February 12, 2001 — The composition of the team that advised George W. Bush on the Environmental Protection Agency during his transition to the presidency signals a new era of a weakening federal role and a bias toward free-market solutions in complying with environmental regulations, say veteran EPA observers. Just over half of the team […]
Posted inAccountability
Longtime Australian policy: Kidnapping children from families
Australian past bordered on slavery and genocide By Philip Knightley January 30, 2001 LONDON — In the United States, Native American children, “Red Indians,” had been forcibly taken from their parents and placed in institutions to “civilize” them. Australia tried a different approach. In 1937, the chief protector of Aboriginals in Western Australia, A. O. […]
Posted inDemocracy
Bush’s new Chief of Staff once fought for polluters
As their top lobbyist, Andrew H. Card Jr. led a $25 million lobbying campaign on behalf of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers, often fighting against higher environmental standards. Now, as chief of staff to President George W. Bush, Card may be in a position to steer U.S. policy favorably for his former employers, who contributed […]
Posted inDemocracy
Ashcroft used state employee to fund-raise, records show
While he was attorney general of Missouri, John Ashcroft made use of a state employee to conduct fund raising and other election activities, used letterhead with the attorney generals seal to solicit donations from contributors, and had an associate solicit campaign contributions from a business consultant to a company being investigated by Ashcroft’s office, court […]
Posted inAccountability
Australian past bordered on slavery and genocide
Longtime Australian policy: Kidnapping children from families By Philip Knightley February 8, 2001 Soon after last summer’s Olympics in Sydney, indigenous Australian senator Aden Ridgeway said the “groundswell of good feeling” from the reconciliation theme of the games and aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman’s gold medal victory, heavy with symbolism, were responsible for a new commitment […]
Posted inDemocracy
Commentary: How Bush handles McCain will set tone for his presidency
Now that George W. Bush has been duly sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States, he immediately faces an unavoidable political situation that has previously proved intractable. His chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination last year, Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., is forcing a roll call vote on the issue of campaign […]
Posted inAccountability
Some airlines will lose 25 percent of work force
Nancy Aldrich has a plaque sitting on an 18-foot, floor-to-ceiling bookcase full of her most cherished items, which dominates her living room. The plaque reads, “A Superior Pilot is one who uses her Superior Judgment to avoid situations which would require her Superior Skill!” That plaque, given by a friend several years ago, sums up […]
Posted inAccountability
Many over-60 pilots ‘just want to fly’
Some of the pilots forced to retire at 60 aren’t as fortunate as their peers who have good pension plans when the bell tolls. The bust-ups of Eastern, Pan Am and several other carriers in the 1980s and 90s are still felt by these former captains, as their retirement kitties were raided by the ailing […]
Posted inAccountability
Case studies show value of old-timers
Accounts of airplane “saves,” especially when veteran captains overcome the errors of less-experienced crew members, are mostly anecdotal. Their quick actions avert the crashes or injuries that would otherwise trigger public investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board, which determines what causes a crash and recommends safety measures, or the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates […]
Posted inAccountability
Young pilots riskier than the over-60s who are turned away
Minutes after the TWA Boeing 727 had taken off from New Yorks LaGuardia Airport and was climbing above 10,000 feet, the flight engineer shifted his attention from the control panel to the cockpit window. He caught a glimpse of death. The jetliner inadvertently had caught up with a Beechcraft Bonanza, a single-engine, private aircraft. “The […]
Posted inAccountability
Commentary: Total information awareness: A chance encounter raises questions
LONDON — In early November, the United States came within a pen stroke of dramatically curtailing the news medias freedom of inquiry into government affairs. Had the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2001 been signed into law as passed by Congress, it would have completed an astonishing reversal of the common observation that the American press […]
Posted inDemocracy
Commentary: Everything I’m telling you is entirely legal
Remarks at the 22nd annual conference of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws in Tampa, Fla., December 5. It is a kick to be here. Indeed, it is an honor and a pleasure to speak to any group that was formed at the Watergate Hotel in 1974. I want to thank Terry Draver and Bonnie […]
Posted inHealth, Public Health, Tobacco
Tobacco settlement helps everyone but smokers
WASHINGTON, December 8, 2000 — Two years after cigarette makers reached a landmark settlement with the states over costs associated with treating sick smokers, less than 10 percent of the money is earmarked for anti-smoking programs, meaning the nations 47 million smokers who are financing the agreement are not getting enough help to break the […]
Posted inDemocracy
Bush, Gore recount forces can raise unlimited cash without disclosure to public
As the Republican and Democratic parties have frantically sought private money since Election Day to fund their candidates’ recount efforts, they have entered an area where the Federal Election Commission has only limited jurisdiction. In this gray zone, the two parties can raise unlimited amounts of cash without necessarily having to disclose the donors or […]
Posted inAccountability
Wives and children live lavish lifestyle
MANILA — Many years ago, he built one for the first lady, a sprawling mansion at 1 Polk St. in North Greenhills in San Juan. Expanded and renovated over the years, the official family home now covers three adjoining lots with a total area of 2,000 square meters. There, surrounded by his collection of expensive […]
Posted inDemocracy
In Congressional races, money talked all the way to the voting booth
If anyone doubted that huge campaign war chests reap big political payoffs, just look at the House and Senate races this year. Eighty-five percent of Senate candidates who raised more than their opponents won, and 94 percent of the House candidates who raised more money than their opponents claimed victory, according to an analysis by […]
Posted inAccountability
Fixing the fixers
NEW DELHI, India, November 13, 2000 — This article was originally published in the Nov. 13, 2000 edition of Outlook India. It is reproduced with permission. Threats, inducements and plain old hard work get the names of ‘wicket’ players. Now for Act II. Interrogator: Tell us, why did he (bookie Uttam Chand) make so many […]
Posted inDemocracy, Elections, Issue Ad Watch
Hired hands grab chance to skirt ‘527’ disclosure law
Complying with a new federal law, Political Animals registered with the Internal Revenue Service by the August 1 deadline. Like other so-called “527” groups, so named after a section of the IRS code, Political Animals could operate politically related campaigns without disclosing its identity, contributions or expenditures. Congress targeted such groups in July campaign finance […]
Posted inDemocracy
Bush leads in donations from federal contractors
George W. Bush, who advocates a reduced role for the federal government, received more than twice as many campaign donations from the employees and political action committees of the nation’s top 25 federal contractors as did his opponent, Vice President Al Gore, a Public i study has found. The Texas governor received $132,555, or roughly […]
Posted inDemocracy
Did taxpayers lose on deal for oil field?: Elk Hills timeline
Elk Hills: Private or public? By Josey Ballenger, Nathaniel Heller and Knut Royce October 27, 2000 1922 WASHINGTON, October 27, 2000 — 1912: Out of concern for the long-term availability of oil supplies for naval ships, President Taft establishes Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 near Bakersfield, Calif. Over the next few years, his administration adds […]
Posted inDemocracy
Elk Hills: Private or public?
Did taxpayers lose on deal for oil field?: Elk Hills timeline By Josey Ballenger, Nathaniel Heller and Knut Royce October 27, 2000 The political decision to sell the Elk Hills oil reserve was made from high in the Clinton administration nearly three years before the bids were due on Oct. 1, 1997. The critical time […]
Posted inAccountability
Commentary: Gore’s failure to respond is outrageous, unacceptable
Sometimes government officials treat the American people like growing mushrooms – keep them in the dark and cover them with manure. And whenever that happens, it is infuriating and inexcusable. It happens every day in Washington, but one current situation is particularly odorous. For more than a year at the Center for Public Integrity, we […]
Posted inEnvironment
Energy Department has denied info requests for months
October 27, 2000 — Since 1999, The Public i has attempted to obtain information about the bidding process in the sale of the Elk Hills oil reserve, which was sold for $3.65 billion in 1997 to Occidental Petroleum Corp. The Center for Public Integrity filed an administrative appeal of the Department of Energy’s refusal to […]
Posted inDemocracy
Did taxpayers lose on deal for oil field?
“For the last eight years, I have had the challenge of running the streamlining program called ‘Reinventing Government,’” Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore proudly declared at the final 2000 presidential debate, to bolster his claim that he favors smaller government. “And if there are any federal employees in this group, you know what that means.” […]
Posted inDemocracy, Elections, Issue Ad Watch
Montana an unlikely target for out-of-state campaign cash
Montana might not seem like the logical setting for a full-scale brawl over a U.S. Senate seat, but with the U.S. Senate majority in the balance, every contest in the states matters. The voters of Montana have thus been inundated by ads from outside groups spending millions to push their issue or candidate. Sierra Club […]
Posted inDemocracy
Thanks to sponsors, GOP threw twice the party the Democrats did
Officially, thousands of delegates, legislators and elephant banner-wavers swarmed Philadelphia from July 31 to Aug. 3 to crown George W. Bush and Dick Cheney as the Republican ticket for 2000. But like its Democratic counterpart in August, this year’s Republican National Convention seemed to be nearly as much about corporate America’s penchant for party throwing […]
Posted inAccountability
Commentary: Protecting the rights of the people through investigative reporting
The most beloved American president, Abraham Lincoln, once said, “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” Founded under oppression The Namibian newspaper was founded in 1985, at the height of […]
Posted inDemocracy
Bush violated security laws four times, SEC report says
George W. Bush violated federal securities laws at least four times when he was a director of a Texas oil firm in the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to an internal government report. The document was prepared by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1991 during its well-publicized investigation into whether Bush had benefited […]
Posted inDemocracy, Elections, Issue Ad Watch
Here are the groups targeted by ‘no-soft-money’ pledge in New York race
New York’s U.S. Senate candidates, Republican Representative Rick Lazio of Long Island and his Democratic opponent, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, have agreed to discourage outside interest groups from airing issue advocacy ads during the contest and to let the two candidates and their parties duke it out on their own. The agreement has influenced […]
Posted inDemocracy
Media firms buy their way to political access
WASHINGTON, D.C. September 27, 2000 — The largest media firms have gained the kind of access to the political process that only money can buy, according to a new report from the Center for Public Integrity. “Off the Record: What Media Corporations Don’t Tell You About Their Legislative Agendas” documents the influence that the large […]