A Bushie Week in Review

One more before I go struggle with email (again); this from the good folks at The Carpet Bagger:

* In an unprecedented action, the Environmental Protection Agency's own scientific panel challenged the agency's proposed public health standards governing soot and dust. Scientists found that Bush appointees "twisted" or "misrepresented" their recommendations in an "egregious" fashion, and inserted language into EPA reports from trade associations' lobbyists.

* The White House really did expose the identity of an undercover CIA agent.

* The White House unveiled one of the most irresponsible federal budgets anyone has ever seen and intentionally left out most funding for the war.

* State Department officials appointed by Bush have sidelined key career weapons experts and replaced them with less experienced political operatives who share the White House and Pentagon's distrust of international negotiations and treaties.

* The warrantless-search program Bush uses to capture bad guys isn't actually capturing bad guys.

* The former CIA official who coordinated U.S. intelligence on the Middle East accused the administration of "cherry-picking" intelligence and misusing intelligence "to justify decisions already made."

* The administration knew far more, far earlier about Katrina than they've been willing to admit.

* Jack Abramoff had far more, far closer connections to the president than the White House has been willing to admit.

* Scooter Libby told a grand jury that he was authorized by his "superiors," including the Vice President, to disclose classified information to reporters about Iraq's weapons capability in June and July 2003.

* The president boasted about thwarting a terrorist attack in Los Angeles, but a series of experts and administration officials suggest that Bush seriously exaggerated this threat.

Remember, for some administrations, this might be several months' worth of controversies. And yet, it's just another typical week in Bush's America.