The America of the founding fathers has been tossed aside by Bush Inc.
Rose: What? Another shadow government?
Think About It
By John David Rose
The nation doesn't need to keep Vice President Dick Cheney and a bunch of bureaucrat gnomes holed up in expensive caves to run things if a terrorist attack destroys Washington. When G.W. Jr. moved into the White House, a shadow government moved in with him.
The National Rifle Association became the shadow Justice Department, Enron took over the Energy Department, Exxon and Shell pull the strings of the Department of Interior, International Paper became the director of the Forest Service, Lockheed Northrop took control of Defense Department procurement, and Microsoft became head of Anti-Trust.
If a terrorist sneaks a bomb into Washington it won't make much difference. Our government is pretty much controlled by corporate executives scattered around the country.
This was made clear with the resignation last week of one of the Environmental Protection Agency's top pollution-enforcement officials. A Republican first appointed by the senior Bush, Eric Schaeffer quit in disgust, saying that the second Bush's administration is "undermining" the Clean Air Act.
Turning his first (and I predict his only) term in office into a love-feast for corporate contributors, Bush has:
* Cut the Environmental Protection Agency budget by $500 million.
* Taken corporate polluters off the hook for cleaning up the toxic messes they leave behind, making John Q. Taxpayer foot the bill.
* Suspended rules denying government contracts to companies that violate government regulations, including environmental and workplace safety rules.
* Suspended rules that require hard-rock mines to clean up their pollution on public lands.
* Rescinded a proposal to give the public information about public health and safety consequences of chemical plant accidents.
Specifically for his oil/gas industry and Enron buddies, Bush has:
* Cut funding for research into cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks by 28 percent.
* Canceled the 2004 deadline for automakers to develop high-mileage prototypes.
* Abandoned his campaign promise to regulate carbon dioxide levels.
* Rescinded rules mandating energy efficiency regulations for air conditioners and heat pumps.
* Cut funding of renewable energy source research by 50 percent.
* Put pressure on state officials to open up national monuments for oil and gas drilling, coal mining and clear-cut timber harvests.
To pay off anti-government, free-market conservatives, Bush has:
* Proposed elimination of marine protections for the Channel Islands of California and the coral reefs of Hawaii.
* Eliminated funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program which encourages farmers to maintain wetlands habitat.
* Abandoned his campaign pledge to invest $100 million in rain forest conservation.
To demonstrate interest in non-CEO Americans, G.W. Jr. has:
* Reduced the Community Access Program (for people without health insurance) by 86 percent.
* Cut $60 million from a Boys & Girls Club of America program for public housing.
* Cut child care to low-income families moving from welfare to work.
* Cut $700 million from the repair and maintenance budget for public housing.
* Cut $15.7 million earmarked for child abuse and neglect investigations.
But the budget he sent to Congress spends more on defense than all other countries of the world, combined.
Big shots of American industry love G.W. Bush ... they bought and paid for him. But can the rest of the United States afford him?
John David Rose is a long-time Hilton Head Islander and political observer.
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