Bush the Deregulator

In a "Last Push to Deregulate" to accommodate their corporate buddies, "The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January." (WaPo)

That's right, not satisfied with deregulating banking and Wall Street into a financial free-for-all Armageddon, "The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms.

"Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining."

We must ask once again.... don't the conservative Bushies, their lobbyist enablers and corporate oligarchs breathe the air, drink the water, want to protect their children and grandchildren so they can continue to live on this earth?

Or has relentlessly narrow ideology so warped their world view that they would gamble with precious lives to add even one more piece of silver to their obscene stockpile.

"As many as 90 new regulations are in the works....the burst of activity has made this a busy period for lobbyists who fear that industry views will hold less sway after the elections."

Take for example "one rule, being pursued over some opposition within the Environmental Protection Agency would allow current emissions at a power plant to match the highest levels produced by that plant, overturning a rule that more strictly limits such emission increases.

"According to the EPA's estimate, it would allow millions of tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, worsening global warming.

Another "rule would allow increased emissions from oil refineries, chemical factories and other industrial plants with complex manufacturing operations.

"These rules will force Americans to choke on dirtier air for years to come, unless Congress or the new administration reverses these eleventh-hour abuses," said lawyer John Walke of the Natural Resources Defense Council."

The new administration to reverse these outrages isn't John McSame's.... he never saw a lobbyist he didn't like.... or employ.

Vote. It really matters!