Presidential candidates, challengers usually, often ask, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Why wait four years? This is the age of instant gratification. To help your assessment, let’s consult a list compiled by Dr. David Sprintzen of Long Island University. Dr. Sprintzen looked at the first six months of the Bush administration, before the terrorist attacks, before the war. Here’s some of what he found.
On environmental issues, George W. Bush has:
– significantly eased field testing rules for genetically-engineered crops;
– revoked rules to reduce arsenic in drinking water;
– reduced by 50 percent, funding for research into renewable energy resources. Mr. Bush did propose $1.2 billion in funding for renewable energy, but he wants the money to come from selling oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Isn’t that cute?
Mr. Bush:
– reduced funding for research into more fuel efficient cars and trucks;
– pulled the U.S. out of the 1997 Kyoto Treaty on global warming;
– went ahead with a plan to auction oil and gas leases off the Florida coast;
– announced his intention to open the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana to oil drilling;
– refused to fund the cleanup of uranium slag heaps;
– abandoned a campaign pledge to invest $100 million in rainforest protection;
– proposed eliminating marine protections for the Channel Islands off the California coast and coral reefs off Hawaii;
– wanted to open 60 million acres of national forest to logging and road building;
– ordered the serving genetically modified food at all government functions.
Wow. That’s a mouthful, but we’re just getting started. Mr. Bush, the compassionate conservative who wants to leave no child behind, has proposed in the areas of health and human services to:
– cut 40 percent of the funding to the Low Income Home Assistance Program, which helps poor people pay their utility bills. He does, however, provide global warming.
– cut $35 million in funding for doctors to get advanced pediatric training;
– cut 86 percent – that’s right 86 percent – of the funds from the Community Access Program for public hospitals, clinics and providers of health care to people without insurance;
– cut $60 million from a Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of America program for public housing residents;
– cut a program that would have provided child care for families moving from welfare to work;
– cut a program to provide prescription contraceptive coverage for federal employees (although the program still offers Viagra);
– cut $700 million for repairs for public housing;
– closed the White House Office for Women’s Health Initiatives and Outreach;
– stopped the federal government’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry;
– cut a $15 million grant to states to investigate child abuse;
– cut $39 million from federal spending for libraries;
– called for the elimination of “Reading Is Fundamental,” a program that gives free books to poor children;
– called for the elimination of “We The People” – a program to teach schoolchildren about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and citizenship.
My goodness, what a busy fellow. That’s just the first six months and those are only two areas – environment and human services. Among his accomplishments in the “miscellaneous” category, Mr. Bush:
– suspended rules which would deny government contracts to companies that violate federal workplace safety and environmental laws;
– called for the elimination of funding to help communities prepare for natural disasters;
– cut $200 million to retrain laid-off workers;
– killed a law which would have made it more difficult for teenagers to get credit cards;
– signed a law which will make it more difficult for middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy;
– appointed three Iran-Contra criminals to positions on human rights and international relations;
and – don’t forget – George W. Bush is the man who made Dick Cheney vice president.
Bushwhacked
Presidential candidates, challengers usually, often ask, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Why wait four years? This is the age of instant gratification. To help your assessment, let’s consult a list compiled by Dr. David Sprintzen of Long Island University. Dr. Sprintzen looked at the first six months of the Bush administration, before the terrorist attacks, before the war. Here’s some of what he found.
On environmental issues, George W. Bush has:
– significantly eased field testing rules for genetically-engineered crops;
– revoked rules to reduce arsenic in drinking water;
– reduced by 50 percent, funding for research into renewable energy resources. Mr. Bush did propose $1.2 billion in funding for renewable energy, but he wants the money to come from selling oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Isn’t that cute?
Mr. Bush:
– reduced funding for research into more fuel efficient cars and trucks;
– pulled the U.S. out of the 1997 Kyoto Treaty on global warming;
– went ahead with a plan to auction oil and gas leases off the Florida coast;
– announced his intention to open the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana to oil drilling;
– refused to fund the cleanup of uranium slag heaps;
– abandoned a campaign pledge to invest $100 million in rainforest protection;
– proposed eliminating marine protections for the Channel Islands off the California coast and coral reefs off Hawaii;
– wanted to open 60 million acres of national forest to logging and road building;
– ordered the serving genetically modified food at all government functions.
Wow. That’s a mouthful, but we’re just getting started. Mr. Bush, the compassionate conservative who wants to leave no child behind, has proposed in the areas of health and human services to:
– cut 40 percent of the funding to the Low Income Home Assistance Program, which helps poor people pay their utility bills. He does, however, provide global warming.
– cut $35 million in funding for doctors to get advanced pediatric training;
– cut 86 percent – that’s right 86 percent – of the funds from the Community Access Program for public hospitals, clinics and providers of health care to people without insurance;
– cut $60 million from a Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of America program for public housing residents;
– cut a program that would have provided child care for families moving from welfare to work;
– cut a program to provide prescription contraceptive coverage for federal employees (although the program still offers Viagra);
– cut $700 million for repairs for public housing;
– closed the White House Office for Women’s Health Initiatives and Outreach;
– stopped the federal government’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry;
– cut a $15 million grant to states to investigate child abuse;
– cut $39 million from federal spending for libraries;
– called for the elimination of “Reading Is Fundamental,” a program that gives free books to poor children;
– called for the elimination of “We The People” – a program to teach schoolchildren about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and citizenship.
My goodness, what a busy fellow. That’s just the first six months and those are only two areas – environment and human services. Among his accomplishments in the “miscellaneous” category, Mr. Bush:
– suspended rules which would deny government contracts to companies that violate federal workplace safety and environmental laws;
– called for the elimination of funding to help communities prepare for natural disasters;
– cut $200 million to retrain laid-off workers;
– killed a law which would have made it more difficult for teenagers to get credit cards;
– signed a law which will make it more difficult for middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy;
– appointed three Iran-Contra criminals to positions on human rights and international relations;
and – don’t forget – George W. Bush is the man who made Dick Cheney vice president.