[wordup] Daily Reasons To Dispatch Bush
Adam Shand
ashand at wetafx.co.nz
Wed Jun 2 20:48:45 EDT 2004
From: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/bush/
DAY 47:
The Bush administration plan for global warming relies on polluters
voluntarily reducing their emissions. In 2002 Bush announced his
"Climate Leaders" plan that does not require businesses to reduce their
greenhouse gas emissions, but instead hopes that they do so on their
own.
Only 14 companies out of thousands have volunteered to set goals for
reducing their carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
Thirty-six companies signed up for the program, but made no specific
promises concerning how much they plan to reduce air pollution.
(Source: Guy Gugliotta and Eric Pianin, "Bush Plans on Global Warming
Alter Little," Washington Post, January 1, 2004.)
- - - -
DAY 46:
The Bush administration is proposing to alter the Endangered Species
Act so that hunters, circuses and the pet industry can legally kill,
capture and import endangered animals from other countries. No U.S.
endangered species would be affected.
The administration explains that the increase in trade would benefit
both U.S. and international economies. In addition, other countries are
expected to use the profits from the trade to pay for their own
environmental conservation efforts.
Environmental advocates fear that foreign countries and companies that
stand to profit from the animal trade will be in charge of determining
how many animals can be killed or captured. They warn that legalizing
the trade will allow poaching to flourish. Some species identified by
the proposal include: Morelet's crocodile, an endangered freshwater
crocodile found in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Its skin is prized by
U.S. leather importers; and the endangered Asian elephant of India and
Southeast Asia. The declining population in U.S. breeding programs "has
raised a significant demand among the [U.S.] zoo and circus community,"
the proposal said.
The proposal was first made in September, 2003. The Fish and Wildlife
Service is still reviewing public comments on the issue.
(Source: Shankar Vedentam, "U.S. May Expand Access To Endangered
Species," Washington Post, Saturday, October 11, 2003.
http://forests.org)
- - - -
DAY 45:
In 1999, then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush appointed Charles W.
Williams as the state police chief. The year before this appointment,
Williams, who is white, said in court that terms such as "porch monkey"
were not racial slurs. He also said that African Americans did not mind
being called "niggers" fifty years ago.
Williams, the police chief in Marshall, Texas, was appointed to the
nine-member Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
Education in 1997. Bush promoted him to chairman in November 1999.
"I was born and raised with blacks, and back then we had Nigger
Charlie and Nigger Sam, Nigger Joe, and we regarded those people with
all the respect in the world. That was their name," said Williams, who
is 57.
"They didn't mind. It wasn't any big deal then," he added.
(Source: Laura Meckler, "Bush Appointee Says Remarks Weren't Racial
Slurs," Associated Press, April 7, 2000.)
- - - -
DAY 44:
George W. Bush and his father have long held a close relationship to
the Saudi Arabian royal family. This relationship threatens to
influence and hamper the Bush administration's fight against terrorism.
The man the Saudi Arabian government appointed to investigate
September 11th, said to journalists: "Who has benefited from September
11th attacks? I think [the Jews] were the protagonists of such
attacks."
The U.S. response has been that it is "pleased with and appreciates
the actions taken by the Saudis" in the war on terror. In November
2002, the U.S. changed its immigration laws to require men coming from
18 listed countries to register with the INS upon entering the United
States. Saudi Arabia was left off this list until the public protested.
(Source: Patrick E. Tyler, "Feering Harm, Bin Laden Kin Fled from
U.S.," New York Times September 30, 2001. Kathy Steele, 'Phantom Flight
from Florida," Tampa Tribune, October 5, 2001. Jonathan Wells, Jack
Meyers, and Maggie Mulvihill, "Ties to Saudi Elite May Be Hurting War
on Terrorism," Bosion Herald, Decemeber 10, 2001. Katie Couric, John
Hockenberry, and Bob Mckeown, "Sand Storm: Saudi Arabia does not allow
US to gather intelligence there; various people discuss how terrorists
find haven and recruits in Saudi Arabia," Daitline NBC, August 25,
2002. Alaa Shahine, "Saudi Interior Minister Says Jews Wer Behind
Sep;t. 11 Attacks," Associated Press, December 5, 2002, John M. Broder,
"U.S. Drops Armenian Men from List of Visitors Who Must Register" New
York Times, December 19, 2002. Michael Steinberger, "Bush's Saudi
Connections," The American Prospect, October 1, 2003.)
- - - -
DAY 43:
In February 2002, Bush unveiled his "Clear Skies" air pollution plan.
In it, he declared: "For the first time ever, we will cap emissions of
mercury, cutting them by 69 percent... Clean Skies legislation will...
reduce the risk to children exposed to mercury during a mother's
pregnancy."
The "Clear Skies" initiative, however, allows for three times more
toxic mercury emissions than previous laws permitted, and gives U.S.
power plants until 2018 to cut their mercury emissions, violating the
Clean Air Act.
Announcing the proposal, Bush said that "[the White House would] give
transferable credits to companies that can show real emission
reductions." This means that companies in violation of the legal
mercury limit can buy credits from law-obiding companies in order to
reach the legal limit.
Mercury exposure causes learning disabilities and neurological damage
in children and fetuses.
(Sources: http://www.whitehouse.gov. Barry, John Byrne. "Bush Plan
Falls Short on Mercury," The Planet. June/August 2003. J.J. Fialka,
"Mercury Threat to Kids Rising, Unreleased EPA Report Warns," Wall
Street Journal, February 20, 2003. Gugliotta, Guy. "Mercury Threat to
Fetuses Raised," Washington Post, February 6, 2003.)
- - - -
DAY 42:
In February, 2004, a group of more than 60 top U.S. scientists accused
the Bush administration of manipulating and censoring science for
political purposes. Its authors included 20 Nobel laureates, several
science advisers to past Republican presidents, and the Union of
Concerned Scientists.
In their report, scientists said the administration was "suppressing,
distorting or manipulating the work done by scientists at federal
agencies" in several cases. On the subject of global warming, the
administration ordered significant changes to the section on global
warming in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2003 Report on
the Environment. The entire section was later dropped.
In this "comprehensive" report, the administration opposed mention of
research demonstrating sharp increases in global temperature over the
past decade. They also objected to reference of a National Academy of
Sciences report on the human contribution to global warming.
The administration sought to replace the statement that "[c]limate
change has global consequences for human health and the environment"
with a statement about the "complexity of the Earth's system and the
interconnections among its components."
Cases of distortions in other subjects include:
- Replacing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet on
proper condom use with a warning emphasizing condom failure rates.
- Removing scientists from advisory boards when their political views
didn't match those of the administration.
- Suppressing a U.S. Department of Agriculture microbiologist's
finding that potentially harmful bacteria float in the air surrounding
large hog farms.
Russell Train, former EPA Administrator to Presidents Nixon and Ford,
wrote in a letter to the New York Times:
"I can state categorically that there never was such White House
intrusion into the business of the E.P.A. during my tenure. The E.P.A.
was established as an independent agency in the executive branch, and
so it should remain. There appears today to be a steady erosion in its
independent status. I can appreciate the president's interest in not
having discordant voices within his Administration. But the interest of
the American people lies in having full disclosure of the facts,
particularly when the issue is one with such potentially enormous
damage to the long-term health and economic well-being of all of us."
(Sources: Seth, Borenstein, "Bush Admnistration Accused of
Suppressing, Distorting Science," Knight-Ridder, Feb. 19, 2004. Report
by E.P.A. Leaves out Data on Climate Change, New York Times (June 19,
2003). When Politics Trumps Science (Letter to the Editor), New York
Times (June 21, 2003). Jeremy Symons, "How Bush and Co. Obscure the
Science," Washington Post, July 13, 2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 41:
In March 2001 President Bush withdrew U.S. participation in the Kyoto
Protocol on global warming. The protocol is a multinational agreement
initiated in 1997, designed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas
emissions each participating nation produces. 125 countries have
ratified the agreement or asked to participate.
The President did not notify any other nations that the U.S. was about
to pull out of the agreement.
The United States produces 25 percent of the world's greenhouse gases.
His explanation to foreign leaders: "I went to dinner with fifteen
leaders of the EU, and patiently sat there as all fifteen in one form
or another told me how wrong I was. And at the end I said, 'I
appreciate your point of view, but this is the American position
because it's right for America.'"
(Source: Jeffrey Kluger, "A Climate of Despair," Time, April 9, 2001,
30. David E. Sanger, "Leaving for Europe, Bush Draws on Hard Lessons of
Diplomacy," New York Times, May 22, 2002. Peggy Noonan, "A Chat in the
Oval Office, " Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2001.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 40:
The Day 12 posting about the new Medicare prescription drug bill
states: "The Bush administration paid actors to pose as journalists in
televised video clips that praised the law. The source of the videos is
not provided in the clips."
On May 19, 2004, The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm
of Congress, concluded that the Bush administration illegally spent
federal money on the advertisements mentioned above.
The GAO report says that HHS's "video news releases" violated a
statute that forbids the use of federal money for propaganda, as well
as the Antideficiency Act, which covers the unauthorized use of federal
funds.
Portions of the videos, which have been aired by 40 television
stations around the country, do not make it clear that the announcers
were paid by the Department of Health and Human Services, and were not
real reporters.
The fake news report concludes with a woman saying, "In Washington,
I'm Karen Ryan reporting." The name of the "news agency" is not given.
Source: Amy Goldstein, "GAO Says HHS Broke Laws with Medicare Videos,"
Washington Post, May 20, 2004. Online at: http://story.news.yahoo.com
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 39:
Shortly after he was elected, George W. Bush said to Reverend Rev. Jim
Wallis, a leader of Call to Renewal, a group of churches fighting
poverty, "I don't understand how poor people think. [I'm] a white
Republican guy who doesn't get it, but I'd like to."
(Source: Elisabeth Bumiller, "Bush 'Compassion' Agenda: An '04
Liablity?," New York Times, January 23, 2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 38:
As of August, 2003 George W. Bush spent 27 percent of his presidency
on vacation. This is the most vacation time that any modern US
president has taken.
(Source: Judy Keen, "Bush Won't Be All Play and No Work," USA Today,
July 2002. Laurence McQuillan, "White House to move to Texas for a
while," USA Today, Aug. 3, 2001.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 37:
In January, 2003, the Bush administration chose Jerry Thacker to serve
on the Presidential Advisory Commission on HIV and AIDS.
Thacker has described AIDS as the "gay plague," homosexuality as a
"deathstyle" rather than lifestyle, and explained that, "Christ can
rescue the homosexual."
The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS provides
"recommendations on the US government's response to the AIDS epidemic."
Thacker is also an alumni, and former member of the faculty at Bob
Jones University, a school known for its ban on interracial dating. In
September 2001, Thacker gave a speech at Bob Jones University, during
which he spoke of the "sin of homosexuality."
Due to the controversy over his appointment, Thacker withdrew from the
Commission shortly after his nomination.
(Source: http://www.pacha.gov/. Ceci Cnnolly, "AIDS Panel Choice Wrote
of a 'Gay Plague,'" Washington Post, January 23, 2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 36:
Pair of Bushisms
"More Muslims have died at the hands of killers than - I say more
Muslims - a lot of Muslims have died - I don't know the exact count -
at Istanbul. Look at these different places around the world where
there's been tremendous death and destruction because killers kill." —
President George Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004
"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time
thinking about myself, about why I do things." — President George Bush,
aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 35:
In 2003, President Bush helped Haley Barbour campaign for governor of
Mississippi, despite his links to a white supremacist organization, the
Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC). The CCC supports deporting
African Americans to Africa, denies the Holocaust took place, opposes
immigration of Asians, Latinos and other minorities to the U.S., and
opposes the "mixing of races."
Prior to the election, the CCC homepage posted a photograph of Barbour
and the organization's leaders at a CCC-sponsored event. Barbour did
not object to his photograph being used on the site.
During Barbour's gubernatorial campaign, Bush said Barbour was "a man
of good values."
Barbour won the election in 2003.
Today's CCC homepage shows a photograph of a recently married gay
couple holding three children. The caption reads: "OREGON joins a
growing list of liberal states which now have city governments issuing
marriage licenses to perverted sodomites. To date, no governor in any
of these states has ordered any law enforcement agency to halt the
illegal licensing. These two queers show off their nonwhite
'offspring.'"
(Source: http://www.cofcc.org/. Stephen Dinan, "Bush Praises Barbour's
'values,'" The Washington Times, November 2, 2003. Derrick Z. Jackson,
"Barbour's Racist Links Tar Bush Too," The Boston Globe, November 22,
2003. )
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 34:
In January 2004, while Congress was out of session, President Bush
appointed Judge Charles W. Pickering to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
For two years Democratic senators have blocked Pickering's
appointment, because he has supported segregation, and voted to outlaw
abortions.
Other notable events in the appointee's career:
In 1959 Pickering wrote an article suggesting that the State of
Mississippi strengthen the penalties associated with its law against
interracial marriages.
In 1976 Pickering voted to overrule Roe v. Wade, making abortion
illegal.
Pickering has voted against state funding for family planning
programs, and has opposed the Equal Rights Amendment.
In the 1970's,when Pickering was a Mississippi state senator, he voted
to repeal a provision of the Voting Rights Act that helps to ensure
equal voting rights for minorities in states that have a history of
discrimination.
Five weeks after Pickering's appointment, — while Congress was again
out of session — Bush installed Judge William H. Pryor to the U.S.
Court of Appeals.
Pryor opposes abortion, and has described Roe v. Wade as "the worst
abomination in the history of constitutional law."
Despite their unconfirmed status, both judges can legally remain in
office for one year.
(Source: Mike Allen, "Bush Again Bypasses Senate to Seat Judge,"
Washington Post, February 21, 2004. Jesse J. Holland "Bush Installs
Controversial Judge on Court," Associated Press January 16, 2004.
http://saveourcourts.civilrights.org/nominees/details.cfm?id=14472.
David M. Alpern, Hal Bruno, John J. Lindsey, Thomas M. DeFrank, and
Gerald Lubenow, High Noon, Newsweek, Aug. 23, 1976, at 18.
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1214. Mike Allen,
"Bush Again Bypasses Senate to Seat Judge," Washington Post, February
21, 2004.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 33:
In 2000 Bush said:
"I am going to ask Congress to bolster the first year aid from
thirty-three hundred dollars to five thousand one hundred dollars per
recipient of the Pell Grant... Increasing the first-year Pell Grant
will make college much more affordable for low and middle income
students."
For the past three years the President has cut or frozen the maximum
value of the Pell Grant. The administration's new budget for 2005 does
not increase the overall value of the grant.
In February 2004, the administration proposed that students who take a
"rigorous" courseload in high school get an additional $1,000 added to
their Pell Grant.
However, the Bush administration is asking for only $33 million to
fund the new program. That is enough for only 33,000 out of today's
15.8 million college students. In 1976 the Pell Grant covered half of
the cost of tuition, room and board at a public college. Since then
tuition has risen faster than the value of the Pell Grant. The grant
now pays for one-fifth of the same costs.
The Education Department predicts that it will fall $3.7 billion short
of what it needs to pay all the college students that qualify for the
grant this year.
(Source: Bush speech, Hampton, New Hampshire. 8/30/00.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040120-7.html. June
Kronholz, "The Bush Budget Proposal: College Grants and Loans Get $4.4
Billion Boost," The Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2004.
http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pellgrantsummary.html)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 32:
In 1999 Bush said that he didn't like to read long books, especially
when they were about policy.
For his first two years in office, the president's staff spent only 30
to 45 minutes a week discussing policy with him. Clinton spent the same
amount of time per day on the subject.
In 2003 Bush told Fox News that he rarely reads newspapers beyond
their headlines.
(Source: Bill Minutaglio, First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush
Family Dynasty (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1998), 86. Tucker
Carlson, Talk, September 1999. Steven Brill, After: How America
Confronted the September 12 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003), 376.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 31:
In April, 2004, the Bush administration withdrew support for the
Global Health Conference that will take place in June. The conference
is a three-day event in which experts speak on topics including
reproductive health, infectious diseases such as AIDS and SARS,
nutrition, and disaster assistance. The U.S. government has supported
this forum for the past 30 years. Past keynote speakers have included
Mother Teresa, former President Jimmy Carter and Kofi Annan. This year
the administration has pulled back on their pledge to donate $170,000
to the event, because pro-choice organizations such as the
International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations
Population Fund were invited to participate in the conference.
(Source: Ceci Connolly, "HHS Withholds Funds for Global Health
Meeting," Washington Post, April 27, 2004.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 30:
In June, 2004, the Bush administration's new Medicare drug cards will
be available to the public. The new program enables private companies
to sell "discount drug cards" to Medicare recipients. Health and Human
Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said that seniors who pay the $30
annual drug-card enrollment fee can expect "huge savings" of up to 25
and 50 percent on their prescriptions.
However, a study by the House Government Reform Committee found that
the majority of seniors will pay significantly more using a Medicare
drug card than they could buying their prescriptions without a card.
The Washington Post also found that six out of ten widely prescribed
medications were cheaper online (and via Canada). The government's
Medicare website does not post the savings that are offered by the
internet pharmacies.
The program will cost tax-payers tens of millions of dollars, but will
greatly benefit participating pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
(Source: Bill Brubaker, "Web Still Helps the Medicine Go Down,"
Washington Post, April 30, 2004. Committee on Government Reform, U.S.
House of Representatives, "New Medicare Drug Cards Offer Few
Discounts," April 2004.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 29:
In June, 2003, Michael K. Powell, the Bush-appointed chairman of the
Federal Communication Commission, approved sweeping changes to existing
laws concerning media ownership. The new rules make it easier for
national television and radio networks to buy local affiliates, and for
the first time allow a private company to own both a newspaper and a
television and/or radio station in the same media market.
Even many Republicans, including Trent Lott (R-MS), and conservative
groups including the National Rifle Association, protested that the law
was a threat to the First Amendment and to the health and maintenance
of a democracy.
(Source: Tom Shales, "Michael Powell and the FCC: Giving Away the
Marketplace of Ideas," Washington Post, June 2, 2003. American Civil
Liberties Union.
http://www.aclu.org/FreeSpeech/FreeSpeech.cfm?ID=12720&c=42. Marilyn
Geewaz, "FCC's Action Under Attack; Battle Lines: Some in Congress
Consider Trying to Undo New Media Rules," Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
June 5, 2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 28:
In October 2002, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed, partly
in response to the chaotic 2000 Florida election. The act was meant to
help states update their voting systems with better technology, and to
ensure that voters are not turned away by misleading or confusing signs
and/or voting instructions. (In 2002, for instance, a sign in a
Baltimore neighborhood whose residents were primarily African-American,
said that before voting, one had to make sure that all parking and
motor vehicle tickets were paid, as well as overdue rent.)
Although the President helped pass the HAVA act, his 2004 budget cut
funding for the program to $500 million, instead of the $3.9 billion
that the act authorizes.
(Source: "President Signs Historic Election Reform Legislation into
Law: Remarks by the President at Signing of H.R. 3295, Help America
Vote Act of 2002," October, 2002, at
www.whitehous.gov/news/release/2002/10/20021029-1.html. Interview with
Steven Carbo, New York, Aprill 11, 2003, The Book on Bush, by Eric
Alterman and Mark Green.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 27:
In 2000, South Carolina's Bob Jones University had a ban on
interracial dating, and the school's Web site quoted its founder as
saying that Roman Catholicism and Mormonism were "cults which call
themselves Christian."
That same year George W. Bush spoke at Bob Jones University, hoping to
gain support from the religious right just prior to winning the South
Carolina primary. During his speech, Bush did not take a stand against
the school's racist policies. When questioned about his visit to the
school, the president said he would deliver his message to all that
would listen, regardless of their viewpoints.
However, while campaigning in 2000, Bush would not meet with the Log
Cabin Republicans, a gay and lesbian grassroots organization, and
except for one meeting two years ago, the President consistently
refuses meet with the Congressional Black Caucus.
(Source: William Saletan, "Defining W. Down," Slate.com, February
2000. "Bob Jones Bites Back: Controversial School Founder Defends
Policies," Associated Press, March 3, 2000.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 26:
In February, 2004, the President explained that the U.S. is facing a
deficit of $500 billion, the largest in American history, because "we
went through a recession, we were attacked, and we're fighting a war."
But the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that the single
biggest cause of the deficit was the President's tax cuts for the
wealthy. (The top 1 percent of earners get an average $52,000 tax break
this year, and the majority of taxpayers only get $850.) Specifically,
36 percent of the deficit resulted from tax cuts, and only 31 percent
resulted from defense/war-related spending increases. The remaining 33
percent of the deficit was caused by economic recession.
(Source: President Remarks, 02/02/2004, "Will the President's 2005
Budget Really Cut the Deficit in Half?" Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, 01/16/2004, "CBO Figures Indicate Lower Revenues, Not
Higher Spending, Account for the Large Deficit," Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities, 01/26/2004.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 25:
In 1999, Bush stated that he opposed including sexual orientation in a
bill to strengthen and clarify a Texas hate crimes law. The law was
already set up to increase the penalty for crimes committed against
victims who are targeted for their race or gender, but not necessarily
for their sexual orientation.
The then-governor of Texas also stated in 1999 that he was opposed to
gay couples adopting children. He supported a bill to block gays from
adopting children in the custody of Child Protective Services.
(Source: cnn.com July 2, 1999. "Bush Opposes Hate Crimes Laws and Gay
Adoptions," March 23, 1999.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 24:
In February, 2004, President Bush proposed important new expenditures
for education: $100 million for reading programs to help middle and
high schoolers who still struggle to sound out basic words; $40 million
to assist professionals in math and science make the transition to
teaching; and $52 million to bring Advanced Placement classes to more
high schools. Yet all of these programs combined would be eclipsed by
the $270 million the president wants to devote to a school program
promoting sexual abstinence. This despite there being little evidence
that such programs reduce teen sex or pregnancies.
(Source: Los Angeles Times March 8, 2004)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 23:
In March, OPEC announced it would cut oil production by 4 percent. In
response to OPEC's decision, the Bush administration announced that the
President will not personally do anything to dissuade the organization
from cutting oil production. This despite Bush's repeated demand during
the 2000 campaign that former President Clinton should "get on the
phone with the OPEC cartel and say, 'We expect you to open your
spigots.'"
U.S. gas prices have reached a record high -- an average of $1.80 a
gallon. In addition, demand for gas has inflated due to tax incentives
that encourage businesses to purchase SUV's, and a 37 percent cut to
federal research on renewable energy.
(Source: "OPEC to cut back despite high prices," Washington Times,
04/01/2004."Surging Gas Prices Pump Up Political Debate", Los Angeles
Times, 03/31/2004."Bush Refuses to Lean on Oil Cartel", Miami Herald,
04/01/2004. "OPEC cut to oil output likely to keep prices near record
levels", Dallas Morning News, 04/01/2004. "Saudi envoy plays nice with
White House on oil supply", USA Today, 04/02/2004."The Saudi
Connection", US News and World Report, 12/15/2003. OpenSecrets.Org.
"SUV, truck owners get a big tax break", Detroit News, 12/18/2002.
"Proposed Bush Budget Cuts Renewables and Energy Efficiency Programs",
Resources for the Future, 04/11/2001.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 22:
In speeches to the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion in
August of '01, Bush promised reforms and improvements to health care
benefits for veterans.
However, in January '03, the Bush administration's Department of
Veterans Affairs announced that it would reduce access to its health
care system in order to block over 150,000 veterans from enrolling in
that fiscal year, due to a backlog of vets still waiting to receive
treatment.
In March '03, Bush's VA budget was passed. It included raised charges
for primary care and drug prescription co-payments, raised enrollment
fees -- which had never before existed in veteran's health care -- and
complete blockage of care for what the VA considers lower priority
vets.
(Source:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010820-1.html,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010829-2.html.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A4064-2003Jan16, Edward Walsh,
"VA Cuts Some Veterans' Access to Health Care Huge Backlog, Long Waits
Prompt Decision," Washington Post, 1/17/03.
http://www.house.gov/strickland/vetsreport.htm#Proposals.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 21:
President Bush's 2004 official election campaign sells clothing made
in Myanmar. This is in direct violation of Bush's own trade embargo
against the country, one of the world leaders in sex trafficking, human
rights abuses, and narcotics production.
The US is currently experiencing the worst textile industry slump
since 1953, due in part, to inadequately enforced trade laws.
(Source: "Bush campaign gear made in Burma," Newsday, 03/18/2004.
"4,000 textile jobs lost in 2003," Charleston Post and Courier,
01/14/2004. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Burma, US
Department of State, 02/25/2004.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 20:
Bush's 2003 prescription-drug program was supposed to give a tax break
to companies that continued drug-prescription coverage for their
retired employees.
However, the Bush administration added a provision to the bill that
allows companies to shift the cost of prescriptions to their retirees,
while still benefiting from the subsidy.
(Source: Ellen E. Schultz and Theo Francis, "U.S. Drug Subsidy
Benefits Employers," Wall Street Journal, 01/08/2004.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 19:
There were a record number of bankruptcies (1.61 million) from March
2001 to March 2002. Personal filings made up 1.57 million of that
figure.
(Source: "Bankruptcies Rise to Record. CNNMoney. See article at:
www.american-champions.org)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 18:
The President released a signed report in early 2004 that promised to
create 2.6 million new jobs this year. When economic statistics
estimated much lower numbers, the President claimed he never signed the
report, and would not comment on the quoted figures. The administration
predicted 2,142,000 new jobs would be created in the first seven months
after the 2003 tax cuts took effect. Only 296,000 jobs were created in
that period.
The administration is on pace to be the only administration since
Herbert Hoover's to preside over an overall loss of jobs.
(Source: "Bush says U.S. will add 2.6 million jobs in 2004," The
Olympian, 02/10/04. "Bush Backs Off Forecast of 2.6M New Jobs", ABC
News, 02/18/04. "President Bush Discusses War on Terrorism with
Tunisian President, 02/18/04. Press Briefing by Scott McClellan,
02/18/04. Job Watch. "Cabinet caravan touts successes in Northwest
swing," The Oregonian, 02/18/04. "Bush backs off estimate of 2.6
million jobs," Sun Hearld, 02/18/04. "Better times near, Bush officials
tell state areas hurting for jobs," Seattle Times, 02/18/04. "Accounts
of job losses clash," The Oregonian, 02/19/04. "Kerry Team Gives Bush
'Hoover Award,' The Washington Times, 03/09/04)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 17:
The Office of Special Counsel is an organization that protects
"federal whistleblowers and government workers from retributions in the
workplace." President Bush's appointed head of that office, Scott J.
Bloch, reinterpreted the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act to mean that an
employee is not necessarily protected if fired because of their sexual
orientation. In January, 2004 he removed references to discrimination
based on sexual orientation from the organization's web site and other
educational brochures.
(Source: Stephen Barr, "Special Counsel Under Scrutiny," Washington
Post, February 23, 2004)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 16:
As governor of Texas, Bush executed more prisoners (152) than any
governor in modern US history. He is also the first president in 40
years to execute a federal prisoner.
(Source: Charles Zewe, "Texas Prepares to Execute Woman," CNN.com,
January 15, 1998, at www.cnn.com/US/9801/15/texas.execution/; Jim
Yardley, "Bush and the Death Penalty; Texas's Busy Death Chamber Helps
Define Bush's Tenure," New York Times, January 7, 2000.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 15:
The Bush administration's FY2004 budget eliminated programs for school
counseling, improving teacher quality, reducing class size, dropout
prevention, school reform, and rural education. In 2005 the
administration plans to cut funding for Title I schools and teacher
support services. Each of these programs were part of the
administration's own No Child Left Behind Act.
The Bush administration's 2005 budget contains $9.4 billion less than
the $34 billion needed to fund No Child Left Behind. The House
Appropriations Committee predicts that the 2006 budget will come $1.9
billion short of the funding needed for the program, and $4.6 billion
short by FY2009.
In the last two years that NCLB has been in effect, none of the
President's budgets have met with the Act's authorized financial needs.
In 2003 the bipartisan National Governors Association and 90 percent of
almost 2,000 surveyed superintendents and principals labeled Bush's No
Child Left Behind Act an "unfunded mandate."
(Source: www.ed.gov, Office of Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, June 9,
2003The Wallace Foundation, www.wallacefoundation.org, Education Week,
1/7/04. Associated Press, 2/24/03. Center for American Progress. See
article on, www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=41367.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 14:
In 2003 the Bush administration proposed changes to the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) that would eliminate overtime pay for 8 million
workers. The proposal would reclassify workers as managers,
administrative or professional employees so that they are no longer
eligible for overtime pay. It would also add an income limit, over
which employees cannot qualify for overtime pay.
(Source: American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial
Organizations. See article at:
www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/ns03282003a.cfm. New York Times July 1,
2003. Economic Policy Institute, July 2003. Houston Chronicle, March
2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 13:
In 2000 Mr. Bush said, "Our men and women in service put their lives
on the line to defend our freedom. We have a special obligation to
rebuild the schools that educate their children. As president, I will
ensure that this obligation is met."
The Bush administration's 2004 budget cut $200 million from Impact
Aid, the program that helps pay for the education costs of children
whose parents are in the military. In the administration's latest tax
cuts, military housing programs were cut from $10.7 to $9.2 billion,
veterans benefits were cut $14.6 billion over ten years, and a
scheduled child tax credit was not extended to 200,000 low-income
military families.
(Source: House Appropriations Committee, Minority Staff, June 17 2003,
June 16 2003, Washington Post, June 17 2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 12:
The Bush administration did not inform Congress that the prescription
drug bill passed in 2003 would cost $139 billion more than was revealed
before the law was approved. Richard S. Foster, the nonpartisan
Medicare actuary, says he was told that if he disclosed the true cost
of the legislation to Congress, he would be fired. The Bush
administration paid actors to pose as journalists in televised video
clips that praised the law. The source of the videos is not provided in
the clips.
(Source: Robert Pear, "U.S. Videos, for TV News, Come Under Scrutiny,"
The New York Times, March 15, 2004. Amy Goldstein, "Foster: White House
Had Role In Withholding Medicare Data," Washington Post, March 19,
2004. Center for American Progress, see article at:
www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=37818)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 11:
The Bush administration pushed for logging 10 million board feet of
timber from the Sequoia National Monument, and for drilling on the
border of the Arches National Park in Utah. A federal judge stopped the
drilling project.
(Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, "Rewriting the Rules:
Year-End Report 2002," January 2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY 10:
Despite the long-recognized neurotoxicity of lead to children, the
Bush Administration's proposed FY2005 budget cuts $35 million from lead
hazard control grants—a funding reduction of 20 percent. The
administration is also seeking to reduce or eliminate funding for
Health and Urban Development (HUD) programs that help low-income
families find safe and affordable housing, including $50 million in HUD
lead hazard control grants.
The Children's Environmental Health Network [www.cehn.org] assigns an
"F" for the Bush Administration's consistent lack of commitment to
children's environmental health research and programs.
A few examples:
A) Under President Bush, the Office of Children's Health Protection
has been leaderless for over two years.
B) In October 2001, the administration announced funding for four new
research centers into children's environmental health, only to have the
EPA cut the budgets for the original eight. Congressional pressure
restored some of this funding, but the total number of centers will
ultimately be 11, not 12.
C) EPA also cut funding for the National Children's Study, which would
follow approximately 100,000 children from before birth to at least age
18, assessing the impact of environmental factors on health.
(Source: Children's Environmental Health Bush Administration Report
Card, 2001-2004, Children's Environmental Health Network. Also see:
http://www.cehn.org/ Also note: the Board of Visitors and Advisory
Council for CEHN (available on their webpage); this report is informed
by a broad base of support, meaning it is not a liberal thinktank, but
a collective of medical and public health professors (like from Johns
Hopkins), EPA officials, and respected and influential research
hospitals.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY NINE:
"Bush's 2003 EPA budget would continue a three-year effort to slash
the number of enforcement jobs. With fewer people available to enforce
the laws, the result is not surprising. Since Bush took office, civil
environmental penalties are down almost 50 percent, the number of
pounds of pollution to be cleaned up is down 20 percent, and EPA is
conducting three thousand fewer inspections each year."
(Source: The Book on Bush, Eric Alterman and Mark Green, Viking, 2004)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY EIGHT:
The USA Patriot Act, signed in 2001 by President Bush, allows the
government to indefinitely detain immigrants, and conduct searches and
surveillance without the Fourth Amendment's rule of probable cause.
(Source: David Cole and James X. Dempsey, Terrorism and the
Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National
Securty (New York: The New Press, 2002) 148.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY SEVEN:
One of Bush's chief supporters is Richard T. Hines, a former managing
editor of the Southern Partisan, an unabashedly racist magazine
celebrating the antebellum South. Hines has lobbied against the
placement of an Arthur Ashe statue in Virginia, and criticized the
governor of that state for referring to "the horrors of slavery."
During the 2000 election, Hines was instrumental in defeating the
then-surging John McCain, and financed the printing of 250,000 fliers
heralding Bush's support for the Confederate flag. On his own website-
www.rthconsulting.com-he has claimed "an active voice in the Bush
administration." He is also a close friend of Karl Rove.
(Source: The Book on Bush, Eric Alterman and Mark Green, Viking, 2004)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY SIX:
George W. Bush is listed, through 1999, as a donor to the Museum of
the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia, having raised money for their
annual ball. The event is held in a former slave hall, where slaves
were forced to build war material for the Confederate army.
(Source: The Book on Bush, Eric Alterman and Mark Green, Viking, 2004)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY FIVE:
The Bush administration states that the average tax cut for 2003 will
be $1,126. They do not specify that the median household will receive
$217, 53% of taxpayers will get $100 or less, 50 million will receive
no benefits, and filers who make more than $1 million per year will
receive $93,500. 83% of taxpayers will get less than the average cut
stated by the administration.
(Source: Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center,
Andrew Lee and Joel Friedman, "Administration Continues to Rely on
Misleading Use of Average's to Describe Tax-Cut Benefits," Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities, May 28, 2003. See article at:
http://www.cbpp.org/5-28-03tax4.htm)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY FOUR:
The Bush administration's relaxed New Source Review guidelines allow
power plants to spend 20 percent of the value of their equipment on
replacements and improvements that don't necessarily emit less
pollution. In the short term the new rules would result in 1.4 million
more tons of air pollution in 12 states.
(Source: Eric Pianin, "Clean Air Rules to Be Relaxed: EPA Will Ease
Power Plants' Requirements," Washington Post, September 16, 2003. The
Associated Press, "Two Studies Contradict EPA on New Rules," October
23, 2003. Editorial, "EPA Issues License to Pollute," New York Daily
News, August 31, 2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY THREE:
By redefining the definition of the "fill-material" that results from
mountaintop-removal mining, the Bush administration weakened the Clean
Water Act in 2002, and allowed mining companies to dump their waste
into valleys and streams. The silt is known to destroy streams, kill
fish and wildlife, and to contaminate drinking water during flooding
seasons.
(Source: John B. Judis, "King Coal," The American Prospect, December
16, 2002.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY TWO:
Since Bush has taken office his administration has significantly cut
the number of Environmental Protection Agency enforcement jobs.
Consequently, civil environmental penalties have decreased 50 percent
and 3,000 fewer inspections are done each year by the EPA.
(Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, "Rewriting the Rules:
Year-End Report 2002," January 2003. Elizabeth Shogren, "Environmental
Penalties Down Under Bush, Data Show; Administration Critics See a
Smoking Gun, but Officials Say Spending on Forced Cleanups Is Up," Los
Angeles Times, January 31, 2003.)
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
- - - -
DAY ONE:
The Bush Administration's "Clear Skies Initiative," announced in 2002,
allows 125 percent more sulfur dioxide, 68 percent more nitrogen oxide,
and 420 percent more mercury air pollution than existing laws.
(Source: "The Bush Administrations's Air Pollution Plan Hurts Public
Heath, Helps Big Polluters, Worsens Global Warming," a report published
by 14 nonprofit organizations, including the American Lung Association,
Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Sierra Club, and the League
of Conservation Voters, February 2003)
The report can be found online at
www.nrdc.org/air/pollution/fclearsk.asp.
To Suggest Your Own Reason, click here.
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