The Truth Is Out There

An article in my local paper today has noted how George W. Bush has escaped investigations into the misdeeds of his administration throughout most of his term because of 9/11, the war in Iraq, and a Republican Congress that has protected the current White House occupant from embarrassing revelations. But investigations, the article notes, are slowly getting under way - such as the ongoing investigation into 9/11 from the Kean Commission and probes into defense contracting shenanigans from Halliburton, among other things. And, this past Sunday, CBS's "60 Minutes" profiled Jack Spadero, a government whistle blower who aggressively went after a major coal company after a coal slurry reservoir in one of their mines broke in October 2000 and spread the toxic sludge all over parts of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, poisoning land and streams and ruining lives in the process. Spadero's attempts to make the coal company pay for its negligence were brought to a halt when Bush took over in January 2001, and the Labor Department and the Mine Safety and Health Administration then tried (successfully, alas) to let the mining company get away with it. Spadero was reprimanded for trying to push the investigation, and now he works in a government office in Pittsburgh, where he can't do much (if anything) about this environmental disaster.

And, as Democrats (thank you, Howard Dean!) find that they're able to criticize the President and score points for it - Ted Kennedy just did so questioning Bush's handling of Iraq - Bush's approval ratings have slipped to 43 percent. Woo-hoo! :-D