Bad Deeds for 10-31-2007

Fox News Distorted College Students’ Views to Bash Global Warming – Conservative host Sean Hannity made clear his disdain for CNN’s “Planet in Peril” series when the show Hannity co-hosts convened a panel of atmospheric science graduate students to discuss the program. Several students involved say their views were misrepresented, and they are now complaining the Fox talker made them out to be a bunch of science-denying rubes. “We … feel like we were sold out by Fox News,” Chris Hain, one of the participants. In its heavily edited segment, Fox cut students’ quotes short to mischaracterize their sentiments and accent the negative, Hain claimed. Hannity also didn’t tell his viewers was that the seemingly impromptu discussion was actually led by global warming skeptic John Christy.

White House Says Bush Plans Using Administrative Orders to Avoid Congress – The White House is now planning to implement as much new policy as it can by administrative order after concluding that President Bush cannot do much business with the Democratic leadership. White House aides say the only way Bush seems to be able to influence the process is by vetoing legislation or by issuing administrative orders, as he has in recent weeks on veterans’ health care, air-traffic congestion, protecting endangered fish and immigration. They say they expect Bush to issue more of such orders in the next several months, even as he speaks out on the need to limit spending and resist any tax increases. According to a University of Tulsa research document on executive power, “Administrative Orders include numbered documents called determinations, and notices or memorandum designated by date,” the document states. “These orders often concern foreign policy decisions but may also include management decisions made by the President that concern Executive Departments.” (Will Bush issue an order to bomb Iran? – JLV)

Chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Doesn’t Want to Protect Consumers – Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff. Ms. Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws. Ms. Nord’s opposition to important elements of the legislation is consistent with the broadly deregulatory approach of the Bush administration over the last seven years. In a variety of areas, from antitrust to trucking and worker safety, officials appointed by President Bush have sought to reduce the role of regulation and government in the marketplace. Before joining the agency, Ms. Nord had been a lawyer at Eastman Kodak and an official at the United States Chamber of Commerce. (With all that experience protecting companies, it’s probably hard for her to switch gears to think about protecting consumers. – JLV)

One of Every Eight Veterans Under the Age of 65 is Uninsured – About one of every eight veterans under the age of 65 is uninsured, a finding that contradicts the assumption many have that all vets qualify for free health care through the Veterans Affairs Department, says a new study. Researchers at Harvard Medical School projected that about 1.8 million veterans overall lack health coverage. That’s an increase of 290,000 since 2000. The researchers said most uninsured veterans are in the middle class and are ineligible for VA care because of their incomes. Still others cannot afford their copayments, or lack VA facilities in their community. ”Like other uninsured Americans, most uninsured vets are working people — too poor to afford private coverage but not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid or means-tested VA care,” said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, an associate professor and a physician at the Cambridge Health Alliance.

US Taxation System Helps the Rich and Hurts the Middle Class – Multi-billionaire Warren Buffett was taxed at only 17.7% last year on his $46 million in income, while his secretary paid 30% of her $60,000. To be fair, it’s Mr. Buffet that’s doing the complaining about the unfair tax system. “The taxation system has tilted toward the rich and away from the middle class in the last 10 years,” Buffett, the nation’s third richest man, told Tom Brokaw of NBC. Buffett said he did an informal survey of federal taxes paid by his own office staff, and the average was 32.9%, compared to his 17.7%. “There wasn’t anybody in the office, from the receptionists on, that paid as low a tax rate,” Buffett stated, noting that “I have no tax planning, I don’t have an accountant, I don’t have tax shelters.”

Iraqi and U.S. officials have decided not to tell Iraqis About a Dangerous Dam That Could Kill as many as 500,000 Iraqis – The largest dam in Iraq is in serious danger of an imminent collapse that could unleash a trillion-gallon wave of water, possibly killing thousands of people and flooding two of the largest cities in the country, according to new assessments by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other U.S. officials. Even in a country gripped by daily bloodshed, the possibility of a catastrophic failure of the Mosul Dam has alarmed American officials, who have concluded that it could lead to as many as 500,000 civilian deaths by drowning Mosul under 65 feet of water and parts of Baghdad under 15 feet. Iraqi and U.S. officials realize how serious the situation is, but have decided not to tell Iraqis, for fear of scaring them. Maybe if these citizens knew, the problem may be more likely to get fixed.

Corporate-Funded Research Designed to Influence Public Policy – Reports by well-known think tanks and individuals funded by telecoms are helping quash competition, increase phone rates and set up a corporate-oriented Internet system. Is there any reason to trust these reports? Or to trust experts who testify before regulators without revealing the sources of their funding?

Regards,

Jim