A terrifying vision of our future
-Headline of the day-
"After 8 years, a stunner: EPA nominee to put science first."
That's right, the Environmental Protection Agency will rely on this new "science" stuff from now on. In confirmation testimony to the Environment and Public Works Committee, Barack Obama's nominee to head the agency dropped the bombshell.
"If I am confirmed, I will administer with science as my guide," nominee Lisa Jackson said. "I understand that the laws leave room for policymakers to make policy judgments. But if I am confirmed, political appointees will not compromise the integrity of EPA's technical experts to advance particular regulatory outcomes."
In April, a survey by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that "[t]he Bush administration has frequently meddled with scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency." Now they'll be totally without guidance and will probably go mental and create giant ants or awaken Godzilla or destroy the world by playing God or something. You've seen the '50s movies, you know how scientists are.
Scientists relying on "science?" That's just crazy-talk. (McClatchy)
-If you're allergic to hypocrisy, skip this one-
Fast-fading current President George W. Bush has declared January 18th "National Sanctity of Human Life Day." In the formal declaration, Bush says, "All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world."
Of course, if you happen to be a US military member or have the misfortune of being born Iraqi, that special purpose is to get killed and that special place is about six feet under the ground -- at which point, the sanctity of your human life will be a moot point.
Bush could make a whole slew of these things before he's finally gone. Along the same lines, we could have "National Always Tell the Truth Day," "National Government Transparency Day," and "A Nation Stands Against Torture Week."
We won't miss ya, George. (Think Progress)
-It'd probably set some sort of record-
Mother Jones asks, "If you had 30 seconds to say goodbye directly to Bush, what would you say?"
First, I'd hope that children weren't present, then I'd unleash a stream of obscenities, poetic in its just and righteous rage, without stopping to take a breath, until I finally passed out and crashed to the ground. That'd be longer than 30 seconds, but so what? If I still had presence of mind on the way down, I'd probably try to chuck a shoe at his head before I hit the floor.
Maybe you have a better idea. MoJo invites you to post a "30-second (or so), PG-13 video on YouTube labeled 'Mother Jones Goodbye Bush Video'" and send them the link at mojobushvideo@gmail.com. Include your mailing addy and you could win stuff that says Mother Jones on it and get what's eating you off your chest.
They've got a sample video up at the site and that lady's a lot nicer than I'd be. But that's probably setting the bar pretty low. (MoJo Blog)
