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This page covers the actions of [[George W. Bush]]'s [[US Presidential administration|administration]] while he was President of the {{USA}}.
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[[page type::article]]
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[[thing type::presidential administration]]
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[[country::US]]
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[[category:US/gov]]
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</hide>
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==About==
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{{notice/need/update|Needs lots of post-Bush updating, general reorganizing, and tidying; also add this link: http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/index.html}}
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This page covers the actions of [[George W. Bush]]'s [[US Presidential administration|administration]] while he was [[US president|president]] of the {{USA}}.
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This administration had the good fortune (for them) of having [[109th US Congress|Congress]], the Senate, and the Presidency all controlled by [[Republican (US)|the same party]] (itself having been taken over by the [[neoconservative]]s, a very self-protecting bunch), from the time of Bush's inauguration in 2001 until the [[2006-11 US election|November 2006 elections]], thus acting with unusual unity. In the absence of any apparent dissent between these various bodies, acts of Congress and the Senate during that time can reasonably, therefore, be considered acts of the administration itself.
  
This administration has had the good fortune (for them) of having Congress, the Senate, and the Presidency controlled by the same party, thus acting with unusual unity. In the absence of any apparent dissent between these various bodies, acts of Congress and the Senate during this administration can reasonably, therefore, be considered acts of the administration itself.
 
 
==Personnel==
 
==Personnel==
 
* [[George W. Bush]], President
 
* [[George W. Bush]], President
 
* [[Dick Cheney]], Vice-President
 
* [[Dick Cheney]], Vice-President
* [[Karl Rove]], advisor/strategist and Deputy Chief of Staff
 
* [[Donald Rumsfeld]], Secretary of Defense
 
 
* [[Condoleezza Rice]], Secretary of State
 
* [[Condoleezza Rice]], Secretary of State
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* [[Robert Gates]], Secretary of Defense, 2006-12-18 - present.
 
* '''former personnel'''
 
* '''former personnel'''
** [[wikipedia:Lewis Libby|Lewis Libby]], former Chief of Staff and assistant for National Security Affairs to [[Dick Cheney]]; resigned 2005-10-28 after being indicted on criminal felony charges for obstruction of justice, perjury (2 counts), and making false statements (2 counts).
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** [[Alberto Gonzales]], Attorney General, 2005-02-03 - 2007-09-17
** [[wikipedia:John Ashcroft|John Ashcroft]], former U.S. Attorney General; resigned 2005-02-03, stating "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved."
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** [[Karl Rove]], advisor/strategist and Deputy Chief of Staff; resigned, probably to start working on the [[2008 US presidential race|2008 GOP campaign]]
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** [[Donald Rumsfeld]], Secretary of Defense; resigned 2006-12-18 and was succeeded by [[Robert Gates]]. Was also SoD under [[Gerald Ford]], 1975-1977.
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** [[Lewis Libby]], former Chief of Staff and assistant for National Security Affairs to [[Dick Cheney]]; resigned 2005-10-28 after being indicted on criminal felony charges
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** {{wpalt|John Ashcroft}}, Attorney General, 2001-01-20 - 2005-02-03; resigned, stating "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved."
  
 
[[George W. Bush]] and [[Dick Cheney]] are both friends with Prince [[wikipedia:Bandar bin Sultan|Bandar bin Sultan]] of Saudi Arabia
 
[[George W. Bush]] and [[Dick Cheney]] are both friends with Prince [[wikipedia:Bandar bin Sultan|Bandar bin Sultan]] of Saudi Arabia
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===Congress===
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* [[109th US Congress]], 2004-2006: [[Republican (US)|Republican]]-led; often described as "the worst Congress in history"
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* [[110th US Congress]], 2007-2009: [[Democrat (US)|Democrat]]-led; power-shift was a backlash against the 109th
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==Pages==
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* [[/corruption]]
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* [[/hypocrisy]]
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* [[/torture]]
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* [[2012 Benghazi attack/Bush]]: attacks on US foreign facilities during this administration
  
 
==Actions==
 
==Actions==
 
''Actions attributable to members of GWB's administration, including the majority-GOP-controlled Congress where there was no noticeable protest or apology from the President (and therefore presumably met his approval) are considered to be acts of this administration. Acts which are more or less directly attributable to [[George W. Bush|GWB himself]] should be listed on [[George W. Bush|his page]].''
 
''Actions attributable to members of GWB's administration, including the majority-GOP-controlled Congress where there was no noticeable protest or apology from the President (and therefore presumably met his approval) are considered to be acts of this administration. Acts which are more or less directly attributable to [[George W. Bush|GWB himself]] should be listed on [[George W. Bush|his page]].''
* Has illegally assigned unprecedented powers to the President [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19092]
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* Has illegally [[Bush's elevation of presidential power|assigned unprecedented powers to the President]]
 
* Apparently ignored many [[pre-9/11 warnings]]
 
* Apparently ignored many [[pre-9/11 warnings]]
 
* Spent $1.62 billion on advertising in 2.5 years (see [http://www.freepress.net/news/13861] and [http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20060213110539-14835.pdf]), an apparently unprecedented amount
 
* Spent $1.62 billion on advertising in 2.5 years (see [http://www.freepress.net/news/13861] and [http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20060213110539-14835.pdf]), an apparently unprecedented amount
 
* Changed a $5 trillion budget surplus into a $5 trillion budget deficit in only four years (while continuing to reiterate the ever-popular [[The Big Lie|big lie]] about "tax-and-spend Liberals") &ndash; see [[US Presidential Administration Budgets]]); [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4780844.stm] (2006-03-06)
 
* Changed a $5 trillion budget surplus into a $5 trillion budget deficit in only four years (while continuing to reiterate the ever-popular [[The Big Lie|big lie]] about "tax-and-spend Liberals") &ndash; see [[US Presidential Administration Budgets]]); [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4780844.stm] (2006-03-06)
* The [[No Child Left Behind]] Act
 
* The [[USA PATRIOT Act]]
 
 
* The [[US Invasion of Iraq|Invasion & Occupation of Iraq]], which was carried through under [http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/12/lying-about-war.html false premises], was poorly planned, and has been thoroughly mismanaged [http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=snomarine12&date=20060412&query=coming%2Bhome]
 
* The [[US Invasion of Iraq|Invasion & Occupation of Iraq]], which was carried through under [http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/12/lying-about-war.html false premises], was poorly planned, and has been thoroughly mismanaged [http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=snomarine12&date=20060412&query=coming%2Bhome]
 
** Apparently stole millions of dollars from the Iraqi government [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/international/middleeast/05reconstruct.html?ex=1288846800&en=38c51c03e8b84437&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss]  [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/international/middleeast/22reconstruct.html?ex=1274414400&en=d9ca198b63614094&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss]
 
** Apparently stole millions of dollars from the Iraqi government [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/international/middleeast/05reconstruct.html?ex=1288846800&en=38c51c03e8b84437&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss]  [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/international/middleeast/22reconstruct.html?ex=1274414400&en=d9ca198b63614094&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss]
 
** Has been less effective at rebuilding Iraq (despite multibillion-dollar levels of funding) post-invasion than Iraqis were in rebuilding it themselves (despite sanctions) after the 1991 war [http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#113754150457330274]
 
** Has been less effective at rebuilding Iraq (despite multibillion-dollar levels of funding) post-invasion than Iraqis were in rebuilding it themselves (despite sanctions) after the 1991 war [http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#113754150457330274]
 
* Lackadaisical [[response to Hurricane Katrina]]
 
* Lackadaisical [[response to Hurricane Katrina]]
* '''2006-09-12''' [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.6054.RH: HR 6054], the [[wikipedia:Military Commissions Act of 2006|Military Commissions Act of 2006]], is introduced
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* '''2006-10-17''' [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]] signed into law by Bush
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* '''2006-09-12''' [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]] is introduced
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** [http://youtube.com/watch?v=wTP2gs-NUtc video commentary on MSNBC] by [[Keith Olbermann]]
 
* '''2006-05-15''' [[wikinews:U.S. restores full diplomatic relations with Libya|U.S. restores full diplomatic relations with Libya]]
 
* '''2006-05-15''' [[wikinews:U.S. restores full diplomatic relations with Libya|U.S. restores full diplomatic relations with Libya]]
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* '''2003-10-30''' [http://www.wilderness.org/NewsRoom/Release/20031030.cfm Utah Public Lands First Victim of Bush Administration Anti-Wilderness Policies]
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===related links===
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* [http://www.truthnews.us/?p=1115 Bill of Rights Under Bush: A Timeline]
  
 
==Characteristics==
 
==Characteristics==
 
* Repeatedly claims the {{USA}} is more secure now than it was immediately after [[9/11]], despite abysmally plummeting [[US military readiness|military readiness]] levels
 
* Repeatedly claims the {{USA}} is more secure now than it was immediately after [[9/11]], despite abysmally plummeting [[US military readiness|military readiness]] levels
 
* Has made it clear that they believe torture to be a legitimate weapon [http://www.alternet.org/rights/36598/] in the "[[war on terror]]", which is consistent with repeated reports of [[Torture During GWB Administration|torture]] by US military and officials
 
* Has made it clear that they believe torture to be a legitimate weapon [http://www.alternet.org/rights/36598/] in the "[[war on terror]]", which is consistent with repeated reports of [[Torture During GWB Administration|torture]] by US military and officials
* Appears to be encouraging the spread of evangelism in the armed forces [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/11/AR2005111101650.html] ([http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/111305F.shtml mirror @truthout]); also [http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1311971&secid=1] ''need to find the actual wording to see just how innocuous it is...''
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* Appears to be actively working to spread [[evangelism]] in the armed forces, especially at the highest levels, to the point of inviting [[religious control of the US military]]
* Anti-science/[[reality-based thinking|reality]], although they claim to be pro-science
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* [[Bush II administration anti-science|Anti-science]], although they claim to be pro-science
** "It is unambiguous that the GOP Congress cuts funding for the National Science Foundation and NOAA even while calling for "more research" on global climate change." [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050911/news_lz1v11science.html]
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* [[/anti-democracy|Anti-democracy]]: suppression of criticism, skyrocketing secrecy, and undermining freedoms of [[freedom of speech|speech]] and of [[freedom of the press|the press]]
* Anti-[[transparency]]:
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** Accused of "[http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/12/bushs-war-on-press.html waging a war against the journalistic standards and practices that underpin not only a free press but our democracy]"
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==Filed Links==
** '''Skyrocketing secrecy''': "Government secrecy has reached a historic high, even compared to the Cold War (San Diego Union July 3). Federal departments are classifying documents at a rate of 125 per minute... or two per second... and inventing new kinds of classification, while declassification efforts that peaked under the [[1992-1999 US Presidential Adminstration|Clinton Administration]] have slowed to a crawl." ([http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/] 2005-09-02 entry) See also:
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{{links/news}}
*** [http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/12/gutting-freedom-of-information-act.html Gutting the Freedom of Information Act]  
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==Articles==
*** [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/politics/21reclassify.html U.S. Reclassifies Many Documents in Secret Review]
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* '''2006-11-20''' [http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/061127fa_fact The Next Act] by Seymour M. Hersh: inside notes on the administration's [[potential US invasion of Iran|Iran strategy]], both pre- and post- [[2006-11 US election|election]]
*** [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/20/AR2006082000625.html Cold War Missiles Target of Blackout]: "The Bush administration has begun designating as secret some information that the government long provided even to its enemy the former Soviet Union: the numbers of strategic weapons in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during the Cold War."
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* '''2006-10-17''' [http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12055360/cover_story_time_to_go_inside_the_worst_congress_ever The Worst Congress Ever] by Matt Taibbi
** '''Suppression of contradictory viewpoints''':
 
*** Squelching of constructive critical discussion (e.g. "public dissent is strongly discouraged by the White House" mentioned in [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/06/AR2005110601281_pf.html]; [http://bodyandsoul.typepad.com/blog/2005/11/dueling_article.html use of IRS] as a tool for preventing dissention); also [http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/12/eliminating-dissent-in-media.html Eliminating Dissent in the Media]
 
*** Repeated incidents of action against whistleblowers:
 
**** Bunnatine Greenhouse: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/28/AR2005082800881.html The Washington Post] [http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/5104.html The Carpetbagger Report] (possibly problematic links: [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/29/international/middleeast/29halliburton.html?hp&ex=1125374400&en=f2175188366b5e36&ei=5094&partner=homepage] [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/army_contracting])
 
**** '''2004-11-14''': [http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/14/161139/55 Bush Plans to Purge the 'Disloyal' at CIA]: "The White House has ordered the new CIA director ... to purge the agency of officers believed to have been disloyal to President George W. Bush..." (a clear case of [[Equating the Individual with the Office]]) (also [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1114-01.htm another source])
 
**** The [[Wikipedia:Plame affair|Plame affair]]
 
*** Repeated [http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/interference/scientists-signon-statement.html misrepresentation and suppression of scientific data] ([[Science Abuse]], and see also "anti-science" above)
 
**** articles about James Hansen:
 
***** '''2006-03-19''' [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/17/60minutes/main1415985.shtml Rewriting the Science] (from the ''60 Minutes'' TV show) ([http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/21/0152231 slashdot])
 
***** '''2006-01-30''' [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8650 Top climatologist accuses US of trying to gag him]
 
  
 
==Opinion==
 
==Opinion==
* '''2005-11-24''' [http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/11/24/cheney/ The long march of Dick Cheney] (by [[Wikipedia:Sidney Blumenthal|Sidney Blumenthal]], in Salon.com): "The hallmark of the Dick Cheney administration is its illegitimacy. Its essential method is bypassing established lines of authority; its goal is the concentration of unaccountable presidential power."
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* '''2007-08-22''' [http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/story/211444.html Bush didn't have faith] by [[Leonard Pitts Jr.]]: "The Bush administration, easily the manliest in recent American history, believed only weaklings, traitors and other liberal Democrats could be so naive as to believe you deal with a captured terrorist by reading him his [[Miranda rights]]. That, they told us, was evidence of "pre-[[9/11]] thinking." But everything changed, they said, on that day, and the old rules, which had stood the nation through revolution, [[American Civil War|Civil War]], [[Great Depression]] and social upheaval, no longer applied."
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* '''2007-07-15''' [http://www.vdare.com/roberts/070715_impeach.htm Impeach Bush And Cheney Now] by Paul Craig Roberts: "Unless Congress immediately impeaches [[George W. Bush|Bush]] and [[Dick Cheney|Cheney]], a year from now the US could be a dictatorial police state [[potential US invasion of Iran|at war with Iran]]."
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** '''2007-07-19''' [http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Oldline_Republican_warns_somethings_in_works_0719.html Old-line Republican warns 'something's in the works' to trigger a police state]: includes link to audio of interview
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** '''2007-08-22''' [http://www.newsfrombabylon.com/story/2007/reagan-official-warns-america-could-be-a-police-state-within-1-year Reagan official warns America could be a police state within 1 year]: commentary and embedded [http://www.youtube.com/v/cLFBUrHPmNM video] (audio track is interview; video track is a mix of material including WWII-style posters both satirizing neo-patriotism and calling for aid from those who care about civilization)
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* '''2007-06-14''' [http://www.miamiherald.com/285/story/130087.html Shamelessness has been refined] by [[Leonard Pitts, Jr.]]: "No administration in living memory has shown Team Bush's ability to reverse itself so blithely, to deny the obvious so serenely, to ignore precedent, propriety and responsibility with such placid unconcern for consequences or public perception."
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* '''2007-04-24''' [http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html Fascist America, in 10 easy steps]: "From [[Hitler]] to [[Pinochet]] and beyond, history shows there are certain steps that any would-be dictator must take to destroy constitutional freedoms. And, argues Naomi Wolf, George Bush and his administration seem to be taking them all."
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* '''2005-11-24''' [http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/11/24/cheney/ The long march of Dick Cheney] (by [[Wikipedia:Sidney Blumenthal|Sidney Blumenthal]], in Salon.com): "The hallmark of the Dick Cheney administration is its illegitimacy. Its essential method is bypassing established lines of authority; its goal is the concentration of unaccountable presidential power."
 
* '''2005-10-17''' issue of Newsweek: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9629463/site/newsweek/ On K Street Conservatism] by [[Wikipedia:George F. Will|George F. Will]]: "The fact that none of those responsible for the postwar planning, or lack thereof, in Iraq have been sacked suggests &ndash; no, shouts &ndash; that in Washington today there is no serious penalty for serious failure."
 
* '''2005-10-17''' issue of Newsweek: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9629463/site/newsweek/ On K Street Conservatism] by [[Wikipedia:George F. Will|George F. Will]]: "The fact that none of those responsible for the postwar planning, or lack thereof, in Iraq have been sacked suggests &ndash; no, shouts &ndash; that in Washington today there is no serious penalty for serious failure."
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==News==
 
==News==
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* '''2007-08-15''' [http://harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90000899 The Professions Strike Back]: "The organized bar &ndash; with a vote just one short of unanimity &ndash; has declared one of Bush’s executive orders illegal and vowed to seek Congressional action to override it. And psychologists appear poised to join their legal colleagues in an equally harsh denunciation. It’s about torture. Remember Bush’s claim, 'We do not [[Bush II administration torture|torture]]'? Except, of course, we do, and on Bush’s personal orders." Finally, a group with real clout is standing up.
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* '''2007-03-09''' [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_03/010882.php Hyperpartisanship Watch] by Kevin Drum: the Department of Justice under [[George W. Bush]] initiated far more investigations of [[Democrats (US)|Democrats]] (262) than [[Republicans (US)|Republicans]] (37) in local government offices, while the figures were much more balanced (36 to 30) for national-level offices more likely to attract national attention.
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* '''2006-11-20''' [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061120/pl_nm/keroack_dc Democrats call for ouster of U.S. health official]: new family-planning chief apparently [[pro-abstinence|favors]] [[sexual abstinence|abstinence]]-based [[contraception]]
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** Discussion: [http://www.arsepoetica.com/blog/2006/11/fake_family_pla.html Fake Family Planning Guy Has To Go]
 
* '''2006-08-20''' [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/business/20tax.html?ex=1313726400&en=b7fe197ea6058f49&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss I.R.S. Enlists Help in Collecting Delinquent Taxes]: "Although I.R.S. officials acknowledge that this will be much more expensive than doing it internally, they say that Congress has forced their hand by refusing to let them hire more revenue officers, who could pull in a lot of easy-to-collect money."
 
* '''2006-08-20''' [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/business/20tax.html?ex=1313726400&en=b7fe197ea6058f49&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss I.R.S. Enlists Help in Collecting Delinquent Taxes]: "Although I.R.S. officials acknowledge that this will be much more expensive than doing it internally, they say that Congress has forced their hand by refusing to let them hire more revenue officers, who could pull in a lot of easy-to-collect money."

Latest revision as of 12:24, 21 January 2017

About

This page is in need of updating. Needs lots of post-Bush updating, general reorganizing, and tidying; also add this link: http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/index.html

This page covers the actions of George W. Bush's administration while he was president of the United States.

This administration had the good fortune (for them) of having Congress, the Senate, and the Presidency all controlled by the same party (itself having been taken over by the neoconservatives, a very self-protecting bunch), from the time of Bush's inauguration in 2001 until the November 2006 elections, thus acting with unusual unity. In the absence of any apparent dissent between these various bodies, acts of Congress and the Senate during that time can reasonably, therefore, be considered acts of the administration itself.

Personnel

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are both friends with Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia

Congress

Pages

Actions

Actions attributable to members of GWB's administration, including the majority-GOP-controlled Congress where there was no noticeable protest or apology from the President (and therefore presumably met his approval) are considered to be acts of this administration. Acts which are more or less directly attributable to GWB himself should be listed on his page.

related links

Characteristics

Filed Links

Related


Articles

Opinion

News

  • 2007-08-15 The Professions Strike Back: "The organized bar – with a vote just one short of unanimity – has declared one of Bush’s executive orders illegal and vowed to seek Congressional action to override it. And psychologists appear poised to join their legal colleagues in an equally harsh denunciation. It’s about torture. Remember Bush’s claim, 'We do not torture'? Except, of course, we do, and on Bush’s personal orders." Finally, a group with real clout is standing up.
  • 2007-03-09 Hyperpartisanship Watch by Kevin Drum: the Department of Justice under George W. Bush initiated far more investigations of Democrats (262) than Republicans (37) in local government offices, while the figures were much more balanced (36 to 30) for national-level offices more likely to attract national attention.
  • 2006-11-20 Democrats call for ouster of U.S. health official: new family-planning chief apparently favors abstinence-based contraception
  • 2006-08-20 I.R.S. Enlists Help in Collecting Delinquent Taxes: "Although I.R.S. officials acknowledge that this will be much more expensive than doing it internally, they say that Congress has forced their hand by refusing to let them hire more revenue officers, who could pull in a lot of easy-to-collect money."