MetaFilter posts tagged with bush and government

FWD: fwd: Fwd: RE: nuclear launch codez

Rhaomi — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:08:55 -0800

U.S. Presidents have had an uneven relationship with technology. The Clinton Presidential Library has more than 40 million White House emails on record (but only two are from the man himself). The Bush Administration, on the other hand, junked the Clinton archival process and replaced it with a comically inept alternative that has lost more than five million messages, many concerning official government business. (President Bush, for his part, gave up his longtime address -- G94b@aol.com -- just before his inauguration). Even the Reagan White House had its share of problems with the digital age. Now, as tech-savvy Barack Obama prepares to implement his technology plans, does he have a shot at dragging the Oval Office into the 21st century? Or will he have to surrender his laptop, his email account, and his beloved Blackberry?

Good governance 2.0

infini — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:53:11 -0800

"What kind of lawbreaking has happened on President Bush's watch, among his top and mid-level advisers? What hasn't? Who is implicated and who is not? Despite the lack of oral sex with an intern, the past seven years have yielded an embarrassment of riches when it comes to potentially prosecutable crimes. We have tried to sketch out a map of who did what and when, with links to the evidence that is public and notes about what we may learn from investigations that are still pending." Via Slate

Church Committee 2.0: TSP, Main Core & PROMIS?

scalefree — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:12:14 -0800

Is Congress gearing up to hold a new American Truth Commission? What new horrors would they find if they did? The last time we tried this we uncovered MK/ULTRA, plots to kill Castro & Project SHAMROCK. One of the most significant outcomes was a little thing called FISA. After 30 years it may finally be time to wash out our national dirty laundry again.

The Open Government Act

nospecialfx — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:34:07 -0800

Secrecy no more? The first major overhaul of the Freedom of Information act in years is awaiting President Bush's signature. It will finally create an "independent" government agency to handle to disputes between records holders and information requesters. The passage of the act comes after, ironically, after an Arizona senator used a "secret hold" to block the bill. He was ferreted out by a group of journalists.

The 30-Second Senate Session

Cool Papa Bell — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:38:51 -0800

The 30-Second Senate Session: In order to prevent President Bush from making recess appointments, the U.S. Senate will technically stay open over the Thanksgiving holiday. The result? A U.S. Senate session that lasts, gavel-to-gavel, exactly 30 seconds.

Top Secret: We're Wiretapping You

Postroad — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:19:53 -0800

Top Secret: We're Wiretapping You It could be a scene from Kafka or Brazil. Imagine a government agency, in a bureaucratic foul-up, accidentally gives you a copy of a document marked "top secret." And it contains a log of some of your private phone calls. You read it and ponder it and wonder what it all means. Then, two months later, the FBI shows up at your door, demands the document back and orders you to forget you ever saw it.

only twenty-five? oh, it's the most corrupt. I get it.

exlotuseater — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:52:57 -0800

Criminals and Scoundrels: The Top 25 Most Corrupt Officials of the Bush Administration. Maybe we could make playing cards for them? (found via del.ici.ous)

Decider in Chief

sourbrew — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:04:49 -0800

Bush has got a brand new bag - In an executive order signed today Bush created a new oversight position at all regulatory agencies. This position, which will be staffed by someone appointed by the White House, will over see regulatory suggestions and reports to congress.

I love the smell of cronyism in the morning...

dejah420 — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:24:23 -0800

Heck of a Job, Tommy! State Department investigators have found that Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the State Department office that oversees foreign broadcasts misused his office for personal and political gain. Mr. Tomlinson’s position at the broadcasting board makes him one of the administration’s top officials overseeing public diplomacy and puts him in charge of the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Waste Not, Want Not ... or Something.

monju_bosatsu — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 06:06:36 -0800

Report from the Committee on Government Reform Minority Office: Under the Bush Administration, the “shadow government” of private companies working under federal contract has exploded in size. Between 2000 and 2005, procurement spending increased by over $175 billion dollars, making federal contracts the fastest growing component of federal discretionary spending. ... Federal spending on Halliburton contracts increased over 600% between 2000 and 2005. If you're short on time, read the one-page summary of the report, or just hit the database of problem contracts.

Forever Pregnant II: Morality Boogaloo

boost ventilator — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 18:43:10 -0800

The new lies about women's health (image slightly NSFW) according to Glamour. More on why every egg is sacred to the Bush administration. [via Wired's Sex Drive Daily]

Bush vs The US Constitution

knave — Wed, 03 May 2006 15:32:31 -0800

Power Surge: The Constitutional Record of George W. Bush Not much of this report from the Cato institute will be surprising to MeFites, but it is a great document [31 page PDF] that summarizes Bush's consistent disregard for the Constitution and drive for greater executive power.

Rule of Law?

amberglow — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 10:50:44 -0800

...Bush has been aggressive about declaring his right to ignore vast swaths of laws -- many of which he says infringe on power he believes the Constitution assigns to him alone ... President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution. ... Long, eyeopening article laying out what laws have been ignored and why. ...Bush has cast a cloud over 'the whole idea that there is a rule of law," because no one can be certain of which laws Bush thinks are valid and which he thinks he can ignore. 'Where you have a president who is willing to declare vast quantities of the legislation that is passed during his term unconstitutional, it implies that he also thinks a very significant amount of the other laws that were already on the books before he became president are also unconstitutional," ...

FBI Investigated 3,501 People Without Warrants

Postroad — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 07:18:47 -0800

FBI Investigated 3,501 People Without Warrants Pardon my one link post. I had thought this must be taking place once it became public that NSA could spy on us without court approval. If NSA, then why not FBI? And so it came to pass....

"this will be seen as one of the largest patronage programs in American history"

amberglow — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 22:26:02 -0800

"These are just slush funds for conservative interest groups" --The Compassion Capital Fund ($148 million of our money), and the Community-Based Abstinence Education grant program ($391.7 million of our money)--just 2 of many new programs. ...The distribution of new money to conservative organizations is a small part of an estimated flood of $2 billion a year in federal grants to religious and religiously affiliated organizations.--except it's only to organizations who have policies that agree with Bush and the GOP agenda on social issues, and not about need.

a trail of broken careers in his wake

amberglow — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 08:35:33 -0800

Meet 42 casualties of the current Administration --they didn't die in Iraq, or New Orleans, but were beleaguered administrators, managers, and career civil servants who quit their posts in protest or were defamed, threatened, fired, forced out, demoted, or driven to retire by Bush administration strong-arming. From Bunny Greenhouse to Richard Clarke to General Zinni to lesser-known folks like James Zahn, who was prohibited on no fewer than 11 occasions from publicizing his research on the potential hazards to human health posed by airborne bacteria resulting from farm wastes. A very wide-ranging list, covering everything from Public Health to War to Terror and Torture to Education to...

What do you mean the EPA timed out?

Pollomacho — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 06:24:15 -0800

A bill, quietly up for debate before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and backed by the Whitehouse, proposes to improve the performance of the Executive branch of the US Government by requiring that all Governmental agencies be given a 10 year shelf life at the end of which time they must be reinstated by a Presidentially appointed "Sunset Committee" or fade into the history books.

Lincoln Bedroom, anyone? and Kitchen and Living Room and Office and Hallways...

amberglow — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 18:18:25 -0800

The Pimping of the President --Jack Abramoff and Grover Norquist Billing Clients for Face Time with G.W. Bush: ...He had just concluded his work on the Bush Transition Team as an advisor to the Department of the Interior. He had sent his personal assistant Susan Ralston to the White House to work as Rove’s personal assistant. He was a close friend, advisor, and high-dollar fundraiser for the most powerful man in Congress, Tom DeLay. Abramoff was so closely tied to the Bush Administration that he could, and did, charge two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President. ... Jack Abramoff, in the news due to his shady dealings with DeLay, and Grover Norquist, and the White House. Norquist has not responded to inquiries about using the White House as a fundraiser.

Lest we forget: Outsourcing Torture

y2karl — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 09:51:13 -0800

Outsourcing Torture The secret history of America’s “extraordinary rendition” program.

Bush/Cheney Poster Creator

plemeljr — Wed, 10 Mar 2004 11:58:05 -0800

Bush/Cheney Poster Creator
Best use of web resources to reach the masses, or easiest.culture-jam.ever? You be the judge.

Al Gore claims the Bush administration is not helping

skallas — Mon, 10 Nov 2003 02:49:29 -0800

Al Gore claims the Bush administration is not helping America, but hurting it by focusing on all the wrong things. Gore:The administration is still not investing in local government training and infrastructures where they could make the biggest difference. The first responder community is still being shortchanged. In many cases, fire and police still don’t have the communications equipment to talk to each other. The CDC and local hospitals are still nowhere close to being ready for a biological weapons attack. The administration has still failed to address the fundamental disorganization and rivalries of our law enforcement, intelligence and investigative agencies. In particular, the critical FBI-CIA coordination, while finally improved at the top, still remains dysfunctional in the trenches. The constant violations of civil liberties promote the false impression that these violations are necessary in order to take every precaution against another terrorist attack. But the simple truth is that the vast majority of the violations have not benefited our security at all; to the contrary, they hurt our security.

It's leaking all over my democracy

dejah420 — Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:16:21 -0800

Bush orders officials to stop the leaks. News of Bush's order leaked almost immediately. And speaking of leaks, two U.S. officials are the primary sources of information about Israel's Harpoon cruise missiles which may or may not be used to attack Iran.

Department of Justice... Ha!

Ignatius J. Reilly — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 10:48:56 -0800

Attorney General Is Closely Linked to Inquiry Figures Karl Rove, President Bush (news - web sites)'s top political adviser, whose possible role in the case has raised questions, was a paid consultant to three of Mr. Ashcroft's campaigns in Missouri, twice for governor and for United States senator, in the 1980's and 1990's, an associate of Mr. Rove said on Wednesday. Jack Oliver, the deputy finance chairman of Mr. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, was the director of Mr. Ashcroft's 1994 Senate campaign, and later worked as Mr. Ashcroft's deputy chief of staff. No wonder 69% of Americans think that an independent counsel should conduct the investigation.

Liars telling lies

nofundy — Wed, 24 Sep 2003 12:23:50 -0800

Historical Revisionism
All text is verbatim from senior Bush Administration officials and advisers. In places, tenses have been changed for clarity.

Missed Opportunity

Postroad — Tue, 12 Aug 2003 14:00:58 -0800

Officials: Bush Administration Was Slow to Approve Drones to Kill Bin Laden I am not able to say how accurate this posting is, but I post it because it strikes me that if true, Bush is certainly not the strong and forthright Texan gunman he has been made out to be. Any one know more on this issue?