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Today's Must Read
The Bush Administration's newest tactic for policymaking is to ignore emails.
The New York Times reports today that White House officials simply refused to open an email from the EPA last year because they knew it contained a policy recommendation they didn't like -- part of the Administration's on-going battle with scientists at the EPA over global warming issues.
The document, which ended up in e-mail limbo, without official status, was the E.P.A.'s answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that required it to determine whether greenhouse gases represent a danger to health or the environment, the officials said.
Instead of officially acknowledging the email and responding to it in a normal bureaucratic manner, the White House instead launched a behind-the-scenes campaign to pressure the EPA to drop the recommendation's essential conclusions.
Both documents, as prepared by the E.P.A., "showed that the Clean Air Act can work for certain sectors of the economy, to reduce greenhouse gases," one of the senior E.P.A. officials said. "That's not what the administration wants to show. They want to show that the Clean Air Act can't work."
The White House lost its battle in the Supreme Court. It's stonewalling efforts by lawmakers on Capitol Hill to investigate the policy-making process. And now there's evidence that it is not only rejecting but even ignoring efforts by the EPA to adhere to a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
At least one EPA official quit over the email incident.
White House pressure to ignore or edit the E.P.A.'s climate-change findings led to the resignation of one agency official earlier this month: Jason Burnett, the associate deputy administrator. Mr. Burnett, a political appointee with broad authority over climate-change regulations, said in an interview that he had resigned because "no more constructive work could be done" on the agency's response to the Supreme Court.He added, "The next administration will have to face what this one did not."
Before he left for Washington for the first time, former President Harry Truman got a piece of memorable advice: "Work hard, keep your mouth shut, and answer your mail."
Maybe President Bush never got that same advice.
Should be: "Its stonewalling efforts..."
Otherwise, keep up the good work.
June 25, 2008 9:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't do this crap. No one is impressed.
June 25, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree, BBpdx, this kind of stuff is not impressive. But it can be AMUSING when, as in this case, the nit-picker turns out to be WRONG!
Instead of spellchecking the piece, NitPicker1, try reading it. Your "correction" from contraction to possessive pronoun ignores the context of the sentence (i.e., the paragraph in which it sits), and strips the sentence of its verb. "It's [i.e., the White House is] stonewalling efforts by lawmakers...." NOT "Its [the White House's] stonewalling efforts...."
Consider yourself nit-picked, NitPicker1. Otherwise, keep up the good work!
June 25, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't get too wound up -- it's an easy sentence to misread.
June 25, 2008 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Pssst. Try further down the thread.
June 25, 2008 5:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here, too. (But that one may be a set up.)
June 25, 2008 6:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
amazing.
June 25, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
I find a registered letter usually gets the result I want - even if they refuse to sign for it, the fact that delivery was attempted (time, date, person) is noted.
June 25, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Shameless and cynical manipulation of the political process, and outright defiance of the other two supposedly co-equal branches of government....Separation of Powers this ain't.
June 25, 2008 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
They're not even admitting anymore that "mistakes were made."
June 25, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Dems should hold "hearings."
June 25, 2008 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Awesome. It's the cyber-equivalent of the ole fingers-in-the-ears, "nyah nyah nyah! I can't hear you!" move.
The heady combination of arrogance and stupidity displayed by this administration never ceases to amaze.
June 25, 2008 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
How about this for "arrogance and stupidity." Mr. Cheney's view on fuel conservation in '01, "Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue but it is not a sufficient basis...for sound, comprehensive energy policy." Mr. Cheney's sound energy policy at the time? Preserve the then existing energy system with its heavy reliance on oil, coal and natural gas. That's worked out well.
June 25, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, that's what it reminded me of, too. Bush acting like an obnoxious 5-year-old -- why am I not surprised?
June 25, 2008 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Idiot.
The "It's" is a contraction for It is.
Read the sentence again.
June 25, 2008 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
"It's" is the contraction for "it is," but the possessive for "it" is "its," no apostrophe. Nitpicker is right, the author is incorrect (but who cares?).
June 25, 2008 10:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, the use of "It's" in the sentence is not possessive. They do not own stonewalling efforts. It is stonewalling efforts...efforts by other people. To be possessive it would have to say "Its stonewalling efforts are...something something; referring to its own efforts.
I can't believe I just let myself get pulled into a grammar argument even after writing this sentence I'm going to press "send".
June 25, 2008 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Do they still write Brittanica Encylopedia? Someone should chronicle all of the violations of law and policy this administration has engaged in. Surely, it would be like reading science fiction!
June 25, 2008 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Send>messages from>epa.gov>to>junkmail folder>delete
Done!
June 25, 2008 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
How hard is it to file a FOIA request for this email? Is it available?
June 25, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
i'd be more furious, but i'm too full of depression. why, oh, why are these clowns still employed? by anyone?
June 25, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Because, to her eternal shame, Nancy took impeachment off the table.
June 25, 2008 10:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is when you print out the document, walk it over to hand deliver the message, then staple it to the recipient's forehead.
June 25, 2008 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I was wondering why they didn't do something like that. Do they not know any way to communicate with people except via e-mail?
June 25, 2008 5:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
the reason nancy refuses any accountability is because any investigation will reveal the extent of her complicity in these crimes.
June 25, 2008 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
While I suspect there is a lot of truth in that, the other reason for not impeaching Bush/Cheney is that it has zero chance of achieving anything and would:
1. shut down all effective government work for the remainder of Bush's term,
2. sharply increase the level of partisanship, with undoubted negative effects for Democrats in the coming election.
The result of an attempted impeachment would be an ineffective and self-destructive gesture of spite, nothing more. It would also prove to the voting public that what Nadar said in 2000 was true - there is no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. (something the BlueDog Democrats and Steny Hoyer are working hard to also prove true.)
That said, I really wish there was an effective way to put a political stake through Bush's heart. Instead he will retire (to his protected ranch in Paraguay where the government has passed a law protecting him from extradition for human rights violations?) and continue to live in his bubble of ignorance and filtered information, to be told to his face what a great man he was by a few right-wing extremists (Rove?), and never to be brought to justice for his crimes.
Bush hasn't the ability to ever learn the enormity of his misdeeds and take responsibility for them. A futile effort at impeachment wouldn't change that.
I am a bit surprised that the rest of the family hasn't changed their name from "Bush" because of the shame. I guess one of the advantages of great wealth is that shame has no real personal effect on such people. Fortunately for the Bush name, George W. has no sons.
June 25, 2008 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Without laws to throw these scumbags in prison if they do not fulfill their dutties this is only the beginning. The whole Bush Administration should be publicly executed on the Supreme Court steps. They are all traitors.
June 25, 2008 10:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was out of line, it should read "duties".
June 25, 2008 10:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
YES! Then with proper commercial sponsorship of the initial TV coverage and the much requested re-airings, not to mention the commemorative DVD sales, we might be able to pay back the cost of this foolish war. Maybe it can all be done and the DVD available by Xmas? Now that would be leadership based on HOPE!
June 25, 2008 11:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Glad the US Taxpayer is gettings it's money's worth out of the "White House Liaison" position at EPA.
Wonder what that $110,000-a-year employee was doing? Maybe vetting career staff for political contributions? Surely he/she was not following up on email.
June 25, 2008 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
I hope Obama wins in November so that we can go back to having grownups in the white house. The spoiled brat with her fingers in her ears routine of this administration is gettin quite old.
June 25, 2008 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Serious!
President Bush has to be the most childish president we have ever had.
On the other hand he may have given me an idea....if I don't open up mail/email telling me I have bills to pay then I don't have to pay them. Mr. Bush your brilliant!
June 25, 2008 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
(Fingers in ears) La la la la, I can't hear you la la la la............
June 25, 2008 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's supposed to be "It's." Not as in "stonewalling efforts that belong to the White House..." but as in "It is stonewalling efforts...". I guess I'm a nitpicker too.
June 25, 2008 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Umm, no. The possessive pronoun is "its". "It's" is a contraction for "it is."
I was just conversing yesterday with a colleague of mine yesterday, wondering when it was that the use of apostrophes got to be so complicated in the minds of so many that they consistently get it wrong, inserting them where they don't belong and leaving them out where they do.
June 25, 2008 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ooops, sorry, I somehow misread your post and thought you were making the opposite assertion. My bad.
June 25, 2008 5:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
James Hansen of NASA is threatening to bring crimes against humanity charges against the execs of Big Oil for deliberately trying to confuse the public about global warming. I wish he would bring charges against Bush and Cheney at the same time...
June 25, 2008 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Seriously, was anyone really surprised that these clowns would just ignore the email?
June 25, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wouldn't have been surprised if they had read it and ignored it. I am surprised that they are so completely juvenile as to refuse to read it at all, as if somehow not reading it would mean it did not exist.
June 25, 2008 5:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Will someone please explain why Johnson can't be
removed from office, or at least censured.
He must be happy to have heard today that the Supreme Court reduced the punitive damages from the Exxon Valdez spill, again.
June 25, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wish Robert Wexler was House Leader. We might get somewhere with this administration if Nancy would have the grace to step down. Would that leave us with Steny Hoyer, though?
June 25, 2008 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
If I or anyone else at their job just refused to open email, they'd be fired.
Unreal.
June 25, 2008 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Look, I hate this administration as much as The Next Guy, but in all fairness the EPA did send the e-mail under the subject heading THE CLEAN AIR ACT WILL MAKE YOUR PENIS 20% BIGGER!
White House SPAM filters simply ignored it, as everyone in Washington knows Cheney's swinging a pair of elephant balls and keeps W.'s junk in a cigar box down in the Secret Lair.
June 25, 2008 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Regarding the grammar flame, JosephP, drosz and barn owl are correct, as is the sentence. However, Andrew's copy editor should have recast the sentence for clarity. Changing "it's" to "It is" would do it.
June 25, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. As I said above, it is an easy sentence to misread, and even though the reader may quickly realize his mistake and go back to read it the right way, any time you force your reader to re-read a sentence in order to properly understand you, you have failed in your job as a writer.
June 25, 2008 6:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would just like to commend Jason Burnett, the associate deputy administrator. It is heartening to see that there are at least a few decent folk in Washington who value integrity more than prestige, money, and power. I would hope that other folk with responsibility of caring for this democracy would do the same.
Most hirees (many of them congressmen and senators) we have been hearing about these past years seem to have decided ethics has no place in this modern world... and "We the People" are paying the consequences... IMHO
June 25, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Its stonewalling efforts by lawmakers are on Capitol Hill to investigate the policy-making process." is apparently what Nictpicker et al. want you to write. Sure, it doesn't make sense, but it ís grammatically correct.
June 25, 2008 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can't believe that the Supreme Court is allowing it's authority to be flaunted in this manner.
I maintain my position that the courts are just as guilty, and in some cases more guilty, of letting this Administration get away with murder than Congress is.
I can't believe that other powerful institutions in Washington let these coniving little men get away with this crap.
June 25, 2008 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gee, here's a simple answer: Why not just expect the bush administration to follow the law? Is this how far bush has driven us away from the rule of law? They don't even acknowledge oversight and the other branches of government - thses are impeachable offenses. Bush has ruined this country for the forseeable future.
June 25, 2008 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Forget the fingers in the ears, na na na routine. The Lancelot Link administration simply flipped the chimpfinger at the EPA and oh by the way, Supreme Court.
June 25, 2008 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Instead of officially acknowledging the email and responding to it in a normal bureaucratic manner, the White House instead launched a behind-the-scenes campaign to pressure the EPA to drop the recommendation's essential conclusions."
How does the WH launch a behind-the-scenes campaign on the specifics of the recommendations in a email they profess they've never received or opened and then pressure the EPA with recommendations for specific changes based on that email? Sounds to me like someone not only opened the email but read it and acted on it. Just more evidence for Rep. Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment...
June 25, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
TM - Steps of the Supreme Court seems particularly apt. Those traitors brought this about via Bush vs. Gore. The notion that these fuckwad republicans could ever have had the effrontery to bitch about "activist judges" after THAT only attests to their...obliviousness? shamelessness? The participants in this pseudo-administration and the SCOTUS who coup-installed them are utter traitors.
It's kind of a shame that Bush is such a fucking retard that he undoubtedly couldn't care less about traveling internationally after he's back in Hellhole, TX. I'd love to see him arrested abroad.
(The notion that someone of his means and background could literally never have even been abroad prior to his "installation" as POTUS is a whole other story that speaks volumes, but don't get me started.)
June 25, 2008 4:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm a little late getting this here, but ...
David Doniger -- a former EPA official in the Clinton era -- has an insider's take on this incident here:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ddoniger/see_no_email.html
June 26, 2008 9:08 PM | Reply | Permalink