Cuddle This

Let's say you were a president with approval ratings in the toilet, casting about for something, ANYTHING, to create an impression that you were actually not completely evil. Hmmm …

Hey, I know! Cute animals! Let's get do some photo ops with cute animals!

Not this president. Instead, plans are ongoing to gut the Endangered Species Act.

From Salon:

In recent months, the Fish and Wildlife Service has gone to extraordinary efforts to keep drafts of regulatory changes from the public. All copies of the working document were given a number corresponding to a person, so that leaked copies could be traced to that individual.

[...]

Many Fish and Wildlife Service employees believe the draft is not based on "defensible science," says a federal employee who asked to remain anonymous. Yet "there is genuine fear of retaliation for communicating that to the media. People are afraid for their jobs."

[...]

Under his reign, the administration has granted 57 species endangered status, the action in each case being prompted by a lawsuit. That's fewer than in any other administration in history -- and far fewer than were listed during the administrations of Reagan (253), Clinton (521) or Bush I (234).

[...]

… during this administration, nearly half of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees who work with endangered species reported that they had been directed by their superiors to ignore scientific evidence that would result in recommendations for the protection of species …

The evil of this administration knows no bounds.

The whole story [S$], however depressing, is worth a read. One problem with the tendency of the news to focus on the scandal du jour is that the ramifications of the core mission of the Bush Administration -- to do whatever the oil, mining, and logging interests want -- often slip under the radar.