Undoing Bush's mess.

While the War in Iraq and all of the implications of the War on Terrorism have earned Bush the enmity of this generation, I think that future generations will be more inclined to blame him for his failure to act on global warming and other ecological issues. His administration provided the hopefully last gasp of a 19th century view of the world as a source of infinite exploitation for the pleasure of man the consumer.

I am thinking of that when I read the Washington Post story Forest Service that Marnie Glickman posted at Green Change. The goal
The tone of the article is anti-corporation and it points out the problems from Bush Administration last minute rule changes. But that does not begin to get at the heart of the problems which this administration has caused in the Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management of the past 8 years. Click Read more! to learn just how bad it has been.

In the comments following the Washington Post article cited above, I made reference to David Iverson and a blog that he ran called Forest Policy - Forest Practices. Last night, I found an article in High Country News (HCN) that began with another reference to Iverson. In an article headlined Up in smoke, HCN describes an organization that has lost its way, its sense of mission and is fast losing its experienced, professionals like Iverson. In a move of supreme audacity, the Bush Administration tried even to outsource as much as two thirds of the workforce of the Forest Service.

In 2006, the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility analyzed age trends within the "green agencies" - the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, EPA and BLM. They found that between one-third and one-half of all specialist employees - some 30,000 scientists, rangers, inspectors and enforcement attorneys - will become eligible for retirement by 2011. According to the Forest Service, 6,410 employees have retired just since 2004.

It will take a long time to recover from this. I am especially concerned with the effect on the EPA, an agency that is not now doing it's job and has been subject of law suits by the State of California to force that to happen.

Nixon was Bad. These Guys are Worse.

The title I used was the sub-title to George McGovern's OpEd in today's (January 6) Washington Post. I won't quote a lot of this. It is much better that you read the whole thing in his words, not mine. Still, for me, this was the heart of his message.

Of course, there seems to be little bipartisan support for impeachment. The political scene is marked by narrow and sometimes superficial partisanship, especially among Republicans, and a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians. So the chances of a bipartisan impeachment and conviction are not promising.

But what are the facts?

Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly "high crimes and misdemeanors," to use the constitutional standard.

Impeachment has not even been very high on my list of things to write about. I have been concerned that with so much focus being put on this one issue in terms of protest, that we were losing out ability to accomplish anything else. There were other Greens, especially Peter Thottham, who have done this well. It looks as if Peter has some good company in this effort.

Calfornia Burning, Presidential Politics

Everyone knows about the wildfires in California. Life have been difficult for all, and maybe even for the President and all the Presidential Candidates who had to figure out what they should be doing and how many votes it might bring them .

President Bush toured the place and gave his usual speech.

"I made a pledge to the people of California on behalf of all Americans: We will help you put out the fires, get through the crisis, and rebuild your lives," he said in his weekly radio address.

Just ask the people of New Orleans how good that speech is.

FEMA showed that they had a better plan than was evident in disasters the past few years, but they also proved that they still do not understand the very basic fact that actually doing their work is more important than whatever image they project. With their fake news conference, they undid what ever good might have come from the actual help they delivered. I am sure that some news magazine (are you listening, 60 Minutes?) will do a follow up to see just what the actual results were.

I have not heard anything more than a few mumbling "best wishes" from the likes I Guiliani or Romney. Among the Democrats, well even John Edwards sounds a little like Bush.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the more than 300,000 families who have been forced to flee their homes to escape the wildfires spreading across southern California. Those affected by this tragedy should take comfort in the fact that their fellow Americans are standing with them and will do whatever it takes to fight the fires and rebuild the homes and businesses that were destroyed."

However, Green Party candidate Kent Mesplay was right in the middle and could probably tell the rest a bit about what really went on. After helping a friend pack a moving truck and get out of Del Mar, he found out on the next day that his own place was under discretionary evacuation. According to a note I received from Kent,

I found some important papers, said "goodbye" to my things and left to life with my mom in Mira Mesa...

By Wednesday evening, he was taking a 12 hour shift as Shelter Manager at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

I wonder what he is doing now with the fires still burning, since his "day job" is to monitor air quality and write up violators.