He just won't stop!
 

Bush sneaks through host of laws to undermine ObamaThe lame-duck Republican team is rushing through radical measures, from coal waste dumping to power stations in national parks, that will take months to overturn, reports Paul Harris in New YorkComments (111) Paul Harris The Observer, Sunday 14 December 2008 Article historyAfter spending eight years at the helm of one of the most ideologically driven administrations in American history, George W. Bush is ending his presidency in characteristically aggressive fashion, with a swath of controversial measures designed to reward supporters and enrage opponents.

By the time he vacates the White House, he will have issued a record number of so-called 'midnight regulations' - so called because of the stealthy way they appear on the rule books - to undermine the administration of Barack Obama, many of which could take years to undo.

Dozens of new rules have already been introduced which critics say will diminish worker safety, pollute the environment, promote gun use and curtail abortion rights. Many rules promote the interests of large industries, such as coal mining or energy, which have energetically supported Bush during his two terms as president. More are expected this week.

America's attention is focused on the fate of the beleaguered car industry, still seeking backing in Washington for a multi-billion-dollar bail-out. But behind the scenes, the 'midnight' rules are being rushed through with little fanfare and minimal media attention. None of them would be likely to appeal to the incoming Obama team.

The regulations cover a vast policy area, ranging from healthcare to car safety to civil liberties. Many are focused on the environment and seek to ease regulations that limit pollution or restrict harmful industrial practices, such as dumping strip-mining waste.

The Bush moves have outraged many watchdog groups. 'The regulations we have seen so far have been pretty bad,' said Matt Madia, a regulatory policy analyst at OMB Watch. 'The effects of all this are going to be severe.'

Bush can pass the rules because of a loophole in US law allowing him to put last-minute regulations into the Code of Federal Regulations, rules that have the same force as law. He can carry out many of his political aims without needing to force new laws through Congress. Outgoing presidents often use the loophole in their last weeks in office, but Bush has done this far more than Bill Clinton or his father, George Bush sr. He is on track to issue more 'midnight regulations' than any other previous president.

Many of these are radical and appear to pay off big business allies of the Republican party. One rule will make it easier for coal companies to dump debris from strip mining into valleys and streams. The process is part of an environmentally damaging technique known as 'mountain-top removal mining'. It involves literally removing the top of a mountain to excavate a coal seam and pouring the debris into a valley, which is then filled up with rock. The new rule will make that dumping easier.

Another midnight regulation will allow power companies to build coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks. Yet another regulation will allow coal-fired stations to increase their emissions without installing new anti-pollution equipment.

The Environmental Defence Fund has called the moves a 'fire sale of epic size for coal'. Other environmental groups agree. 'The only motivation for some of these rules is to benefit the business interests that the Bush administration has served,' said Ed Hopkins, a director of environmental quality at the Sierra Club. A case in point would seem to be a rule that opens up millions of acres of land to oil shale extraction, which environmental groups say is highly pollutant.

There is a long list of other new regulations that have gone onto the books. One lengthens the number of hours that truck drivers can drive without rest. Another surrenders government control of rerouting the rail transport of hazardous materials around densely populated areas and gives it to the rail companies.

One more chips away at the protection of endangered species. Gun control is also weakened by allowing loaded and concealed guns to be carried in national parks. Abortion rights are hit by allowing healthcare workers to cite religious or moral grounds for opting out of carrying out certain medical procedures.

A common theme is shifting regulation of industry from government to the industries themselves, essentially promoting self-regulation. One rule transfers assessment of the impact of ocean-fishing away from federal inspectors to advisory groups linked to the fishing industry. Another allows factory farms to self-regulate disposal of pollutant run-off.

The White House denies it is sabotaging the new administration. It says many of the moves have been openly flagged for months. The spate of rules is going to be hard for Obama to quickly overcome. By issuing them early in the 'lame duck' period of office, the Bush administration has mostly dodged 30- or 60-day time limits that would have made undoing them relatively straightforward.

Obama's team will have to go through a more lengthy process of reversing them, as it is forced to open them to a period of public consulting. That means that undoing the damage could take months or even years, especially if corporations go to the courts to prevent changes.

At the same time, the Obama team will have a huge agenda on its plate as it inherits the economic crisis. Nevertheless, anti-midnight regulation groups are lobbying Obama's transition team to make sure Bush's new rules are changed as soon as possible. 'They are aware of this. The transition team has a list of things they want to undo,' said Madia.

Final reckoning
Bush's midnight regulations will:

• Make it easier for coal companies to dump waste from strip-mining into valleys and streams.

• Ease the building of coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks.

• Allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons in national parks.

• Open up millions of acres to mining for oil shale.

• Allow healthcare workers to opt out of giving treatment for religious or moral reasons, thus weakening abortion rights.

• Hurt road safety by allowing truck drivers to stay at the wheel for 11 consecutive hours.
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Paul Harris The Observer, Sunday 14 December 2008 Article

• Allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons in national parks.



What is wrong with That?

Actually, the measure allowed National Parks to adopt whatever laws were in use by the states they were in. So if you went to a park in NY, NY laws apply. That way people would have a little more uniformity between National Parks, National Forests, State Parks, Etc.

If coal power plants are going to be built, I would much rather they be built near national parks than cities...I value people more than animals.

Mining for Oil Shale is necessary as we want to 'break' our dependence on foreign oil, Would you rather they build even more coal plants next to national parks?

If I feel it is morally wrong to do something, I shouldn't be forced to do it. Period. I am pro choice, but I believe a doctor also has the right to choose not to conduct a particular procedure....though he should be obligated to inform the patient of their options and give a referral to someone who will.

Why shouldn't truck drivers be able to drive as much as they want? If they want to make more money, they can drive longer, and they can do so safely. Driving for 11 hours out of 24 is not unreasonable.

I'd rather force them to built closer to people. This way, people will see how polluting they really are and might wake up and support the research that needs to be done to find cleaner sources of generating power.

I really don't get the referral middle ground. "Sorry, I'm not interested in killing your child, but I know a guy..."

It's only slightly less absurd to mandate abortion referrals. Pro-choice my ass.

I thought this covered giving out birth control pills and morning after at the pharmacy? I don't think a doctor should be required to perform abortions (does that actually happen?), but filling out the prescriptions that your pharmacy advertises and carries seems a no-brainer to me. If you don't want to fill the prescriptions, start an evangelical or anti-abortion pharmacy. In some places, that might get you some extra business from people who are opposed to women's reproductive rights...

The larger issue here is that Bush has issued "midnight" regulations in far greater numbers than Clinton, GHW Bush and Reagan.

The "out" for Obama and the Democratic Congress ironically is a law initiated by Gingrich and the Republican majority of the 90s. The Congressional Review Act enables Congress and the President to overturn any "midnight" regulations by simple majority and cannot be blocked by filibuster in the Senate. The downside is that each regulation has to be voted on individually and Obama and Congress have a full plate w/o having to deal with Bush's last attempt at sidestepping the "checks and balances" of the federal government.

Would that effectively be the case if the owner/manager of the store had the final word on whether birth control was sold and said no?

I don't agree with laws that protect anti-abortion pharmacists from being fired. The government has no business telling an employer that s/he can't fire an employee for being anti-abortion. (Or pro-abortion. Or black. Or gay. Or left-handed. For that matter.)

The government also has no business, however, telling a pharmacist that he must be willing to perform every possible function of the job or none of it. The government has no business defining pharmacies as intrinsically contraceptive.

Just when you thought he was done fucking up the country. It's almost like he driven to make sure sure his legacy is that of worst ever. Yet at the same time he, and his neo-con pundits, are running around trying to re-write history. I've seen a bunch of interviews where they've claimed he's made progress on just about every front... including the economy. Rice was just on some show talking about how they've helped create a more peaceful Israel. Ummm, Madame Secretary have you picked up a newspaper lately.

I wish he'd just slink off quietly.

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress...conclusion.jpg

Well, I think it's slightly more problematic in the modern world. For instance, a friend of mine has a prescription on file for birth control at a chain pharmacy, something like Walgreens or CVS. I don't know if she has a paper copy or not. If she goes into the pharmacy to get her prescription filled, I don't think it should matter which particular pharmacist is on duty that day. I would say the pharmacy has already accepted the responsibility to fill that prescription in return for her being a loyal customer and regularly getting her medication at their stores. If the pharmacy adopts a top-down "no birth control" policy, then I'd say it probably would be ok. It could have bad effects in smaller towns...but I suppose there's always mail-order....

at the risk of employing the old "slippery slope" argument, what would stop a pharmacy/pharmacist from refusing to give out ANY drug based on personal belief? what if the pharmacist thinks flu shots cause autism? what if they think AIDS is God's punishment of homosexuals and refuses to sell HIV medication?

Yep - I guess that's kind of where I'm thinking this would end up derwood. I don't think I'd have much of a problem with something like "Ye Olde Apothecary" where they state up front that they dispense medication based on their personal moral beliefs. I would imagine that they would get some amount of people that would buy from their stores, but I don't think they'd have a significant market share. However, for the larger national chain / accredited stores that don't make that claim, I think they should have to sell legal medications that have a valid prescription. If the pharmacist doesn't like it, then either quit or start your own "Ye Olde Apothecary."

I think I'm going to get a medical degree, get a job at a hospital, convert to Christian Scientist and cop the "I'm only doing what my morals tell me to do" when people complain that my solution to everything is prayer.

cowboy george is on vacation again. he has lots of time to devote to these last minute executive orders. god knows he's not occupied with saying shit that could possibly be construed as constructive about gaza.

what can he say that would be constructive? he pushed for democracy, and Palestine freely elected a government that hates Israel. he got what he wished for.....kinda :thumbsup:

it's all very chile 1972.

erm...wtf ? :shakehead:

Or very Venezuela Circa Now. I do remember you stating a few pro-Chavez statements.