NetRootsMass » Hugh’s List of Bush Scandals

400. An absent President

Hugh — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:56:02 +0000

Of the 2922 days Bush was President he spent all or part of 1,020 on vacation (35% of his time in office). This includes 487 days at Camp David, 490 at his ranch in Crawford, and 43 days at his family’s compound in Kennebunkport. If there is one word which typifies this and [...]

399. The cockamamie FBI investigation of the Madrid train bombings and Brandon Mayfield

Hugh — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:36:32 +0000

On March 11, 2004, a series of bombings took place in Madrid which killed 191 people and injured 2,000. A fingerprint lifted from a bag of detonator caps was erroneously identified by the FBI as belonging to Brandon Mayfield, a 37 year old lawyer in Portland, Oregon. Although Mayfield was living more than [...]

398. Managing the Obama transition, the NASA example

Hugh — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:28:17 +0000

The secrecy and the lack of accountability which have marked the Bush Administration are producing some comical but telling problems for Obama transition teams. NASA’s dictatorial Adminstrator Michael Griffin said that Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator, was unqualified to judge his pet project the Constellation program to return astronauts to the moon [...]

397. Government OK’s dumping mining debris in and near streams

Hugh — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:29:11 +0000

On December 2, 2008, the Bush Administration in its last days approved a Department of Interior rule which will allow coal companies to shear off the tops of mountains and dump the debris into surrounding valleys and streams. This change would primarily affect coalfields in Appalachia. Current regulations establish a minimum 100 ft. [...]

396. Wrongdoing in the Air Marshal Service

Hugh — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:52:49 +0000

The Air Marshal Service went from 33 agents and a $4.4 million budget before 9/11 to 3,000-4,000 marshals and a $786 million budget. During this time, it has had 3 different leaders and been moved to 4 different agencies. Since its expansion, some three dozen marshals have been charged with crimes and [...]

395. Lax oversight at the Office of Thrift Supervision contributed to bank failures

Hugh — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:31:12 +0000

A November 23, 2008 Washington Post story reports that lax oversight by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) allowed the savings and loan institutions it regulated to engage in dubious practices which led to $355.7 billion in thrift failures in 2008 and the need the to sell off other institutions to avoid failure. Thrifts [...]

394. Transportation Department relaxes rules on truckdriving safety

Hugh — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:11:21 +0000

On November 20, 2008, the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration finalized rules on truck driving, similar to ones thrown out last year by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. The rules will allow truckdrivers to drive 77 hours in a 7 day cycle and mandates only 34 hours rest between cycles. [...]

393. Oh, and another Bureau of Land Management shady deal in the West

Hugh — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:04:01 +0000

On November 17, 2008, the Interior Department announced another final rule to go into effect on January 17, 2009, three days before President-Elect Obama’s inauguration. This one would open up 1.9 million acres to exploitation of oil shale deposits in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Shale remains both a dirty and largely unproven technology [...]

392. BP receives a slap on the wrist from Justice Department

Hugh — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:11:34 +0000

On October 25, 2007, oil giant BP agreed to pay $373 million in fines to settle 3 different investigations against it. In February 2004, BP tried to corner the US market in propane and stick its customers with higher prices. To avoid a criminal prosecution, it agreed to pay $303 million in fines. On [...]

391. The Bureau of Land Management and shady deals in Utah again

Hugh — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:51:43 +0000

The Bureau of Land Management is set to open public lands to drilling near 3 National Parks in Utah. Bypassing usual input from the Parks Service which would delay the process into the next Administration, the BLM will auction leases in the area on December 19, 2008. Consider it a parting gift by [...]