bill's authors intended. Surely this is just the first strike of many as Bush looks to undermine the Sarbanes bill for his corporate cronies.
7-29-2002 Charleston Gazette	Bush praises miners' rescue while cutting the budget for the department that saved them.	Even the most cynical among us must have breathed sighs of joy and relief when the nine miners stuck in a flooded Pennsylvania mine for three days were brought up alive. It was a victory not only of individuals, but also of government, as the Mine Safety and Health Administration played a vital part in the rescue. President Bush praises the rescue, of course, as anyone in his position would. But his budget included massive cuts to the agencies devoted to mine safety, endangering the lives of miners everywhere. Bush, unsurprisingly, didn't learn his lesson as a result of the three-day ordeal. He doesn't seem able to make a connection between the federal budget and miners stuck in a well. It's certainly easier to make budget cuts if you can't imagine the effects they'll have on real people.
7-23-2002 Washington Post	Bush refuses to fund United Nations Population Fund.	When a right-wing extremist told the Bush administration that the United Nations Population Fund was supporting coercive abortions in China, the State Department sent a team to investigate. When the State Department came back and told Bush that the allegations were false (as several other investigations had shown), Bush ignored the findings and withheld funds from the program anyway. The UNPFA saves lives and reduces abortions by educating women, providing gynecological services, distributing safe-birthing kits, and more. Bush is killing poor women all over the world to appease America's most small-minded extremists.
7-23-2002 Washington Post	Bush reverses all diplomatic progress made with Iran.	In 1997, Iranians elected Mohammad Khatami, a moderate interested in restoring ties with America, to the presidency. They reelected him in 2001. In doing so, the people of Iran rejected the fundamentalism of their totalitarian religious leaders and took baby steps toward democracy. But President Bush announces a refusal to deal with the Khatami government, taking an enormous step back that rivals his ridiculous "axis of evil" policy.
7-17-2002 Boston Globe	Bush moves to privatize medical equipment inspections.	Look, capitalism isn't all bad. Sometimes the profit motive can accomplish great things. But do you really want people in charge of inspecting medical equipment to be private companies closely tied to the manufacturers of that equipment? Bush thinks that's a dandy idea, and that there's no danger of a conflict of interest that will put people at risk. Maybe medical inspection will be a great new business for Arthur Andersen.
7-16-2002 CNN	Bush creates a program for Americans to spy on each other.	Is that your average cable installer at the door, or a government spy? If Bush has his way, soon he'll be both. As part of his Citizen Corps, Bush introduces Operation TIPS, a program for recruiting your delivery person, your mail carrier, the guy who checks your gas meter, and other people with access to your home and personal information about you to report "suspicious activity" to the government. It's more than just an attack on your Constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure; it's also an anachronistic throwback to the days of red-baiting McCarthyism.
7-16-2002 Washington Post	Bush sabotages court cases against polluters.	When President Bush changed the EPA's regulations to make it easier for utilities to expand their operations without putting in the safeguards needed to prevent added pollution (see 6-14-02 below), the Justice Department and EPA insisted it would continue to pursue the cases being prosecuted under the old rules. But the new Bush policy is undermining those cases, meaning that polluters who broke the old rules are more likely to get away with it.
7-11-2002 New York Times	Bush offers weak corporate reforms.	Given the heat Bush is taking over his own business record and his ties to big corporations, you'd think he would be smart enough to propose strong reforms just to get the heat off. But his desire to capitulate to the whims of corporate titans is just too strong. So Bush pushes only watered-down reforms instead of supporting a Senate bill that ends conflicts for auditors, creates an independent and industry-funded oversight board, and makes securities fraud a crime. Bush's proposals do none of those things.
7-4-2002 Washington Post	Bush lies twice about an stock sale made years ago.	When Bush sold stock in Harken Energy, he was required to report the sale as an insider trade since he was a director of the board. But he didn't file the form until eight months after the deadline. Back in the campaign, he said he filed the form with the SEC, which lost it. But this was an easily refuted lie, so when the story comes back to haunt him, he changes the excuse, saying it was Harken's lawyers. The only problem is that federal law puts the onus squarely on Bush to file in a timely manner. Does he admit this simple mistake? Of course not! Better to lie now -- chances are he won't be held accountable.
7-1-2002 Washington Post	Bush aggressively pursues the death penalty.	John Ashcroft personally overrules career prosecutors at the Justice Department to insist that they pursue the death penalty. It's vengeful, barbaric, and immoral. The fact that Ashcroft is overturning the decisions of career prosecutors points to a darker motive of the Bush administration in promoting the death penalty so strongly. Is it doing it for political gain? Personal satisfaction? Whatever the answer, it's frightening the way Bush and Ashcroft view the death penalty so lightly. But given Bush's record as governor of Texas (where he spent all of 15 minutes reviewing death penalty cases), it's hardly surprising.
7-1-2002 New York Times	Bush cuts funds to Superfund cleanup sites.	In 1995, the Republican Congress eviscerated the Superfund program by refusing to reauthorize the taxes on polluters that funded it. President Bush refused to pursue that reauthorization, ensuring that average taxpayers paid for the crimes of polluting companies. Unsurprisingly, Superfund money has dwindled in the past few years, and now the Bush administration is cutting funds to 33 different Superfund sites. That's 33 horribly polluted places in America that won't be cleaned up any time soon, thanks to Bush and the rest of the GOP.
6-27-2002 MSNBC	Bush tells the same tasteless joke -- and lie -- over and over again.	"You know, when I was running for president, in Chicago, somebody said, would you ever have deficit spending? I said, only if we were at war, or only if we had a recession, or only if we had a national emergency. Never did I dream we'd get the trifecta." First of all, this isn't funny. Referring to September 11 as "the trifecta" is just disrespectful and tasteless, which is why he only tells that joke to donors. Second of all, it's just a lie. He never told anyone in Chicago that he would go to deficit spending under any of those conditions. During the campaign, Bush insisted that his proposed enormous tax cut wouldn't create deficits. September 11 had nothing to do with it; it was just Bush's tax cut. He lied during the campaign, and he's still lying.
6-19-2002 Washington Times	Bush says toxic sludge is good for fish.	The EPA under President Bush has done a lot to hurt the environment: crippling the Superfund program, proposing ineffective Clean Air programs, and driving out key enforcement personnel. In perhaps its stupidest move yet, Bush's EPA says that toxic sludge is good for fish because it drives them away from fishermen. A Republican Congressman points out the stupidity of this logic, saying it's "like suggesting that we club baby seals to death to prevent them from being eaten by sharks."
6-14-2002 Washington Post	Bush refuses to enforce an important provision of the Clean Air Act.	The utility industry asks, and President Bush gives. In the past few years, the EPA has begun to sue utility companies for expanding their operations without installing new pollution safeguards, which is prohibited under the Clean Air Act. But this costs the utilities money, and our president won't stand for that. So he does their bidding and tells the EPA to stop the suits and let utilities blacken the sky as much as they please.
6-13-2002 Time	Bush robs an American citizen of his constitutional rights.	Let's set the scene. It's early June, and questions about the CIA and FBI are dominating the news. What's an administration addicted to secrecy to do? Attorney General John Ashcroft, thinking quickly, cobbles together a news conference during a trip to Moscow to announce important breaking news: the Justice Department arrested someone who maybe was thinking about releasing a dirty bomb someday, if he could find the parts and come up with a plan. Oh, and the arrest was a month earlier. While the media was trying to explain why dirty bombs aren't really any worse than regular, clean bombs, they mostly missed the big story. The Bush administration has put Jose Padilla away without charging him, without giving him access to a lawyer, and without any obligation to release him. Ever. When did we throw out the Constitution?
6-12-2002 Washington Post	Bush shields missile defense plans from congressional oversight.	The justifications for Congressional oversight are simple and obvious. The executive branch is made up mostly of appointed, not elected, officials who must be held accountable to the people for their actions. Congress is an elected body that can be completely changed every two years if it's the will of the people, and thus is the appropriate body to protect the people's interests. But the Bush administration isn't interested in the public interest. His missile defense program, a bloated, quixotic mess that serves only to shovel money into the hands of defense contractors, isn't something he wants Congress to oversee. So the Defense Department takes steps to ensure that there's no oversight of the mess. Does it work? Does it cost too much? Guess we'll never know!
6-12-2002 Washington Post	Bush refuses to issue proclamation for Gay Pride Month--again.	He's a uniter, not a divider. That's why for the second year in a row (see 6-1-2001 below), Bush chooses not to issue a proclamation for Gay Pride Month. A White House spokesman justified it by saying, "The president believes every person should be treated with dignity and respect, but he does not believe in politicizing people's sexual orientation." Apparently, the president does believe in politicizing race (National African American History Month, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month), ethnicity (Irish American Heritage Month), gender (Women's History Month), and age (Older Americans Month).
6-10-2002 Washington Post	Bush develops "strike first" military policy.	Does America have the moral right to strike first, without provocation or any immediate threat? It takes a particularly thoughtless person to answer that question in the affirmative, and our president is just that kind of man. Bush isn't shy about using his September 11-inspired popularity for naked power grabs, and that includes military power. Bush says he'll bomb a country first if he feels it's in America's best interests. Just wait until his approval ratings drop under 50 percent to see this policy put into place.
6-7-2002 Associated Press	Bush won't halt oil drilling in California like he did in Florida.	Florida was the most important state in the 2000 election, and it will play a vital role in 2004. Bush's brother Jeb is up for re-election as Florida's governor this year. So when President Bush offered to halt oil drilling off the coast of Florida, it wasn't too hard to figure out why -- even if he claimed it was a states' rights issue. But just in case there were any lingering doubts, Bush faced the exact same situation in California -- where he lost in 2000, will probably lose in 2004, and there's a Democratic governor up for re-election -- and does the exact opposite. In Florida, it's about states' rights. In California, it's about plundering our natural resources for energy-company profits. Which one do you think is the real George W. Bush?
6-5-2002 Washington Post	Bush dismisses report from his own administration on global warming.	"I read the report by the bureaucracy," Bush sneered when asked about the EPA report that blamed global warming on human activity. Too bad there aren't any environmental-scientist cowboys, loners analyzing data out on the range so Bush wouldn't have to rely on those damn bureaucrats for scientific conclusions. Then maybe he'd get the answers he wants, instead of the politically inconvenient truth.
5-28-2002 San Jose Mercury News	Bush pushes abstinence-only sex education.	Facts are facts: teens have sex, and they will always have sex. Is it a good idea to try and reduce the numbers of teens who have sex? Of course. But limiting all sex education to abstinence is foolish and dangerous. If you don't teach teens about birth control, they're going to get pregnant. If you don't teach them about condoms, they're going to get HIV. Abstinence-only sex education adds to teen pregnancy rates and even kills teens.
5-24-2002 Washington Post	Bush signs ineffective nuclear arms treaty.	Getting rid of nuclear weapons in undoubtedly a very good idea. Too bad our president--while happy to take credit for appearing to reduce nuclear weapons--isn't willing to get rid of any. The treaty he signs with Russian President Vladimir Putin sets a laudable goal: reducing our nuclear arsenal by two-thirds. But as was discovered in January (see 1-15-2002 below), the nuclear weapons aren't really going away. Instead, they'll just go into storage, where we can pull them out if we ever decide we want to break this treaty, too.
5-23-2002 Associated Press	Bush reopens mining on proposed national monument.	What's left to say about Bush's gifts to the energy industry, which bankrolled his campaign? It almost seems absurd at this point to list yet another pristine American natural treasure that our president has opened up to spoilage in some way. This time it's the Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon, which Bush wants to open up to his friends in the mining industry.
5-22-2002 Washington Times	Bush uses terrorism alerts as a distraction.	The Bush administration is facing a lot of pressure over how much intelligence it received about possible terrorist attacks before September 11 (and how much that contradicted with the statements officials made after September 11). Perhaps in its most despicable act yet, the administration releases terrorist alerts on several fronts, from the White House to the Pentagon to the FBI. Suddenly, just when Americans are starting to ask hard questions of the White House, we're all supposed to be worried about terrorist attacks coming any minute. How convenient.
5-14-2002 Washington Post	Bush sells September 11 picture for Republican fundraiser.	When Bush promised during the campaign that he would change the tone in Washington, no one with any sense took him seriously. But September 11 did change things, at least for a while. Democrats and Republicans were forced to work together, if only for the sake of appearances. And even though there has been a return to partisan bickering on most issues, September 11 has remained something different. Until now. The Republican Party is holding a fundraiser where they are selling three pictures of President Bush for a $150 donation. One of them depicts Bush on Air Force One the day of the terrorist attacks, speaking to Vice President Cheney. With White House approval, the GOP is selling a September 11 memory in order to elect more Republicans. This marks the official end of any semblance of decency by the Bush administration. It will sell anything for power, even the memory of thousands of dead Americans.
5-8-2002 The Hill	Bush pushes corporate tax breaks through without Congressional approval.	President Bush wants more tax breaks for the rich, and he's not letting Congress get in the way. While it normally falls on our elected lawmakers to make the laws, Bush is using whatever regulatory means at his disposal to lighten the tax burden on America's corporations. Remember this. Anytime Bush says there isn't enough money for anything: Social Security, Medicare, schools--anything--it's because of this. Because Bush continues to give tax breaks to the richest individuals and the richest corporations, there isn't enough money to pay for your retirement, for your children's schools, for adequate environmental protections, and for so much more.
5-7-2002 Associated Press	Bush underfunds wildfire prevention efforts.	Wildfire season is almost upon us, and this year should prove to be a destructive one. This year uncontrollable wildfires have a new ally besides blistering heat and high winds: the Bush administration. Because the administration isn't providing enough funds for fire-fighting efforts, chances are we'll see more blazes on cable news channels. Bush is planning to cut $37 million from fire prevention efforts, and Senators from both parties have criticized the Interior Department and Forest Service for not doing enough.
5-6-2002 BBC	Bush expands the axis of evil.	As if the original axis of evil wasn't stupid enough (see 1-30-2002 below), now Bush is expanding the rhetorical nightmare to include three more unstable countries: Cuba, Libya, and Syria. In a post-September 11 world, Bush should be working with every country possible for peace. Instead he is singling out the countries where we ought to be making the greatest diplomatic efforts and calling them "evil." Is there anything less diplomatic that he could do?
5-3-2002 Reuters	Bush refuses to increase child care funding for welfare mothers.	Bush wants mothers on welfare to work more hours. He wants to increase the number of hours they work per week, and he wants to increase the number of welfare recipients that work. Basic logic dictates that increasing the amount of time poor women must spend away from their families means they will have greater child care costs, but this administration has never let basic logic get in the way of policy. Bush instead claims that there is no need for additional funding for child care, ensuring that poor women will continue to struggle to make it out of poverty.
4-30-2002 Washington Post	Bush tries to end student loan consolidation program.	The hidden costs of Bush's tax cut to the wealthiest Americans will be emerging for years. Here's a good example. In order to bring down the projected $100 billion federal deficit this year, the administration suggests ending a $1.3 billion program that helps college graduates bring down their costs by consolidating their student loans into a single fixed-rate loan. That means that Bush wants recent college graduates to pay for his tax cut to the richest of the rich.
4-30-2002 New York Times	Bush lets mining companies cut down mountains close to streams.	Not only is Bush going to let mining companies dump mountaintop waste into streams and rivers (see 4-26-2002 below), but it's also going to allow such mining to take place closer to streams, which are likely to be damaged no matter where they put the waste. Mining companies donated generously to Bush during the 2000 campaign, and that investment is paying off.
4-26-2002 Washington Post	Bush lets mining companies dump waste into streams.	Did you know mining companies can cut the tops of mountains to get to the coal inside? While that is kind of cool, they have the tendency to dump the tops of the mountains into rivers and streams, which isn't too good for the waterways. Now the Bush administration wants to change the designation of the waste from "waste" to the more palatable "fill." See, it fills up the streams! Get it?
4-25-2002 New York Times	Bush rejects stronger alternative for clean air program.	The Environmental Protection Agency made the mistake of proposing a program that might actually protect the environment. Don't worry, though, President Bush and the Energy Department nip that in the bud, listening to their friends in the energy industry and proposing a much weaker plan, one that might very well (surprise, surprise) be less effective than current law. Bush, never short on irony, names his program "Clean Skies" despite the fact that it might actually make the skies dirtier.
4-18-2002 Washington Post	Bush removes Democrats from bipartisan defense panels.	Hey, the last thing our military needs is rational dialogue on policy, right? Apparently Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld thinks so. That would explain why he takes Democrats off of several traditionally bipartisan panels. Bodies that were once deliberative are now just rubber stamps for Pentagon policy.
4-17-2002 Chicago Tribune	Bush endorses antidemocratic coup in Venezuela.	It's starting to look a lot like the 1980s again. Tax breaks for the rich, cuts to social services, market deregulation, and now, U.S.-backed coups of democratically elected Latin American leaders. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is popular with the people who elected him, especially the poor. But the wealthiest members of Venezuelan society don't appreciate his policies, so they decide a military coup is just the thing. And since Bush understands the needs of wealthy right-wingers, his administration supports the coup instead of condemning it. Even when it fails two days later, Bush still fails to condemn it. After all, it's not the votes that count, right?
4-16-2002 USA Today	Bush considers eliminating requirements for testing children for lead.	Children on Medicaid are more likely to have lead in their blood because they more often live in substandard housing. So the government tests children on Medicaid for lead poisoning. But the Bush administration proposes making the testing voluntary, so that states--already too lax in the testing--can test even fewer children.
4-12-2002 New York Times	Bush opposes treaty establishing an international crimes tribunal.	Hey, who can blame him? With the record President Bush is racking up, the last thing he would ever want is to be held accountable for his actions in an international court. President Bush's choice to "unsign" the treaty creating an international crimes tribunal that would have the power to try heads of state is hardly a surprise. After all, he--or any number of his administration officials--might have to face one someday.
4-11-2002 New York Times	Bush gives environmentalists just 48 hours to comment on energy policy.	Look, all those folks in the energy industry deserved something for those big contributions to the Bush campaign, didn't they? So what if they had constant access to Cheney, his staff, and the Energy Department while the administration was writing its energy policy? Environmentalists had a whole 48 hours to give their ideas to the energy policy task force. Isn't that enough time to suggest ideas that aren't going to be followed anyway?
4-5-2002 Washington Post	Bush proposes voluntary ergonomic rules for industry.	If the Enron debacle proved one thing, it's that corporate executives are always responsible. Yes, you can always trust the heads of big companies to do the right thing--no matter what it means to their bottom line. That's why President Bush's plan to create voluntary guidelines for ergonomic safety is sure to be effective. When President Bush signed a repeal of strong ergonomic rules that President Clinton put in effect to protect workers (see 3-20-2001 below), he promised to come up with effective rules of his own. And that he did. The voluntary guidelines are sure to be effective at protecting his big campaign donors from expensive measures to protect their workers from injury.
3-30-2002 Seattle Post-Intelligencer	Bush rejects environmental review of drilling for oil in ANWR.	Scientists at the Department of the Interior spent 12 years studying the impact drilling for oil would have on wildlife in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Their startling conclusion: drilling for oil may not be too good for the wildlife. So does the Bush administration admit that it was wrong and give up the idea of drilling in ANWR? Perish the thought. Instead, Interior orders a new study, one with parameters that are, shall we say, more convenient for the Bush political agenda--and the future business plans of the president's friends in the energy industry.
3-29-2002 Reuters	Bush uses alternative energy funds to pay for printing energy policy.	Bush thinks the government should spend lots of money on polluting fossil fuels, and his energy plan released in May 2001 is heavily tilted to favor his friends in the energy industry. And while his policy pays lips service to renewable energy sources and conservation, his proposals fall far short of an effective plan for energy independence that won't hurt the environment. But most egregiously, Bush paid to print 10,000 copies of his policy out of funds meant for alternative energy programs. The very plan that will hobble America's ability to use alternative fuels was paid for with money supposed to go to alternative energy programs. Unconscionable.
3-22-2002 Washington Post	Bush attacks medical privacy.	Here's a good reason to brag if you voted for Bush: he's going to give insurance companies greater access to your medical records. There's really no way for the administration to spin this. The insurance industry, which gave Bush about five times more cash than it gave Gore during the 2000 campaign, wants greater access to your medical records, so Bush is giving it to them. There's no justification for giving patients less control over their own medical records. None.
3-21-2002 Washington Post	Bush's Justice Department considers lifting civil rights decree against hotel chain.	It isn't often that you find that perfect political quid pro quo. But the Justice Department's decision to consider lifting a consent decree against the Adam's Mark hotel chain reeks of corruption. The chain was cited for gross discriminatory practices against African-American customers, including putting them in low-quality rooms and forcing them to wear wristbands. The head of the company that owns the hotels was a huge donor to John Ashcroft's Senate campaign, and when Ashcroft was appointed attorney general, he bragged about the deal he'd get from Ashcroft's DOJ. Sure enough, the Justice Department now says it is considering a virtually unprecedented early end to the consent degree that is costing the company millions. Not bad for an investment of less than $40,000.
3-20-2002 New York Times	Bush tries to shrink the habitat of many endangered species.	Funny how the Bush administration keeps backing off of these lawsuits where big corporate campaign donors are involved. Big tobacco (see 6-20-2001 below), Microsoft (see 11-2-2001 below), polluting power plants (see 12-20-2001 below)--the administration keeps sabotaging its own cases against big business. So it's no surprise when Bush's Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service indicate they'll cave in a lawsuit by real estate developers to reduce the protected habitats of many endangered species. Big business profits, or protecting species from extinction? Another clear choice, another wrong-headed decision from Bush.
3-20-2002 Washington Post	Bush plans massive overhaul of regulatory system.	Maybe every regulation put out by the federal government isn't perfect or necessary. But many of them protect our health, our rights, and the environment, much to the chagrin of businesses who must bear the cost of implementing them. But big corporations never had a friend in the White House like George W. Bush, and his regulatory czar, John Graham, is all too willing to do their bidding. He plans to eliminate regulations across the board, applying a pseudoscientific analysis that favors business over the public interest. Goodbye, environment. Goodbye, public safety.
3-19-2002 Washington Post	Bush makes prescription drugs less safe for children.	In 1997, President Clinton imposed rules requiring pharmaceutical companies to test their drugs to make sure they were safe on children. On the one hand, the idea of experiments involving kids is kind of unpalatable. On the other hand, it's important that pediatricians know exactly what dosages of what drugs to give to kids. That's why when President Bush rescinds the rule as a gift to the drug companies, the American Academy of Pediatrics objects strenuously. The profits of pharmaceutical companies or the health of our children? You'd think the choice was obvious, but Bush just loves to surprise us.
3-15-2002 Washington Post	Bush lifts restrictions on aid to Colombia.	Colombia's government doesn't have the best human rights record. In a long, bitter, multi-party civil war, the army has racked up a record of torture and murder. So when the United States created plan Colombia to send military aid to the country (a bad idea in the first place), it put some restrictions on that aid. It could only be used for counter-narcotics operations, and Colombia had to improve its human rights record. Now the Bush administration is removing those restrictions, meaning U.S. military forces can become directly involved in Colombia's civil war, and the Colombian military has no incentive to improve its human rights record.
3-13-2002 Associated Press	Bush puts bloated defense spending over clean water.	Conservative Republicans just hate spending taxpayer money. They say so all the time. But there are exceptions, such as when that money goes to fill the pockets of defense contractors. That's why the Bush administration shuns a proposal from Democratic lawmakers to increase funding for cleaning up drinking water. Instead, Bush says, our defense budget is the highest priority. But the billion-dollar-a-day budget that Bush proposed is far more than America needs for Al Qaeda, Iraq, or just about any conceivable threat. It's too bad Bush can't spare a tiny fraction of that budget to ensure that Americans have clean drinking water.
3-10-2002 LA Times	Bush makes the possibility of using nuclear weapons much more likely.	For years, the United States has maintained its nuclear arsenal for one purpose: to deter other countries from using nuclear weapons. They were meant solely to serve as a warning, never to be used in conventional warfare. No more. With its Nuclear Posture Review, Bush's Pentagon changes America's nuclear strategy dramatically. It names new nations at which we should point our nuclear missiles and suggests we develop new, smaller nuclear devices to use in conventional warfare. The idea of using nuclear bombs when there's no threat of one hitting us crosses a line that has gone uncrossed for decades. It's a new world.
2-26-2002 CNN	Bush tells welfare mothers to find husbands.	All the problems of welfare mothers would be solved if they could just find husbands. Bush's plan to revamp the 1996 welfare reform law includes several hundred million dollars for programs that encourage women to get married. Instead of focusing on child care or job training--programs that might improve the lives of all poor mothers, not just those lucky enough to snag themselves a man--Bush concentrates on social engineering. Don't you love how conservatives think government should get out of people's lives, unless it's telling poor women what to do?
2-24-2002 New York Times	Bush makes taxpayers--rather than polluters--pay to clean up Superfund sites.	Who do you think should pay for polluted Superfund sites: polluters, or you? The Bush administration thinks it should be you. So he's shifting responsibility for paying for Superfund cleanups away from industry and toward the taxpayer. His budget specifically states that he won't pursue a reauthorization of the taxes on corporations that pay for Superfund cleanups, meaning that the money to pay for them will have to come from you and me.
2-19-2002 Boston Globe	Bush doesn't pay for his own education priorities.	The No Child Left Behind Act is a sham. It does nothing but push standardized tests under the banner of "accountability"; it purports to measure how well schools are performing (and it's doubtful it accomplishes that) but does nothing to improve schools. But Bush hailed it as an enormous victory for education--unsurprising doublespeak from our president. But if it's such an enormous victory, why doesn't Bush's budget fund even these modest initiatives? It's a remarkable thing, failing the children of this country twice so quickly and dramatically.
2-17-2002 New York Times	Bush returns scientific documents to secrecy.	"When in doubt, choose secrecy," seems to be the governing principle of the Bush administration. Whether it's who Cheney met with when formulating energy policy, Reagan's presidential records, or the details of a 30-year-old mobster case, the first instinct of Bush and his cronies is to suppress first, ask questions later. Now Bush will make it harder for American scientists to do their work by taking previously declassified scientific papers out of circulation. Never trust anyone who says that less knowledge is a good thing.
2-15-2002 CNN	Bush backs Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site.	Back in December, Bush clearly indicated that he would push ahead with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository when he changed the rules that determined whether the site was suitable. (See 12-11-2001 below.) Now he takes the next step by endorsing the Energy Department's recommendation that the administration go ahead on the site. Nevada residents, including Republican governor Kenny Guinn, have objected strenuously to building the site. But Bush again shows his complete lack of respect for states' rights that rears its head every time the energy industry is involved.
2-15-2002 Washington Post	Bush releases his laughable global warming plan.	A plan to reduce greenhouse gases should have one characteristic at a minimum: it should reduce greenhouse gases. Seem obvious? Not to Bush. His global warming plan is so ineffective it would be funny, if it weren't so frightening. Instead of reducing greenhouse gases, he invents a new, meaningless measurement: greenhouse gas intensity. That's the amount of those gases divided by the size of our economy. Bush plans to reduce this "greenhouse gas intensity" by imposing caps on the growth of greenhouse gases that are lower than the growth of the economy. (If the economy grows by 3 percent, greenhouse gases can go up 1 percent.) Just to make certain his plan has no serious effect on the environment (not likely), Bush makes the caps voluntary, so there are no consequences if a company exceeds them. Unsurprisingly, Bush's friends in the energy industry think the plan is a fabulous idea.
2-14-2002 Washington Post	Bush pursues drilling for oil off the coast of California.	There isn't much oil off the coast of California. What is there is of poor quality, some only good for asphalt. New leases for oil drilling off California's coast were banned in 1990, but leases that existed before the ban are exempt. There are 36 leases currently not in use that are exempt from the ban, and California wants to stop anyone from drilling on those leases. But the Bush administration appeals a judge's ruling giving California that power, proving--once again--that states' rights mean nothing to conservatives when it comes to protecting corporate interests.
2-1-2002 New York Times	Bush allows states to designate fetuses as children.	Expanding public health care coverage to poor pregnant women is a good thing. Using that expansion to obscure an attack on abortion rights is despicable. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson announces that the administration will allow states to designate fetuses as children eligible for funds under the Child Health Insurance Program so women will be able to get prenatal care under the program. But why not simply expand the program to cover pregnant women? Because by choosing to designate fetuses as "children," the Bush administration can appease the right-wing religious nuts who feel it hasn't done enough to fight abortion.
1-30-2002 CNN	Bush tries to limit Congressional probes of September 11 terrorist attacks.	Don't the American people deserve a full explanation of what happened September 11? Bush doesn't think so. He asks Congress to limit probes of the attack's causes to the two Intelligence Committees, whose proceedings are secret. Bush encouraging secrecy from the government? Unthinkable!
1-30-2002 Washington Post	Bush invents the "axis of evil."	During his State of the Union address, Bush lists Iran, North Korea, and Iraq as a new "axis of evil" that his administration will confront. It's a remarkably short-sighted foreign policy move that makes it clear our president has no interest in promoting peace. His choice of phrase inflames those countries (not to mention most of the rest of the world), ensuring that we will enjoy hostile relations with them for years to come. And all of his picks came at especially inopportune moments. Iran has moved toward a moderate government in elections over the past few years, and the United States was delicately pursuing improved relations with the country before Bush made his clumsy remarks. Bush already ham-handedly squandered an opportunity left to him by the Clinton administration to improve relations with North Korea (see 3-9-2001 below), but further eroding those relations only makes a bad situation worse. Iraq--well, it's just disturbing to see Paul Wolfowitz winning arguments in this administration. These are three bad countries whose problems need our attention. But Bush's strategy of describing countries as "evil" makes serious diplomatic efforts virtually impossible. It sure does line the pockets of defense contractors, though.
1-22-2002 New York Times	Bush backs drilling for natural gas in national monument.	The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Montana has stunning vistas of red and white cliff formations. But it's missing something, just one last element that would make it the perfect place for a relaxing family vacation: drills for natural gas. Don't worry, however. Thanks to the Bush administration's Bureau of Land Management, those drills may be coming soon to Upper Missouri. The BLM has recommended allowing natural gas drilling to go forward in the national monument, claiming that the drills--as well as the infrastructure to support them--would have little environmental impact. Given the drills, roads, and pipeline that will come with the wells, that seems like a stretch.
1-16-2002 New York Times	Bush bans unions at Justice Department.	"National security" is a great all-purpose excuse if you're a popular president waging a so-called war who wants to keep attacking the rights of your citizens. This time Bush attacks his own Justice Department by refusing to let several people who work there join unions. Apparently the president feels that joining a union makes it harder for DOJ employees to protect Americans. He also thinks it's a threat to national security, a new one since Justice employees have joined unions for decades.
1-15-2002 San Francisco Chronicle	Bush seeks to drill for oil off the California coast.	Good thing the president is a conservative interested in local control and states' rights. Otherwise Bush might be inclined to ignore the fact that the citizens of California don't want oil drills off their coasts and instead listen to his buddies in the energy business. Oh, wait. Bush isn't interested in local control or states' rights when it doesn't suit his agenda. He is pursuing oil drilling off the coast of California, and the state is suing his administration to prevent it. Funny how Bush's conservative philosophy seems to disappear whenever the interests of energy companies show up.
1-15-2002 UPI	Bush plans to store--rather than destroy--nuclear weapons slated for reduction.	When Bush promised a two-thirds reduction in America's nuclear arsenal, most people assumed that meant America would have two-thirds fewer nuclear weapons. How silly. Turns out that "reducing" just means "turning them off and storing them" to be used in case another enemy pops up. This makes it more likely that Russia won't destroy its nuclear weapons, which in turn makes it more likely that someone will steal nuclear material.
1-15-2002 Washington Post	Bush relaxes environmental rules on wetlands development.	When the Army Corps of Engineers wants to roll back rules that would protect our nation's wetlands, Bush's own Fish and Wildlife Service objects. (See 1-14-2002 below.) But the Bush administration listens to one thing and one thing only: the sweet "ca-ching" of the campaign cash register. Bush's friends in the real estate and mining industries want the new rules, so they get them, wetlands be damned.
1-14-2002 Washington Post	Bush muzzles Fish and Wildlife objections to wetlands development rules.	Back in March 2000, President Clinton forced the Army Corps of Engineers to rewrite the rules regarding development and mining in the nation's wetlands. Clinton wanted it to be more difficult for developers and miners to damage the environmentally sensitive areas. When Clinton left office, the Corps--never known for its environmental activism--tried to reverse the rules. The Fish and Wildlife Service writes 15 pages of objections, saying the new rules would bring "tremendous destruction" on the wetlands. But the Interior Department, which oversees Fish and Wildlife, never passes on the comments to the Army Corps of Engineers, ensuring that the government's best biologists have no influence over a decision affecting one of our country's most fragile natural habitats.
1-12-2002 Washington Post	Bush puts a hold on U.N. family-planning funds.	The United Nations Population Fund provides family-planning programs to poor women all over the world. They save the lives of mothers who would otherwise die in childbirth. They prevent thousands of abortions every year. So the anti-abortion religious right does the most sensible thing: demand that the United States not fund the program. Bush, who is never too busy to appease the radical fringe of his party, accedes to their request, withholding $34 million that would go to save the lives of thousands of the poorest mothers and children all over the planet.
1-9-2002 Washington Post	Bush abandons programs to build more fuel-efficient cars.	Remember when President Bush was interested in reducing our dependence on foreign oil? Well, maybe he still is, as long as it involves making his friends in the domestic energy business--those who haven't gone bankrupt yet--lots and lots of dough. But Bush doesn't want us to reduce our dependency on foreign oil by, say, using less oil. So he abandons a federal program that was aimed at producing cars that got high gas mileage. Instead Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham touts a program to produce pollution-free hydrogen fuel cells. While that program is laudable, it will take decades to produce a working model. Meanwhile America's highways will continue to be filled with polluting, gas-guzzling cars.
1-6-2002 San Francisco Chronicle	Bush restricts Freedom of Information Act requests.	The Bush response to every single happenstance is to hide as much information from the public as possible. The attacks of September 11 were no different, and the administration quickly moved to restrict information from the general public. Under the guise of protecting information that could aid terrorists, Attorney General John Ashcroft urged federal agencies to resist most requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Of course the Justice Department wants to reduce the public's access to sensitive information. Law enforcement is always easier when no one finds out what you're doing.
12-28-2001 Bloomberg	Bush ignores disclosure rule on intelligence actions.	Congress does more than just make laws. It also serves the vital function of overseeing the actions of the federal government. That oversight role applies to all agencies, from social services to law enforcement to the military. This includes the actions of the U.S. intelligence community. Congress's role provides an essential check on the power of the most secretive of agencies, power that has been abused in the past. But President Bush feels that Congress shouldn't be snooping around in his business, especially in These Troubled Times. So he informs Congress that he won't be reporting the actions that the intelligence agencies take, unless he feels like it.
12-28-2001 Washington Post	Bush makes it possible for criminals to get federal contracts.	Conservatives would have you believe that they are tough on criminals, insisting on harsh penalties to keep them off the streets. And if criminals are poor, that's usually the case. But when it comes to criminals who hang out in boardrooms rather than on street corners, the same justice doesn't apply. Back in March, the president delayed a rule that would make it more difficult for businesses who break environmental or worker-safety regulations to obtain federal contracts, a minor punishment that should just the beginning of criminal penalties. (See 3-30-2001 below.) Now he abandons that rule permanently. This means that companies that break the law will have no problems obtaining contracts with the federal government, thanks to Bush. So much for the rule of law.
12-20-2001 Atlanta Journal-Constitution	Bush prepares to roll back provisions of the Clean Air Act.	Bush promised during the campaign to reduce industrial pollution. He must have had his fingers crossed behind his back. Now he plans to drop provisions of the Clean Air Act that require certain coal-fired plants that upgrade or expand their operations to purchase pollution-reduction equipment. Polluting industries have lobbied hard for the change, and campaign contributions from Bush's friends in the electricity industry surely have some influence over the decision.
12-19-2001 Chicago Sun-Times	Bush ends federal programs for women.	While women have made enormous advances in the last century, the struggle for equality in American society isn't over yet. This doesn't matter to our president, who closes the regional offices of the Women's Bureau in the Department of Labor. The closings come on the heels of closing the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach, established by President Clinton in 1995 (see 3-31-2002 below), and ending the Labor Department's "Equal Pay Matters" initiative. These programs all fought for equality in the workplace, an issue that Bush clearly thinks is no priority at all.
12-14-2001 Washington Post	Bush invokes executive privilege over 30-year-old mobster case.	This one is mystifying at first. When the president instructs the Justice Department not to hand over documents subpoenaed by Congress regarding a 30-year-old mob prosecution and Clinton/Gore fundraising scandals, you have to wonder why Bush would care if information about these cases were made public. But of course it's not the specifics that matter, it's the principle. By invoking executive privilege here, Bush sets a precedent that makes it easier for him to do so again in the future when there is information he wants to protect. Bush has already used executive orders to keep records that should be public hidden away (see 11-2-2001 below), so it's no surprise that he'll pursue all avenues to keep his administration safe from exposure and Congressional oversight.
12-13-2001 CNN	Bush abandons ABM treaty.	The September 11 tragedy forced the president to put his isolationist foreign policies on the back burner. He needed--and easily obtained--international support for his war in Afghanistan to keep it from blowing up in other Islamic nations. But now that the military is mopping up what's left of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the president returns to his unilaterist roots by officially abandoning the 1972 Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty, which has served as a cornerstone of nuclear deterrence for three decades. Bush calls the treaty a "Cold War relic," but it is his decision to spark a new arms race that belongs to a less reasonable time.
12-11-2001 Washington Post	Bush changes the rules for nuclear waste-storage facility.	There are two ways to avoid getting in trouble: you can avoid breaking the rules, or you can rewrite the rules so what you're doing isn't wrong anymore. That's just what Bush's Department of Energy does when it changes the rules for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage site in Nevada. The site, which Bush has been pushing hard, has been discovered to have some unforeseen problems, including an earthquake fault line and areas of loose rock. Rather than reconsider the site, the DOE decides to relax the requirements for geological suitability, putting the interests of their friends in the nuclear industry above public safety, environmental responsibility, and simple human decency.
11-30-2001 New York Times	Bush tries to revive Cointelpro.	It was the operation in which the FBI spied on Martin Luther King, Jr. There was a time in this country when the government considered the struggle for civil rights tantamount to communism. It's one of those historical crimes that almost seems worth the pain it caused only because it serves as a warning to future generations that they must be wary in order to preserve their liberties. But after September 11, Americans aren't so interested in protecting their freedoms anymore, so John Ashcroft's proposal to allow domestic spying on religious and political groups will probably not generate significant popular dissent. Cointelpro. It's a word that should strike fear into the heart of every freedom-loving American. And if Bush and Ashcroft have their way, it's coming back.
11-29-2001 Washington Post	Bush allows pesticide experiments involving humans.	If you want to eat pesticide for money, there's good news: Bush's EPA has decided to allow you to do so again. Under the Clinton administration, the practice of experimenting on humans to determine pesticide safety levels was banned; scientists considered them too dangerous. But this angered the pesticide industry, since the (admittedly more accurate) human trials allowed them to sell more product. (The estimated data from less accurate experiments has to be multiplied to get safe human levels, and scientists err on the side of safety.) If it makes an industry angry, it makes Bush angry (we can't imagine why), so he's decided to allow the tests once again, against the advice of the (not-connected-to-pesticide-companies) scientific community.
11-20-2001 Associated Press	Bush asks Americans to "dig deep" during holiday season.	Call it evil by irony. There's nothing inherently wrong with President Bush's request to Americans to increase charitable giving during the holiday season. We all should give more. But the budget Bush released earlier in the year made it clear that fighting poverty was not one of his priorities, while tax breaks for the rich are at the top of his list. The president has enormous power to eradicate poverty in America, and Bush has chosen not to fight that battle. (The grants for homelessness he announced today fall far short of a real solution.) By asking Americans to fight it for him, he is shirking his duties as the president. Yes, we should all give during the holiday season. But the best way to fight poverty is to get this guy out of office.
11-18-2001 LA Times	Bush orders the destruction of public information.	There's no doubt that the president does not consider the public's access to information about the government to be an important right. He recently signed an executive order that would keep his own papers in secret for perpetuity. (See 11-2-2001 below.) But there's other information the Bush administration wouldn't like the public to get its hands on, and the terrorist acts of September 11 provided a perfect excuse. So he orders federal agencies to remove data from their Web sites and libraries to destroy information they are storing. Terrorists didn't need this information to plan devastating attacks. But Americans need it to stay informed.
11-14-2001 Washington Post	Bush proposes trying suspected terrorists with military tribunals.	Since people in America suspected of ties to terrorism are being refused the right to counsel (see 11-9-2001 below), it should come as no surprise that Bush doesn't plan on protecting the rights of terrorists captured on international soil. But Bush's decision to use military tribunals to try captured terrorists is an unconstitutional extension of the executive branch's powers. The Secretary of Defense choosing the burden of proof? Only two-thirds consensus required for a conviction? No appellate review of the tribunal's verdicts? One can't help but suspect these tribunals will be secret and wonder whether the Bush administration is afraid of public trials. The fact that Bush has refused to share publicly the evidence against Osama bin Laden and Al Queda is equally disturbing. Our judicial system is designed to give a fair and open trial to those accused of crimes, and it's the best in the world. Why does the president feel the need to replace it?
11-9-2001 Washington Post	Bush eliminates the basic right of attorney-client privilege.	The thing about Constitutional rights is that there can be absolutely no exceptions. Once you start making exceptions, even "just this one time," it opens the door to future abuses. Today we're doing it in the name of preventing terrorism, tomorrow it's the War on Drugs, and eventually they're denying you a lawyer when they charge you with sedition. We have to protect our rights at all costs, because any attack on them, no matter how innocuous, can be the beginning of the end. The right of a suspected criminal to have an attorney is clearly stated in the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. The courts long ago recognized that a suspect must be allowed to speak freely to counsel in order for that Constitutional right to be fulfilled. Now, in its clearest violation of both the letter and the spirit of that amendment, the Bush administration announces that it will monitor calls between people suspected of links to terrorists and their lawyers. This means those suspects cannot speak freely to their lawyers and are being denied the right to counsel. What's the point in defending freedom abroad if we're denying it at home?
11-7-2001 Washington Post	Bush closes office dedicated to protecting the Everglades.	In one of those campaign appearances meant to emphasize the "compassionate" part of "compassionate conservative," the Bush visited the Florida Everglades to promise that as president, he would protect America's natural resources. In what is now an all-too-familiar move, Bush's Interior Secretary, Gale Norton, closes down the federal office whose job it is to protect the Everglades.
11-7-2001 Washington Post	Bush forces terminally ill Oregonians to die painful deaths.	If there's one thing we learned from the 2000 elections, it's that Republicans like states' rights just so long as they don't interfere with their conservative agenda. The people of Oregon in 1994 and 1997 voted to allow doctors to prescribe medications for terminally ill people that would let them end their lives as they wished: peacefully, at home, with family. Attorney General John Ashcroft informs the state that the Drug Enforcement Agency will be prosecuting doctors who prescribe drugs for euthanasia, ensuring those ill patients the long, slow, undignified, painful deaths that Ashcroft's God dictates.
11-2-2001 CNN	Bush gives Microsoft a free pass.	Both the trial judge and the appeals court found Microsoft guilty of antitrust violations. But Republicans don't believe in enforcing antitrust laws, do they? That's just the government interfering with the perfection of the free market. So Bush's Department of Justice lets Microsoft off easy, agreeing to a settlement that only puts minor (and temporary) restrictions on the software giant.
11-2-2001 Washington Post	Bush overturns the 1978 Presidential Records Act.	Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that presidents have the power to overturn laws with an executive order. But President Bush doesn't let that stop him from protecting Reagan, his father, administration cronies, and himself from the eventual release of their records. In the wake of Watergate, Congress passed the 1978 Presidential Records Act, which was designed to check the evil whims of future presidents with the promise that all their papers would be released to the public 12 years after they left office. Reagan's papers were slated to be released this year, but Bush delayed the release several times. (See 9-1-2001 and 6-9-2001 below.) Surely this was connected to the fact that many of the worst criminals in the Reagan administration now serve under Bush. Now the president signs an executive order invalidating the PRA, ensuring that his most heinous deeds can be hidden from the public eye for all time.
10-27-2001 Associated Press	Bush urges Congress not to federalize airport security.	Airport screeners make an average of $6.75 per hour. They have a turnover rate of 126 percent a year, meaning that virtually none of them stays on the job for long. With those kinds of working conditions, is it any surprise that a man made it onto a plane with a gun a few days ago, in what is supposed to be a time of heightened security? Low-wage workers are not motivated to do a great job. (Have you ever noticed that fast-food employees never seem as enthusiastic in real life as they are in commercials?) So when Bush urges Congress not to make airport security a federal law-enforcement concern, he's directly endangering the lives of millions of American air travelers--just in time for the holidays!
10-26-2001 Washington Post	Bush signs the antiterrorism bill.	Civil liberties officially take a backseat to law enforcement. The Senate and House easily pass the antiterrorism bill (with the cloying and inaccurate name, "USA Patriot Act"), which makes it easier for the government to conduct searches or electronic surveillance. The president quickly and enthusiastically signs the bill. Democratic Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, who cast the sole vote in the Senate against the bill, calls it "a wish list for the FBI, an overreach that invades civil liberties."
10-26-2001 Washington Post	Bush overturns mining regulations.	The possibility that a mine will cause "substantial irreparable harm" seems like a pretty good reason for the Interior Department to deny it a permit. But that standard isn't acceptable to the mining industry, which makes it unacceptable to the Bush administration. After the generosity of the mining companies toward the Bush campaign, who can blame them? Those campaign contributions don't come cheap, after all. It's just too bad that it's the American landscape that will have to pay.
10-21-2001 Washington Post	Bush approves the assassination of Osama bin Laden.	What's so immoral about assassinations? After all, people die in military engagements all the time, so why should, say, slipping a political leader a dose of heart-stopping poison be any worse than shooting a soldier? Well, the soldier is shooting back. War is fraught with moral ambiguities, but there are rules to military engagements. (Those rules are broken all too often, with such incidents explained euphemistically as "collateral damage.") You're not supposed to shoot someone who doesn't pose immediate danger to you or others. Assassination is a specific violation of those rules, and thus inherently immoral. Before September 11, America was quickly losing stature on the world stage after sabotaging treaties covering subjects ranging from carbon dioxide emissions to biological warfare. Bush's order to the CIA to use any means to take out Osama bin Laden is likely to chip away at the stature we've regained since we were attacked by terrorists. Besides, it's just wrong.
10-19-2001 Washington Post	Bush lies to Congress about affect of oil drilling in ANWR on caribou.	Wildlife refuges like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge exist for one reason: to protect wildlife from the whims of politics and economic self-interest. Such self-interest has led the GOP to argue for drilling in ANWR ever since the president took office. They've even exploited the September 11 attacks to bolster their argument. When Interior Secretary Gale Norton argues in front of Congress in support of oil drilling in ANWR, she omits data from the Wildlife Service showing that drilling would affect the caribou that migrate through the area and lies about the calving habits of those caribou. Both deceptions serve to promote the drilling, which would be a boon to the energy industry that supported Bush so loyally during the presidential campaign.
10-13-2001 Associated Press	Bush puts a lid on the media.	Ari Fleischer tells Americans they need to "watch what they say." The administration asks TV news networks to let it edit videos from Al Qaeda before they show them. Is silencing the media the president's idea of defending freedom? Now the administration isn't allowing interviews of public health officials, denying citizens important information. Reporters are even having trouble finding information on environmental issues, which leads one to wonder just what kinds of policies agencies like Interior and the EPA are slipping in while our attention is elsewhere. One reporter described the administration's actions as "irrational and overreaching."
10-5-2001 Associated Press	Bush looks to cut taxes even further.	Fearing an economic slump in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the president proposes $60 billion in tax cuts in addition to the $1.35 trillion cut Congress foolishly passed earlier this year. A disaster like this, where there is significant physical damage and massive unemployment across several industries, requires government spending, not tax cuts, to boost the economy. Such spending will create jobs and increase consumer spending, which tax cuts (aimed toward the rich, as always) can't do.
10-1-2001 LA Times	Bush expands powers of secret court.	A secret court located in the Justice Department decides whether or not Americans can be wiretapped. There's no accountability and no appeal. How could you appeal, after all, when you don't even know you've been tapped? In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Attorney General John Ashcroft wants to make it even easier for the court, which in 23 years has disapproved exactly one surveillance request, to approve wiretaps and warrants. Ashcroft's proposal would expand the courts bailiwick; where it now deals solely with intelligence matters, he would have it expand to criminal investigations. Given that the court was created to prevent Nixonian abuses of the Justice Department revealed by the Watergate investigation, Ashcroft's proposals seem to be a direct threat to civil rights.
9-24-2001 Washington Post	Bush tries to end arms sanctions.	Back when America was fighting the Cold War, we had a knack for arming folks who would eventually turn into our enemies. We armed Manuel Noriega, and he became "Manuel Noriega." We armed Saddam Hussein, and he became "Saddam Hussein." We even armed Osama bin Laden, who has since become "Osama bin Laden." This turned out to be a short-sighted strategy. Now the president wants to revive it by eliminating arms sanctions to a host of nations. This includes Pakistan, who has been under an arms embargo because of its nuclear program. While the current government of that country has indicated that it wants to help America fight our new war on terrorism, that attitude could easily spark a coup that would put Pakistan's military in the hands of extremists. Thus sending arms to Pakistan, along with Syria and Iran, might not be the best idea. This action also lifts arms embargoes on countries like China where they were in place because of their poor human rights records.
9-17-2001 Washington Post	Bush looks to curb civil liberties.	Everyone says if we let the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon change our lives, then the terrorists have won. Certainly any restrictions to our freedoms would be the worst victory we could hand them. Nevertheless, the president wants to assassinate foreign leaders, make it easier to tap our phones, and detain foreigners (wonder how they'll pick which ones). It sounds as though America is going to be a little less like America for a while.
9-8-2001 LA Times	Bush delays energy assistance to the poor.	During his made-up energy crisis, President Bush sought to deflect criticism that his plan was skewed in favor of the energy industry by proposing $150 million in funds to help the poor pay their utility bills. Congress doubled the amount to $300 million. But now Bush blocks those very funds, a move we can only describe as unfathomable.
9-7-2001 New York Times	Bush eases nursing home regulations.	Bad nursing homes can be a horror. Government investigations have documented unimaginable conditions for seniors over the years. This isn't terribly surprising; it's cheaper to provide bad service than good service. The best remedy is government oversight. Now the Bush administration proposes to reduce that oversight, reducing inspections from once a year to once every two or three years, easing penalties, and relying on data given by the industry. We're sure nursing homes will line up to give the government data on their less savory practices.
9-6-2001 Associated Press	Bush lets Microsoft off scot-free.	The U.S. Court of Appeals sent back Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's sentence in the Microsoft case for review because it felt the judge had been too biased in his decision, not surprising considering his ill-advised anti-Microsoft remarks to the media. But it did not ask the court to review his verdict, agreeing with Jackson that Microsoft was clearly guilty of antitrust violations. Now Attorney General John Ashcroft decides not to pursue any significant punishments for the software giant, meaning Microsoft will suffer no consequences for what the trial judge and appeals court agree are serious crimes. You just have to love these get-tough-on-crime conservatives!
9-1-2001 New York Times	Bush delays release of Reagan's presidential records--again.	A post-Watergate law required that all presidents release their records twelve years after their terms end. Ronald Reagan was the first president covered by the law, and his papers were due for release in January. But the Bush administration (many of whose members worked for Reagan and Vice President George Bush, whose papers from that era must also be released) delayed the papers' release until June. In June, they delayed the release until August. (See 6-9-2001 below.) Now that the August deadline has passed, the current administration delays the release again, this time with no deadline. How long will the Bush administration be allowed to protect its cronies?
8-28-2001 Associated Press	Bush delays reparations to cancer-stricken uranium miners.	There was a time, believe it or not, when people didn't know that exposure to uranium would lead to cancer. Now we know better, of course, and dozens of miners who worked with uranium ore for the government's nuclear program have gotten sick. The sacrifice to their health given in service to their country is no less than that of a wounded soldier, and they deserve similar compensation. The president wants to push back compensation while the government conducts studies, but these people are rapidly dying. Given another chance to prove that he really is a compassionate human being, Bush fails miserably.
8-28-2001 Washington Post	Bush skips an international conference on racism.	We've pulled out of the Kyoto treaty, the germ warfare treaty enforcement protocols, and the ABM treaty. We've been kicked off the UN Human Rights Commission. Thousands of protesters face President Bush whenever he travels to Europe. Our international standing is lower than it has been in years. Naturally, the president decides not to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to an international conference on racism in order to protest language in a conference communique that condemns Israel's treatment of Palestinians as racist. Wouldn't going to the conference to discuss the issue be a more mature response? Isn't establishing such dialogue the whole idea behind the conference?
8-23-2001 CNN	Bush announces that the United States will withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.	"We will withdraw from the ABM treaty on our timetable," the president announces from his "working vacation" in Crawford, Texas. Apparently the United States has returned to the days--well remembered by Native Americans--when we honor treaties only as long as they're convenient. If Russia doesn't like the terms of our withdrawal, too bad. We'll just rip up the treaty when it ceases to suit our purposes.
8-23-2001 Washington Post	Bush cooks budget numbers for PR purposes.	While the surplus plunges, Bush's White House tries to fool the American public into calm. His budget director, Mitch Daniels, says the country is "awash in money." Happily, the media sees through this deception and reports the truth about the budget. While the White House says there is a $158 billion surplus, this is largely the untouchable Social Security surplus. Without Social Security funds, the surplus drops to $1 billion. Maybe Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut wasn't such a good idea after all?
8-15-2001 Rocky Mountain News	Bush keeps protesters at bay--again.	Back in June, the president was speaking at a tax rally where protesters where forced to leave. (See 6-8-2001 below.) They were only allowed in designated "First Amendment areas," proving that in Bush's America, the First Amendment only counts where he says it counts. Now on a trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park, Bush does it again, staying in areas no less than a mile away from designated First Amendment areas.
8-15-2001 Washington Post	Bush delays Medicaid reforms.	Despite all the hoopla over the recent patients' bill of rights debate, neither version of the bill--the McCain-Edwards-Kennedy bill passed by the Senate or the watered-down House version--does anything to protect the poor or uninsured. For that, the government must reform Medicaid, which was the subject of several rules passed by the Clinton administration in order to enforce a compromise made during 1997 budget negotiations. But Bush is delaying and narrowing those rules in order to appease insurance companies and state governments that are worried about the cost.
8-11-2001 Washington Post	Bush rejects request for review of Karl Rove's finances.	Karl Rove, the president's top political consultant and a federal employee, met with the executives of six companies in which he holds more than $100,000 in stock to discuss White House policy. There can be no question that this creates at least the appearance of impropriety, something that Bush promised to avoid during his term. Given his oft-repeated campaign promises of an ethical administration, one would think Bush would be extremely cooperative with any investigation of possible ethical lapses. But no. A request from House Government Reform committee ranking member Henry Waxman of California to Bush for records relating to Rove's finances and meetings goes unheeded, making it clear that Bush's promises to restore honor to the White House are little more than empty words.
8-11-2001 Washington Post	Bush eases ethical restrictions on stem cells.	It's ironic, really. Bush's decision on stem cells limits federal funds to researchers working on stem cell lines already created. But in doing so, Bush also wipes out Clinton administration ethical rules on obtaining stem cells from embryos. Those rules included not allowing researchers to ask women for access to extra embryos during implantation, as it is a time of extreme vulnerability for most women. They also laid out exactly what was required for researches to gain "informed consent" from women before using their embryos. The Bush rules don't include these requirements, in effect opening up women to potential exploitation. While Bush speaks of protecting the groups of cells from which stem cells are derived, it's obvious he never thought about protecting the fully formed humans from which they originate.
8-10-2001 Washington Post	Bush refuses to fund research on stem cells derived from new embryos.	Trying to appear wise as Solomon, the president falls on his face and looks more like--well, himself. In a decision clearly crafted for maximum political benefit, Bush decides that no federal funds will go to scientists creating new stem cells from existing embryos slated to be destroyed. Instead the federal government will only fund 60 self-sustaining lines of embryos already in existence. The decision pleases no one apart from the president's yes-men. Catholics call it unacceptable because it still, from their perspective, treats human life as something cheap. Scientists are worried that the limitations will hurt scientific research. As with his position on abortion, Bush tries to avoid a real stance in order to appear blameless.
8-9-2001 Washington Post	Bush eases rules on wetlands development.	In direct contradiction to an earlier promise to protect wetlands from destruction, the Bush administration has decided to ease rules set in place a year ago that make it more difficult to develop real estate on wetlands. Bush's own EPA and Fish and Wildlife Agency support the old rules, but real estate developers don't. Guess who wins?
8-8-2001 Washington Post	Bush eases Clinton rules on industrial pollution.	The story has become almost routine. The EPA under Clinton sued several power plants for adding capacity without following Clean Air Act regulations requiring them to reduce emissions. Now the EPA under Bush decides, with plenty of input from the energy industry, that these suits were unjustified. The agency will narrow the rules under which it would bring those suits, which will have a direct impact on the air we breathe.
8-2-2001 Salon.com	Bush undermines House efforts to develop a bipartisan patients' bill of rights.	By negotiating solely with Republican congressman Charlie Norwood of Georgia over the patients' bill of rights, the president fractures a coalition of Republicans and Democrats that had dedicated themselves to putting the interest of patients above those of HMOs. Bush and Norwood announce their deal without consulting other sponsors of the bill, making the "compromise" nothing but a political game by the White House.
7-27-2001 USA Today	Bush jails a journalist for not revealing her sources.	During the Clinton administration, the Justice Department never--not once--jailed a journalist trying to protect an anonymous source. Attorney General John Ashcroft reverses that policy by jailing Vanessa Leggett when she refuses to turn over notes for a book she's writing about a 1997 murder. What's worse, the proceeding that led to Leggett's incarceration is held in secret, with even the judge's name not released.
7-27-2001 New York Times	Bush commission releases biased Social Security report.	The president had an agenda when he appointed the members of his commission on Social Security, and it had nothing to do with protecting the nation's elderly poor. He appointed members who were Democrats and Republicans to give it a veneer of bipartisanship, but the commission was ideologically homogenous with regards to the very issue it was supposed to study. The result, its report, is a biased prediction of the early death of the program meant to scare the public into supporting Bush's privatization scheme. The individualized accounts Bush proposes would shrink the Social Security surplus at a time--baby boomers reaching retirement en masse--when it needs to be expanded.
7-26-2001 Washington Post	Bush officially rejects germ warfare treaty protocol.	Two months ago, the Bush administration was considering rejecting a protocol for enforcing a decades-old treaty banning biological weapons. (See 5-20-2001 below.) Now Bush officially rejects the protocol, saying that it endangers the industrial secrets of U.S. biotech firms. Once again the president has a choice between what's good for corporate profits and what's good for the public, and once again he makes the wrong decision.
7-24-2001 Washington Post	Bush isolates United States in denying support for Kyoto treaty.	In what can only be described as an embarrassment for the world's largest economy, the United States is now the only industrialized nation that doesn't support the Kyoto treaty to reduce greenhouse gases. America has 4 percent of the world's population but is responsible for 25 percent of the greenhouse gases, which are the primary cause of global warming. Bush's lack of world leadership on this issue is so reprehensible that the city of Seattle has decided to implement the pollution reductions in the treaty anyway. Perhaps enough U.S. cities will follow suit that our president's backwards policy will become irrelevant.
7-23-2001 Associated Press	Bush ends gun buy-back program.	The National Rifle Association believes that if guns were illegal, only criminals would own guns. Government programs that buy back guns from the community (at prices well under their market value) work on similar logic; after all, what law-abiding gun owner would want to give up his $400 gun for $50? They get thousands of guns off the street--20,000 in their first year alone. Now President Bush cuts funding to these programs at the behest of the NRA, payback for all those campaign contributions.
7-19-2001 CNN	Bush refuses to turn over energy task force records.	The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, asks Vice President Cheney to turn over records showing just who he consulted when developing the nation's energy policy. Cheney boldly stands up to the GAO's unreasonable assertion that public policy development should be a public process. Surely the vice president has nothing to hide, such as the fact campaign-contributing executives from the energy industry had a disproportionate influence on the process.
7-17-2001 Reuters	Bush delays water cleanup rules.	The Environmental Protection agency goes to court to block Clinton-administration rules requiring cleanup of national rivers. EPA head Christine Todd Whitman says she needs "additional time to listen carefully to all parties with a stake in restoring America's waters"--Bush administration code for paying back polluting industries for their huge campaign contributions.
6-25-2001 CNN	Bush threatens to derail flight attendant strike.	The right to strike is just about the only thing that keeps employers from abusing their employees with low wages, few benefits, and unsafe workplaces. President Bush, who as a conservative doesn't believe the government should interfere in the affairs of business, has decide to step in and stop a strike of American Airlines flight attendants. Naturally, the White House denies any relationship between big campaign contributions from the airlines and Bush's decision.
6-24-2001 New York Times	Bush to reverse snowmobile ban in Yellowstone Park.	They call it a "tunnel of fumes" and say it's "like being in a bar--you're dizzy, nauseous, your throat is burning and your eyes are burning." White House correspondents describing a press conference with Ari Fleischer? No, it's Yellowstone rangers giving their reasons for supporting the Clinton-administration ban on snowmobiles in the national park. Such parks should give people the opportunity to escape the noise and pollution of the city, but snowmobiles give Yellowstone that interstate feel. They also interfere with the winter food search of bison. Three years of public meetings and comment resulted in the snowmobile ban, but Bush will reverse that process with no input from the public.
6-22-2001 Salon.com	Bush uses the IRS and federal funds to send out a campaign letter.	Just about everyone knows that the IRS will be sending out rebate checks later this year from Bush's ill-advised tax cut. But the president, who campaigned against wasteful government spending, is having the IRS spend more than $30 million to send a letter to taxpayers to let them know they'll be getting a refund. Perhaps the dozen or so people who haven't yet heard the news are worth the full $30 million. The letter, perhaps unsurprisingly, glowingly mentions Bush's role in the cut because, after all, it's never to early to start campaigning.
6-20-2001 CNN	Bush seeks settlement for tobacco lawsuit.	Despite the government's strong case against tobacco companies, Attorney General John Ashcroft indicates that the Justice Department will seek to settle the lawsuit. This has two effects. It weakens Justice's case by presenting a much less confident front, and it helps yet another industry that--you guessed it!--gave a lot more money to Bush than to Al Gore.
6-15-2001 Washington Post	Bush denies Africans AIDS drugs through international aid agency.	The president's choice to run the US Agency for International Development, Andrew Natsios, argues against giving antiviral drugs to the 25 million Africans that suffer from AIDS. His reason? Africans can't tell time. Taking AIDS drugs often involves a strict regimen, and Natsios seems to think that all Africans are primitive villagers who won't be able to understand complex Western ideas like "four o'clock." Instead, he suggests, we must stress "abstinence, faithfulness and the use of condoms" for preventing future outbreaks. So while Natsios thinks that Africans won't understand our Western concept of time; he doesn't mind trying to impose his Western morality.
6-10-2001 Associated Press	Bush refuses to give California an exemption for gasoline additives.	Federal regulations require the addition of an "oxygenate" to gasoline to make it burn more cleanly. California recently phased out a common oxygenate, MTBE, because it was polluting the water supply. Another option is ethanol, but California Governor Gray Davis asks for an exemption to the oxygenate rule because refiners have developed other ways to make the gasoline cleaner. Adding oxygenates to the gas increases the cost of gasoline, and Davis is obviously sensitive to energy prices. Bush refuses Davis's request, showing that the 2004 campaign is already in full swing. Support for ethanol is crucial for presidential candidates in Iowa, where the corn-based fuel additive is important to the local economy.
6-10-2001 CNN	Bush threatens to veto the Kennedy-Edwards-McCain patients' bill of rights.	When Republicans were in control of Congress, the president could state unequivocally that he supported a patients' bill of rights. After all, he's a Reformer with Results. But now that the Democrats run the Senate, a bill with real reform might end up on his desk. Such a bill might allow, for example, someone whose spouse died because an HMO refused medical treatment to collect a judgement of more than $500,000. Calling such real reform "a trial lawyers' bill," White House chief of staff Andy Card indicates that Bush will veto the bill if it reaches his desk. Hey, that couldn't have anything to do with all those campaign contributions from the insurance industry, could it?
6-9-2001 New York Times	Bush delays release of Reagan's presidential records.	Most of the members of the Bush administration have a long history in Republican politics. Donald Rumsfeld is enjoying his second term as secretary of defense. Vice President Cheney was President Ford's chief of staff. Is it so surprising, then, that Bush would delay the release--mandated by a post-Watergate reform law--of President Reagan's records? Who knows what current administration player will be embarrassed by the documents, which contain advice given to the former president by close advisers? When it's a choice between bringing the truth to light or protecting his cronies (not to mention his father), you can be sure on which side you'll find our president standing.
6-8-2001 St. Petersburg Times	Bush keeps protesters at bay.	At a public appearance to celebrate the president's tax cut in Tampa, Florida, protesters are forbidden to carry signs or express opinions that differ from administration policy. Instead, they are directed to a roped-off area one-third of a mile from the stadium designated--get this--a First Amendment zone. That might just be the greatest example of modern Orwellian double-speak ever. Last time we checked the Constitution, it didn't include limitations as to where one could enjoy the freedom of speech. Read a first-person account of oppression at the rally
6-8-2001 Washington Post	Bush accelerates missile defense plans.	Congress hasn't authorized it. The international community repudiates it. That doesn't stop our president from pursuing a missile defense system, which by its nature trashes important international treaties. The new goal is to get at least part of the system operational by 2004, since there's a good chance Bush won't be the president after then.
6-7-2001 CNN	Bush signs his enormous tax cut.	"Tax relief is an achievement for families struggling to enter the middle class," says the president as he signs the bill containing a $1.35 trillion tax cut into law. Of course the president's bill doesn't help anyone trying to enter the middle class. The most a family not already in the middle class can receive under the cut is $600 plus $500 per child a year, and most will get a fraction of that amount. That's far from enough money to move anyone from one class to another. The wealthy, on the other hand, will net thousands, and in some cases millions of dollars from Bush cuts. "The surplus is the people's money, and we ought to trust them with that money," Bush says, ignoring the rather obvious principle that surpluses obtained during boom times should be applied to deficits incurred during slower economies. The federal debt, after all, is the people's debt, and someone has to pay for it.
6-7-2001 Washington Post	Bush caves to steel industry's threat against retired workers.	Presidents aren't supposed to negotiate with terrorists, right? When an industry threatens to eliminate health insurance benefits for its retired workers if the government doesn't impose trade protections, it fits the very definition of a terrorist: threatening innocent bystanders to accomplish ideological goals. Bush himself often talks about the "bully pulpit" of the presidency, and this is the perfect opportunity to use it. Instead of caving into the steel industry's demands, he could make a public statement repudiating the industry's position and demanding that it not use its workers' health as a negotiating tool. Instead he gives the companies what they want, ensuring that other business groups will be comfortable using these tactics for years to come.
6-1-2001 Associated Press	Bush refuses to issue proclamation for Gay Pride Month.	You can't have it both ways. You can't promise to be everybody's president--a uniter, not a divider--and then turn around and choose to discriminate against a select group of Americans. But Bush decides to do just that by not signing a proclamation declaring June Gay Pride month as Clinton did before him. "The executive office of the president will not sponsor an observance for Gay and Lesbian Pride Month," reads an internal White House memo. What a wonderful example for tolerance the president is setting.
5-29-2001 Newsweek	Bush undermines Justice Department suits against polluting companies.	We're not sure where people got the idea that conservatives think criminals should be punished for their crimes. In his new energy policy, Bush calls for the Justice Department to "review" (read: dump) lawsuits against energy and other companies that break environmental laws. These companies--filled with Bush campaign contributors--regularly flout the law, but don't look for this supposedly conservative administration to enforce it. (Is this where the compassion part comes in?) Protecting campaign contributors from federal prosecution seems like an obvious abuse of power, the kind that presidents should be impeached for. As one attorney at Justice put it, "ongoing law-enforcement activity was supposed to be out of bounds from politics."
5-29-2001 CNN	Bush refuses to consider alleviating California's power woes with price caps.	Bush continues to claim that the market will solve California's energy woes. He doesn't seem to realize that the "market" was what allowed energy producers to raise their prices so high. (No, let's not underestimate the president. He may very well know, but he sure as hell doesn't care.) Wholesale prices are 10 times what they were last year despite no proportionate drop in supply, and the energy companies are raking in unprecedented profits. Despite please from California governor Gray Davis, Bush refuses to consider price caps, as that would lower good buddy and Enron CEO Kenneth Lay's Christmas bonus. Davis says California will sue, since it's clear the energy suppliers are breaking the law to gouge consumers.
5-22-2001 Associated Press	Bush attends fundraiser that includes visit to Cheney's residence.	It's not the fundraising; it's the hypocrisy. Republicans, including Bush, continually and vocally criticized Clinton and Gore for hosting coffees with Democratic donors at the White House. Now Dick Cheney invites hundreds of the GOP's biggest donors to the official vice presidential residence. What's the difference? Republicans aren't just hypocritical for defending the fundraiser. ("I'm sure it's being done in an appropriate way," says Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, "or Dick Cheney wouldn't be doing it." Uh huh.) They're stupid. How difficult was it to predict the bad press the Bush administration would get for inviting donors to the Naval Observatory residence?
5-20-2001 New York Times	Bush rejects a protocol to enforce germ warfare treaty.	Diplomats have worked for six years to develop a compromise protocol that would make it possible to enforce a 1972 treaty that bans chemical and biological warfare. But a Bush administration review rejects the protocol as being too weak, as it has too many loopholes that will allow countries to cheat on the treaty. The problem with this? The United States (this administration and the last) has consistently argued against stronger provisions that would give teeth to the protocol, at the request of pharmaceutical interests who want to protect their trade secrets. Just as with the Kyoto accords (see March 29 entry below), Bush creates a cozy little Catch-22 that angers our allies and prevents us from facing responsibility in the international arena.
5-17-2001 The NEPDG's report	Bush releases his energy plan.	Filled with half-truths and environmental disasters, the National Energy Policy Development Group's report reads as though it were written by the oil and other energy interests that hold such influence over this administration. Given the fact that the NEPDG won't divulge the people it consulted in researching its conclusions, chances are that the energy lobby did write most of the report. Read the Wage Slave Journal report on Bush's energy policy
5-11-2001 CNN	Bush uses high gas prices to sell his tax cut.	When the economy was great, Bush's tax cut was about returning the surplus to the people. When the economy went into the toilet, the long-term cut, defying all logic and economics, was a necessary short-term boost to the economy. Now that gas prices are on the rise, Bush says the tax cut will help the American people to pay for gas. The money will make a brief stop in our bank accounts on its way to the oil companies, which are enjoying record profits as pump prices soar. Apparently the president can't imagine why we'd find this objectionable.
5-8-2001 Salon.com	Bush cuts funding to anti-nuclear proliferation programs.	After promising during the campaign that he would work to reduce the number of nuclear warheads in the world, President Bush cuts funding for antiproliferation programs in his budget. Experts say the programs will be "severely wounded."
5-8-2001 CNN	Bush tries to build more nuclear power plants.	Everyone knows the dangers of nuclear power. The radioactive waste poisons the environment wherever it's stored, and accidents can render huge swaths of land uninhabitable for years. Since the 1979 disaster at Three Mile Island, no new nuclear power plants have been ordered in the United States. Now the Bush administration wants to include nuclear plants among the 1,300 to 1,900 power plants it wants to build over the next 20 years, ushering in a new era of unfettered pollution and profits for the energy industry.
5-7-2001 White House briefing transcript	Bush refuses to ask Americans to conserve.	After a laughable nod to conservation--asking federal buildings in California to cut power consumption by 10 percent, which would save 0.1 percent of power used in the state--Bush makes it clear that conservation is not a serious part his energy policy. Asked whether the president will encourage Americans to conserve, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer replies, "that's a big no. The President believes that it's an American way of life, and that it should be the goal of policy makers to protect the American way of life."
5-4-2001 Associated Press	Bush opens national forests to road building.	National forests exist to protect natural beauty, which becomes more rare every day. Sometimes forests need protection against local whims, since the resources within them can provide a boost to the local economy. But now President Bush has decided to remove federal protections and leave the decisions for road building in national forests to the very people who endanger the forests in the first place. Timber interests, who--oh look!--gave a bunch of money to Bush's campaign, support the roads.
5-3-2001 Washington Post	Bush's budget numbers don't add up.	Here's a surprise: a huge tax cut, a national missile defense system, a prescription drug plan, and privatizing Social Security might cost more than the president claims. White House officials are hoping the tax cut actually increases revenue, despite the fact that collecting less money usually has the opposite effect. The inevitable return to deficit spending will, of course, be equivalent to a huge tax increase on the American people, as interest rates and inflation rise and federal spending is diverted to paying the interest on the growing debt.
5-1-2001 CNN	Bush returns the world to a Cold War-level arms race.	Are the profits of defense contractors more important than world peace? It would appear our president thinks so, since he's going ahead with plans for a national missile defense system despite the objections of perhaps every single other country in the world. Bush is trampling over the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty with Russia, a cornerstone of peace in the world for almost three decades. But at least the president's friends and campaign contributors in the defense industry are sure to be happy.
4-26-2001 Salon.com	Bush makes a gaffe over Taiwan/China policy.	Apparently unaware that our nation's policy toward China and Taiwan is a delicate and complex affair, Bush tells Good Morning America that we would do "whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself." Beijing, already testy after American arms sales to Taiwan and the incident with the downed American spy plane, reacted with horror at Bush's statement, which would constitute a major shift in our foreign policy. Of course the spin machine went into high gear, saying that there was no shift in policy, claiming that the president meant what he said, and ignoring the contradiction between those positions.
4-25-2001 Washington Post	Bush kills the federal tobacco lawsuit.	Bush's budget offers $1.8 million to the Justice Department to continue its lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Lawyers working on the suit say they'll need more than $57 million. What better way to kill a lawsuit without appearing as though you wanted to do so? Such lawsuits have been unquestionably good for the states, forcing tobacco companies to stop predatory marketing and funding important health programs. The feds were pushing for damages approaching $100 billion, but now they'll never see it.
4-24-2001 Associated Press	Bush defunds Reading is Fundamental.	Teaching America's youngest children to read was a constant Bush theme during the campaign. That's why it's such a surprise to see Bush's budget cut all federal funding to Reading Is Fundamental, a program that dispenses free books to poor kids. We just hope that Bush's mother, who is on RIF's National Advisory Council, gives her son a piece of her mind.
4-21-2001 Washington Post	Bush obstructs funding for stem cell research.	One of the few real highlights of the president's budget is the doubling of federal funds for the National Institutes of Health. But the money is useless if he doesn't allow important studies to take place because they offend his religious beliefs. Stem cell research, in which scientists study embryonic cells that have the potential to grow into any kind of cell, is a promising field that could yield treatments for diseases from cancer to Alzheimer's. But anti-abortion activists object to the research because it uses cells from embryos at fertility clinics that are slated for disposal. Bush's Department of Health and Human services department delayed the meeting of a committee that's supposed to dole out money to scientists studying stem cells, ensuring the delay of life-saving medical treatments.
4-17-2001 USA Today	Bush auctions the rights to offshore Florida oil drilling.	The president is a states' rights conservative who often during the campaign refused to tackle difficult questions (such as the one about the Confederate flag flying over the South Carolina statehouse) by saying that issues should be decided by the people of an individual state. But Bush doesn't stick to his principles if it stands in the way of his oil buddies making some cash. Against the wishes of the people of Florida and the state's Republican governor--Bush's brother Jeb--the administration has decided to auction the rights to offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the first time we've seen someone say "fuck you" to the environment, states' rights, and his own brother in one fell swoop.
4-14-2001 Salon.com	Bush cuts funding to programs he's used as photo ops.	The president visits an Atlanta area children's hospital. His wife goes to a library to kick off "The Campaign for America's Libraries." He visits a Boys and Girls Club six times since he started campaigning, always making sure there are plenty of photographers around. But the budget Bush sends to Congress cuts training programs for pediatricians, federal funding for libraries, and money that goes to the Boys and Girls Clubs. Just like in the campaign, where he took credit for Texas laws he had fought, Bush has no problems appearing to support the things he doesn't, as long as it looks good for the voters.
4-13-2001 Washington Post	Bush relaxes standards on appliance energy efficiency.	Faced with an energy crisis, the Bush administration has consistently chosen to plunder the land for more oil rather than try to conserve energy--the better for his cronies in the energy business. Pleasing one more sector of the corporate world--appliance manufacturers--Bush decides to relax Clinton administration rules requiring air conditioners to be more energy efficient.
4-13-2001 CNN	Bush donates cash to the gay-bashing Boy Scouts.	Making money off campaign autobiographies is a no-no for politicians. So Bush made sure to find an appropriate charity to donate the proceeds from his ghost-written A Charge to Keep. He split the money evenly among the Boys and Girls Clubs (although the $25,000 they got doesn't do much to make up for the $60 million he cut out of the budget--see item for 14 April above), the Girl Scouts, and the Boy Scouts, which regularly kicks out its members for being gay. It's always nice to know that our leader has no qualms about supporting an organization that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.
4-12-2001 Washington Post	Bush makes it harder to put species on the endangered list.	The vast majority of animals and plants on the endangered species list get there because of lawsuits. Someone (usually an environmental group) sues a government entity or private company to prevent encroachment on a species' habitat, and a court order places the species on the endangered list. Now Bush wants to take that power out of the courts' hands and give it to Gale Norton--a woman who once wrote that the Endangered Species Act was unconstitutional.
4-12-2001 Washington Post	Bush tries to cut birth control coverage for federal workers.	In what can only be described as an attempt to impose his religious beliefs on all federal workers, Bush is trying to remove birth control coverage from all federal insurance plans. He is, in effect, trying to make sure that women who choose to work for the government--single or married--don't make their own decisions about whether or not they want to have a baby. It's an unprecedented attack on women's freedom to make their own reproductive choices, one that has nothing to do with abortion.
4-12-2001 Washington Post	Bush delays release of a report linking dioxin consumption to cancer.	While some of us would like the government to keep us fully informed on public health issues, the Bush administration and congressional Republicans are doing the bidding of the chemical and agribusiness industries and delaying a report on that links dioxins--one of which was the active ingredient in Agent Orange--to cancer. The EPA has studied and restudied this issue for years, but it has never released a final report because of industry pressure. Now that Bush is running the EPA, cattlemen and chemical companies aren't worried at all about these results affecting administration policy.
4-6-2001 San Francisco Chronicle	Bush removes protections for marine wildlife.	Every environmental policy has its opponent in the world of business, and marine wildlife protection zones are no exception. Commercial fishermen resent the zones because it limits the areas that they can catch fish. Given the choice between a U.S. business interest and saving a few hundred species of fish, mammal, and plant, President Bush unsurprisingly looks poised to choose the former.
4-4-2001 USA Today	Bush declares open season on the national parks.	Soon visitors to our now-peaceful national parks will be greeted with a dramatic new site: oil and natural gas drills. While I'm not an expert in such manners, it's impossible to imagine a national park remaining unchanged after an oil drilling team gets through with it. National parks are supposed to be preserves, not oil fields, and Bush's insistence on solving energy problems by finding more fuel instead of reducing consumption is doubly bad for the environment.
4-4-2001 New York Times	Bush cuts health programs for uninsured.	The budget plan Bush sent to Congress includes deep cuts in programs championed by the Clinton administration. The cuts will make it more difficult to provide training to doctors and nurses who want to provide services in underserved areas. The programs he's cutting have also increased the number of minorities in healthcare jobs.
3-31-2001 Women's Enews	Bush closes White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach.	A common campaign theme for Bush was "W Stands for Women." This catchy slogan made it onto thousands of posters, but the message never got through to Bush. One of his first acts as president is to close the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach, created by President Clinton to give women's groups a greater role in public policy.
3-30-2001 Washington Post	Bush makes it easier for criminals to get federal contracts.	Our law-and-order conservative president doesn't want to throw the people who run corporations that break worker safety and environmental laws in jail. Bush would rather they get federal contracts, so he suspends Clinton administration rules making it more difficult for companies that broke the law to bid on lucrative federal contracts. Why isn't this simply illegal?
3-30-2001 Washington Post	Bush cuts police budget.	One of the reasons for the sharp reductions in crime during the Clinton administration was the increase in community police. Now Bush wants to cut those cops out of the budget to pay for increased security in our schools because, after all, shootings in schools get more media coverage than shootings on the street.
3-29-2001 CNN	Bush pulls out of the Kyoto treaty.	Prompting an outcry from the international community, Bush says that the United States won't support the Kyoto treaty to reduce global warming because it would hurt the American economy and doesn't hold third-world countries responsible for their pollution. Bush sees no irony in being concerned about the effects of pollution reduction on the world's strongest economy while caring not a whit about the most fragile economies.
3-23-2001 Salon.com	Bush cuts programs for children in his budget.	Showing the compassionate side of his conservatism, Bush reduces spending on programs that deal with child abuse, preschool education, and training for pediatricians.
3-22-2001 CNN	Bush ends ABA's role in selecting federal judges.	For 50 years, the American Bar Association has advised the White House on the qualifications of potential nominees for the federal bench. Ever since it gave Reagan Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork a mixed (but mostly positive) review, conservatives have been gunning for the ABA, claiming that the organization has a liberal bias. Bush has given into their demands and seems poised to replace the ABA's advice with that of the Federalist Society, a group of lawyers that makes no bones about its ultraconservative biases.
3-20-2001 CNN	Bush keeps the arsenic levels in drinking water high.	Bush delays Clinton administration rules that would have lowered the maximum allowable level of arsenic in drinking water. The standard has remained unchanged since 1942. Who benefits from the higher levels? The mining companies and other industrial interests that would have to pay more to avoid polluting the water supply. These interests donated generously to Bush's campaign. Anyone surprised?
3-20-2001 CNN	Bush signs ergonomics repeal.	Bush signs a bill that repeals Clinton administration rules designed to protect Americans from ergonomic injuries. The rules, 10 years of study by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the making, are opposed by Bush's friends in the business world, who fear the cost. Of course the long-term cost of dealing with injured workers is much higher.
3-13-2001 CNN	Bush reverses stance on CO2 emissions.	Despite a campaign pledge to the contrary, Bush decides he won't tell American factories to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, one of the leading causes of the greenhouse effect. He says the energy crisis requires him to delay action in this area, but does nothing to curb U.S. consumption, which would reduce pollution and alleviate the energy crisis.
3-9-2001 CNN	Bush postures over North Korea.	Secretary of State Colin Powell announces that he'd like to continue the diplomatic progress the Clinton administration has made with North Korea. A day later, Bush contradicts his chief diplomat, saying he doesn't trust North Korea to honor their agreements. When a reporter later points out that America has only one agreement with North Korea--which the country has honored--the administration's press flacks explain this by saying that referring to the future in the present tense is just the way the president talks. Meanwhile, the world sits in wonder over our Bush's huge diplomatic step backward.
3-3-2001 Washington Post	Bush lies about his tax cut.	Contrary to Democratic reports that more than 40 percent of his tax cut goes to the richest 1 percent of Americans, Bush says that only 22 percent will go to them. But his analysis, Bush leaves out the estate tax cut and the last bits of income tax rate reductions--all of which go to the rich. He just picks and chooses the portions he likes in order to come up with the number he wants--and it's still too high. Read the Wage Slave Journal report on Bush's tax plan
2-7-2001 CNN	Bush almost closes White House AIDS and race offices.	In what will become a pattern for the Bush administration, Chief of Staff Andy Card announces that White House will close its offices on AIDS and race relations. After a brief but virulent media firestorm, the administration backtracks, claiming that the person responsible for running the White House "wasn't aware" that the offices were remaining open.
1-22-2001 CNN	Bush defunds international organizations that provide abortions or abortion counseling to poor women.	Organizations that provide healthcare to the third world will no longer be allowed to offer abortions or even counseling about options that include abortion if they want to continue to receive federal funding. Either they forego the funding, which could mean they'd have to shut down, or they comply with this directive, which adds to population problems and subjects women to the morality of conservative Americans. Back-alley abortions will likely result in death for many women.
Evil scale
	Evil
	Very evil
	Very, very evil
	Very, very, very evil
	Very, very, very, very evil