Bush gets Halloween laugh at Cheney's expense

It's great that Bush is poking fun at the Loony Left Kooks that like to call Dick Cheney, "Darth Cheney."
A good movie about the Loony Left Kooks would be titled "28 Groundhog Days," the story of a bunch of Lefty Zombies in which they live the same day over and over again, prattling about the same nonsense day after day.

Pretty well-delivered line by the President, at least he's having fun.

P.S. In the Star Wars analogy Cheney is Darth Sidius, the character of true Machiavellian evil, not Darth Vader who has a shred of decency in him and is eventually lured away from the Dark Side.

No such hope for our Vice President, the true Fearmonger-in-Chief.

John D, are you referring to such Loony Left comments "prattling about the same nonsense day after day" like "We've clearly turned the corner in Iraq?" *LOL*

I read the blog daily, but never post. I'm more interested in hearing other's perspectives. One thing that I find scary, and unbelievable simple, is the way a few people (namely this John D person) see the world in such black and white. Do you people really believe that your party is really the "righteous" party and has no faults? Do you really not question their actions and SOMETIMES disagree with them?

I see this from both sides, but it seems like those that are the most simple in their views of the world seems to be fellow Republicans. Yes, I'm one of you, but I'm also very unhappy with our fiscal irresponsibility over many years now. I also am not happy with our alignment with the christian right...what ever happened to less government intrusion into our lives?

On the other side of the isle...well, theres' plenty of inconsistencies and concerns there as well. I just would rather focus on my own house first.

W.and Shooter Cheney are funny guys, I laugh at them all the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGRYPYuFZLk

Mark, I do often disagree with the Republican party, President Bush and even some conservatives.

While I understand where Bush and some Democrats come from in their support for some type of amnesty program for illegal aliens, I believe there has to be greater effort to stop it and to prevent employers from hiring illegals.
I wish more conservatives were more mindful of the environment, but because I do not believe in man-made global warming, the Left thinks I am anti-environment. My belief is that this planet has a history of warm and cold cycles and that there is just as much evidence pointing for increased solar activity causing any warming as man-made global warminng. But if folks want cleaner air, water and less dependence on foreign energy, I am all for that. Also, if man-made global warming is such a danger why does Kyoto relieve China (now the worst polluter and after watching CNN's Planet in Peril, it is beyond disgraceful what China is doing to the environment) and India from adhering to it?

Would you like more examples??

John D,

Fair enough. I clearly haven't read all of your posts, so my view is certainly skewed a bit.

Mark from Tula,

You hit it on the head. From what I understand about 70% of the country are partisans. Black and white, 35% Republican and 35% Democrat. Strait ticket voters. If George Ryan was running from prison, the Republican's would vote for him because he is a Republican and must be the best candidate. If Jimmy Carter ran the Democrats would vote for him. It is the independats like you and I that put some thought into our selection. Independants will control the next election and at this point are siding with the Democrats. The John D's and Jerry White's of this world will still justify what their party does and blame the other party for the problems in this world. For some reason they still blame Clinton for almost everything. Rational thought is normally missing.

"I do often disagree with the Republican party, President Bush and even some conservatives."

Dyslin occasionally throws this out and hopes no one notices, but one would be rather hard pressed to find an actual example of this beyond his occasional rhetoric proporting to disagree with his fellow party-members and ideologues.

As this Dylsin character is a neocon, it is certainly possible that ideology puts him at odds with traditional conservatism. But this fellow continues to attempt to hold water for this administration on all the important issues of the day, except for perhaps homosexuality.

You see, Dyslin actually has a borderline enlightened view on homosexuality, but even when trying to illuminate his more human side, Dyslin will almost always hurl insults at the people who tend to agree with him on this subject, i.e. "the loony left." Even worse, so as to make sure everyone knows he's not actually crossing his party on this subject, he likes to pretend that the Bush Republicans are NOT anti-gay, clearly a difficult assertion to back up with evidence.

In short, you are quite right, Mark. Entrenched ideology and partisanship is one of the greatest ills facing this nation, and John Dyslin and Jerry White (that's the one from Springfield) are prime obstacles in the way of reconciliation and progress.

Yeah, John D.,

Now that the Chinese have embraced unbridled capitalism they're experiencing the ugly side. So when concerned citizens say "wait, you're fowling our air, our water, our land", big business will say "we don't want government controls, voluntary industry controls will suffice. Any regulations will hurt the economy" (sound familiar?).
Then when workers ask for better wages, safe work conditions, benefits, big business will say, "damn socialist, damn communist", let the market govern itself" (oops! that won't work in communist China, will it?). Who do you think created the "it's o.k. for us to pollute, but nobody else", mentality, anyway? Hint: it wasn't China.
Which administration has battled environmental controls every step of the way?

Yeah, John D. "wishes that more conservatives were mindful of the environment", yet he defends its biggest enemies, George Bush, Darth Cheney, Rush Limpbaugh. Mr. Johnny denial, HVAC man extraordinaire, still thinks the CFC thing was a hoax. He defends his hero Rush Limpbaugh at every turn:

Limbaugh fiction: "We couldn't destroy the ozone layer"

Referring to the "modern environmental movement" as "the latest refuge for communists and socialists who are opposed to capitalism," Limbaugh asserted that "[w]e couldn't destroy the ozone layer"; he also said that humans could not be at fault for the ozone hole that appears annually over Antarctica because it "closes every year, and we don't do anything to close it."

But Limbaugh's statements contradict the opinion of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). In a component of a report titled "Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2002," the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UNEP noted: "[I]t was discovered in the mid-1970s that some human-produced chemicals could destroy ozone and deplete the ozone layer. The resulting increase in ultraviolet radiation at Earth's surface can increase the incidences of skin cancer and eye cataracts."

No, we don't need any more examples of your failure to understand the issues, John D.

Mark, see the dt (which stands for demented twin)and Distrust and Verify (who loves to point out he knows he my last name) as prime examples of the Loony Left. Pd too.
Pd brings up George Ryan. Let's discuss George Ryan and Rod Blagoyavich. Ryan was a crook and the Republican party told him not to run. Rod has so many investigations swirling his administration, it makes a Kansas tornado look tame. Yet, he runs again and wins! Boy Stroger is as corrupt as they come. Yet, he wins! Most Democratic voters could care less about scandal and thier party. William Jefferson under indictment and he wins re-election. See a pattern?

You see, even when there might be some agreement in some way with me and the Kooks on the Left, it isn't good enough. For example, on most issues Joe Lieberman is a liberal. Except for one issue: the war in IRaq. Look at how the Kook Left has attacked him.

Distrust and Verify, plenty of the Democratic party is just as anti-gay as some in the Republican party. Seems to me, John E., a popular Loony Left poster here, loves to hurl gay insults at folks he disagrees with. Wouldn't you say calling folks gay whether they are or are not as an insult is anti-gay?
Bush and the Republicans are not anti-gay. In fact, some gays have worked in the Bush White House. Former GOP leader Ken Mehlman is rumored to be gay. Whether he is or not, I do not care.
Just because someone does not believe in gay marriage does not make someone anti-gay.
As far as the environment, Bush and Cheney are not anti-environment. In fact, George Bush's home in Crawford is one of the most eco-friendly homes in the U.S. and puts to shame anything Al Gore has done, especially Gore's home.
Here again, having a desire to get oil out of ANWR does not make someone anti-environment. Not signing on to the Kyoto Protocol does not make someone anti-environment. Clinton never fought to have the Kyoto Protocol passed in the Senate and it failed in the Senate 95-0. Al Gore didn't fight for the Kyoto Protocol until AFTER he left the White House as VP. Gore flies all over the place on private jets. Gore does not say a word about the environmental crimes taking place in China and India, which in both cases far surpass any environmental problems in the history of the U.S.

"loves to hurl gay insults at folks he disagrees with"

"But you folks would rather bend over and grab your ankles to the IRanians than do anything about it.

Posted by: John D | October 22, 2007 2:14 PM"

Well look at that John D hurling a gay insult at folks HE doesn't agree with; how easily we forget.

Is it me or does everything John D post read-- babble babble babble babble babble burp babble babble babble burp burp gurgle gurgle babble babble burp? (BTW John that's a rhetorical question.)

Geez, lighten up once in a while and have some fun, fellow bloggers. It really would be nice to have Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and maybe a few of you guys demonstrate just a smidgen of humor like the President displayed. The rancor in this country some days is simply overwhelming. Surely your own lives cannot be that dark.

Mr., please explain how my comment is a slur on gays. That slogan has little to do with gays, and more with the Democrats desire to get screwed over.
Anyway, that phrase is no slur on gays.
But it's nice to another Lefty Kook saves my comments. Don't you folks have anything better to do??

"Bush and Cheney are not anti-environment"--Stop John D., you're killing me:

THE BUSH RECORD

More than 300 Crimes against Nature

Source: Natural Resources Defense Council

JANUARY 20, 2001
White House freezes all rules set at end of Clinton term–including tougher ones for raw sewage

JANUARY 20, 2001
Bush proposes opening Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling

FEBRUARY 12, 2001
Energy Department puts off enforcing new efficiency standards for air conditioners

FEBRUARY 15, 2001
EPA delays new rule protecting wetlands from mining and development

MARCH 7, 2001
Fish and Wildlife Service withdraws report calling for protection of endangered salmonids

MARCH 9, 2001
Bush appoints oil and mining lobbyist as deputy secretary of Interior

MARCH 13, 2001
Bush reneges on campaign promise to reduce carbon dioxide emissions

MARCH 16, 2001
Bush administration refuses to defend in court rule protecting 58 million acres of wild forest

MARCH 20, 2001
Bush withdraws proposed stricter limits on arsenic in drinking water

MARCH 28, 2001
Bush administration rejects Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change

APRIL 9, 2001
Bush budget proposal cuts $500 million from EPA

MAY 10, 2001
Bush administration refuses to name industry participants in Cheney energy task force

MAY 12, 2001
Bureau of Land Management allows continued grazing on endangered-tortoise land in California

MAY 17, 2001
Bush releases energy plan heavily favoring fossil fuels and nukes

MAY 17, 2001
Forest Service reduces citizen and scientific participation in decision-making

MAY 22, 2001
EPA officially suspends stricter limits for arsenic in drinking water

JUNE 19, 2001
States and others sue Energy Department over air-conditioner rules (see FEBRUARY 12, 2001)

JUNE 21, 2001
Timber lobbyist Mark Rey appointed to key post in Forest Service

JULY 2, 2001
Oil drilling off Florida coast proposed by Bush administration

JULY 23, 2001
Bush budget proposes cutting 270 EPA inspector jobs

AUGUST 2, 2001
Army Corps of Engineers kills plan to protect Missouri River wildlife by changing stream flows

AUGUST 8, 2001
Army Corps of Engineers weakens wetlands protections by slackening permit requirements

AUGUST 12, 2001
National forests opened to road-building and logging by Forest Service rule changes

AUGUST 14, 2001
EPA delays tougher rules for toxic power-plant emissions

AUGUST 17, 2001
Federal judge's decision to ban drilling off California's coast appealed by administration

AUGUST 27, 2001
Cattle still grazing on tortoise habitat in California, despite BLM agreement to move them

AUGUST 28, 2001
Bush administration proposes missile-defense test installation in Pacific; environmentalists sue

AUGUST 28, 2001
Bush administration reconsiders ban on recycling radioactive metals into consumer products

SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
EPA lies about Manhattan hazards after 9/11, calls area safe despite extreme toxic pollution

SEPTEMBER 20, 2001
Forest Service proposes further reduction in citizen participation in policy-making

OCTOBER 25, 2001
Interior Department weakens environmental rules for mining operations

OCTOBER 31, 2001
Arsenic flip-flop: Under public pressure, EPA adopts higher standard after all (see MAY 22, 2001)

NOVEMBER 2, 2001
Army Corps of Engineers retreats from policy of "no net loss" of wetlands

NOVEMBER 5, 2001
Bush signs bill to boost spending for national forests, but with harmful logging riders

NOVEMBER 29, 2001
Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park reopens winter lakes to snowmobiles

DECEMBER 3, 2001
Army Corps of Engineers decides not to decommission Snake River dams in Pacific Northwest

DECEMBER 14, 2001
Administration announces weaker standards for nuclear waste storage at Nevada's Yucca Mountain

DECEMBER 14, 2001
Forest Service announces more road-building on undeveloped forest-lands

JANUARY 9, 2002
Administration backs hydrogen-car research, but most hydrogen to come from fossil fuels

JANUARY 10, 2002
Study shows big drop in enforcement of environmental laws under Bush

JANUARY 10, 2002
Bush administration fights in court for new oil drilling off California coast

JANUARY 14, 2002
Report shows Interior secretary squelched her own agency's criticism of weaker wetlands rules

JANUARY 14, 2002
Wetlands protections weakened nationwide in flip-flop from Bush campaign promise

JANUARY 14, 2002
Park Service okays more oil drilling in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve

JANUARY 21, 2002
BLM preliminarily approves gas drilling in Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, Montana

JANUARY 22, 2002
Forest Service sues to overturn ban on salvage logging in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest

JANUARY 28, 2002
Bush supports Cheney's refusal to release secret energy-task-force records

FEBRUARY 4, 2002
Bush slashes environmental-education spending

FEBRUARY 4, 2002
Bush budget proposes cutting $1 billion from environmental spending

FEBRUARY 4, 2002
Bush budget proposes $404 million to support timber sales in national forests

FEBRUARY 11, 2002
Environmentalists sue Park Service for allowing motorized vehicles in Georgia wilderness

FEBRUARY 14, 2002
Bush gives power plants ten more years to cut mercury and sulfur dioxide emissions

FEBRUARY 14, 2002
White House unveils global-warming plan that lets C02 emissions continue at present rate

FEBRUARY 15, 2002
Bush endorses plan to store 77,000 tons of nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain

FEBRUARY 15, 2002
Forest Service approves mining exploration in Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest

FEBRUARY 16, 2002
Bush administration asks court to delay endangered-species protection in California

FEBRUARY 19, 2002
Phaseout of snowmobiles in national parks delayed

FEBRUARY 22, 2002
BLM proposes to let states allow vehicles in previously off-limits federal lands

FEBRUARY 23, 2002
Bush's budget asks that taxpayers pay for Superfund cleanups instead of polluters

FEBRUARY 27, 2002
Top EPA official resigns to protest Bush's effort to weaken rules for polluting industries

FEBRUARY 27, 2002
Federal judge orders Bush administration to release Cheney's secret energy-task-force records

MARCH 12, 2002
Bush administration belatedly complies with court order to protect desert tortoise

MARCH 18, 2002
EPA exempts large category of power plants from lawsuits for Clean Air Act violations

MARCH 25, 2002
Discovery that White House misspent $135,612 of clean-energy funds to print its energy plan

MARCH 29, 2002
Pentagon seeks exemption from environmental laws

APRIL 1, 2002
Deadline passes for administration to set first new fuel-economy standards since 1996

APRIL 11, 2002
Army Corps of Engineers approves mining limestone in 5,400 acres of Florida's everglades

APRIL 14, 2002
White House kills program that funded environmental research for graduate students

APRIL 22, 2002
EPA citizen-watchdog resigns in protest, charging that agency |officials muzzled him

MAY 3, 2002
New EPA rules allow mining operations to dump waste in waterways

MAY 13, 2002
Administration asks judge not to limit waste-dumping from mountaintop mines

MAY 13, 2002
Bush signs farm bill that pays big subsidies to polluting agricultural operations

MAY 21, 2002
Ban on mining in and around Oregon's Siskiyou National Forest ends

MAY 23, 2002
Energy Department cuts air-conditioner efficiency standards

MAY 24, 2002
Bush-Putin summit produces nuclear treaty that puts no long-term limit on nuclear weapons

MAY 24, 2002
Bush administration drops plan |for contractors to put environmental protection into projects

JUNE 3, 2002
Oil drilling leases on more than 500,000 acres in Alaska signed by Interior Department

JUNE 7, 2002
Interior secretary rejects proposal to limit offshore oil drilling in California

JUNE 13, 2002
Missouri River restoration halted indefinitely by Army Corps of Engineers

JUNE 13, 2002
EPA proposes weakening clean-air rules for 17,000 power plants

JUNE 13, 2002
Judge halts Bush administration move to end habitat protection on 500,000 acres in California

JUNE 17, 2002
Judge rejects Army Corps of Engineers plan to allow mine-waste dumping

JUNE 24, 2002
EPA abandons plan to clean up storm-water pollution

JUNE 25, 2002
Bush administration blames wildfires on environmentalists

JUNE 25, 2002
Snowmobiling allowed to continue in national parks, though with some restrictions

JUNE 25, 2002
EPA ombudsman testifies Bush administration pressured him to halt study of radiation standards

JULY 1, 2002
Bush administration cuts funding for toxic cleanups to half of that requested by EPA

JULY 2, 2002
Bush administration rescinds 4 million acres of protection for endangered California frog

JULY 10, 2002
Judge orders administration to protect 400,000 Calif. acres for endangered Alameda whipsnake

JULY 15, 2002
Navy given permit to use low-frequency sonar, a known threat to whales

JULY 17, 2002
Bush administration opposes Senate bill to require 10 percent renewable energy by 2020

JULY 22, 2002
Bush's State Department says it will withhold $34 million from UN family-planning program

JULY 25, 2002
Another top EPA official quits in protest

JULY 26, 2002
Bush administration backs congressional proposal to exempt companies from disclosing hazards

AUGUST 7, 2002
EPA proposes weakened water-cleanups; asks for "voluntary" efforts

AUGUST 15, 2002
Conservatives praise Bush for skipping United Nations summit on sustainable development

AUGUST 22, 2002
Interior Department claims new power plant won't harm air at Mammoth Cave National Park, Ky.

AUGUST 22, 2002
Bush calls for increased logging in name of fire prevention

AUGUST 27, 2002
U.S. opposes targets for renewable energy use at World Summit on Sustainable Development

AUGUST 29, 2002
Interior Department approves billion-dollar plan to store water under Mojave Desert

AUGUST 30, 2002
Foe of ecological restoration Allan Fitzsimmons named head of federal wildfire prevention

SEPTEMBER 3, 2002
White House asks exemption from Freedom of Information Act in energy-task-force suit

SEPTEMBER 4, 2002
Federal officials reject call to add white marlin to endangered list

SEPTEMBER 9, 2002
States' EPA air-quality inspections shown to have dropped by 34 percent

SEPTEMBER 13, 2002
EPA weakens proposed anti-pollution standards for off-road vehicles

SEPTEMBER 15, 2002
EPA deletes global-warming section from pollution report

SEPTEMBER 17, 2002
Bush replacing most scientists on chemical-hazard panel with those tied to chemical industry

SEPTEMBER 18, 2002
Bush executive order cuts citizen involvement in review of road and airport projects

SEPTEMBER 21, 2002
Killing of 34,000 salmonids results from federal diversion of Klamath River water in Oregon

SEPTEMBER 27, 2002
Interior secretary okays gold mining on sacred Indian site in California

SEPTEMBER 30, 2002
New EPA water-quality report shows U.S. waters are getting dirtier

OCTOBER 1, 2002
Fish and Wildlife Service reverses order to increase Missouri River flow to protect species

OCTOBER 3, 2002
Conservationists urge White House to release $36.5 million in conservation funds for farmlands

OCTOBER 4, 2002
Bureau of Land Management approves largest oil and gas drilling exploration ever in Utah

OCTOBER 8, 2002
EPA water administrator says war on terror leaves little money for water cleanup

OCTOBER 8, 2002
Bush stacks panel on lead poisoning with people tied to the lead industry

OCTOBER 8, 2002
Federal workers reveal memo from EPA chief encouraging them to support president when off-duty

OCTOBER 9, 2002
Bush administration sides with auto industry in suit against California's emission rules

OCTOBER 10, 2002
Administration failed to assess vulnerability of chemical facilities to terrorists, GAO says

OCTOBER 15 2002
Superfund cleanups drop to 42 per year from average of 76 under Clinton, report shows

OCTOBER 16, 2002
Judge finds Forest Service violates Endangered Species Act by not protecting spotted-owl habitat

OCTOBER 17, 2002
Bush administration told by federal judge to release energy documents in Sierra Club lawsuit

OCTOBER 31, 2002
EPA halts funding at seven Superfund sites

NOVEMBER 1, 2002
Bush administration threatens withdrawal from historic UN population accord

NOVEMBER 5, 2002
Polluters paid 64 percent less in fines under Bush than in last two Clinton years, report shows

NOVEMBER 11, 2002
Bush administration supports renewed elephant-ivory trade

NOVEMBER 12, 2002
National Park Service proposal would allow 1,100 snowmobiles a day in Yellowstone, Grand Teton

NOVEMBER 21, 2002
Natural-gas drilling at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas approved

NOVEMBER 22, 2002
EPA proceeds with weakening Clean Air Act rules for power plants

NOVEMBER 27, 2002
Forest Service proposes rule changes to increase logging, grazing, mining on 192 million acres

DECEMBER 2, 2002
Bush administration plan for oil drilling off California coast ruled illegal by federal judges

DECEMBER 4, 2002
Bush administration asks for five more years of study before acting on global warming

DECEMBER 12, 2002
Federal court rules against administration, upholds roadless rule for 58.5 million acres

DECEMBER 12, 2002
White House proposes tiny increase in automobile fuel economy: 1.5 mpg in five years

DECEMBER 13, 2002
Federal judge blocks Army Corps of Engineers' Snake River dredging plan in Pacific Northwest

DECEMBER 16, 2002
EPA's new factory-farm rule favors big agribusiness polluters

DECEMBER 18, 2002
White House budget office values elderly lives 63 percent less in environmental cost-benefit analysis

DECEMBER 20, 2002
Federal judge blocks Interior Department from permitting oil exploration in eastern Utah

DECEMBER 30, 2002
EPA proposes two-year exemption of oil and gas industry from storm-water pollution rules

JANUARY 6, 2003
Bureau of Land Management rule change gives states leeway for new roads in wildlands

JANUARY 10, 2003
Bush budget requests $6.4 billion for Energy Department's nuclear weapons activity

JANUARY 10, 2003
Bush administration proposes pulling federal safeguards from 20 percent of U.S. wetlands

JANUARY 13, 2003
Pentagon plans to ask for exemption from environmental laws on millions of acres

JANUARY 16, 2003
Environmental personnel scratched from USAID policy bureau

JANUARY 17, 2003
Interior Department proposes oil exploration on up to 9 million acres of Alaska's North Slope

JANUARY 19, 2003
Pentagon continues lobbying for exemptions from environmental laws

JANUARY 21, 2003
EPA refuses to ban weed-killer atrazine, a possible carcinogen

JANUARY 22, 2003
EPA retains unsafe limits for toxic perchlorates

JANUARY 24, 2003
Manatees get federal protection, thanks to lawsuit settlement

JANUARY 27, 2003
Bush administration proposes privatizing thousands of National Park Service jobs

JANUARY 27, 2003
California's giant sequoia threatened by Forest Service proposal to resume logging nearby

JANUARY 29, 2003
Bush administration wins court ruling that legalizes mountaintop-removal mining permits

JANUARY 30, 2003
Bureau of Land Management proposes rollback of Clinton-era restrictions on grazing

JANUARY 30, 2003
Exemptions to phaseout of ozone-destroying methyl bromide planned by Bush administration

FEBRUARY 11, 2003
EPA drafts new rules to relax toxic-air-pollution standards

FEBRUARY 20, 2003
National Park Service finalizes rules allowing snowmobiles in national parks

FEBRUARY 25, 2003
National Academy of Sciences panel strongly criticizes Bush's global-warming plan

FEBRUARY 27, 2003
Bush's "Clear Skies" plan allows much more pollution than if Clean Air Act were enforced, critics charge

FEBRUARY 27, 2003
Transportation Department speeds up environmentally harmful road projects

FEBRUARY 28, 2003
Oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge his "greatest wish," says high-ranking Interior official

FEBRUARY 28, 2003
Wilderness protection for millions of acres in Alaska's Tongass forest rejected by Forest Service

MARCH 4, 2003
National Park Service slaughters 231 Yellowstone bison

MARCH 7, 2003
Paul Wolfowitz tells military leaders to find reasons to exempt military from environmental rules

MARCH 10, 2003
EPA exempts oil and gas industry from President Clinton's tighter water-pollution rules

MARCH 13, 2003
EPA withdraws another Clinton-era water-pollution cleanup rule

MARCH 13, 2003
EPA official testifies in Congress in favor of exempting military from environmental laws

MARCH 18, 2003
EPA allows sludge dumping in Potomac River to continue for seven more years

MARCH 18, 2003
Fish and Wildlife proposes removing protections from endangered wolves

MARCH 18, 2003
Federal judge orders Interior Department to continue protecting manatees

MARCH 18, 2003
GAO again criticizes Bush administration for failing to reduce security risks at chemical plants

MARCH 25, 2003
Park Service adopts plan for Yellowstone/Teton allowing1,100 snowmobiles a day

APRIL 1, 2003
Bush administration drops court battle to allow California offshore drilling

APRIL 1, 2003
Bush administration barely raises SUV gas mileage requirements, to 1.5 mpg more by 2007

APRIL 3, 2003
Bureau of Reclamation again diverts water from Klamath River, where salmonid kill occurred

APRIL 4, 2003
New U.S.—Mexico pollution treaty signed, but lacks funding

APRIL 7, 2003
Bush administration asks UN to remove Yellowstone from endangered world heritage status

APRIL 8, 2003
Protection plan for 76-mile stretch of California coast abandoned by National Park Service

APRIL 9, 2003
Interior Department paves way for new roads on federal lands in Utah

APRIL 10, 2003
U.S. Fish and Wildlife signs off on plan to reopen Imperial Sand Dunes to off-road vehicles

APRIL 20, 2003
Toxic cleanups still lagging: 41 percent fewer Superfund sites cleaned up by EPA, report says

APRIL 21, 2003
Sharp criticism of Bush administration air-pollution policies by independent panel

APRIL 24, 2003
White House unveils pro-industry chemical security bill

APRIL 28, 2003
White House bans EPA from discussing perchlorate pollution

MAY 2, 2003
Vehicle fuel economy drops to 22-year low of 20.8 mpg, says EPA report

MAY 2, 2003
Permits for cross-border power lines from Mexican power plants illegal, says federal judge

MAY 5, 2003
Navy's use of sonar causes "stampede"–and possibly death–of marine mammals in Puget Sound

MAY 7, 2003
EPA drops "senior death discount" calculation (see DECEMBER 18, 2002)

MAY 13, 2003
Fish and Wildlife Service signs off on mining in Montana's Cabinet Mountains Wilderness

MAY 14, 2003
White House's $247 billion transportation plan slashes environmental protection

MAY 14, 2003
EPA proposes easing, delaying smog-control rules

MAY 21, 2003
Christine Todd Whitman, embattled EPA chief, resigns

MAY 30, 2003
Park Service opens Maryland and Virginia's Assateague Island National Seashore to Jet Skis

MAY 30, 2003
Forest-fire plan eliminates environmental review of logging projects under 1,000 acres

JUNE 2, 2003
Energy Department announces$2 billion to $4 billion plan to build new "mini" nukes

JUNE 3, 2003
Energy Department funds study on how to ease effects of global warming for Alaska oil drillers

JUNE 5, 2003
Forest Service plan would triple logging limits in California's Sierra Nevada

JUNE 9, 2003
USDA reverses Clinton ban on most logging and roadbuilding on 58.5 million acres

JUNE 20, 2003
Defense Department reneges on plan to test for perchlorate pollution at U.S. bases

JUNE 23, 2003
Bush administration again deletes references to dangers of global warming from EPA report

JUNE 27, 2003
Federal judge halts timber sale in Montana's Kootenai National Forest

JULY 1, 2003
Autopsies link Navy sonar to porpoise deaths, environmentalists charge

JULY 8, 2003
Federal court rejects Cheney's argument for keeping energy-task-force records secret

JULY 12, 2003
EPA refuses to regulate perchlorate and other drinking-water contaminants

JULY 17, 2003
Energy Department lobbies Congress for law to get around court ruling on nuke waste

JULY 17, 2003
Federal judge rules administration must redo water plan for Oregon/California Klamath River

JULY 22, 2003
Army Corps of Engineers ruled in contempt for defying order to change Missouri River flows

JULY 24, 2003
Bush administration softens demand for outsourcing of federal jobs, including at national parks

AUGUST 8, 2003
Bush administration settlement of timber suit could double logging in Northwest

AUGUST 11, 2003
Bush taps anti-environmental Utah governor Mike Leavitt to head EPA

AUGUST 26, 2003
New EPA rules ignore mercury pollution from chlorine plant

AUGUST 27, 2003
EPA excludes 17,000 facilities from upgrading pollution controls when installing new equipment

AUGUST 29, 2003
U.S. court rules against EPA's loopholes in mountaintop-removal-mining regulations

SEPTEMBER 2, 2003
EPA weakens ban on selling polluted sites by reinterpreting law

SEPTEMBER 2, 2003
EPA refuses to regulate ballast-water discharges from ships

SEPTEMBER 4, 2003
EPA finds 274 violations of laws for dumping mountaintop-mining debris

SEPTEMBER 22, 2003
White House's own study concludes benefits of environmental regulations far outweigh costs

SEPTEMBER 23, 2003
Forest Service estimates $2 million lost in timber sale from Alaska's Tongass

SEPTEMBER 24, 2003
White House recommendations would undermine public participation in environmental planning

SEPTEMBER 25, 2003
EPA proposes deal that would let polluting factory farms avoid prosecution

OCTOBER 1, 2003
Bush fails to renew energy-conservation program that saved government $300 million a year

OCTOBER 6, 2003
EPA rules that farmers can't sue pesticide makers if chemicals fail to meet stated claims

OCTOBER 10, 2003
Interior Department overturns limits on acreage where gold mines can dump waste

OCTOBER 10, 2003
Judge orders Interior Department to stop stalling on owl habitat protection

OCTOBER 10, 2003
EPA proposal to allow warmer waters behind Oregon dams threatens salmonids

OCTOBER 10, 2003
EPA inspector general criticizes agency for lax enforcement

OCTOBER 13, 2003
Bush administration proposes lifting ban on importing endangered species

OCTOBER 13, 2003
$18.6 million Forest Service study says outsourcing its jobs would rarely be cost-effective

OCTOBER 17, 2003
EPA announces it will not regulate dioxins in sewage sludge dumped on land

OCTOBER 31, 2003
EPA declines to restrict use of pesticide atrazine

NOVEMBER 4, 2003
Superfund cleanups lag for third straight year

NOVEMBER 4, 2003
Environmentalists criticize revised everglades-recovery plan for failing to ensure natural water flow

NOVEMBER 13, 2003
Park Service workers charge that Bush policies will "destroy the grand legacy of our national parks"

NOVEMBER 14, 2003
Bush administration loses bid to increase ozone-depleting methyl bromide

NOVEMBER 18, 2003
Administration admits blame for kill of 34,000 salmonids in Klamath River (see SEPTEMBER 21, 2002)

NOVEMBER 18, 2003
EPA proposes looser regulations on dumping low-level radioactive waste in landfills

DECEMBER 3, 2003
Bush signs "Healthy Forests" bill: more logging, less species protection on millions of acres

DECEMBER 4, 2003
EPA seeks to reclassify mercury as "nontoxic"

DECEMBER 5, 2003
Bureau of Land Management proposes weakening rules for grazing livestock on federal land

DECEMBER 9, 2003
Federal violation notices to polluters down almost 60 percent; almost 30 percent fewer fines

DECEMBER 16, 2003
White House abandons plans to weaken Clean Water Act protections for wetlands

DECEMBER 17, 2003
Defense Department urged to protect endangered tortoise during robot race

DECEMBER 17, 2003
Federal judge overturns administration decision not to protect orcas in Puget Sound

DECEMBER 19, 2003
Forest Service opens grizzly bear habitat to snowmobiles in Montana's Flathead National Forest

DECEMBER 23, 2003
Forest Service continues to allow logging in Tongass, world's largest temperate rainforest

DECEMBER 24, 2003
Federal court blocks EPA plan to weaken Clean Air Act by exempting power plants from review

JANUARY 1, 2004
Only 50 companies agree to Bush administration's voluntary plan to cut global-warming emissions

JANUARY 8, 2004
$175 million Superfund shortfall prevents cleanups at 11 sites, slows down others

JANUARY 7, 2004
White House proposes overturning ban on mining near streams

JANUARY 9, 2004
Pentagon to seek more environmental exemptions

JANUARY 9, 2004
Forest Service limits citizens' right to challenge logging plans by appeal or in court

JANUARY 13, 2004
Federal court overturns Bush administration's weakening of energy efficiency for air conditioners

JANUARY, 21 2004
Interior secretary asks to triple number of gas-drilling permits in Wyoming

JANUARY 22, 2004
EPA scales back monitoring of smokestack pollution

JANUARY 22, 2004
Interior Department opens 9 million acres on Alaska's North Slope to oil drilling

JANUARY 23, 2004
Forest Service plans to boost logging on up to 3.2 million acres of Appalachian forests

JANUARY 27, 2004
White House says EPA doesn't have to study pesticide effects on imperiled wildlife

JANUARY 29, 2004
Bush administration proposes letting contractors police federal nuclear-plant safety

JANUARY 30, 2004
Parts of EPA's mercury-pollution plan lifted verbatim from industry memos

FEBRUARY 2, 2004
Bush budget proposes $10 million cut in funds for endangered species

FEBRUARY 5, 2004
EPA admits twice as many children (630,000) in danger from mercury exposure

FEBRUARY 6, 2004
Clean Air Act changes undermining enforcement, says former EPA official

FEBRUARY 9, 2004
Energy development allowed inside Colorado and Utah's Dinosaur National Monument

FEBRUARY 11, 2004
Forest Service plan allows mining, drilling in Alabama's national forests

FEBRUARY 13, 2004
EPA no longer to require "worst case scenarios" from industry

FEBRUARY 15, 2004
Forest Service allows poisoning of prairie dogs in four states

FEBRUARY 16, 2004
White House ignores threat from gasoline additive MTBE

FEBRUARY 18, 2004
U.S. Navy plans to dredge endangered turtle habitat in Key West

FEBRUARY 18, 2004
20 Nobel Prize—winning scientists say administration distorts science for political gain

FEBRUARY 24, 2004
Federal mine-safety official demoted after questioning mine accident investigation

FEBRUARY 27, 2004
Missouri River management plan ignores fish protections

MARCH 3, 2004
Administration proposes to relax rules on killing wolves in Idaho and Montana

MARCH 9, 2004
358 conservation scientists urge administration to halt plan to import endangered species

MARCH 10, 2004
Forest Service hires PR firm to promote Sierra Nevada plan that would triple logging

MARCH 11, 2004
EPA inspector general says agency's rosy drinking-water assessments used false data

MARCH 12, 2004
Forest Service relents: no snowmobiles in grizzly habitat in Montana's Flathead National Forest

MARCH 15, 2004
Court rules BLM illegally opened Montana area to off-road vehicles

MARCH 16, 2004
EPA approves plan to inject toxic waste underground in Michigan wells

MARCH 19, 2004
FDA warnings on mercury in tuna not strong enough, scientists charge

MARCH 24, 2004
NRDC sues Bush administration for withholding records on perchlorate in drinking water

MARCH 25, 2004
BLM suspends plans for energy development at Dinosaur National Monument, Colo. and Utah

MARCH 26, 2004
Delay in phaseout of dangerous methyl bromide pesticide negotiated by United States

MARCH 30, 2004
Federal court orders Bush administration to release forest-planning documents

MARCH 31, 2004
Federal judge orders Energy Department to release more Cheney energy-task-force records

MARCH 31, 2004
EPA prosecution of environmental crimes even weaker under new administrator

APRIL 1, 2004
Bush administration worked behind scenes to weaken European Union chemical safety rules

APRIL 1, 2004
Mining whistleblower accuses Bush administration of cover-up in huge coal-sludge spill

APRIL 2, 2004
Bush administration sells 155 acres in Colorado to Phelps Dodge Corporation for $875

APRIL 6, 2004
EPA weakens safety rules for rat poison at industry's behest

APRIL 7, 2004
White House downplays effects of mercury from coal-fired power plants

APRIL 8, 2004
Interior secretary allows aerial hunting of Alaska wolves to continue

APRIL 9, 2004
Interior Department blocks release of data on oil drilling to Environmental Working Group

APRIL 11, 2004
Bush administration budget asks for $35 million cut in lead-poisoning prevention

APRIL 13, 2004
Administration spending more on nuclear weapons research than in Cold War, report says

APRIL 15, 2004
Fish and Wildlife Service rejects protection for Yellowstone trumpeter swans

APRIL 19, 2004
39 state attorneys general urge denial of Pentagon's request for environmental exemptions

APRIL 20, 2004
Yellowstone Park employees advised to wear hearing protection from snowmobile noise

APRIL 22, 2004
National Council of Churches strongly criticizes Bush's air-pollution policies

APRIL 28, 2004
USDA weakens organic-food standards, allowing hormones, feed raised with pesticides

APRIL 28, 2004
Interior Department limits designations of critical habitat for endangered species

APRIL 29, 2004
Report shows that more than half of all Americans live in areas with hazardous levels of smog

MAY 3, 2004
Power companies have raised $6.6 million for Bush, Republicans, report says

MAY 12, 2004
Scientists say Yucca Mountain nuclear facility could leak far sooner than Energy Department claims

MAY 21, 2004
Whistle-blowing federal biologist quits over politicized decision-making

MAY 21, 2004
EPA officials with timber ties weaken toxic formaldehyde standards for plywood industry

MAY 26, 2004
USDA backs down, keeps organic-food standards (see APRIL 28, 2004)

MAY 27, 2004
U.S. Army retracts order to cut some environmental-protection practices

MAY 28, 2004
Army Corps lets sewers, ditches "mitigate" loss of streams to mountaintop-removal mining

MAY 28, 2004
A dozen major national parks hit by cutbacks to visitor services and staffing

JUNE 1, 2004
Federal court rejects EPA's proposed snowmobile standards

JUNE 1, 2004
Administration delays greater protection for marbled murrelet to benefit timber industry

JUNE 2, 2004
Exemption of military from migratory-bird-protection rules proposed by administration

JUNE 2, 2004
New EPA rules allow more fine-particle pollution from 1,000 industrial plants

JUNE 3, 2004
Bush's 2005 budget zeroes out funding for research on abrupt climate change

JUNE 7, 2004
Bush wins ruling to allow Mexican trucks into U.S. without meeting clean-air standards

JUNE 8, 2004
Reduction in Snake and Columbia River water releases, harming Northwest salmon, announced

JUNE 15, 2004
Administration's pro-oil, pro-nuke energy proposal stalled in Congress

JUNE 24, 2004
Supreme Court ruling allows Cheney to keep energy-task-force secrets until after election

JULY 8, 2004
Bush team pushes one of biggest timber sales in U.S. history under guise of fire protection

JULY 12, 2004
Administration proposes forcing states to pay 2.5 times more for public transit than for roads

JULY 12, 2004
Administration to eliminate Clinton-era roadless rule, ending protections for 58.5 million acres

JULY 16, 2004
Fish and Wildlife Service to end protection for eastern wolves and abandon reintroduction plans

JULY 16, 2004
Bush refuses to release $34 million for international family planning appropriated by Congress

NOVEMBER 2, 2004
ELECTION DAY

from SIERRA magazine, September/October 2004

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra

And that doesn't include the last three years.

Then Mr. Cheney invites executives from the Coal and Oil industries to write environmental legislation (in secret). Talk about the fox gaurding the hen house. Oh, and lets not forget that phrase that defines Cheney's contempt for the environment:

"conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy" ...

With this administration, when you hear the term "blue skies initiative", run for the gasmasks.

P.S. The Sierra Club is returning the $.50 donation you made so you'll quit claiming to support them.

And, you can't seriously be suggesting that China's and India's pollution since their respective Industrial revolutions approaches the aggregate of what the U.S. has dumped on the planet in the past 100 years, can you?

demented twin showing his hate for the U.S., as well as his lack of knowledge. in other words, his blatant sheer stupidity.

dt, I say get more coal. There are ways to clean it up and we can do more research to clean it up even more. The U.S. has been called the Saudi Arabia of Coal. Let's use more of that coal to help our energy needs. And we can keep it clean.

Also, dt, yes, what is and has been taking place in China and India far surpasses anything in the U.S., even over the last 100 years. According to CNN, half the rivers in China are considered dead. When folks walk outside in China, they have to brush soot off themselves like it's snow.
Even before their so-called "industrial revolutions," the environment in India and China were not taken care of.

Also, dt, I do not give to Sierra Club, never have, never will. They are nothing but a far left environmental group. I do give monthly to World Wildlife Fund, which actually uses most of their money on preserves and sanctuaries for animals. They work with governments to help the environment and animals. I don't agree with all their positions, but WWF largely does a lot of good work.

But you keep your hate for the U.S. going, dt, it only helps the GOP come 2008.

What a knee slapper!

Ya couldn't see that one coming down LSD?

"A good movie about the Loony Left Kooks would be titled "28 Groundhog Days," the story of a bunch of Lefty Zombies in which they live the same day over and over again, prattling about the same nonsense day after day."

Posted by: John D | October 31, 2007 2:28 PM

Actaully, it's already been a running republican soap opera for 4 1/2 years. But they call it "Stay The Course".

"But you keep your hate for the U.S. going, dt, it only helps the GOP come 2008."

John D, you're (shockingly) confusing Red America with the USA.

Red(neck) America consists of Dixie, the slave states of MO and KY, the former Indian Territory of OK, the Great Plains States, and the Mountain West, tho the last category is getting smart and turning Blue.

Blue America (a.k.a. the Union) LOVES the US, since Blue America includes the civilized parts. Blue America dislikes toothless crackers, philistines, NASCAR, sanctimonious hypocrites (e.g. Larry Craig, Jimmy Swaggert) and Bush sycophants / order-takers / hacks and toadies.

Learn it. Live it. If not, go ahead and set up shop at Bob Jones University to hang with your spiritual brethren.

John D.,

I hate the U.S. because I want to preserve the environment? What, did you go to the Rush Limpdong school of logic?

And yes, there are technoligies to improve the emissions of coal-fired plants, and better ones could be developed. CO2 emissions could possibly be pumped underground and permanently sequestered in layers of rock, for instance. But where's the incentive when Bush and Cheney keep rewarding the worst polluters?:

http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2004/05012004/may-june04interviewschae.html

Here is a ranking of the CO2 emissions per/capita by country. You will notice the U.S. is #5, China #80, India #113. China and India are a huge problem because their immense populations. But you can't blame them for wanting what we have. And we certainly don't set a good example with our per/capita contribution to the world's pollution.

You mention water pollution. Yes China has historically been lax in this regard, and in fact has recently committed to spending $14 and a half billion dollars to clean up the dreadful pollution of their third largest freshwater lake:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/world/asia/27china.html

You might remember that we to had rivers on fire, lakes turbid from pollution, choked with algae. We still have areas in the country where past and even current pollution to rivers and aquifers has caused a spike in birth defects, cancer, etc. Do the names Monsanto and Snow Creek come to mind? Of course, you were an infant then, and probably a victim of those nasty chemicals judging by your senseless rants:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A46648-2001Dec31

You dismiss the Sierra Club and other environmental groups as "nothing but far left", whatever that means. Yet it's groups like these that pressured the Monsantos of the world to clean up their act. We know, all to well, how the "voluntary controls" that Bush and Cheney champion, work in practice.

If it wasn't for Sierra Club, and groups like it, that water you drink from lake Michigan would be as toxic as the spoiled lakes in China you describe. If it wasn't for environmental awareness, you wouldn't need to donate to the WWF, because wildlife would be disappearing faster that the gas in your Murano.

Crazy Joe Delova,

About that love affair you have with coal...don't let the little ones eat too many tuna sandwiches, they might end up like dimwit dad:
http://www.pbs.org/now/science/mercuryinfish.html

Mercury gets into the air as a byproduct of industrial activities such as chlorine production, POWER GENERATION FROM COAL, garbage incineration, automobile recycling, and some mining and manufacturing processes.

Who's the Bad Guy on Mercury Contamination?

On the surface, this one's easy: anyone who's dragging their feet on reducing mercury air pollution. We should realize, though, that most of us have enjoyed the benefits of cheap-but-dirty coal-generated electricity for decades, as well as the fruits of the other industrial processes the cause mercury pollution. Still, many manufacturing sources have been greatly cleaned up, and the focus is now squarely on coal-fired power plants.

It's a shame that our leaders have let the mercury problem fester for so long. It would have been worth a few extra bucks every month on our power bills to keep the fish supply clean. But it's better that we take action late instead of never.

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/08-10/mercury-in-fish-article.htm

What about "Clean-er Coal Technology"?

"Clean coal" is a myth. It's goal is to reduce air emissions, which is good and needed. However, that should not lull anyone into thinking that coal mining would be any less destructive. Indeed, mine sites employing coal washing treatments could make the slurry lagoons even more toxic as contaminants are removed from the coal. Such things as radiation, mercury and fluoride don't go away, they just go somewhere else.
See our page on so-called "clean coal" for more information

http://www.energyjustice.net/coal/

dt, nice little chart in which you go by per capita. But let's look at reality:

http://www.mnp.nl/en/dossiers/Climatechange/moreinfo/Chinanowno1inCO2emissionsUSAinsecondposition.html
And here is the pertinent stuff in case you choose not to link:

In 2006 global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use increased by about 2.6%, which is less than the 3.3% increase in 2005. The 2.6% increase is mainly due to a 4.5% increase in global coal consumption, of which China contributed more than two-third. China’s 2006 CO2 emissions surpassed those of the USA by 8%. This includes CO2 emissions from industrial processes (cement production).

Anyway, dt, any energy policy needs to be comprehensive. It must include increased production of oil, coal, nuclear power, natural gas, SOLAR, wind (though windmills are murder on the songbird population), fuel cell, water, whatever. It also needs more energy-efficient products and conservation by consumers of all stripes.

And, any type of energy needs to be cleaner, with technologies developed to make all of it as clean as possible. It's not an issue of one thing or another, it has to be and must be all encompassing.

There's over a billion people in China. They're all clamoring for what we have, consumer goods, automobiles, nice homes. Of course they're going to be big polluters as long as the Chinese versions of Dick Cheney run the show.

There wasn't any deception involved in showing per/capita figures. That is an absolutely fair measure of the relative nature of things.

Sure, the bottom line is how much crap gets put into the atmosphere, oceans, etc. by the offending country. But this effort to absolve us of culpability by pointing to trends in China is disingenuous, at best.
For decades our country has been a consumption and pollution behemoth with but a fraction of the population of China. Now you want to say because China has joined the U.S. as one of the worlds big polluters 1) "Wait a minute, who said a third rate country like you can jump into the arena, and, 2) "If they're not concerned about it, why should we?

The answer to #2 is obvious, even to you.
The answer to #1 can't be answered satisfactorily without bringing population figures into the equation.

For instance, Richmond, Ca. last year had 38 homicides. Chicago, Il. had 598. Would it be fair to say that Richmond is doing a better job of supressing the number of murders in it's city than Chicago? No, because the population of Richmond is roughly 104,000, meaning the murder rate their is 4.79 times the national average. Chicago's population is about 2,900,000, meaning their murder rate is 2.70 times the national average. Neither city has reason to brag, but Richmond is the more dangerous city.

http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Richmond&state=CA

"The United States and China are the number one and two energy consumers in the world. China is the largest emitter of sulfur dioxide (SO2) worldwide, and the two countries lead the world in carbon dioxide emissions(CO2). Energy consumption on a grand scale and the concomitant air pollution it can cause have myriad effects, from local to global, and there are a number of underlying issues whaich have a profound impact on their interplay. Both countries possess massive coal reserves and intend to continue utilizing these resources, which have been a major source of pollution. In spite of energy security concerns, the U.S. is still the world's largest consumer of petroleum, though China's skyrocketing demand has made it the second largest consumer and a major source of demand growth. This is, of course, being driven by rapid urbanization and, in particular, the rise of personal vehicle use." (Energy Futures and Urban Air Pollution:Challenges for China and the United States 2007; The Nation Academies Press).

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?
record_id=12001&page=
2

Just like the analogy I used above, neither party has reason to celebrate. But I think it's important to note that the population of China is more than four times that of the U.S;1,321,851,888 (jULY 2007 EST.) So, individually at least, we are the worse offenders.