BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

If Dick Cheney isn’t making history, he’s trying to alter it.  Cheney’s law seems to be “above the law.”  Manipulating the situation to suit his needs and desires has been the hallmark of Dick Cheney’s political career.  To date he has answered to no one but himself.

Trying to downplay the effects of global warming, Dick Cheney has apparently set out to eliminate any Congressional testimony that indicates that the problem is real and requires national policy. 

Vice President Dick Cheney’s office was involved in removing statements on health risks posed by global warmingfrom a draft of a health official’s Senate testimony last year, a former senior government environmental official said on Tuesday.

The former official, Jason K. Burnett, made the assertion and described similar incidents in a three-page letter to Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who is the chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. He then stood with her at a news conference at which she excoriated the Bush administration.

“History will judge this Bush administration harshly for recklessly covering up a real threat to the people they are supposed to protect,” Mrs. Boxer said.

Jason Burnett’s letter stated that it was

 “requested that I work with C.D.C. to remove from the testimony any discussion of the human health consequences of climate change.”

Of course, Dana Perino and others from the White House have denied any wrong doing.  It has long been a practice of administrations to edit testimony before it goes to Congress, but Boxer has insisted that these deletions amount to a “cover-up” and censorship.  But, what would expect? 

This is an administration who by “sin of omission” has failed to inform Congress and the American people on many issues.  Some issues have been overplayed to distort reality into fear.  Other issues have been omitted as if they had no significance.  Yet, as the final term of the Emperor comes to an end, perhaps we are just lucky that we have survived the past eight years as well as we have… and that’s not saying much.