More Bad News May Be on the Way for Bush

---

By TERENCE HUNT
AP White House Correspondent




President Bush and the Democrats took the prison abuse scandal to the airwaves today. (Audio)




WASHINGTON (AP) -- In one of the darkest weeks of his administration, President Bush saw America's reputation sullied, the U.S. effort in Iraq damaged and his own campaign for re-election clouded. And more bad news may be on the way.

While the world already has been horrified by pictures of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, the Pentagon warns there are many more photos and videos that have not been disclosed.

They show "acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhuman," embattled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress.

From the White House to Capitol Hill, policy-makers are worried that the United States faces lasting damage abroad - particularly in the Middle East - from the pictures of naked Arab men being tortured and humiliated by American soldiers, the same forces sent to Iraq to liberate the country from Saddam Hussein's torture and repression.

Analysts describe the pictures as great recruiting tools for al-Qaida and other extremist groups and said they undermine America's claims to a moral high ground. Rumsfeld said the impact was "radioactive."



AP VIDEO

Bush: Iraq prison abuse scandal won't deter U.S.




News From the Bush Administration

More Bad News May Be on the Way for Bush
Bush: Prison Scandal Won't Deter U.S.

Bush Takes Economic Message to Iowa, Wis.

Bush's Mom Asks for Campaign Donations

Bush Acknowledges'Tough Times' for U.S.





Interactives
Bush's 2004 State of the Union Address
State of the Union




Bush, in his weekly radio address Saturday, said, "They are a stain on our country's honor and reputation." He said the abuses were the work of a few and do not reflect the overall character of the 200,000 members of the U.S. military who have served in Iraq in the past year.

Six months from the November elections, Iraq weighs heavily on the president.

April was the deadliest month yet for American soldiers in Iraq and May is off to a bloody start.

On the diplomatic front, the administration does not know who will take power in Iraq from the United States in a June 30 handover.

Costs are soaring. The administration has sent Congress an unexpected $25 billion request for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Day after day, the extraordinary apologies from the president and his top deputies dominated the news.

Pollsters and presidential experts are scratching their heads over how the prisoner scandal will affect Bush's re-election hopes.

"There's such a big question mark there, it's unlike anything we've seen before," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center.

"The public is very critical of (Bush's) management of Iraq. They don't think he has a clear plan for bringing it to a successful conclusion, but a thin majority of the public has been hanging in with that it was the right decision to go to war," Kohut said. "This could be the event which makes people say 'Oh, we did make a mistake.'"

Political scientist James Thurber of American University likened the Iraq images to the infamous Vietnam pictures of a naked young girl fleeing a napalm attack and a Viet Cong prisoner being executed on a Saigon street.

Referring to the new pictures, Thurber said, "That's what we're going to remember about Iraq. It's just not going to go away. That may have a lasting and negative effect on his campaign. It certainly does right now and I think you'll see it in the polls immediately."

Support for Bush's handling of foreign policy and terrorism, usually his strongest issue, was at 50 percent in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Friday. That compares with 55 percent a month ago.

Kurt Campbell, a former Pentagon official during the Clinton administration, said it was too early to tell whether Rumsfeld would be able to keep his job.

"The real issue is there's more stuff that's going to come out that is troubling, beyond humiliation and torture. Deaths I think," said Campbell, director of international security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"And there's going to be quite a long record of warnings that were either ignore or dismissed. And that I think is going to be problematic," Campbell said.

Lawmakers worried the pictures would harm U.S. credibility for years, perhaps decades. While the United States champions freedom and democracy in Iraq, the pictures show vivid scenes of cruelty and insensitivity.

Splashed across front pages across the Middle East and around the world, the pictures may undermine "the substantial gains toward the goal of peace and freedom in various operation areas of the world, most particularly Iraq," said Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, the committee's top Democrat, said the abuses "dishonored our military and our nation and they made the prospects for success in Iraq even more difficult than they already are."

Added Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.: "This was a political and public relations Pearl Harbor."

Bush pledged in his radio address that the United States would not be thrown into retreat.

"This has been a difficult few weeks," Bush said. "Yet our forces will stay on the offensive, finding and confronting the killers and terrorists who are trying to undermine the progress of democracy in Iraq."

---

EDITOR'S NOTE: Terence Hunt has covered every president since Ronald Reagan.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

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YOUR Gov. & Spyware

---

From the SPYWARE NEWS LETTER

Howard Beales, director of the Federal Trade Commission's bureau of consumer protection, and FTC Commissioner Mozelle Thompson went before the House of Representatives Thursday to say that no legislation should be created to curb spyware. The FTC also criticized existing legislation currently under consideration. "I do not believe legislation is the answer at this time," Thompson said. "Self-regulation combined with enforcement of existing laws might be the best way to go."
NOT

To put it very simply, I am astonished. Self-regulation, from the people causing the problem? Self-regulation, from people whose business model is described as distasteful at best and illegal at worst? What can Beales and Thompson possibly be thinking?

On an encouraging note, the congressmen reacted rather harshly to the FTC's position. Clearly, congress is burning to do something about spyware even if the FTC is not.

I've read the SPYBLOCK Act which currently is making the rounds in the Senate. It is not a perfect solution, especially the exemptions outlined in section five. Section three, however, looks like something I could have written. It outlaws installing software without a clear disclosure to the PC owner. It requires that an uninstaller be provided. It requires that any information gathering be disclosed. It requires disclosure that the software will display ads and how those ads will be displayed.

Not everyone likes the SPYBLOCK Act. Ben Edelman and I have been arguing about it today. Ben is the Harvard Law student who put WhenU's software under the microscope and discovered evidence that it could be violating WhenU's own privacy statement.

Ben believes that passage of the SPYBLOCK Act inadvertently would sabotage efforts to stop companies such as WhenU and Gator/Claria from selling ads based on other companies' trademarks. That is a very valid point and I certainly sympathize with web sites having to deal with unethical companies selling ads on their trademarks. However, I feel the benefits of the SPYBLOCK Act for consumers outweighs the risk that it would make it harder for companies to stop WhenU from making money from their work.

To be perfectly honest, I view that as entirely separate issue. Those companies who profit from the work of other companies by selling ads on their trademarks do tend to be adware and spyware. Beyond that however, I see no other relation to the spyware problem and believe it should be dealt with separately.

Utah was very lucky to pass a law that covered both issues so well. If we could have congress pass Utah's Spyware Control Act as federal law, that would be beautiful. Unfortunately I just don't see that happening.

It needs a little tweaking before it passes but, overall, I like the SPYBLOCK Act. Consider this to be my official endorsement of it. If you agree with me, contact your US Senators today and ask them to support the SPYBLOCK Act, S. 2145.
END...

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

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WHITE HOUSE MISLED AMERICA ABOUT COST OF WAR

---

In a transparent effort to mask the true costs of
war
and reduce the size of the mounting budget deficit
the White House left funding for Iraq and
Afghanistan
out of the 2005 budget it submitted on February 2.
[1] Since that time, the "administration has
steadfastly maintained that military forces in Iraq
will be sufficiently funded until early next year."
[2] White House Budget Director Joshua Bolton
insisted "no request [for more money for Iraq]
would
come until January at the earliest."

From the beginning, military officials predicted
that
the Administration's game playing would create
problems. General Peter Schoomaker, Army Chief of
Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on
February 11, "I am concerned...on how we bridge
between the end of this fiscal year and whenever we
could get a supplemental in the next year...I do
not
have an answer for exactly how we would do that."
[3]
Marine Commandant General Michael Hagee agreed.

As predicted, it was revealed last month that,
without
additional funding, US troops would face a $4
billion
shortfall as early as this summer. [4] Yesterday,
the
President was forced to come clean and request "an
additional $25 billion to finance military
operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan." [5]

SOURCES:
1. "Deficit Is $521 Billion In Bush Budget",
Washington Post, 2/2/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33605.
2. "War May Require More Money Soon", Washington
Post, 4/21/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33606.
3. "U.S. Military May Run Out Of Money", UPI,
2/11/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33607.
4. "Rice Delivers 'Upbeat' Iraq Report", CBS News,
4/22/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33613
5. "$25b sought for Iraq, Afghanistan", Boston
Globe,
5/5/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33609.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

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Study Finds Top Air Polluters Closely Tied to Bush Administration

---

The nation's top 50 polluting power plants are owned by corporations that are tightly allied with the Bush Administration both as major campaign contributors and in conducting pollution policymaking, according to a new study released yesterday. Conducted by two nonprofit, nonpartisan groups--the Environmental Integrity Project and Public Citizen--the study utilized data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).


Ranking the polluters based on their emissions of mercury, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, the report finds that sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide pollution actually increased from 2002-2003, thereby expanding risks of asthma attacks and lung ailments.


According to the report, America's Dirtiest Power Plants: Plugged into the Bush Administration, the firms cited in the study, along with their trade associations, met at least 17 times with Vice President Cheney's energy task force.


The report found that since 1999, the 30 largest utility companies owning the majority of the 89 dirtiest power plants in the study have contributed $6.6 million to the Bush presidential campaigns and the Republican National Committee. The 30 companies also hired at least 16 lobbying or law firms that have raised at least $3.4 million more for the Bush campaigns.


"It is no coincidence that a wholesale assault on the Clean Air Act is taking place today," said Eric Schaeffer, who founded EIP after resigning in early 2002 from his post as director of EPA's Office of Regulatory Enforcement, in protest of the administration's rollback of environmental protections. "This is a well-connected industry that is absolutely intent on preserving its 'right' to foul the air regardless of the consequences to the American people."


The study ranked the top 50 polluters for each of the three emissions (mercury, SO2, CO2). Because several companies were in the top 50 for more than one pollutant, the list totaled 89 power plants. Of those 89, some 47 have either been sued or placed under investigation by the EPA for violating the Clean Air Act's New Source Review requirement, under which plants that upgrade or expand must add expensive new clean technology.


Last August the EPA stirred a huge controversy by relaxing requirements for New Source Review, exempting many plants from the law's pollution control requirements. A federal court stayed the new rules, but as the report notes, "The result of the administration's policy, coupled with the program's current status in legal limbo, is that many of these companies have either had the cases against them undermined or simply dropped by the Bush Adminstration."


The study lists five former executives or lobbyists for the electric utility industry who have been placed in important regulatory posts in the Bush administration. One is assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, another is counsel to that office, and a third is deputy administrator of EPA. A fourth is now in charge of all government lawsuits against coal-fired power plants, and the fifth helped write national energy policy as assistant secretary at the Department of Energy.

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Ya think it's cause there's a BUSH in FL & D.C. ? Could be more Gov. & Bus. in Bed?

---

Anti-Bush film will be seen Per Disney - CNN anchor Hala Gorani Thursday, May 6, 2004 Posted: 6:55 AM PDT (0955 GMT)

(CNN) -- Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has said the Walt Disney Company is blocking distribution of his new film critical of U.S. President George W. Bush. He spoke to CNN anchor Hala Gorani about the controversy.

Gorani: What was your communication with Disney?

Moore: Almost a year ago after we'd started making the film, the chairman of Disney, Michael Eisner, told my agent that he was upset that Miramax had made the film -- Disney owns Miramax -- and he will not distribute this film.

Miramax said don't worry about that, keep making the film, we'll keep funding it. The Disney money kept flowing to us for the last year. We finished the film last week, and we take it to the Cannes film festival next week.

On Monday of this week we got final word from Disney that they will not distribute the film. They told my(Hala Gorani) agent they did not want to upset the Bush family, particularly Gov. Bush of Florida because Disney was up for a number of tax incentives, abatements ... whatever. The risk of losing this -- we're talking about tens of millions of dollars -- they didn't want to risk it over a little documentary.

Arguing Disney's point, Michael Eisner said, look we don't want to take part in a partisan film right before the election in America. So to be fair to the company, if they feel it hurts their bottom line, why haven't they the right to say they don't want to distribute it?

Our media companies are invested with the public trust. That trust states that they're there to allow all voices to be heard. We live in a free and open society where dissent is not to be stifled or silenced. They have violated that trust. We have only got a few studios left, right, and if we get to a point where they can decide that only these voices can be heard, how free and open is our society at that point?

So Disney signed a contract to distribute this, they got cold feet, they're afraid. Yes, the Bushes will not like this movie ... they will really not like this movie. Because we're going to show things like they haven't seen before about the Bush family, about the war in Iraq and a number of other things.

So what's your next step? You don't have a distributor now but you've had so much publicity in the last few days out of this, you've probably had people calling you to say they're willing to distribute this movie and internationally will it be seen?

The good news is that internationally we already have distributors in much of the world. So it will be seen outside of America for sure some time this year. But I hope it doesn't happen where an American film maker makes a film about America and it can't be seen in America. [and if you want real news which BBC news]

What is the message to the rest of the world then? It's not a good message so I'm hopeful we'll shortly have an American distributor. One good thing about Americans regardless of their political stripe is that they don't like to be told they can't see something -- that's what Disney has said. And I'm pretty confident we'll prevail here.
END
Eisner in bed with the Bushs that sound about right to me.
OF course, you know we're going to get another Bush running for the white house some 5 to 10 yrs after this one leaves, don't ya? Kinda like this one did after DAD.
If ya remember we ousted Dad for a hell of alot less in the way of mistakes than this Bush has made.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

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A Picture is worth a Thousand Words....

---

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

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Because there's really not a diffance between OUR Gover. & Big Business...

---

The Spin Doctor Is In: Examining Corporate PR at Bechtel
In the face of criticism over its controversial construction projects, Bechtel has taken media manipulation to the next level, employing a three-pronged approach to weaving a rosy story for the public and investors.

By A.C. Thompson
CorpWatch
April 28, 2004



The Bechtel Group, Inc., the massive San Francisco-based construction and engineering firm, has played a leading role in some of the most controversial construction projects in modern history: California's San Onofre nuclear reactor, Boston's budget-busting "Big Dig," the failed attempt to rebuild and privatize Bolivia's water system, the ongoing corporate takeover of the London subway system, and now a $3 billion reconstruction job in Iraq.

This week, the Associated Press revealed that Bechtel's troubles are far from over: The company has been forced to pay $110,000 to settle safety and environmental violations in recent years, and in Iraq, the subcontractors it hired have shelled out $86 million in fines. A lesser firm would be sunk by all the bad publicity, but somehow the well-connected, privately held corporation always seems to emerge unscathed and ready to score more big-ticket public works jobs.

So how does Bechtel do it?

Laura Miller, managing editor of PR Watch, a quarterly publication that tracks the public-relations industry, compares the firm's savvy media tactics to those of "the tobacco and chemical industries."

Though any corporation of Bechtel's size-it boasted $16.3 billion in revenue for 2003-works hard to control spin, Bechtel has taken media manipulation to the next level, expending vast amounts of energy trying to squelch negative press. Judging from a raft of high-level internal memos and e-mails obtained by CorpWatch , Bechtel is big on obfuscation, massaging data meant for financial institutions who lend the company money, and trashing the reputations of critical journalists.

The documents, which include several e-mails to and from CEO Riley P. Bechtel, offer a rare insight into the strategic workings of one America's most secretive corporations. The confidential materials outline the company's response to a 4,700-word expos on the firm's disastrous dot-bomb and energy ventures that ran in the March issue of Business 2.0, a glossy San Francisco-based magazine covering the tech industry.

Business 2.0 reporters Ralph King and Charlie McCoy learned from company insiders that Bechtel's finances were in a precarious state. The firm had lost some $300 million on bad investments and had taken on a staggering debt load of $500 million, according to Bechtel documents that were leaked to the reporters. In early 2003, the reporters discovered, things were so grim that top executives were asked to pony up $50 million in personal funds to keep the firm afloat.

Bechtel vigorously denied the allegations-and continues to deny them. The story was "absolutely" inaccurate, according to company spokesman Jonathan Marshall. "It portrayed the company as being in financial crisis when in fact we're in a very healthy position. The basic premise was wrong."

This isn't the first time Bechtel has aggressively challenged its critics. Last year, after The Boston Globe published a three-part series on gargantuan cost overruns on the Big Dig-a mammoth highway-tunnel project-Bechtel shot back with an 18-page response labeling the stories "a disservice to the truth" and accusing the paper of failing to grasp the basics of the construction trade. When the San Francisco Bay Guardian ran a pair of scathing stories about its water privatization ventures in 2000, Bechtel officials spammed their own staff with an e-mail faulting the weekly paper for "relying on well-worn innuendoes, falsehoods, and quotes from biased or incredible sources to round out their negative portrait."

Even before the Business 2.0 story was printed, Bechtel's pr machine was running full power. When King first contacted the firm about the money crunch late last year, company officials promptly put together a file on him, pulling together a raft of his stories, checking out the work he did for other publications, and scoping out Business 2.0. "King is a former banking reporter for The Wall Street Journal," Jock Covey, Bechtel's director of corporate and external affairs, wrote in a November 2003 memo to Riley Bechtel and other officials. "King does not have a record as a muckraker."

Bechtel also tried to "craft a response" that would convince the King and McCoy to drop their investigation. In interviews with King, Bechtel officials revealed little. A spokesperson sought to give King "a more balanced perspective," but offered no substantive information about its finances, because doing so "would require an unprecedented surrender of privacy," according to the November memo.

Covey decided to put out a canned statement claiming Bechtel was doing fine financially. "It will help persuade many if not all journalists that Bechtel is doing no worse, and possibly better, than other major industry players-thereby reducing the incentive to invest time and resources in following up the Business 2.0 story," he theorized in the memo.

While downplaying the charges to outsiders, Bechtel was actually reeling from the journalistic probe. The company, internal e-mails indicate, ran an exhaustive search of its phone and e-mail logs hoping to root out the employees who were feeding information to the reporters.

At a November 2003 meeting of company executives, Riley Bechtel directly addressed the looming exposé, and President and Chief Operating Officer Adrian Zaccaria described the upcoming story as "disturbing," adding that "we are going to suffer real, tangible harm from this story," according to a written copy of his prepared remarks.

Zaccaria's chief worry was the company's bankers, and that's where another piece of Bechtel's spin strategy came into play.

Zaccaria's comments suggest the company has a habit of showing some of its lenders only a portion of its total financial picture. "I am not worried about being able to explain or calm our key banks and customers, but I am concerned that our newer and smaller stakeholders will demand more from us," he said, according to his prepared remarks. Zaccaria added that lenders might start asking for more detailed financial statements or attach more conditions to loans made to the company.

In December, Covey came up with a solution, which he emailed to Riley Becthel and other executives: Draft a dummy financial document to assuage the doubts of lending institutions. Bechtel's finance division was ordered to prepare a "dummy for contingency use with financial institutions," the memo says. There's no indication that the document was fraudulent in any way, but the discussion in Covey's memo and other emails among top officials raises questions about Bechtel's approach to balance-sheet calculations.

Bechtel officials also planned to attack the credibility of King and McCoy, in an effort to win the pr game with its investors. "We can take the initiative with key lenders, and perhaps others, to say that Business 2.0 is about to print a story we (and they) know to be highly misleading," Covey wrote in an internal e-mail sent in November.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Operating Officer Jude Laspa was tasked with "rehearsing" answers to "tough questions" from the press, correspondence shows.

Writing a story on Bechtel's PR machine involves, necessarily, interfacing directly with that apparatus. Interviewed last week, Marshall, the Bechtel spokesperson, said the firm is completely forthright with lenders. "They get extremely detailed financial information," he said.

Marshall portrayed Bechtel's PR tactics as little more than common sense. "Our approach to media relations and public affairs is straightforward: We aim to provide accurate and timely information to journalists and the public about our projects, while respecting our right to keep competitive business information and internal discussions private," he said.

Those discussions haven't always been positive . Despite Bechtel's many protestations, the company's own documents make it clear the firm was going through rough times before landing the Iraq gig and other work overseas. A "strictly confidential" December 2003 report authored by Riley Bechtel explains the company's overall net worth plummeted by $175 million in 2002, mostly due to power plant investments that soured-confirming the thrust of the Business 2.0 story.

Bechtel's business has since rebounded: In April, the company reported a major surge in revenue, thanks in part to its work in Iraq.

PR Watch's Miller isn't surprised by the company's keen interest in calming its creditors. "They don't have a product," she noted. "They don't have to worry about their image with consumers. Their concern lies primarily with investors and the financial industry."

A.C. Thompson is the writer/researcher for CorpWatch.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

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ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS KNEW OF ABU GHRAIB REPORT

---

THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
<
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33095
>
Since late February, the Pentagon has been in
possession of a report
produced by Major General Antonio M. Taguba that
details the abuse of Iraqis
incarcerated in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. [1]
Months later, despite
knowing of the 53-page report's existence, top
administration officials
responsible for the military still have not read
the document.

White House officials told the Los Angeles Times
that "the abuse of Iraqi
prisoners sparked so much concern that President
Bush was told about an
investigation during the winter holidays." [2] But
White House Press
Secretary Scott McClellan tried to insulate the
President from criticism by
suggesting that the President was surprised by the
report's findings.
McClellan told reporters yesterday that Bush "only
become aware of the
photographs and the Pentagon's main internal report
about the incidents from
news reports last week." [3] Yet President Bush
still has not read the
report.

Three weeks before the press reported the story of
the Abu Ghraib report,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard B.
Myers knew enough about it
to call Dan Rather and ask him to delay airing the
story. [4] Yet, as of
this Tuesday, Myers still hadn't read the report.
Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that he had merely
"seen a summary."

SOURCES:
1. "Article 15-6 Investigation of the 800th
Military Police Brigade by Maj.
Gen. Antonio M. Taguba",
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33096.
2. "Accountability at Issue in Abuse of
Prisoners", LA Times, 5/5/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33097.
3. "White House and Pentagon Scurry to Draft
Responses", New York Times,
5/5/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33098.
4. "CBS delayed airing abuse story for two weeks",
AP, 5/3/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=33099.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

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IF you DO something Disney won't be able to stop Michael Moore's move, "Fahrenheit 911"

---

Oscar-winning director Michael Moore has finished his latest documentary, but The Walt Disney Company is refusing to let the American public see it.

The film, "Fahrenheit 911," is critical of President Bush's actions before and after Sept. 11 and describes Bush's relationships with powerful Saudi families, including that of Osama bin Laden.

According to the New York Times, Moore's agent says embattled Disney chief Michael Eisner feared the documentary could endanger the company's tax breaks in Florida, where Bush's brother, Jeb, is governor.

We can't let corporate favors for politicians dictate what movies we see. Tell Disney to show us Michael Moore's documentary:

Robert Iger
Chief Operating Officer
The Walt Disney Company
Phone: (818) 560-1000

If the line is busy, call a Disney store near you. The salespeople aren't responsible for this decision, but ask them to pass your concerns on to the manager. To find the Disney store nearest you, click here.

Finally, if you own any Disney stock, call:

Wendy Webb, Investor Relations
The Walt Disney Company
Phone: (818) 560-5758


Let us know that you've called:

http://moveon.org/disney_moore.html?id=2791-3646104-TXd2V.6BWxYmDGSL8SjQIg

The documentary, which heads to the prestigious Cannes film festival next week, was expected to be distributed by Miramax this summer. But Disney, which owns Miramax, blocked the plan. Denying allegations of political favoritism, Disney said it doesn't want to be involved with a partisan film.

Moore responded, "If this is partisan in any way it is partisan on the side of the poor and working people in this country who provide fodder for this war machine."

The film details financial connections between the Bush family and powerful Saudi Arabian families over the last thirty years, including the evacuation of Osama bin Laden's relatives from the United States two days after Sept. 11. Also included are American soldiers in Iraq describing their doubts about the justification for war.

Michael Moore has commented, "At some point the question has to be asked, 'Should this be happening in a free and open society where the monied interests essentially call the shots regarding the information that the public is allowed to see?' "

Today, we will tell Disney the answer is no:

Robert Iger
Chief Operating Officer
The Walt Disney Company
Phone: (818) 560-1000

Let us know you're calling, at:

http://moveon.org/disney_moore.html?id=2791-3646104-TXd2V.6BWxYmDGSL8SjQIg

Sincerely,
--Noah T. Winer
MoveOn.org
May 5th, 2004

P.S. This story appeared on the front page of today's New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/05/national/05DISN.html

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Bush Hands Million-Dollar Public Land to Mining Company for $875

---

May 5, 2004

Last month the Bush administration handed a multinational mining company 155 acres of federally owned, prime mountaintop real estate near a Colorado ski resort. The price? Just $5 an acre (a total of $875), in an area where 1/10 of an acre fetches as much as $100,000.[1]


The sweetheart giveaway sailed through under a 132-year-old federal law that allows mining companies to purchase unrestricted patents on public land, and then use the land for their own profit -- by mining it for silver, gold or other minerals or even by developing it into luxury condominiums and getaway homes.


The 1872 Mining Law, which has never been updated to reflect 21st century real estate values, has enabled mining companies to extract more than $245 billion in metals and minerals from public lands without paying a single subsidy to taxpayers since the statute went into effect 132 years ago. It currently applies to more than 270 million acres of public lands in the U.S., or "2/3 of the land the federal government holds in trust for all Americans."[2]


Phelps Dodge Corp. used the 1872 law to apply for nine patents on U.S. Forest Service land at the top of Mount Emmons, also known as the "Red Lady," just three miles west of the Crested Butte ski area in Colorado. The area, which lies within the boundaries of Gunnison National Forest, is the site of a longstanding battle between mining interests and the local community, which has since filed suit against the federal Bureau of Land Management protesting its sale of the patents. The suit is being brought by the Gunnison County Board of Commissioners, the Town of Crested Butte and High Country Citizens' Alliance.[3]


Phelps Dodge claims the land can be used to operate a molybdenum mine, though opponents argue such a use would not be profitable since there is already a large supply of this ore (used in rifle barrels, batteries and lubricants) on the market.


Observers believe the company is more likely to develop the land into vacation homes.[4] Indeed, in legal documents filed two years ago in a separate case, the company argued that establishing a mine on that land would be fiscally "reckless."[5]


"Once again the abuses allowed by the outdated 1872 Mining Law are being exploited by mining companies -- free gold, silver or molybdenum, access to prime real estate at 1872 prices, no environmental standards -- what's not to like? Unless you're not a mining company," said Steve D'Esposito, president of EarthWorks, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that fights for reform of the 1872 law.



###

TAKE ACTION
Let decision makers hear your voice about mining issues through the Earthwork's Action Network.



###

SOURCES:
[1] "Sale of Mining Patents Roils Crested Butte Residents," Denver Post, Apr. 6, 2004.
[2] Earthworks 1872 Mining Law.
[3] "Local forces file suit over Red Lady land," Crested Butte News, Apr. 15, 2004.
[4] Denver Post, Apr. 6, 2004.
[5] "Company Has Argued Both Sides in Mine Patent," Denver Post, Apr. 19, 2004.

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Bush Supports Defense Department Exemption From Environmental, Health Protections

---

The Department of Defense (DoD) has asked Congress for blanket exemptions from three major federal environmental and health laws. These changes would effectively exempt DoD's operations on 25 million acres of training ranges from local, state, tribal or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversight and regulation for toxics releases, hazardous waste contamination, and air pollution.


Even though each law already allows for exemptions in cases of national security, the Bush Administration wants to enable one of the nation's largest polluters -- the Department of Defense -- to evade laws protecting public health and the environment.[1]


The DoD has asserted that adhering to environmental protection laws compromises military training and readiness. However, a General Accounting Office report in 2002 found that the Pentagon could not substantiate this claim.


Further, in testimony before the Senate in February, 2003, Christine Todd Whitman, then-administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, noted that EPA and DoD worked very closely together. "I don't believe there is a training mission anywhere in the country that is being held up or not taking place because of environmental protection regulation," Whitman told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.[2]


Late last year the Pentagon succeeded in gaining exemptions to habitat preservation rules under the Endangered Species Act, as well as overall wildlife protections under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.[3] A coalition of environmental and public health advocacy groups opposed the changes, noting that "[t]he military has, time and time again, found reasonable solutions to pursue necessary training in compliance with environmental laws."[4]


The Pentagon-proposed changes to the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) would range from removing explosives, munitions, chemical weapons and other materials from the law's definition of "solid waste," to blocking the authority of states, tribes, and the EPA to require investigation and cleanup of toxic munitions contamination on military sites, even when an off-site threat to public health develops.


The DoD's changes to the federal Superfund law would effectively absolve DoD of any responsibility for toxic releases under the law, remove EPA's ability to enforce Superfund regulations on military training sites, and undercut state power to collect damages from the DoD when toxic munitions contamination affects public resources including wildlife, fisheries, and public recreational lands.


Currently the Clean Air Act requires all federal agencies, including Defense, to mitigate any activities that negatively impact a state's EPA-mandated target for air quality. The DoD is seeking a three-year exemption for air pollution caused by a broad range of military activities.


The proposed changes would require EPA to approve state air cleanup plans even if they fail to compensate for military-generated pollution, and would exempt states from facing more serious classifications and other public health requirements if they missed their targets for air quality.[5]


Paul Mayberry, the DoD's deputy undersecretary for readiness, recently told reporters the proposed exemptions were "all about readiness," and that the laws inhibited the military's ability to train realistically.[6]


However, the Department admitted to state officials late last year that the laws have never hampered military preparedness -- nor have states ever used their authority under RCRA or the Superfund law in a way that compromised readiness. It has also failed to show any case where enforcement of the Clean Air Act put national security at risk.[7]



###

SOURCES:
[1] Natural Resources Defense Council press release.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Defender Action Fund report on Senate Roll Call #190, 108th Congress, 1st Session
[4] "Oppose the Department of Defense Readiness and Range Preservation Initiative," Defender of Wildlife et al.
[5] NRDC press release, op cit.
[6] "Pentagon renews request for environmental exemptions," GovExec.com.
[7] NRDC press release, op cit.

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NEW SEARCHABLE DATABASE CHARTS BUSH/CHENEY LIES

---

As the September 11th Commission grills President
Bush and Vice President
Cheney about their contradictory statements today,
we wanted to alert you to
a powerful new tool to help journalists, activists
and the public compare
the Bush administration's claims against
well-documented facts. The Center
for American Progress today launched a
comprehensive Claim vs. Fact database
at
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=31810
that documents statements from conservatives like
President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Members of
Congress and Fox News
personalities, and compares those statements to the
facts. Each fact is
sourced, and in many cases includes a web link
directly to that source.

The database has more than 400 entries so far, but
THEY NEED YOUR HELP
BUILDING IT. If you know of a lie, distortion or
dishonest statement from a
Bush Administration official or another
conservative that isn't already in
the database, please go to their submission page
at:

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=31812

or

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=31814

There you can submit an entry for addition to the
database, so that the tool
grows and becomes a real-time tracker of lies.

- Peter Schurman and the MoveOn team

Visit Misleader.org for more about Bush
Administration distortion. -->
<
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=31816
>

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New Study Undermines Bush Anti-Regulation Doctrine

---

The Bush Administration mantra that "voluntary compliance" is a far better way to reduce pollution than "command and control" regulations received another setback this month with the release of a carefully documented study analyzing the volume of pollution from electric power plants.


Compiled by three organizations including New Jersey's largest utility, the Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc.; the Natural Resourcs Defense Council (NRDC); and the Coalition for Environmentlly Responsible Economies (CERES), the report studied the environmental records of the nation's 100 largest electricity companies.


The study analyzed utility-industry emissions of four pollutants -- nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and mercury -- using data collected by the U.S. EPA and the Energy Information Administration from 1991 to 2002.


The data revealed a marked overall decrease in emissions of pollutants subject to mandatory federal regulations: NOx fell by 28 percent over the period studied, and SO2 fell by 35 percent. Both pollutants, targeted by the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990, contribute to acid rain and haze, and NOx is also a key ingredient in smog.


In sharp contrast, CO2, a greenhouse gas and major contributor to climate change, has been the subject of a range of hopeful government initiatives and pleas, none mandatory -- and emissions of the pollutant rose by 25 percent.


The report shows that "this notion that voluntary programs alone will work to address global warming in the utility sector is a farce," said Dan Lashof, science director of NRDC's Climate Center.


Perhaps more important is the finding that there is little correlation between the amount of electricity a utility generates, and the amount of pollution it generates. For example, the Southern Company generated four times more electricity than its smaller competitor Calpine, but Southern belched a staggering 6,300 times more SO2 than Calpine.


This means "the regulations aren't working uniformly," says David Gardiner, former assistant EPA administrator under Bill Clinton. "There's a major discrepancy between the way our federal regulations are being implemented among different companies and in different states. If we implement stronger regulations uniformly nationwide, we will see deep cuts in these emissions."


It would seem there is little time to waste. The EPA has estimated that NOx and SO2 emissions from power plants still cause some 30,000 premature deaths each year. And EPA announced this month that 474 counties across the nation do not meet the new health standards for ground-level ozone, directly linked to NOx emissions.


The good news, says Gardiner, now a senior adviser to CERES, is that "More and more polluting companies--and their shareholders especially--are beginning to realize that dirtier power plants face disprportionate financial and legal risks compared to their cleaner competitors." In the case of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, investors are starting to accept that emissions caps are inevitably coming, and they do not like the uncertainty of wondering when it will happen. Moreover, utilities and other industries that take measures to increase energy efficiency and reduce pollution are finding that both profits and productivity are improved.


Hence a growing number of shareholders are pushing their corporations for more disclosure of environmental data, a lowering of emissions, and even for more uniform federal enforcement of emission standards.


All this may come as news to Lynn Scarlett, the Bush Administration's assistant secretary of the Interior Department, who recently assured GRIST magazine, in an interview, that "Regulations tend to curtail creativity and innovation."



###


This story was jointly produced by BushGreenwatch and Grist Magazine. For more on this story, visit Grist Magazine.

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BUSH BUDGET ANTICS CAUSING MORE IRAQ CASUALTIES

---

President Bush has promised to listen to military
commanders and give the
troops whatever they need to defend themselves in
Iraq. White House
spokesman Scott McClellan said last week that the
"the President looks to
the commanders in the theater to make the
determinations of what is needed
for our troops" (1). Yet the President continues to
withhold funding that
military officials say is desperately needed to
plug shortfalls in armor and
protection equipment (2). And, according to a new
study, those shortfalls
have meant 25% more American casualties in Iraq
(3).

According to Newsweek, an unofficial study
circulating through the army
shows that of the 190 soldiers killed by landmines,
improvised explosive
devices, or rocket-propelled grenade attacks,
"almost all those were killed
while in unprotected vehicles, which means that
perhaps one in four of those
killed in combat in Iraq might be alive if they had
had stronger armor
around them." Additionally, "thousands more who
were unprotected have
suffered grievous wounds, such as the loss of
limbs."

Instead of following through on his promise to give
the military the
protection equipment it needs, however, President
Bush has left major
funding holes in the most basic areas. The
situation has gotten so dire that
military commanders last week desperately begged
Congress to fill key
shortfalls left by the President's budget. They
described a $132 million
shortfall for bolt-on vehicle armor, an $879
million in shortfall for combat
helmets, and a $40 million shortfall for body
armor. Meanwhile, according to
the Chicago Tribune, the White House has
"dramatically reduced the number of
Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles in Iraq"
-- even as the fighting
intensified, leaving troops to "ride in lightly
protected Humvees, trucks
and troop carriers" that are much more vulnerable
to attack (4).

SOURCE:
1. Press Briefing by Scott McClellan, 04/21/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=30741.
2. "War May Require More Money Soon", Washington
Post, 04/21/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=30742.
3. "The Human Cost", Newsweek, May 3, 2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=30743.
4. "Insurgents' escalation taxing U.S.
capabilities", Chicago Tribune,
04/24/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=30744.

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Weather you agree or not, KNOW that; Nader for President: Nader: Congress Should Begin Impeachment Inquiry of Bush an...

---

-- Help us Get Congress to Take Action! --

You can help the call to impeach President Bush and
Vice President Dick Cheney.

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney should be impeached
for two reasons:

1. They led the United States into an illegal,
unconstitutional war in Iraq.

2. They misled the Congress and the American
people with five falsehoods
that led to war.

All it takes is one Member of the House of
Representatives to call for an
Impeachment Inquiry to start the process to
investigate the two grounds. If
the House then votes by a simple majority for
Articles of Impeachment, the
Senate would then undertake a trial of the
President and Vice
President. They would only be convicted, and
impeached, if two-thirds of
the Senate agrees.

Ralph Nader has issued a press release urging an
Impeachment Inquiry that
provides more details on these points, view it
online at
www.VoteNader.org/media_press/?cid=15 .

The purpose of this petition is to show Congress
that people in their
district support the impeachment of George W. Bush
and Dick Cheney and will
stand up for fact-finding for truth if a member of
Congress has the courage
to start the Inquiry. Go to
www.VoteNader.org/get_involved/impeach.php ,
to sign the petition now. and visit
www.VoteNader.org/contribute/ for more
information on how you can support the only
candidate advocating an end to
the Iraq quagmire and a strategy of peace.

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Scientists Rebut Administration Response to Report on Its Abuse of Scientific Integrity

---

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released a point-by-point rebuttal yesterday to an April 2 White House statement defending the Bush Administration against claims of widespread manipulation of science and egregious conflicts of interest in policymaking.

The White House statement, issued by John H. Marburger, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, came in response to a February 18 UCS report, Scientific Integrity in Policymaking, signed by 62 of the nation's preeminent scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates. But the Marburger statement, according to UCS, lacked any substantive arguments, included inaccurate statements, and sidestepped several important issues.

"The White House document fails to refute the serious allegations that the Bush Administration has engaged in activities that undermine scientific integrity in policy making," concludes the 13-page UCS analysis. "It is unfortunate that the administration is not taking the concerns of the scientific community seriously, as these issues have significant consequences for the public's health and well-being."[1]

The UCS document analyzes the White House defense of charges that it is manipulating science in areas such as climate change; mercury emissions; air pollution; abstinence-only education; breast cancer; HIV/AIDS; airborne bacteria; Iraq's aluminum tubes; endangered species; forest management; peer review; workplace safety and childhood lead exposure. A full copy of the report can be seen at www.ucsusa.org.

"UCS stands by the findings and conclusions of its report," the analysis states, repeating the scientists' initial conclusion that the White House "frequently attempted to undermine scientific integrity" when "scientific knowledge has been found to be in conflict with its political goals."

For example, the White House document simply dismisses as "false" a UCS allegation that the Bush Administration tried to "force revisions to the climate change section of the Environmental Protection Agency's draft Report on the Environment," a document designed to explain government decision-making to the American public.

But the UCS has ample evidence of the administration's efforts to do so, including a leaked EPA memo, published statements by then-EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman (who opted to remove the climate change section entirely rather than print the distorted version), and a front-page story that ran in the New York Times.

The Bush Administration has repeatedly tried to introduce uncertainty into the area of climate change science, the UCS analysis found, even though the world's leading scientists long ago agreed that human activities -- notably those that produce greenhouse gas emissions -- are largely responsible for the recent warming of Earth's surface temperature. In fact, the analysis points out, President Bush himself explained the process of human-caused climate change in great detail during a June 11, 2001 Rose Garden speech -- but has repeatedly backed away from those statements since then.

"In the absence of a constructive, and candid response from this administration, it is left to scientific associations and scientists, members of Congress, the media, and others to further pursue these allegations of abuse of scientific input to policymaking, and to press for institutional and legislative reforms aimed at preventing such abuses by future administrations," the analysis concludes.

###

SOURCES:
[1] "Analysis of White House Claims," Union of Concerned Scientists, Apr. 19, 2004.

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Mining Companies Freed of Clean-Up Responsibilities Under Bush

---

More weight has been added to the assertion that under the Bush Administration, the Department of Interior has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the mining industry and other special interests. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the administration's eagerness to eliminate regulations, 20 years in the making, designed to protect public lands from environmental damage caused by mining.


Under a 1976 federal law, Interior was required to prevent "unnecessary or undue degradation" of public lands, including damage from "hardrock" mining to extract gold, copper, and zinc.


But until 2001 the government had ignored this provision. Instead, unfailingly, the Interior Department gave mining companies open access to public lands. Finally, in the closing months on the Clinton Administration, Interior issued regulations to enforce the law. The regulations gave Interior officials clear authority to deny permits for mines on public lands that would pose "substantial irreparable harm" to environmental, scientific or cultural resources.


But the new Bush Administration quickly set a new agenda. The Senate Government Affairs Committee has uncovered thousands of pages of internal administration documents and emails showing that from its first days in office, the Bush Administration was determined to roll back the regulations.


Just 13 days into the new administration, the governor of Nevada petitioned Interior Secretary Gale Norton to suspend the regulations. Notes from multiple meetings and e-mails between government officials reveal the White House's keen interest in overturning the regulations: "Ann Klee at Interior has coordinated with the White House... Apparently, WH is eager for this to get out," says one e-mail exchanged between Interior and Bush administration budget officials.[1]


In March 2001, three months after President Bush took office, Interior formally proposed to suspend the regulations. Even though 95 percent of the 49,000 public comments received by the department opposed the reversal, Interior issued a new final rule in October 2001. It called the regulations "unduly burdensome."[2] The term "substantial irreparable harm" was stripped from the criteria government officials would use in deciding if mine operations will be allowed.[3]


Explaining Interior's position, the department's solicitor actually argued that Interior lacked the authority to stop a legal mining operation. In ensuing litigation over the rollback, a court overturned this decision. It ruled that federal law "vests the Secretary of the Interior with the authority -- and indeed the obligation -- to disapprove of ... mining operation because the operation...would unduly harm or degrade the public land."


Advocates for protection of America's public lands agree, regretfully, that under the current administration there is little risk that this authority will ever be exercised.



###

SOURCES:
[1] Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, 2002.
[2] "Bush Environmental Record Under Senate Panel Review," Greenwire, Mar. 4, 2002.
[3] CFR SIH 2001, CFR Update 2004, MPC v. Norton 2003.
[4] MPC v. Norton 2003 at 42.

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FTC, Fed. Trade Commission, oposes spyware legislation

---

From the-enablers' blog

Howard Beales, director of the Federal Trade Commission's bureau of consumer protection, and FTC Commissioner Mozelle Thompson went before the House of Representatives Thursday to say that no legislation should be created to curb spyware. The FTC also criticized existing legislation currently under consideration. "I do not believe legislation is the answer at this time," Thompson said. "Self-regulation combined with enforcement of existing laws might be the best way to go."

To put it very simply, I am astonished. Self-regulation, from the people causing the problem? Self-regulation, from people whose business model is described as distasteful at best and illegal at worst? What can Beales and Thompson possibly be thinking?

On an encouraging note, the congressmen reacted rather harshly to the FTC's position. Clearly, congress is burning to do something about spyware even if the FTC is not.

I've read the SPYBLOCK Act which currently is making the rounds in the Senate. It is not a perfect solution, especially the exemptions outlined in section five. Section three, however, looks like something I could have written. It outlaws installing software without a clear disclosure to the PC owner. It requires that an uninstaller be provided. It requires that any information gathering be disclosed. It requires disclosure that the software will display ads and how those ads will be displayed.

Not everyone likes the SPYBLOCK Act. Ben Edelman and I have been arguing about it today. Ben is the Harvard Law student who put WhenU's software under the microscope and discovered evidence that it could be violating WhenU's own privacy statement.

Ben believes that passage of the SPYBLOCK Act inadvertently would sabotage efforts to stop companies such as WhenU and Gator/Claria from selling ads based on other companies' trademarks. That is a very valid point and I certainly sympathize with web sites having to deal with unethical companies selling ads on their trademarks. However, I feel the benefits of the SPYBLOCK Act for consumers outweighs the risk that it would make it harder for companies to stop WhenU from making money from their work.

To be perfectly honest, I view that as entirely separate issue. Those companies who profit from the work of other companies by selling ads on their trademarks do tend to be adware and spyware. Beyond that however, I see no other relation to the spyware problem and believe it should be dealt with separately.

Utah was very lucky to pass a law that covered both issues so well. If we could have congress pass Utah's Spyware Control Act as federal law, that would be beautiful. Unfortunately I just don't see that happening.

It needs a little tweaking before it passes but, overall, I like the SPYBLOCK Act. Consider this to be my official endorsement of it. If you agree with me, contact your US Senators today and ask them to support the SPYBLOCK Act, S. 2145.
END...

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Because our Goverment enables large Corps

---

the cartoon that say it, just one of the reasons why our jobs are leaving the country.
And did you know that our Goverment is paying these companies to move. Yes our tax dollars are helping them move to our countries. More on this later.

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