Les Paul, born this day in 1923

And to Cole Porter. Born this day in 1891

Sadly, no time to write in detail about last night�s Lakers/Pistons game, but my oh my what a beautiful game it was!

~~~

BUSH CHANGING HIS STORY ON PRISON ABUSE SCANDAL

President Bush has claimed that the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib was "disgraceful conduct by a few American troops,"[1] and had nothing to do with broader administration policy. But according to a March 2003 Pentagon memo, Bush administration lawyers issued legal justifications for torture, specifically claiming, "President Bush was not bound by either an international treaty prohibiting torture or by a federal anti-torture law."[2] The revelations have now forced the President to backtrack from his previous denials of culpability, with the White House yesterday admitting for the first time that Bush did, in fact, "set broad guidelines"[3] for interrogation in Iraq - a tacit admission that Bush himself "opened the door"[4] to the torture tactics in the first place.

Now, the U.S. Senate is demanding the full Pentagon memo from the Bush administration. But the President has refused, instead dispatching Attorney General John Ashcroft to tell "lawmakers he won't release or discuss"[5] the memo, even if he is cited for contempt of Congress. This is the same Ashcroft who "conveniently declassified"[6] internal Justice Department memos in an effort to slander 9/11 commissioner Jamie Gorelick. It is also the same Bush administration that leaked the classified name of a CIA officer[7] in an effort to intimidate a former ambassador who had debunked their false WMD claims.[8]

Sources:

1. Presidential Speech, White House Website, 5/24/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1155413&l=39670.

2. "Lawyers Decided Bans on Torture Didn't Bind Bush", The New York Times, 6/08/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1155413&l=39671.

3. "Memo on Torture Draws Focus to Bush", The Washington Post, 6/09/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1155413&l=39672.

4. "The Roots of Torture", Newsweek, 5/24/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1155413&l=39673.

5. "U.S.'s Ashcroft Won't Release or Discuss Torture Memo (Update 2)", Bloomberg.com, 6/08/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1155413&l=39674.

6. "Mr. Ashcroft's Smear", The Washington Post, 4/20/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1155413&l=39675.

7. "Mission to Niger", townhall.com, 7/14/03,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1155413&l=39676.

8. "White House "warned over Iraq claim", BBC News, 7/09/03,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1155413&l=39677.

Visit www.Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion.

~~~

Proposed Pollution Rules Reward Election "Swing" States for Bush

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public hearing today on proposed rules that spell out how its interstate air pollution plan would work. Critics say the plan would reward several of President Bush's largest campaign supporters and coal-burning power companies in states seen as pivotal in the upcoming presidential election.

At issue is how the federal government will hand out pollution "credits" as part of its proposed cap-and-trade program for power plants. Initially, the EPA considered two alternatives: one would base credits on the amount of power produced (the "output" method), and one would base the credits upon the amount of fuel consumed (the "input" method). The output method is considered preferable by environmentalists because it encourages more efficient use of power.

However, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) intervened, stripping the output method from EPA's proposal last month. On May 19, the Bush administration released a supplement to its proposed Clean Air Interstate Rule that would distribute credits to companies based only upon the amount of fuel consumed. [1]

This method favors coal-burning power plants, such as the Southern Company, for whom several of President Bush's large campaign contributors have worked. [2] By weakening pollution regulations for coal companies, the plan would also make winners of several politically important "swing" states where these companies are based -- including Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia, said Frank O'Donnell, executive director of the Washington, D.C. based Clean Air Trust.

"The output-based method is an environmentally superior way to go," O'Donnell told BushGreenWatch. "It promotes efficiencies and that in turn would result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions."

O'Donnell pointed out that several states already use the cleaner, output method, such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and New Jersey.

The Clean Air Interstate Rule, proposed last January, and the more recently proposed supplements, require states to submit plans to EPA showing how they will meet goals for reducing emissions of SO2 and NOx.

TAKE ACTION

To submit public comments on the proposed rules,
email: [email protected].

SOURCES:

[1] EPA Supplemental Proposal for the Rule to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone, drafts dated May 11 and May 18, 2004.

[2] BushGreenwatch, Dec. 15, 2003.

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