77 more days of the Bush regime.

November 3, 2008 - New York Times editorial:

So Little Time, So Much Damage

While Americans eagerly vote for the next president, hereâ??s a sobering reminder: As of Tuesday, George W. Bush still has 77 days left in the White House â?? and heâ??s not wasting a minute.

President Bushâ??s aides have been scrambling to change rules and regulations on the environment, civil liberties and abortion rights, among others â?? few for the good. Most presidents put on a last-minute policy stamp, but in Mr. Bushâ??s case it is more like a wrecking ball. We fear it could take months, or years, for the next president to identify and then undo all of the damage.

Here is a look â?? by no means comprehensive â?? at some of Mr. Bushâ??s recent parting gifts and those we fear are yet to come.

CIVIL LIBERTIES We donâ??t know all of the ways that the administration has violated Americansâ?? rights in the name of fighting terrorism. Last month, Attorney General Michael Mukasey rushed out new guidelines for the F.B.I. that permit agents to use chillingly intrusive techniques to collect information on Americans even where there is no evidence of wrongdoing.

Agents will be allowed to use informants to infiltrate lawful groups, engage in prolonged physical surveillance and lie about their identity while questioning a subjectâ??s neighbors, relatives, co-workers and friends. The changes also give the F.B.I. â?? which has a long history of spying on civil rights groups and others â?? expanded latitude to use these techniques on people identified by racial, ethnic and religious background.

The administration showed further disdain for Americansâ?? privacy rights and for Congressâ??s power by making clear that it will ignore a provision in the legislation that established the Department of Homeland Security. The law requires the departmentâ??s privacy officer to account annually for any activity that could affect Americansâ?? privacy â?? and clearly stipulates that the report cannot be edited by any other officials at the department or the White House.

The Justice Departmentâ??s Office of Legal Counsel has now released a memo asserting that the law â??does not prohibitâ?� officials from homeland security or the White House from reviewing the report. The memo then argues that since the law allows the officials to review the report, it would be unconstitutional to stop them from changing it. George Orwell couldnâ??t have done better.

THE ENVIRONMENT The administration has been especially busy weakening regulations that promote clean air and clean water and protect endangered species.

Mr. Bush, or more to the point, Vice President Dick Cheney, came to office determined to dismantle Bill Clintonâ??s environmental legacy, undo decades of environmental law and keep their friends in industry happy. They have had less success than we feared, but only because of the determined opposition of environmental groups, courageous members of Congress and protests from citizens. But the White House keeps trying.

Mr. Bushâ??s secretary of the interior, Dirk Kempthorne, has recently carved out significant exceptions to regulations requiring expert scientific review of any federal project that might harm endangered or threatened species (one consequence will be to relieve the agency of the need to assess the impact of global warming on at-risk species). The department also is rushing to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list â?? again. The wolves were re-listed after a federal judge ruled the government had not lived up to its own recovery plan.

In coming weeks, we expect the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a final rule that would weaken a program created by the Clean Air Act, which requires utilities to install modern pollution controls when they upgrade their plants to produce more power. The agency is also expected to issue a final rule that would make it easier for coal-fired power plants to locate near national parks in defiance of longstanding Congressional mandates to protect air quality in areas of special natural or recreational value.

Interior also is awaiting E.P.A.â??s concurrence on a proposal that would make it easier for mining companies to dump toxic mine wastes in valleys and streams.

And while no rules changes are at issue, the interior department also has been rushing to open up millions of acres of pristine federal land to oil and gas exploration. We fear that, in coming weeks, Mr. Kempthorne will open up even more acreage to the commercial development of oil shale, a hugely expensive and environmentally risky process that even the oil companies seem in no hurry to begin. He should not.

ABORTION RIGHTS Soon after the election, Michael Leavitt, the secretary of health and human services, is expected to issue new regulations aimed at further limiting womenâ??s access to abortion, contraceptives and information about their reproductive health care options.

Existing law allows doctors and nurses to refuse to participate in an abortion. These changes would extend the so-called right to refuse to a wide range of health care workers and activities including abortion referrals, unbiased counseling and provision of birth control pills or emergency contraception, even for rape victims.

The administration has taken other disturbing steps in recent weeks. In late September, the I.R.S. restored tax breaks for banks that take big losses on bad loans inherited through acquisitions. Now we learn that JPMorgan Chase and others are planning to use their bailout funds for mergers and acquisitions, transactions that will be greatly enhanced by the new tax subsidy.

One last-minute change Mr. Bush wonâ??t be making: He apparently has decided not to shut down the prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba â?? the most shameful symbol of his administrationâ??s disdain for the rule of law.

Mr. Bush has said it should be closed, and his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and his secretary of defense, Robert Gates, pushed for it. Proposals were prepared, including a plan for sending the real bad guys to other countries for trial. But Mr. Cheney objected, and the president has refused even to review the memos. He will hand this mess off to his successor.

We suppose there is some good news in all of this. While Mr. Bush leaves office on Jan. 20, 2009, he has only until Nov. 20 to issue â??economically significantâ?� rule changes and until Dec. 20 to issue other changes. Anything after that is merely a draft and can be easily withdrawn by the next president.

Unfortunately, the White House is well aware of those deadlines.

as long as george bush is living in the whitehouse, kidnapping and torture are still legal, the usa is still operating foreign concentration camps, foreigners are dragged before US kangaroo courts, the geneva conventions are 'quaint', deficits don't matter (even if they are $1 trillion per year), the UN is a useless debating society, US-angry-strike-defenseless-impoverished-country-first policy in effect, and you are either with george bush or you are with the terrorists

i wonder if obama is going to authorize any executions while he is president...george bush personally snuffed 155 people while he was governor and president...that record is going to be hard to beat

i can't wait for the bush era to end

Ill be counting the days! This is what amazing me about the people that are so scared of Obama. Was I the only person that was paying attention the last 8 years. What the FUCK can Obama really do that would be worse than any year in the bush regime! LOL, even if he somehow gave out 700 billion in reparations he would still be ahead of what Bush did just last month! Just thought I should ask: Bush cant attack Iran in his last days right? ;)

Well that depends on what you mean by "can't". He couldn't legally, in accordance with international law, invade Iraq either. But I don't think he has the blanket support that he needs for such an action anymore so I wouldn't worry about that too much. No, it's the continuing attack on the fabric of our own nation that we should be most concerned about.

that begs the question:

attack iran WITH WHAT? the commander in chief squandered his military resources on two defenceless countries

unlike iraq and afghanistan, iran has a real military with over a million troops...iran wouldn't lay out the welcome mat like iraq and afghanistan did

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maladroit

i wonder if obama is going to authorize any executions while he is president...george bush personally snuffed 155 people while he was governor and president...that record is going to be hard to beat

i can't wait for the bush era to end

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I don't think that the president authorizes executions, except possibly military ones.

Obama is not opposed to the death penalty, but has a narrower definition than Bush of when it is appropriate to use it.

The ONLY thing to watch for now is the infamous pardon list. Like all the Presidents in the past I'm sure he's working on his list as we type.
Looks like this is a short list but I'm' sure ya get the drift on what to expect.
List of people pardoned or clemenced by a United States president - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Have a good one!:s4:

His 'legacy' has essentially smeared fecies on the the American flag, can't wait for the leaving party.

I wouldn't vote republican now even if Jesus was running on the ticket!

and yet, 48% of voters picked mccain...

"a house divided, can not stand"

The end cannot come soon enough for me. Clinton's controversial last acts as President were things like issuing executive orders to set aside certain federal land as National Wilderness Areas or National Monuments, gifts of conservation to future generations --- Bush is rushing to weaken the Clean Air and Clearn Water Acts! Gifts of poison! What an ASS! He must not be convinced he has secured the title of Worst President In History, and he's making some last ditch efforts for his "legacy."

And yes, the pardon list will be interesting.

hurray! its almost over!

I just hope he wont hand yet another war to obama, in this remaining few weeks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

And yes, the pardon list will be interesting.

---

Now don't ya all be getting upset when ya see Bush's list, here's an accurate account of Clintons.
List of people pardoned by Bill Clinton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Commutations
Ronald Henderson Blackley
Bert Wayne Bolan
Gloria Libia Camargo
Charles F. Campbell
David Ronald Chandler - federal death row inmate[1].
Lau Ching Chin
Donald R. Clark
Loreta De-Ann Coffman
Derrick Curry
Velinda Desalus
Jacob Elbaum
Linda Sue Evans
Loretta Sharon Fish
Antoinette M. Frink
David Goldstein
Gerard A. Greenfield
Jodie E. Israel
Kimberly Johnson
Billy Thornton Langston Jr.
Belinda Lynn Lumpkin
Peter MacDonald - Navajo Chairman (sentence for 14 years in 1993 for fraud and racketeering convictions.)
Kellie Ann Mann
Peter Ninemire
Hugh Ricardo Padmore
Arnold Paul Prosperi Florida attorney, tax fraud. managed Clinton's 1967 campaign for student-council president.[2]
Melvin J. Reynolds - Democratic Congressman from Illinois - bank fraud and obstruction of justice
Pedro Miguel Riveiro
Dorothy Rivers - lead official in Jesse Jacksonâ??s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, plead guilty to theft of 1.2 million dollars in federal grant money
Susan Rosenberg
Kalmen Stern
Cory Stringfellow
Carlos Anibal Vignali - convicted of cocaine trafficking
Thomas Wilson Waddell III
Harvey Weinig
Kim Allen Willis
Kimba Smith
Antonio Camacho Negron - FALN militant

Pardons
Verla Jean Allen (1990 false statements to an agency of the United States).[3]
Nicholas M. Altiere (1983 importation of cocaine)
Bernice Ruth Altschul (1992 money laundering conspiracy)
Joe Anderson Jr. (1988 income tax evasion)
William Sterling Anderson (1987 defraudment of a financial institution, false statements to a financial institution, wire fraud)
Mansour Azizkhani (1984 false statements in bank loan applications)
Cleveland Victor Babin Jr. (1987 using the U.S. mail service to defraud)
Chris Harmon Bagley (1989 conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine)
Scott Lynn Bane (Unlawful distribution of marijuana)
Thomas Cleveland Barber (Issuing worthless checks)
Peggy Ann Bargon (Violation of the Lacey Act, violation of the Bald Eagle Protection Act)
David Roscoe Blampied (possess with intent to distribute cocaine)
William Arthur Borders Jr. (Conspiracy to corruptly solicit and accept money in return for influencing the official acts of a federal district court judge (Alcee L. Hastings), and to defraud the United States in connection with the performance of lawful government functions; corruptly influencing, obstructing, impeding and endeavoring to influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice, and aiding and abetting therein; traveling interstate with intent to commit bribery)
Arthur David Borel (Odometer Rollback)
Douglas Charles Borel (Odometer Rollback)
George Thomas Brabham (Making a false statement or report to a federally insured bank)
Almon Glenn Braswell (1983 mail fraud and perjury)
Leonard Browder (Illegal dispensing of controlled substance and Medicaid fraud)
David Steven Brown (Securities fraud and mail fraud)
Delores Caroylene Burleson, aka Delores Cox Burleson (Possession of Marijuana)
John H. Bustamante (wire fraud)
Mary Louise Campbell
Eloida Candelaria
Dennis Sobrevinas Capili
Donna Denise Chambers
Douglas Eugene Chapman
Ronald Keith Chapman
Francisco Larois Chavez
Henry Cisneros (former HUD Secretary)
Roger Clinton, Jr. Cocaine charges(half-brother of President Bill Clinton)[3]
Stuart Harris Cohn
David Marc Cooper
Ernest Harley Cox Jr.
John F. Cross Jr.
Reickey Lee Cunningham
Richard Anthony De Labio
John Deutch (former Director of Central Intelligence Agency)
Richard Douglas
Edward Reynolds Downe
Marvin Dean Dudley
Larry Lee Duncan
Galen R. Elmore (Convicted of cattle theft)
Robert Clinton Fain
Marcos Arcenio Fernandez
Alvarez Ferrouillet
Henry O. Flipper - guilty of "conduct unbecoming an officer" (1882)
William Dennis Fugazy
Lloyd Reid George
Louis Goldstein
Rubye Lee Gordon
Pincus Green
Robert Ivey Hamner
Samuel Price Handley
Woodie Randolph Handley
Jay Houston Harmon
Rick Hendrick
John Hummingson
David S. Herdlinger
Debi Rae Huckleberry
Warren C. Hultgren Jr.
Donald Ray James
Stanley Pruet Jobe
Ruben H. Johnson
Linda Jones
James Howard Lake
June Louise Lewis
Salim Bonnor Lewis
John Leighton Lodwick
Hildebrando Lopez
Jose Julio Luaces
James Timothy Maness
James Lowell Manning, (1982, aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false corporate income tax return)
John Robert Martin
Frank Ayala Martinez
Silvia Leticia Beltran Martinez
John Francis McCormick
Susan H. McDougal
Howard Mechanic
Brook K. Mitchell Sr.
Samuel Loring Morison
Charles Wilfred Morgan III
Richard Anthony Nazzaro
Charlene Ann Nosenko
Vernon Raymond Obermeier
Miguelina Ogalde
David C. Owen
Robert W. Palmer
Kelli Anne Perhosky
Richard H. Pezzopane
Orville Rex Phillips
Vinson Stewart Poling Jr.
James G. Powell
Norman Lyle Prouse
Willie H.H. Pruitt Jr.[4]
Danny Martin Pursley Sr.
Charles D. Ravenel
William Clyde Ray
Alfredo Luna Regalado
Ildefonso Reynes Ricafort
Marc Rich
Howard Winfield Riddle
Richard Wilson Riley Jr., Cocaine and marijuana charges, His father was Clinton's Education Secretary.[4]
Samuel Lee Robbins
Joel Gonzales Rodriguez
Michael James Rogers
Anna Louise Ross
Dan Rostenkowski - Former Democratic Congressman convicted in the Congressional Post Office Scandal
Gerald Glen Rust
Jerri Ann Rust
Bettye June Rutherford
Gregory Lee Sands
Adolph Schwimmer
Albert A. Seretti Jr.
Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw
Dennis Joseph Smith
Gerald Owen Smith
Stephen A. Smith
Jimmie Lee Speake
Charles Bernard Stewart
Marlena Francisca Stewart-Rollins
Fife Symington III - former Arizona governor
Richard Lee Tannehill
Nicholas C. Tenaglia
Gary Allen Thomas
Larry Weldon Todd
Olga C. Trevino
Ignatious Vamvouklis
Patricia A. Van De Weerd
Christopher V. Wade
Bill Wayne Warmath
Jack Kenneth Watson
Donna Lynn Webb
Donald William Wells
Robert H. Wendt
Jack L. Williams
Kavin Arthur Williams
Robert Michael Williams
Jimmie Lee Wilson
Thelma Louise Wingate
Mitchell Couey Wood
Warren Stannard Wood
Dewey Worthey
Rick Allen Yale
Joseph A. Yasak
William Stanley Yingling
Phillip David Young
Keith Sanders
Darren Muci
John Scott (not a full pardon)

Have a good one!:s4:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by flyingimam

I just hope he wont hand yet another war to obama, in this remaining few weeks

---

That would depend on Congress providing authorization for use of force - which the Bush administration wouldn't receive at this point. Don't worry about that, worry about what executive orders are signed between now and December 20th - that is what's scary.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dragonrider

The end cannot come soon enough for me. Clinton's controversial last acts as President were things like issuing executive orders to set aside certain federal land as National Wilderness Areas or National Monuments, gifts of conservation to future generations --- Bush is rushing to weaken the Clean Air and Clearn Water Acts! Gifts of poison! What an ASS! He must not be convinced he has secured the title of Worst President In History, and he's making some last ditch efforts for his "legacy."

And yes, the pardon list will be interesting.

---

What he did was hand those things over to the UNITED nations to control.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud

Now don't ya all be getting upset when ya see Bush's list, here's an accurate account of Clintons.
List of people pardoned by Bill Clinton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Commutations
Ronald Henderson Blackley
Bert Wayne Bolan
Gloria Libia Camargo
Charles F. Campbell
David Ronald Chandler - federal death row inmate[1].
Lau Ching Chin
Donald R. Clark
Loreta De-Ann Coffman
Derrick Curry
Velinda Desalus
Jacob Elbaum
Linda Sue Evans
Loretta Sharon Fish
Antoinette M. Frink
David Goldstein
Gerard A. Greenfield
Jodie E. Israel
Kimberly Johnson
Billy Thornton Langston Jr.
Belinda Lynn Lumpkin
Peter MacDonald - Navajo Chairman (sentence for 14 years in 1993 for fraud and racketeering convictions.)
Kellie Ann Mann
Peter Ninemire
Hugh Ricardo Padmore
Arnold Paul Prosperi Florida attorney, tax fraud. managed Clinton's 1967 campaign for student-council president.[2]
Melvin J. Reynolds - Democratic Congressman from Illinois - bank fraud and obstruction of justice
Pedro Miguel Riveiro
Dorothy Rivers - lead official in Jesse Jacksonâ??s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, plead guilty to theft of 1.2 million dollars in federal grant money
Susan Rosenberg
Kalmen Stern
Cory Stringfellow
Carlos Anibal Vignali - convicted of cocaine trafficking
Thomas Wilson Waddell III
Harvey Weinig
Kim Allen Willis
Kimba Smith
Antonio Camacho Negron - FALN militant

Pardons
Verla Jean Allen (1990 false statements to an agency of the United States).[3]
Nicholas M. Altiere (1983 importation of cocaine)
Bernice Ruth Altschul (1992 money laundering conspiracy)
Joe Anderson Jr. (1988 income tax evasion)
William Sterling Anderson (1987 defraudment of a financial institution, false statements to a financial institution, wire fraud)
Mansour Azizkhani (1984 false statements in bank loan applications)
Cleveland Victor Babin Jr. (1987 using the U.S. mail service to defraud)
Chris Harmon Bagley (1989 conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine)
Scott Lynn Bane (Unlawful distribution of marijuana)
Thomas Cleveland Barber (Issuing worthless checks)
Peggy Ann Bargon (Violation of the Lacey Act, violation of the Bald Eagle Protection Act)
David Roscoe Blampied (possess with intent to distribute cocaine)
William Arthur Borders Jr. (Conspiracy to corruptly solicit and accept money in return for influencing the official acts of a federal district court judge (Alcee L. Hastings), and to defraud the United States in connection with the performance of lawful government functions; corruptly influencing, obstructing, impeding and endeavoring to influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice, and aiding and abetting therein; traveling interstate with intent to commit bribery)
Arthur David Borel (Odometer Rollback)
Douglas Charles Borel (Odometer Rollback)
George Thomas Brabham (Making a false statement or report to a federally insured bank)
Almon Glenn Braswell (1983 mail fraud and perjury)
Leonard Browder (Illegal dispensing of controlled substance and Medicaid fraud)
David Steven Brown (Securities fraud and mail fraud)
Delores Caroylene Burleson, aka Delores Cox Burleson (Possession of Marijuana)
John H. Bustamante (wire fraud)
Mary Louise Campbell
Eloida Candelaria
Dennis Sobrevinas Capili
Donna Denise Chambers
Douglas Eugene Chapman
Ronald Keith Chapman
Francisco Larois Chavez
Henry Cisneros (former HUD Secretary)
Roger Clinton, Jr. Cocaine charges(half-brother of President Bill Clinton)[3]
Stuart Harris Cohn
David Marc Cooper
Ernest Harley Cox Jr.
John F. Cross Jr.
Reickey Lee Cunningham
Richard Anthony De Labio
John Deutch (former Director of Central Intelligence Agency)
Richard Douglas
Edward Reynolds Downe
Marvin Dean Dudley
Larry Lee Duncan
Galen R. Elmore (Convicted of cattle theft)
Robert Clinton Fain
Marcos Arcenio Fernandez
Alvarez Ferrouillet
Henry O. Flipper - guilty of "conduct unbecoming an officer" (1882)
William Dennis Fugazy
Lloyd Reid George
Louis Goldstein
Rubye Lee Gordon
Pincus Green
Robert Ivey Hamner
Samuel Price Handley
Woodie Randolph Handley
Jay Houston Harmon
Rick Hendrick
John Hummingson
David S. Herdlinger
Debi Rae Huckleberry
Warren C. Hultgren Jr.
Donald Ray James
Stanley Pruet Jobe
Ruben H. Johnson
Linda Jones
James Howard Lake
June Louise Lewis
Salim Bonnor Lewis
John Leighton Lodwick
Hildebrando Lopez
Jose Julio Luaces
James Timothy Maness
James Lowell Manning, (1982, aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false corporate income tax return)
John Robert Martin
Frank Ayala Martinez
Silvia Leticia Beltran Martinez
John Francis McCormick
Susan H. McDougal
Howard Mechanic
Brook K. Mitchell Sr.
Samuel Loring Morison
Charles Wilfred Morgan III
Richard Anthony Nazzaro
Charlene Ann Nosenko
Vernon Raymond Obermeier
Miguelina Ogalde
David C. Owen
Robert W. Palmer
Kelli Anne Perhosky
Richard H. Pezzopane
Orville Rex Phillips
Vinson Stewart Poling Jr.
James G. Powell
Norman Lyle Prouse
Willie H.H. Pruitt Jr.[4]
Danny Martin Pursley Sr.
Charles D. Ravenel
William Clyde Ray
Alfredo Luna Regalado
Ildefonso Reynes Ricafort
Marc Rich
Howard Winfield Riddle
Richard Wilson Riley Jr., Cocaine and marijuana charges, His father was Clinton's Education Secretary.[4]
Samuel Lee Robbins
Joel Gonzales Rodriguez
Michael James Rogers
Anna Louise Ross
Dan Rostenkowski - Former Democratic Congressman convicted in the Congressional Post Office Scandal
Gerald Glen Rust
Jerri Ann Rust
Bettye June Rutherford
Gregory Lee Sands
Adolph Schwimmer
Albert A. Seretti Jr.
Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw
Dennis Joseph Smith
Gerald Owen Smith
Stephen A. Smith
Jimmie Lee Speake
Charles Bernard Stewart
Marlena Francisca Stewart-Rollins
Fife Symington III - former Arizona governor
Richard Lee Tannehill
Nicholas C. Tenaglia
Gary Allen Thomas
Larry Weldon Todd
Olga C. Trevino
Ignatious Vamvouklis
Patricia A. Van De Weerd
Christopher V. Wade
Bill Wayne Warmath
Jack Kenneth Watson
Donna Lynn Webb
Donald William Wells
Robert H. Wendt
Jack L. Williams
Kavin Arthur Williams
Robert Michael Williams
Jimmie Lee Wilson
Thelma Louise Wingate
Mitchell Couey Wood
Warren Stannard Wood
Dewey Worthey
Rick Allen Yale
Joseph A. Yasak
William Stanley Yingling
Phillip David Young
Keith Sanders
Darren Muci
John Scott (not a full pardon)

Have a good one!:s4:

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Hey maybe dumb ass will take away my record..... hmmmmmmmmmmm. thanks for the idea!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gatekeeper777

What he did was hand those things over to the UNITED nations to control.

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What? Who handed what over to the UN to control?