Dan's Outside

2003.08.30

***Steward of a Department He Once Sought to Scrap.
When Spencer Abraham was a senator from Michigan, he had one big idea for the Department of Energy. Abolish it. By Katharine Q. Seelye. [New York Times: Business] Another example of the Bush foxes guarding the henhouse…

***Now Hear This
– Bill Moyers speaks his mind on Bush-brand environmental destruction and more.

This is stealth war on the environment in the name of ideology. But you’re right — there is a very powerful political process at work here, too. It’s payback time for their rich donors. In the 2000 elections, the Republicans outspent the Democrats by $200 million. Bush and Cheney — who, needless to say, are oilmen who made their fortunes in the energy business — received over $44 million from the oil, gas, and energy industries. It spills over into Congress too: In the 2002 congressional elections, Republican candidates received almost $15 million from the energy industries, while the Democrats got around $3.7 million. In our democracy, voters can vote but donors decide.

***Oopsies! Scores of Mink Feed on Farm Animals
– “Days after 10,000 mink were released from a farm in southern Snohomish County” [in a protest action by members of the Animal Liberation Front] “, hundreds of the animals not yet captured have converged on local farms in search of food. The animals had killed at least 25 exotic birds and attacked other livestock in the area.”
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August 30, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.08.30