Draft of Air Rule Is Said to Exempt Many Old Plants: "After more than two years of internal deliberation and intense pressure from industry, the Bush administration has settled on a regulation that would allow thousands of older power plants, oil refineries and industrial units to make extensive upgrades without having to install new anti-pollution devices, according to those involved in the deliberations.
The new rule, a draft of which was made available to The New York Times by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, would constitute a sweeping and cost-saving victory for industries, exempting thousands of indus trial plants and refineries from part of the Clean Air Act. The acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency could sign the new rule as soon as next week, administration officials have told utility representatives."

This administration is really a throwback to a previous era. It's like the old wild west railroad barrons have reincarnated and are working their way through all the infrastructure of social advancement and safety. Now we have a gunslinger foreign policy. We have pro-pollution "clean air" regulations, we have "economic growth" policies that claim to advance the rest of us by making the rich richer, at our expense mind you.

It's sick making. But just more of the same. And the apathy and the acceptance with which the average American accepts this shit is amazing. It's also the biggest threat that we face, because none of this looting and pillaging would be possible without public support.

Those of us who see through the lies of the administration need to find a way to communicate to those who are ignorant, or at least enough to get rid of Bush in 04.

That's a big challenge. I don't know how to do it. I just hope events such as the debacle in Iraq will show even the blindest soul how foolish and dangerous this crowd is.
- posted by geoff @ #