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George
W. Bush's Resume "Expanded"
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Record
of successes in education as Governor of Texas was
grossly inaccurate too. Houston, the most frequently
praised district, is being monitored by the state
after an audit showed that more than half of the 5,500
students who left school in the 2000-2003 year should
have been counted as dropouts, but were not.
Accomplishments
as president:
- Made
many high profile speeches, including one in my 2002
State of the Union address, to call on citizens to
commit to volunteerism and community service. Yet
hypocritically, my Administration and Congress are
slashing the budget for AmeriCorps by 58%. The program
is short by so much money that there will be approximately
20,000 fewer slots available this year. Newsweek reports
that ³with a measly $185 million supplemental appropriation
(about one half of 1 percent of the latest tax cut)²
the program could fully fund the 50,000 slots in place
last year. [1]
-
Personal bankruptcy filings for year ending June 30,
2003 were 1,613,097, up 10% from previous year. [2]--
submitted by one of our viewers
- Made
sure the Environmental
Protection Agency gave New Yorkers misleading
assurances that there was no health risk from the
debris-laden air after the World Trade Center collapse.
[3]-- submitted by one of our viewers
- Restricted
stem cell research funding to lines already
extracted from embryos thereby severely limiting scientists'
in their efforts to find cures for many diseases or
developing new stem cell lines. [4]-- submitted
by one of our viewers
- Relaxed
the clean air rules August 03 to allow thousands of
industrial plants to make upgrades without installing
pollution controls. It's the most far-reaching environmental
actions I have signed. It will allow thousands of
power plants, refineries, pulp and paper mills, chemical
plants and other industrial facilities to make extensive
upgrades that increase pollutants without having to
install new antipollution devices. Attorney General
Thomas F. Reilly of Massachusetts, which is also going
to court to stop the rule, said: "The Bush administration
is giving the green light to major industrial plant
operators to spew millions of tons more in air pollution
without being held accountable." [5] --submitted
by Karen Seavey, one of our viewers
- The
following week, after easing the restrictions on air
pollution rules for older power plants allowing more
than 500 of these plants to upgrade without adding
pollution control devices, two of my EPA officials,
who actively worked for this rule change, both took
private sector jobs with companies that benefited
from this rule change. John Pemberton is joining Southern
Co. in Atlanta, the nation's number two top polluting
utility, and Ed Krenik already joined Bracewell &
Patterson, a D.C. law firm that actively lobbied on
behalf of several utilities.
- On
August 27, 2003 limited the pay increase for many
federal workers next January (2004) to 2 percent --
well below the 15 percent some employees would have
been entitled to receive citing 9/11 as a reason.
- Reversed
1998 Clinton Administration EPA position that regulated
carbon dioxide emissions, the chief cause of global
warming, as a pollutant. Now that the EPA can't regulate
these emissions, cars and plants won't have to undergo
improvements to cut down on this gas. [6]-- submitted
by one of our viewers
- Inspired
more protest web sites than any previous president,
Republican or Democrat.--submitted by Nate, one
of our viewers [Editor note: In fairness only
Clinton and this Bush were presidents during a time
of high internet usage]
- The
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced
settlements on August 29, 2003 with energy companies
(my buddies at Enron) accused of manipulating markets
during the California energy crisis. For bilking CA
to the tune of approx. $8.9 billion dollars in excess
charges the amount of the settlement was ONLY a bit
over $1 million. Translated further: Each CA resident
lost $250 but will now get $.03 cents back. Furthermore
the Republican controlled commission wouldn't allow
CA to negate the long term contracts they had to sign
because of this manipulated energy shortage. [7]
- Proposed
an educational budget which would cut $200 million
from my "No Child Left Behind Act. Many programs
will now be cut that I promised the voters when I
ran for office. Obviously just another lie. [8]
- Proposed
changes to overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards
Act, which could substantially reduce the amount of
overtime pay available to certain white collar workers.[Editor's
note: So far the Dems in the Senate have blocked this]
- Received
a grade of "F" in July from the bi-partisan,
fiscally savvy, mainstream group, Concord Coalition,
in their report titled: "Fiscal Responsibility."
[9]
- Violated
campaign promises by spending surplus social security
revenue.
- Nearly
1.4 million MORE people in the United States fell
into poverty in 2002--almost half of them children.
About 12.4 percent of the population or nearly 34.8
million people lived in poverty during 2002 up from
16.4 percent, or about 11.5 million in 2001 according
to Census Bureau survey. [10]
- Failed
to plan for a post-Saddam Iraq and the search for
weapons of mass destruction.
- My
administration has diluted and weakened environmental
rules on these: emissions that cause global warming,
air pollution from old coal-fired power plants, ballast
water on ships contaminated with foreign species of
plants and animals, sales of land tainted with PCBs,
drilling for oil and gas on federal land, and scientific
studies that underpin federal regulation. [11]
- Cut
$8 billion from the promised funds for education.
- Nearly
half of all taxpayers get less than $100. And 31%
of all taxpayers get nothing at all from my tax cuts.
- Pushed
for $1 billion less than authorized by Congress (and
promoted by myself for AIDs funding to Africa), which
effectively blocks 1 million people from treatment
and nearly 2.5 million new HIV infections that could
be avoided.
- The
third part of my EPA's pre-Labor Day 2003 giveaway
of health protections offers a free pass to chemical
companies that have been mysteriously "losing" huge
amounts of toxic mercury.This missing mercury is "probably"
released into the air. But rather than forcing the
companies to find out and to prevent leaks and emissions
into the environment, my team simply called the problem
"an enigma" and issued a weak standard that applies
only to a tiny fraction of the mercury these plants
lose. [12]
- Against
abortion, but cut money for family planning and contraception.--submitted
by one of our viewers
- Instead
of using revenues from Iraqi oil to finance reconstruction,
as my White House predicted before the war, my Administration
now is asking for more than $900 million to import
oil, propane, diesel and gasoline to the beleaguered
country.--from the daily.misleader.org,
9/23/03
- Appealed
for aid in the reconstruction of Iraq to the United
Nations, the same body I dismissed a year ago as nearly
"irrelevant" for failing to support my war against
Saddam Hussein.--from the daily.misleader.org,
9/24/03
- My
anti-abortion policy has forced family planning clinics
in poor countries to close, leaving some communities
without any healthcare. [13]
- A
full investigation of me and my staff for the alleged
leak of classified information regarding the identity
of an undercover CIA agent is being undertaken by
the Justice Department. [14]
- Signed
into law a bill containing the Ferency Amendment,
which makes it easier for appeals courts to lengthen
sentences imposed by judges that are shorter than
federal guidelines. This will set up a "soft
on justice" blacklist of many judges who would
normally be doing an excellent job imposing sentences
using their judicial discretion. [15]
- The
number of Americans without health insurance jumped
to 43.6 million in the last year, the largest single
increase in the last decade. [16]
- On
nearly every count my claims about Iraq's weapons
program have proven to be unfounded. A lengthy $300
million search by 1,200 U. S.-led inspectors, headed
by David Kay, turned up no new evidence that Saddam
possessed weapons of mass destruction.--from
the daily.misleader.org,
10/8/03
- Even
though seven million Iraqis [6 in 10] are unemployed,
U. S. sub-contractors are rebuilding the Iraqi infrastructure
with cheap migrant labor from South Asia. The use
of Asian laborers is at odds with my emphasis on the
importance of Iraqis taking on the job themselves.--from
the daily.misleader.org,
10/16/03
Records
and References:
-
Newsweek
report by Jonathan Alter on drastic cuts in AmeriCorp
funding.
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American
Bankruptcy Institute, in Washington Post (Aug.
19, 2003) reports on increase in bankruptcy filings
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8/22/03 AP
story by John Helperin reporting White House involvement
in getting the EPA to conceal health risks to New
Yorkers after 9/11.
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Time
Online article on August 20, 2001, called the
Bush Decision by Mitch Frank on Bush's stem
cell decision.
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NY
TIMES, August 28, 2003 report on Bush Administration
relaxing the rules to allow plants to avoid installing
pollution control during upgrades.
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August
29, 2003 news report on the EPA reversing car emissions
stand.
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September
2, 2003 NY
Times article titled "Another Friday Outrage"
by Paul Krugman on the FERC settlement with the State
of CA.
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August
28, 2003, NY
Times article called "The Kids Left Behind"
by Bob Herbert on Bush's leaving kids behind in his
proposed education budget and the problems in the
Houston School District.
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September
3, 2003 column by Jack Z. Smith, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
on the Concord Coalition survey.
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AP
Washington wire story dated September 3, 2003 on poverty
levels based on Census Bureau survey.
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Detroit
Free Press Washington staff reporter, Seth Borenstein's
September 9, 2003 report on weakened pollution regulations.
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"Justices
on the Blacklist," by Nat Hentoff, The
Progressive, October 2003, p.15.
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Washington
Post October 1, 2003 story on increase in numbers
of Americans without health insurance.
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