Herman Goering |
Why of course the people
don't want war Naturally the
common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for
that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the
leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a
simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a
fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.
Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of
the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are
being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and
exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."
- Herman Goering - Nazi
A new study finds the
income of some of the nation's poorest
Children and families declined in recent years
despite strong growth in the economy, raising questions about the effects of welfare
reform. The study, conducted by the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and based on Census data, shows the average
earnings and overall incomes of the poorest 20 percent of female-headed families with
children fell from 1995 to 1997 despite continued economic growth. "It is disturbing
that substantial numbers of children and families are sinking more deeply into poverty
when substantial amounts of funds provided to states to assist these families are going
unused," Wendell Primus, the study's lead author, stated. The study,
The
Initial Impacts of Welfare Reform on the Economic Well-Being of Single-Mother Families
with Children asks
why continued robust economic growth has not improved the conditions of these low-income
families.The full text, in PDF
format.
Welfare to work revisited Bush plan increases employment
rules February 26, 2002 Washington
-- Opening what could be a rough, yearlong debate over welfare, President Bush is
proposing to increase the work requirements for welfare recipients and push the states
harder to meet them. The administration, which had already unveiled part of its plan to
overhaul the landmark 1996 welfare law, plans to announce its new proposals today. Bush
told the nation's governors meeting here yesterday that he would ask Congress to approve
"new work requirements" he said, "I think work ought to be the core of
welfare reform." Under current law, at least 50 percent of welfare families are
required to participate in work and other activities aimed at self-sufficiency,
administration officials said. Bush is proposing to raise that requirement by 5 percentage
points a year so that 70 percent are required to work by 2007. sfgate.com
Court Reviews Housing Eviction Law
Tue Feb 19, 1:08 PM ET By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP)
- The Supreme Court should stop the government from evicting elderly public housing
tenants who are unaware of relatives' drug use, a lawyer representing senior citizens told
justices Tuesday. The court is considering a case that tests a zero-tolerance drug policy
for federally subsidized housing. Entire families may be evicted for the drug use of one
member. Innocent housing residents have become victims of aggressive housing authorities,
said Paul Renne, the lawyer for four California tenants. "The end result ... is to
throw them into the streets," news.yahoo.com
Bush Uses War as Excuse to Help Military Industrial
Complex Fleece the American People January 28,
by editor of The Peoples Voice - President Bush used his weekly radio address on Saturday to harangue the
beleaguered American people with more vengeful words of war, vowing to "spend what it
takes to conquer global terrorism." The U.S. military industrial complex will extract
an additional $48 billion from the peoples Social Security trust fund. This represents the
largest increase in defense spending in 20 years. An additional $38 billion will also be
removed from the trust fund for what Bush calls, "homeland security," the
formation of a security police state designed more to control the American people than to
prevent terrorism. With megalomaniac fervor Bush promises, "We'll carry on the
campaign against global terror until we achieve our goal: The peace that comes from
victory." He assures Americans that his vendetta against terrorism will be
neither swift nor cheap. Of course to succeed at world domination the U.S. must spend
billions of dollars on the most advanced military equipment. Bush said with a grin,
"My budget calls for investing in more precision weapons, missile defenses, unmanned
vehicles and high-tech equipment for our soldiers on the ground. I will also seek another
pay increase for the men and women who wear our country's uniform. We will spend what it
takes to win the war against terrorism." Bush waxes eloquent when he talks about war,
weapons, and revenge, they are things he feels comfortable with. On the subject of pay
increases, which are against the corporate agenda, he tends to use words like, "we
should," "try," and "seek." Bush promised to stabilize America's
faltering economy by "trying to create a climate for job creation that can ease the
effects of the current recession." Nice words, but meaningless when compared with his
actions. The Bush White House has worked tirelessly to promote globalization and free
trade, lowering wages for Americans and sending thousands of jobs to China, Mexico, and
the middle east. Bush championed the fake energy crisis which helped energy thieves like
Enron gouge Americans on utility bills. The Bush White House has reawakened the cold war,
turned back environmental laws, and attacked the Social Security system. Bush gave a
massive 200 billion-dollar tax refund to the wealthiest 1-% of  the
population, which did nothing to improve the lives of working people. In reality the
polices of the Bush administration have made life for the majority more difficult. The
disarmingly clownish demeanor of Bush should not fool Americans; behind him stands a band
of cruel corporate monsters willing to commit any act in the name of wealth and power.
Bush eases Cold War restrictions on computer exports
January 3, The US government has lifted a Cold War ban on the export of high-speed
computers. The move means that high-speed machines can now be shipped to Russia, China,
and other 'Tier 3' security risk countries. The restrictions were designed to stop other
countries' attempts to develop computer powered nuclear weapons programmes.
ananova.com
Making more money for corporate America
is more important to Bush than national security. Stalin said that
"America would sell Russia the rope with which we will hang them" Or, in order
for the world to be a bad place, justifying our military industrial complex, we must
make it into a bad place by selling our enemies the technology to destroy us with. So
basically the Chinese stole the plans for our advanced multiple warhead interconental
ballistic missiles and now Bush will sell them the computer systems they need to
successfully use these missiles on us. THANKS BUSH. editor
 Bush took FBI agents off Laden family trail
RASHMEE Z AHMED - TIMES NEWS NETWORK LONDON: America was itself to blame for the events of September 11 because
the US administration was using "kid gloves" in tracking down Osama bin Laden
and "other fanatics linked to Saudi Arabia", a special BBC investigation has
alleged in a damning indictment of the two presidents Bush and American foreign policy.
timesofindia.com
Bush gives 2.13 trillion to the military
industrial complex and 600 Billion to the rich in a tax refund using our Social Security
and Medicare trust funds, and cuts medical services for veterans.
Veterans
Criticize Medical Care Cutbacks In Midwest; VA Medical Service Realignment Plan
Deeply Flawed WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA)
today sharply criticized a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plan to end inpatient
services at a major Chicago hospital and other reductions in medical services for veterans
in the Great Lakes region. "We regret that top VA leadership has elected to proceed
with a flawed process that will inevitably leave many Midwestern veterans with fewer
health care services," said Tom Corey, VVA's national president. "They have
turned a deaf ear to those most in need." usnewswire.com
Bush nominated for
Nobel Prize February 7, 2002
OSLO: US President George W Bush should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
if he manages to respond to the terrorist attacks on the United States without starting a
war, 12 Norwegian university professors who nominated Bush have said. "We
hope that this will serve as a preventive alert, a change of tone from the simplistic talk
of revenge and retaliation," Inge Nilsen, head of studies at Lofoten Islands
University, said. Nilsen and the group of professors said their nomination of Bush for the
2002 Peace Prize should be seriously considered, as long as the US leader "avoids a
war, avoids the loss of more innocent lives, ensures that the perpetrators are brought to
justice". thecouriermail.news.com
In 1938, Adolf Hitler,
the self appointed chancellor of Germany, reaped the harvest of a defiant and ruthless
foreign policy. He tore the Treaty of Versailles to shreds and rearmed Germany to the
teeth. He threatened war against a number of countries before the eyes of a horrified and
apparently impotent world. In a vane attempt to change the behavior of a ruthless
dictator, Hitler was given the prestigious "Man of the Year Award."
In 2002, George Bush, the self appointed president
of the United States, reaped the harvest of a defiant and ruthless foreign policy. He tore
the Antiballistic Missile Treaty to shreds and proceeded with rearming America to the
teeth. He threatened war against a number of countries before the eyes of a horrified and
apparently impotent world. In an ironic attempt to change the behavior of a simplistic
warmonger, Bush may be given the prestigious "Nobel Peace Prize." editor
My Way, or the High Way
Jan 1 By JAMES M. JEFFORDS In the
months since my decision to leave the Republican Party and become an independent, I have
been both hailed and admonished. This is not surprising, given the impact of my decision.
Yet, I find that many of the journalists, legislators and ordinary citizens who offer
their thoughts still don't understand the reasons behind my decision. During my 26 years
in Congress, I have been labeled many things--a moderate, a liberal, a maverick, an
independent--but always, at least until last May 24, with the party affiliation
Republican.latimes.com
Bush gives 2.13 trillion to the military industrial complex and 600
Billion to the rich in a grand liquidation of our Social Security and Medicare trust
funds. Even our jobs and the very progress of our nation have become casualties in this
mad republican cash grab. All will be sacrificed to the rich and powerful. Now is the
reason the corporations rigged the presidential election. This is the time when America
will be taken down by corruption, greed, arrogance, and ignorance. No country can defeat
us militarily yet we have already fallen. Write to your congressman brothers and sisters
and pray for our America, she is sick and needs our help.
Bush
proposes Army Corps funds cut, new work halt February 4,
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush proposed cutting fiscal 2003
funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by 10 percent and halting construction of new
projects. money.iwon.com
White House Slashes Technology Grant
Program February 4, 2002 (Reuters) The
Bush administration on Monday proposed sharp cuts in a program that provides grants for
high-tech research. The White House recommended reducing funding for the Advanced
Technology Program by 42 percent, from $185 million in 2002 to $108 million in 2003. The
program was created in 1988 to prevent the United States from falling behind other
countries in high-tech research and development. news1.iwon.com
Bush To
End Funds For Police Technology February
4 The Bush
administration plans to terminate a $12 million program that was used to identify a
terrorist suspect after the attacks on Sept. 11. The funds used for TOP, the Technology
Opportunity Program of the Commerce Department, are supposed to go toward Bush's $2.12
trillion defense spending plan. oregons12.com
Bush Wants Cuts at Portland Job Center He
Recently Praised February 4,
2002 By Krista Vasquez and Jim Parker, President
Bush sent Congress a $2.13 trillion budget Monday that would provide billions of dollars
in new spending for defense while squeezing money from scores of other programs --
including a job training effort in northeast Portland that Bush himself praised last month
during a tour of the facility. kgw.com
Bush Budget Will Seek Cuts in Programs for Job Training
Jan. 30 By ROBERT PEAR Even though unemployment has increased sharply in recent
months, President Bush's budget will seek cuts in several job-training programs for laid-
off workers and young adults most affected by the rise in unemployment, budget documents
and federal officials say. nytimes.com
Bush administration repeals
rule barring lawbreaking companies from federal contracts January 4, By Leigh Strope
The Bush administration repealed a Clinton-era
rule that prevents the government from awarding federal contracts to businesses that have
broken environmental, labor, tax or other federal laws. signonsandiego.com
Democrat Assails Bush on Economy Jan. 5 By
ALISON MITCHELL Senator Tom Daschle, the
capital's most prominent Democrat, accused President Bush and the Republicans today of
causing the "most
dramatic fiscal deterioration in our nation's history" when they pushed through a major tax cut last year. nytimes.com
Anti-Bush Protest March Halted by Police
January 6 By Andrew Kramer Chanting slogans against
President Bush, about 500 activists marched through a Portland neighborhood Saturday to
protest the president's policies just before his arrival here. "Hey George, we didn't
like your dad and we don't like you," the protesters shouted, alluding to hostile
receptions that Portland activists would give Bush's father when he was president. The
protesters -- many of them opponents of the war in Afghanistan -- had planned to march to
a job training center where President George W Bush spoke to unemployed people. But police
barricades and a line of riot police prevented the marchers from getting close to the job
center. As the protesters milled around the barricades a military helicopter
watched them from above. The march started from a park several blocks from the
job center. Later, outside Bush's second stop at a high school, mounted police
cleared an intersection by spurring their horses into a crowd of jeering
protesters, pushing them onto the sidewalk. kgw.com
Bush moves to overturn ruling blocking oil drilling off California coast
January 11, By DAVID KRAVETS (AP) The Bush administration urged a federal appeals court
Thursday to overturn a court order blocking oil and natural gas exploration off
California’s central coast. The government’s brief follows a federal
judge’s decision in June barring exploration off San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and
Ventura counties. The judge cited environmental concerns. montanaforum.com
Bush is no environmental defender, attorneys charge
January 11. During his
first year in office, President George W. Bush has failed to defend the environment and is
working with industry behind closed doors to undermine existing protections, say attorneys
from Earthjustice who represent environmental groups in court. enn.com
Bush, the corporations' flag-carrier Enron's collapse exposes the folly of his cash-for-influence policy
January 15 Julian Borger The
familiar paraphernalia of political scandal is being assembled in Washington. At the last
count, two criminal inquiries and six congressional hearings were scheduled on the Enron
scandal. In the legislature, reduced by the war on terrorism to the role of cheerleader,
everyone wants to be a part of it. guardian.co
Poll: Bush Admin. Hiding Something
January 19
Almost two-thirds of Americans in a new CBS News poll think the Bush administration is
either hiding something or lying about its relationship with Enron, the failed energy
trading company that has been a big contributor to the president and to other politicians
from both parties. The poll was of 1,030 adults was taken Jan. 15-17 and released Friday.
It had an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Among the poll findings:
-Almost two-thirds - 63 percent - think the Bush administration isn't telling everything
it knows about its relationship with Enron. dailynews.yahoo.com
Bush changes tone, now 'outraged' by Enron January
23 By David E.
Sanger with David Barboza The New York Times BELLE, W.Va. -- Abruptly changing his tone
about a company that heavily contributed to his political campaigns, President George W.
Bush said on Tuesday that he was "outraged" that Enron Corp. misled its
employees and investors, including his mother-in-law, who he said lost more than $8,000
when the energy firm's stock collapsed. For the first time, Bush called for government
action to force greater corporate disclosure of financial information. dailynews.com
McCarthyism still stalks the land January
27 by Geoffrey Wheatcroft Recent events in both America and Britain have
been reminiscent of an earlier, uglier era. Very few
men in American history have cast a longer shadow than Senator Joseph McCarthy. In his
lifetime, he cut a devastating swathe and he left behind a word in the language. An
exhibition about him which has just opened in his home town of Appleton, Wisconsin, has
caused controversy and shown that he has the power to strike a chill, 45 years after his
death. guardian.co.uk
Powell urges Bush to abide by Geneva rules
Jan. 26, Marking a break with most, if not all, senior administration officials,
Secretary of State Colin Powell has asked President Bush to reverse course and formally
adhere to the Geneva Convention when it comes to dealing with al-Qaida and Taliban
detainees, according to an internal memo divulged Saturday. msnbc.com
George Bush's delusion Tragedy does not
give America a free hand January 31, 2002. A tendency among politicians to
exploit the September 11 tragedy has been apparent from the very first. In Israel, Russia
and China, governments were quick to use America's agony to justify the unjustifiable in
Palestine, Chechnya and in Xinjiang. Pakistan's ostracised regime found in September 11 a
return route to international acceptance. Its arch rival India, in its turn, used one
crisis to dramatise another, in Kashmir. From Tehran to Khartoum to Harare, political
leaders climbed aboard the anti-terrorism bandwagon with a view to domestic advantage as
well as Washington's aid and approbation. Even Tony Blair's post-September 11 empathy
offensive was not totally devoid of similar calculations. guardian.co.uk
GAO Will Sue Bush Administration for Documents
February
1, 2002 By Cat Lazaroff The General Accounting Office plans to file suit
against the Bush administration within weeks, seeking the release of documents relating to
closed door meetings between Vice President Richard Cheney and energy industry officials.
The case is viewed as a crucial test of the president's power to protect records of
private meetings with powerful and influential commercial interests. Since April 2001, the
General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, has been working on
behalf of Congress to obtain the records of Cheney's energy task force meetings, which
were instrumental in shaping President George W. Bush's national energy plan. At first,
the GAO requested all minutes and records of the task force, which the White House refused
to release on the grounds that such a broad request lay outside the agency's authority. In
August, the GAO revised its request to cover only the dates, locations and subjects of
task force meetings, as well as the names of all attendees. lycos.com
President Bush's new budget calls for 591 (b) billion in tax cuts
for the rich over
the next decade while attempting to eliminate deficits. February 3, 2002 That's according to documents
obtained by The Associated Press. The numbers show a new round of tax reductions would
claim a large share of dwindling federal surpluses. Bush's two-point-13 (t)
trillion-dollar budget for the next fiscal year will draw upon savings from Medicaid and a
health-insurance program for low-income children. The budget also counts on leasing
still-unapproved mineral drilling rights in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
While specifics aren't fully detailed, the documents show Bush is projecting a deficit of
80 (b) billion dollars. A Bush statement accompanying the budget says a cap on government
spending and curtailing social programs will leave enough money for anti-terror and war. home.abc28.com
Bush Called `Incarnation of Evil' February 18,2002
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter A ruling party lawmaker yesterday called U.S. President George
W. Bush the ``incarnation of evil'' in the National Assembly interpellation session
yesterday, one day ahead of Bush's visit to Seoul, sending a shockwave through the
country. Rep. Song Seok-chan of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) made the
remarks in his pre-published report, but he didn't read the name of Bush during his speech
at the podium. Rep. Song called Bush the ``incarnation of evil'' while attacking Lee Hoi-
chang, president of the opposition Grand National Party, at the interpellation session
that was held to discuss political issues. korealink.co
The fickle mind of President Bush February 20 by
PAT MURPHY We have the word of George W. Bush that he won’t use the war on
terrorism for political purposes, right? Many Americans are gullible enough to buy into
that, of course. But they should consider how the president is playing politics with
terrorism. Foremost in the strategy is the president’s constant, unrelenting, often
tiresome speeches he makes wherever he goes—that America is at war and Americans will
pay whatever price is required in the war on terrorism. This tactic is designed to
immunize him against criticism of domestic programs that are veering the nation toward
economic instability by attempting to demonize anyone who criticizes him as unsympathetic
to the war on terrorists. mtexpress.com
War Without End? Democrats are afraid to cry ‘politics’ on Bush’s war plans.
Maybe somebody should Feb. 22 NEWSWEEK
WEB EXCLUSIVE When President Clinton lobbed a few missiles to retaliate against terrorist
attacks on U.S. embassies, the punditocracy shouted “Wag the Dog!” President
Bush is traveling the globe beating the war drums and there’s barely a scintilla of
skepticism. A New York Times headline declares, “Bush says U.S. plans no attack on
North Korea.” What kind of insanity would such an attack actually be? Yet the
pronouncement is treated with sober reflection, as if Bush had just made a major
foreign-policy statement. msnbc.com
U.S. "pretending" Bush is competent
Feb 26 (Reuters) Aaron Sorkin, creator of a fictional White House on the TV drama
"The West Wing," says the entire country -- including his own network -- is
"pretending" that President George W. Bush is competent and brave. Sorkin, in an
interview for the new issue of The New Yorker magazine said the news media had gone too
far. He cited as an example a program on NBC, titled "The Bush White House: Inside
the Real West Wing," hosted by Tom Brokaw. "The White House pumped up the
president's schedule to show him being much busier and more engaged than he is,"
Sorkin said in the article. "The show was a Valentine to Bush," he said.
"The truth is we're simply pretending to believe that Bush exhibited unspeakable
courage at the World Series by throwing out the first pitch at Yankee stadium or that he,
by God, showed those terrorists by going to Salt Lake City and jumbling the first line of
the Olympic opening ceremony." in.news.yahoo.com
Bush Welfare Reform Plan Leaves Millions of Children Behind
Says
Children's Defense Fund Feb. 26 /U.S. Newswire/
Following is a
statement by Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund:
"The President says his welfare reform plan is all about getting more parents working
but his plan doesn't invest in the supports low-income families need to get and keep a
job, such as child care, education, training, and transportation. He says it is important
for families to work yet his budget proposal and his welfare proposal would deny child
care to tens of thousands of children over the next five years. He requires more hours of
work but not one dime more for child care. Right now only one in seven children eligible
for federal child care assistance gets it. It has been proven that in order to keep a job
families coming off welfare need child care. "We think the President's plan misses
the opportunity to provide real help for families struggling to get off welfare and into
the workforce. "The President's plan does not take into account: -- how many new
workers are losing jobs because of the recession. -- that half of the families who have
left welfare for work earn below poverty wages. -- that the lack of affordable child care
and accessible transportation are still major stumbling blocks for millions of families
trying to make the welfare-to-work transition. "Families have proven they want to
work -- but the President is not offering any support to help them lift themselves and
their families out of poverty. We hope the President will put his money where his words
are and invest in doubling the number of children able to get child care when their
parents work through the Child Care and Development Block Grant. And we're disappointed
the President does notprovide for a single new child to get a Head Start next year.
"We hope he will reconsider. Children can't eat promises. His welfare plan will leave
millions of children behind, not ready for school and in unsafe child care when their
parents work. We can do better." usnewswire.com
EPA official quits, rips White House Regulatory
chief cites push ‘to weaken the rules’ Feb.
28 By Miguel Llanos A senior official at the Environmental
Protection Agency quit Thursday, in protest of the Bush Administration’s policies on
air pollution. NBC’s Robert Hager reports. In his resignation letter, Eric
Schaeffer complained specifically about what he saw as attempts to weaken Clean Air Act
regulations on coal-fired power plants.
The head of regulatory enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency has stepped
down, MSNBC.com has learned, claiming in a resignation letter that the EPA is
“fighting a White House that seems determined to weaken the rules we are trying to
enforce.” An EPA spokesman denied the allegations, saying the Bush administration was
committed to enforcing the nation’s environmental laws. msnbc.com
GOP Holds Up Homeless Vets Bill
December 4 By FREDERIC J. FROMMER (AP) - Less than three weeks after Senate
Republicans dropped an anonymous hold on Sen. Paul Wellstone's homeless veterans bill, an
anonymous Republican has reinstated the hold. ``I can't believe it!'' a red-faced,
finger-pointing Wellstone shouted on the Senate floor Tuesday. dailynews.yahoo.com
Ashcroft says any criticism of his police state measures aids the terrorist
cause Ashcroft Defends
Anti-Terrorism Steps December 7 Civil Liberties Groups' Attacks 'Only Aid Terrorists,' Senate
Panel Told Attorney General John D. Ashcroft resolutely
defended the Justice Department's anti-terrorism tactics yesterday, telling a Senate
committee the measures are necessary to prevent future attacks and suggesting that
criticism of them aids the terrorist cause. washingtonpost.com
US jobless rate hits six-year high
8
December 2001 By Jerry White The US unemployment rate rose three-tenths of 1 percent in
November, to 5.7 percent, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released
Friday. The jump in the jobless rate—to the highest level in six years—follows a
half a percentage point increase in October, and is a further indication of the deepening
economic slump in the US.wsws.org
Ashcroft defends Bush’s war against the Constitution
12 December Tells Senate hearing that critics "aid terrorists" By Kate
Randall and John Andrews. Amid growing disquiet over the Bush
administration’s attacks on democratic rights following the September 11 attacks,
Attorney General John Ashcroft appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December
6. The hearing was called to discuss recent measures such as President Bush’s
authorization of secret military tribunals to try alleged terrorist suspects. Displaying
equal measures of arrogance and evasion, Ashcroft swept aside concerns for basic
constitutional protections and charged that his critics “aid terrorists” and
“give ammunition to America’s enemies.” wsws.org
Bush uses executive privilege to keep documents secret December 14, 2001 BY
NEIL A. LEWIS WASHINGTON --
President Bush invoked executive privilege for the first time in his administration Thursday to block Congress
from seeing documents about a decades-long scandal involving FBI misuse of mob informants
in Boston and internal Justice Department deliberations about President Bill Clinton's
fundraising tactics. Bush's action produced angry criticism from the chairman of the
committee, Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, a fellow Republican who has been known principally
as a relentless critic of Clinton. miami.com
Widening assault on democratic rights in US
15 December 2001 By Jerry White In the aftermath of September 11 the Bush administration has
carried out a sweeping attack on civil liberties. This has involved the detention of
hundreds of immigrants, “voluntary” interviews of Middle Eastern men, the
authorization of military tribunals to try suspected terrorists, censorship of the press
and the granting of increased powers to the police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) and other agencies. In the name of the “war on terrorism” the government
has used these measures to crack down on political dissent and intimidate opponents of US
militarism and foreign policy. wsws.org
Going Backwards- Bush Expected to Weaken Portions of Clean Air Act- December 23
Issue Revisited Amid
High Approval Rating by David L.
Greene In a boon for the energy industry and a setback for
environmentalists, the Bush administration is expected to announce soon that it is
weakening portions of the Clean Air Act, allowing coal-burning power plants to bypass some
anti-pollution rules. President Bush has argued that some Clean Air Act rules stifle
energy output and do little to protect the environment. That stance has angered
environmentalists, but it was mostly forgotten after Sept. 11. Now, riding high on wartime
approval ratings, Bush is revisiting some of his more hotly disputed proposals, including
the idea of easing some environmental regulations. commondreams.org
Connect the Enron Dots to Bush
December 17 by Robert Scheer Enron is Whitewater in spades. This isn't just some rinky-dink land investment like the one dredged
up by right-wing enemies to haunt the Clinton White House--but rather it has the makings
of the greatest presidential scandal since the Teapot Dome. The Bush administration has a
long and intimate relationship with Enron, whose much-discredited chairman, Kenneth L.
Lay, was a primary financial backer of George W. Bush's rise to the presidency.
commondreams.org
It's Clear Bush Tax Cuts Have Hurt Americans
December 25 by Paul Krugman Shortly after Sept.
11, George W. Bush interrupted his inveighing against evildoers to crack a joke. Bush had
repeatedly promised to run an overall budget surplus at least as large as the Social
Security surplus, except in the event of recession, war or national emergency. "Lucky
me," he remarked to Mitch Daniels, his budget director. "I hit the
trifecta." commondreams.org
Withdrawal from ABM treaty signals escalation of US
militarism 27 December, By Joseph Kay
President George W. Bush formally announced December 13 that the United States will
unilaterally withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.The move is not a
surprise, given the administration’s public opposition to the treaty. Nevertheless,
it is a milestone in the development of American foreign policy and in postwar
international relations. It marks the first time in the nuclear era that the United States
has abandoned a major arms control treaty. wsws.org
A diary of year one with our unelected president
DEC. 28
BY BARRY CRIMMINS CAN IT REALLY be a year since we didn't elect George W.
Bush president? Time
sure flies when you're going straight to hell. Let's take a look back at our first 12 months with the
court-appointed chief executive. After becoming treasury secretary, former ALCOA chair
Paul O'Neill told Britain's Financial Times that he thinks corporate taxes should
be abolished, along with Medicare and Social Security. Fortunately, O'Neill hasn't yet
found time to transfer the Social Security trust fund into Enron and Lucent stock
certificates. bostonphoenix.com
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