Bush W. undid many of Clinton's last minute executive rules in his first days. What gives?

Just another case of "Laws are for Democrats"?

TPM links to a bit about the FCC trying to sneak in some goodies for telecoms (maybe we should ask Hon. Sen. McCain what he thinks). I predict more of the same, but on steroids if the Dems win in November. We might want to start the pool on Presidential pardons as well.

Somewhere in the middle of all these changes they're pushing is some sort of problem with a medication that Rumsfeld or Cheney is deeply invested in. Something they've sold by the millions to the military. I'll bet you anything.

This brings up something weird that happened to me this weekend. I turn on an interview on NPR and I hear this guy talking about everything from the economy to the environment to the Middle East. And I'm agreeing with everything -- EVERYTHING -- he's saying. He's like the one voice of reason I've heard in the last 40 years.

Turns out it was Ralph Nader. And I'm all like "damn!"

If changing the rules takes so long, why is that an obstacle for Obama and not Bush? Why can Bush put these new rules in place so quickly while Obama can't undo them just as fast?

I wouldn't be surprised if Obama is smart enough to know how to play that game to his advantage.

Bush's TX legacy was essentially Tort Reform. That's all he had in his pocket when he campaigned as a "Reformer with results."

Silly me. I thought it was the Legislative branch that makes laws and the Executative branch enforces them.

Bush had The Cheney.

Read Gellman's Angler: The Vice Presidency of Dick Cheney to gain insight on just how the Bush Admin. successfully circumvented the way our government does things. You'll be simultaneously disgusted and impressed.

Who wants to bet that on his last day as President, Bush steps out naked onto the White House lawn, Constitution in hand, immolates it, then pisses on the ashes?

Any takers?

Bush should be working for the big businesses in China; no doubt his product liability changes would be loved by the manufacturers of melamine. It seems that the right-wing philosophy also embraces "if it ain't against the law, it ain't wrong!"

And that's just for starters...keep a close eye out cuz I'll betcha there are going to be tons of goodies for business slung in under the radar between now and inauguration day by the bush weasels.

Consider this one....

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/11/america/Forest-Road-Deal.php

A ruling by the Forest Service that a private developer can use forest service roads constructed for timber harvesting as access to private housing developments. The GAO is questioning the deal, but the Forest Service is acting like the Forest Service, and that is never good for the forests or the environment or wilderness or anything good.

Maybe Ralph Nader should quit campaigning for President every 4 years and do what he does best?

Sounds like in a few years the American taxpayer can expect to bail out greedy corporations from lack of regulation. Go, Bush, go.

Should Obama win the White House, I hope he takes copious notes of all the garbage he finds there, and writes one heck of a book on it after his term/s, so we do not miss any of the valuable lessons to be learned from this current jackass and his administration.

George W. Bush: How to Destroy Peace, Prosperity, and the Economic Foundations of An Entire Planet in 8 Easy Years.

As Quatrain suggested, all Obama should need to do is find some procedural irregularity in the way these new rules were adopted by Bush and cancel them.

Given that this is the Bush administration, it shouldn't be hard to find great, big, obvious problems with the process (lack of proper notification for public commment comes to mind), but given the precedents set by the Bush administration itself, some obscure, minor technicality should do the trick.

This is not just happening with regard to consumer laws.

In August, the Administration announced rule changes to the administration of the Endangered Species Act that would get rid of the most important part of the ESA - the "independent review process" which mandates that when a federal agency planes a project that could harm and endangered species, they must get an independent review by the Fish and Wildlife Service, and if it is "reasonably forseeable" that a species will be harmed, they have to change the project - this would be undermined by giving the agency promoting the project authority to conduct their own review, and if it is "reasonably certain" they will harm a species, they will be responsible for mitigation, and there will be no appeal or review. The Secretary of the Interior stated "this will permanently stop environmentalists from stopping projects." It would have meant - were it in force - that there was no way to fight the removal of the Yellowstone wolves from the Endangered Species List this past Spring (which environmentalists successfully fought and got them re-protected last month). The comment period for this revision of the "independent review process"was over on September 14, and it is expected that at any time from the 20th on, they will announce the rule. Environmental organizations will go into court, get an injunction, and fight this violation of the law. It could take four years, as did the fight with the EPA over a similar evisceration of the Clean Water Act, which was won in August. Even if the Obama Administration opts to change these rules, it could take 18 months to accomplish with congressional support.

Further proof that the only good Republicans are dead.

For those who don't understand, this is not some executive order, this is a change to the Federal Administrative Rules, the formal rules about how a law shall be administered. It's the "second level" of formal law.

For those who don't understand, this is not some executive order, this is a change to the Federal Administrative Regulations, the formal rules about how a law shall be administered. It's the "second level" of formal law.

For those who don't understand, this is not some executive order, this is a change to the Federal Administrative Regulations, the formal rules about how a law shall be administered. It's the "second level" of formal law.