AM Feed - June 27: Bend it Like the Bush Administration
Hot Topics
- The Bush administration has made a nasty habit of bending, subverting and outright flouting rules and laws they don’t happen to like – a sad irony given how much the president talks of spreading democracy abroad. Today an administration official will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend Bush’s frequent use of signing statements when he signs a bill into law. By adding such statements, Bush effectively changes the meaning of the legislation as he sees fit – with no oversight from Congress. “It’s a challenge to the plain language of the Constitution,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA). Specter is also expected to quiz the official on a number of other topics, including the secret warrantless wiretapping program. [link]
- Only weeks after reaching an agreement with prosecutors to clear up his legal troubles involving prescription medication, Rush Limbaugh is in another mess. The conservative commentator was detained at a Florida airport after customs officials found a bottle of Viagra in his luggage that did not have his name on it. Limbaugh’s lawyers claim that the pills had the talk show host’s doctors’ names on the bottle to protect Limbaugh’s privacy. The sheriff’s office plans to file a report with the state attorney general’s office, and the case could result in a misdemeanor violation. [link]
- Just what has the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) been up to under the Bush administration? Not a whole lot, according to a new report compiled by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). Waxman found that the FDA’s enforcement of laws under its jurisdiction slid substantially over the past five years: warning letters to drug companies and other industries are down 54 percent, while seizures of potentially dangerous products are down 44 percent. The FDA under the Bush administration has enjoyed a notably close relationship with the food and drug industry. “Americans have relied on F.D.A. to ensure the safety of their food and drugs for 100 years. But under the Bush administration, enforcement efforts have plummeted and serious violations are ignored,” Waxman said. [link]
Morning Snark
- We tried to write a Rush Limbaugh/Viagra joke. Really, we did. But, really – is it all that necessary?
Comment
- How about his jig is finally up?
— jen Jun 27, 12:18 # - I doubt it…the Bushies will probably give him a medal of some sort.
— Jeannine Jun 27, 13:08 # - I don’t know, the Republicans think sex is bad and dirty. He may be cast out with his jig UP and all.
— jen Jun 27, 13:10 # - Just because he has Viagra doesn’t mean he is having sex. The Repugs haven’t outlawed masturbation. They are only against sex with other people.
— Rosalie Stern Jun 27, 14:09 # - I think that his CNN girlfriend may think that is the only way he can get his jig up.
— Mike Jun 27, 19:10 # - Rush Limbaugh and Bob Dole have ed; must be a growing problem endemic in the republican party. His CNN girlfriend ditch him for a democrat.
— jen Jun 28, 07:54 # - And all this time I just thought Rush sucks.
— MO Jun 28, 09:35 #
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