Bad Deeds for 6-19-2007

Despite promises, few in House make earmark requests public – Despite the new Democratic congressional leadership’s promise of “openness and transparency” in the budget process, a CNN survey of the House found it nearly impossible to get information on lawmakers’ pet projects. Staffers for only 31 of the 435 members of the House contacted by CNN between Wednesday and Friday of last week supplied a list of their earmark requests for fiscal year 2008, which begins on October 1, or pointed callers to Web sites where those earmark requests were posted. Of the remainder, 68 declined to provide CNN with a list, and 329 either didn’t respond to requests or said they would get back to us, and didn’t. Find out how your representative responded at the link in the above. Corruption in Our Capitol – The “Bad Barrel” Seduces Othe

Bush and Industry Block Anti-Terror Regulations For Chemical Plants – For nearly seven years, the chemical, oil and gas industries have successfully fought proposals to require stringent anti-terror security measures at facilities storing poisonous materials such as chlorine and methyl mercaptan. These industries have been especially opposed to legislation requiring “inherently safer technology,” a policy industry officials and the Bush administration view as both setting an excessively high standard and as leaving companies more vulnerable to lawsuits for failing to comply.

Bush Administration Trying to ‘Muzzle’ Hurricane Director – Bill Proenza, head of the National Hurricane Center, recently spoke out and warned that the “federal government is spending millions of dollars on a publicity campaign that could be used to plug budget shortfalls hurricane forecasters are struggling with.” Because of his statements, officials are now “trying to muzzle him and could be setting him up for termination.

US State Department Has No Experts on Pakistan Working on Pakistan – Respected Pakistan analyst Ahmed Rashid explained a key problem with current U.S. policy:

The problem is exacerbated by a dramatic drop-off in U.S. expertise on Pakistan. Retired American officials say that, for the first time in U.S. history, nobody with serious Pakistan experience is working in the South Asia bureau of the State Department, on State’s policy planning staff, on the National Security Council staff or even in Vice President Cheney’s office. Anne W. Patterson, the new U.S. ambassador to Islamabad, is an expert on Latin American “drugs and thugs”; Richard A. Boucher, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, is a former department spokesman who served three tours in Hong Kong and China but never was posted in South Asia. “They know nothing of Pakistan,” a former senior U.S. diplomat said.

Current and past U.S. officials tell me that Pakistan policy is essentially being run from Cheney’s office. The vice president, they say, is close to Musharraf and refuses to brook any U.S. criticism of him. This all fits; in recent months, I’m told, Pakistani opposition politicians visiting Washington have been ushered in to meet Cheney’s aides, rather than taken to the State Department.

Harper’s Scott Horton has more.

16 Companies May Violate U.S. Ban on Trade With Terror States – The list of 16 companies identified by the SEC as reporting business dealings with Sudan in SEC filings are:
1. Air France-KLM (source: Air France Web site)
2. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited
3. Baker Hughes Inc.
4. Celanese Corporation
5. Credit Suisse
6. Deutsche Bank
7. Euroseas Ltd.
8. Dresser-Rand Group Inc.
9. Mindray Medical International Limited
10. Nokia Corporation
11. Royal Dutch Shell
12. SR Telecom Inc.
13. SEACOR Holdings Inc.
14. Siemens AG
15. Syntroleum Corp.
16. Total S.A.

Global Warming Brings Early Spring to Arctic – In a study that underscored the impact of global warming on the northern polar region, researchers discovered that plant, insect and bird life native to the High Arctic had made dramatic seasonal cycle adjustments to the region’s earlier snowmelt in the space of just 10 years. In some cases, flowers are emerging from buds and chicks are hatching a full 30 days sooner than they did in the mid-1990s in response to sharply increased temperatures burning off the winter’s snow layer. “Our study confirms what many people already think, that the seasons are changing and it is not just one or two warm years but a strong trend seen over a decade,” said Toke Hoye, a researcher with the National Environmental Research Institute at the University of Aarhus in Denmark.

Affordability During the Bush Administration – Of all the items listed below, the price of only one item has gone way down since Bush took office. Everything else has become much more expensive. Can you guess what that one thing is?

• Dozen eggs
• Gallon of Gasoline
• Health Care
• Gallon of Milk
• Ear of corn
• 8-ball of cocaine
• College Tuition
• Loaf of bread

How Antonio Taguba, Who Investigated the Abu Ghraib Scandal, Became One of its Casualties – General John Abizaid, then the head of Central Command turned to Taguba and issued a quiet warning: “You and your report will be investigated.” “I wasn’t angry about what he said but disappointed that he would say that to me,” Taguba said. “I’d been in the Army thirty-two years by then, and it was the first time that I thought I was in the Mafia.”

Michael Savage Falsely Attacks CSPAN
Michael Savage went after CSPAN and their CEO Mike Lamb because they had the audacity to not cover his Talker’s Magazine “Freedom of Speech” award speech. The reason was because Savage sent in a DVD of his speech instead of appearing live at the event he was being honored at so CSPAN declined to cover the event.. During last week’s telecast—CSPAN showed the vicious and misinformed emails that were sent to Lamb and CSPAN…And Savage is now charging his followers $22.00 to buy the DVD!

Please contact the Savage Nation and let Savage know that you understand a thing called the truth and to please stop the false accusations against CSPAN. And don’t be nasty like his listeners were to CSPAN.

Michael Savage
Talk Radio Network
P.O. Box 3755
Central Point, Oregon 97502
Phone: 541-664-8827
Fax: 541-664-6250

Regards,

Jim