[ This commentary follows up another story, “Bush Plan Eyes Cuts for Schools, Veterans”. –BL ] 1 June 2004 | New York Times by PAUL KRUGMAN Last week The Washington Post got hold of an Office of Management and Budget memo that directed federal agencies to prepare for post-election cuts in programs that George Bush has been touting on the campaign trail. These include nutrition for women, infants and children; Head Start; and homeland security. The numbers match those on a computer printout leaked earlier this year — one that administration officials claimed did not reflect policy. Beyond the routine mendacity, […]
Daily Archives: June 2, 2004
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[ From the article: The lax enforcement coincides with the Bush administration’s push to open new public lands for oil and gas development. In March, bureau records showed 40 million acres of federal lands were under lease in the continental United States. That is 5.3 million more acres than when President Bush took office. Companies and individuals that dominate federal oil and gas leasing have been major financial supporters of Bush and the Republican Party. Since the 1999, the top 25 owners of federal oil and gas leases have directed 86 percent of their $8.2 million in political donations to […]
[ From the article: “Nearly three years later, the laws regulating chemical plants remain the same as before Sept. 11.” –BL ] Concerns rise over chemicals as targets June 1, 2004 | The Boston Globe by Charlie Savage WASHINGTON — Homeland Security watchdogs call them “prepositioned weapons of mass destruction” for terrorists: huge tanks of concentrated deadly gases that the chemical industry stores near densely populated areas and that railroads bring through cities en route to somewhere else. The United States harbors more than 100 chemical facilities where an accident would put more than a million people at risk, according to […]