77 more days of the Bush regime.

[IAmKowalski]

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.

IAmKowalski Reviewed by IAmKowalski on 11-05-2008. 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, Rating: 5

[maladroit]

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

[theforthdrive]

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?

[IAmKowalski]

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.

[maladroit]

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

[Breukelen advocaat]

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

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.

[Psycho4Bud]

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:

[Reefer Rogue]

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

[Gatekeeper777]

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

[maladroit]

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