[truth-updates] News from TheTruthAboutGeorge.com

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THE WAR
* Bush Avoids Apology for Abu Ghraib Prison Abuse, Lauds Rumsfeld As "Superb"
* Bush's Job Approval Rating Dips, Support for War Declines

WOMEN'S RIGHTS:
* FDA Responds to Political Pressure, Rejects Over-The-Counter Emergency Contraception
* Administration Deletes Women?s Issues Information from Government Websites

DOMESTIC POLICY:
* New Drug Discount Programs Cause Confusion, Frustration Among Seniors

ROGUE NATION:
* U.S. Faces Lasting Damage Abroad

BUSHISMS:
* Bush talks about torture chambers and U.S. intervention in Iraq

THE WAR
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* Bush Avoids Apology for Abu Ghraib Prison Abuse, Lauds Rumsfeld As "Superb"

More than a week after photographs and videos depicting the abuse of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib prison surfaced, George W. Bush finally "expressed his regrets" in the Rose Garden on May 7. According to the Washington Post, aides had advised Bush to apologize the day before in televised appearances on Arabic news channels. Senior officials were reportedly puzzled when Bush did not apologize and had to push "for him to say he was sorry during his news conference with Abdullah." The Progress Report notes "an apology is a step in the right direction, but it will take more than words to restore damaged American credibility." On May 10, both Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney praised Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for "courageously leading our nation in the war against terror" and said that he was doing a "superb job." But according to an article in the May 24 edition of the New Yorker magazine, a policy put in place by Secretary Rumsfeld "encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in an effort to generate more intelligence about the growing insurgency in Iraq."

* As Prisoner Abuse Scandal Continues, House Works Three-Day Week

While the nation watched the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal unfold in May, the U.S. House of Representatives renamed a post office in Rhode Island, named a Miami courthouse after a dead judge, and honored the founder of the Lions Clubs. The three-day workweek bothered Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who told the Washington Post: "Given all the issues and problems the country faces, it's scandalous that we're only coming in to work three days a week, and even then most of the time we're renaming post offices." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the House of Representatives "demonstrated that it is nothing more than a rubber stamp for the administration." Pelosi pointed out that the U.S. Senate, in contrast, held three committee hearings on the prison abuses before senators summoned Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to the Armed Services Committee last Friday. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay dismissed the idea of a full-fledged congressional investigation into the Abu Ghraib abuse reports, which he likened to "saying we need an investigation every time there's police brutality on the street." He told reporters that the House should be passing "good" legislation and "not doing a bunch of make-work.'

* Bush's Job Approval Rating Dips, Support for War Declines

George W. Bush?s job approval rating has hit a new low, and public support for the war in Iraq has declined, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released May 10. A survey of 1,003 adults conducted May 7-9, showed Bush?s approval rating at 46 percent, down from 52 percent in April. And, only 44 percent of those polled said they felt that the war in Iraq was worthwhile, down from 50 percent one month earlier - and down from 73 percent a year ago. Fifty-four percent thought going to war in Iraq was a mistake, and only 41 percent felt Bush was doing a good job of handling the war.

Read more at: http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/war/index.html

WOMEN'S RIGHTS
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* FDA Responds to Political Pressure, Rejects Over-The-Counter Emergency Contraception

Overruling the advice of its own scientific advisors, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 6 rejected over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception (EC), prompting NOW and other critics to accuse the agency of responding to political pressure from the Bush administration. In December, two FDA scientific panels voted 23-4 in support of making EC available without a prescription. Afterward, the agency was subjected to political pressure from conservatives who argued that increased access to EC would encourage teenagers to be sexually active. While acting drug chief Dr. Steven Galson denied that politics played a role in his decision, women?s rights advocates said otherwise. "The FDA is playing politics with women's lives and contributing to the deterioration of public health in this country," NOW President Kim Gandy said. "The FDA has set aside its mission and caved to political pressure from the Bush administration and its allies who oppose birth control." Barr Laboratories, makers of the Plan B emergency contraception brand, plan to rapidly seek approval for nonprescription sales for people aged 16 years and older. "It's a matter of weeks and months to deal with this objection," said Barr chief executive Bruce Downey, saying that means the FDA could reconsider the issue within a year. "Clearly ... the door's open, and we plan to go through it."

* Bush Administration Deletes Women?s Issues Information from Government Websites

The Bush administration has quietly deleted and altered information on women?s issues from government agency websites, a research group has found. A report from the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW), released in mid-April, says the deletion of information on subjects including pay equity and childcare was "apparently [done] in pursuit of a political agenda." At least 25 publications were removed from the website of the Department of Labor?s Women?s Bureau alone. Some items that were not deleted were reportedly altered: For example, information about the use of condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases was changed to say that the effectiveness of condoms was "inconclusive." The National Cancer Institute?s website was changed in 2002 to say studies linking abortion and breast cancer were inconsistent; an outcry from scientists resulted in an amendment to say abortion is not associated with an increased risk. The NCRW report also indicated that key government offices such as the Office of Women's Initiatives and Outreach in the White House and the President's Interagency Council on Women have been disbanded, with attempts made at the Pentagon to disband the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. Finally, the report found that as of March 2004, Attorney General John Ashcroft had failed to conduct and publish a study required under the Violence Against Women Act to investigate discrimination against domestic violence victims in getting insurance.

Read more at: http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/women/index.html

DOMESTIC POLICY
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* New Drug Discount Programs Cause Confusion, Frustration Among Seniors

As Republicans attempt to address confusion over the new Medicare prescription drug discount program scheduled to go into effect June 1, many seniors are already discovering that the program looks to be less helpful than promised. The new program includes 73 competing drug discount cards, each providing a different level of savings on a different selection of medications, and all subject to change. Among a number of retirees of different income groups, the initial reaction was incomprehension. "Even the person who came to explain it to us didn't understand it," Mary Shen, 77, at the Whittaker Senior Center on Manhattan's Lower East Side, told the New York Times. "It's not fair to expect seniors, who have enough difficulties already, to have to figure this out." Several prices posted on the Medicare website in mid-May were reportedly incorrect, and some drug companies said the government miscalculated what their cards would charge for certain prescriptions. Though Republican leaders claimed the cards would be an improvement on existing programs, some seniors have discovered that the new cards actually offer less coverage than certain state, union or consumer group plans. For some people, the cost of drugs under the new program could be 50 to 60 percent higher than what they currently pay. Critics charged that the discount cards were an attempt by the Bush administration to prevent the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries like Canada. Bush and Republican leaders pushed for the law in 2003 over the objections of many Democrats, who charged that the program offers limited benefits to seniors while providing large subsidies and other benefits for insurance companies, HMOs and drug manufacturers. For example, drug companies can change the prescriptions covered on a particular card or the prices at any time, while seniors can change cards only once per year.

* New Health Savings Account Tax Deductions Likely to Increase Number of Uninsured

A budget that seeks to expand enrollment in Health Savings Accounts (HSA) is likely to increase the number of uninsured people, a study says. The budget would allow HSA participants to claim a tax deduction for the premium costs of high-deductible insurance policies. Analysis by a leading health economist, Jonathan Gruber of M.I.T., finds that because of its adverse effects on employer-based coverage, this deduction would likely increase the numbers of the uninsured by 350,000. The administration estimates the cost of the plan at $24.8 billion over ten years. The deduction would benefit high-income taxpayers, while encouraging employers to drop employer-based coverage or not offer it in the first place. Gruber, who conducted his research for the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that the number of workers who would lose insurance because of employers dropping coverage would likely exceed the number of uninsured individuals who would gain coverage as a result of the deduction.

Read more at: http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/domestic/index.html

ROGUE NATION
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* U.S. Faces Lasting Damage Abroad

U.S. officials and foreign policy experts say the ability of the Bush administration to make serious headway on a range of foreign policy goals has been called into question as a result of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. "It's a blinding glimpse of the obvious to say we're in a hole," conceded Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage, who added that the backlash in Europe is even greater than in the 22-nation Arab world. In public and private communications, European officials have reportedly become increasingly critical of the U.S., and experts say that the scandal will not only compromise the Bush administration?s goal of promoting democracy in the Middle East, the humiliating photographs will incite terrorist groups to act against the U.S. Meanwhile, deep divisions are emerging among senior military officials over the course of the occupation. Some have reportedly said that the U.S. could face casualties for years without establishing a free and democratic Iraq. Some officers say the place to begin restructuring U.S. policy is by ousting Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, whom they see as responsible for a series of strategic and tactical blunders over the past year. Several of those interviewed said a profound anger is building within the Army at Rumsfeld and those around him. A May 10 editorial in the Army Times, an influential private military paper, called the scandal "not just a failure of leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran straight to the top. Accountability here is essential -- even if that means relieving top leaders from duty in a time of war."

Read more at: http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/rogue/index.html

BUSHISMS
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"Iraq is free of rape rooms and torture chambers."
-Bush, remarks to 2003 Republican National Committee Presidential Gala, Oct. 8, 2003

"One thing is for certain: There won't be any more mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms."
-Bush, press availability in Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 12, 2004

"Saddam Hussein now sits in a prison cell, and Iraqi men and women are no longer carried to torture chambers and rape rooms."
-Bush, remarks on "Winston Churchill and the War on Terror," Feb. 4, 2004

"Every woman in Iraq is better off because the rape rooms and torture chambers of Saddam Hussein are forever closed."
-Bush, remarks on "Efforts to Globally Promote Women's Human Rights," March 12, 2004

"Our military is performing brilliantly. See, the transition from torture chambers and rape rooms and mass graves and fear of authority is a tough transition. And they're doing the good work of keeping this country stabilized as a political process unfolds."
-Bush, remarks on "Tax Relief and the Economy," Iowa, April 15, 2004

"We acted, and there are no longer mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms in Iraq."
-Bush, remarks at Victory 2004 Reception, Florida, April 23, 2004

"A year ago, I did give the speech from the carrier, saying that we had achieved an important objective, that we'd accomplished a mission, which was the removal of Saddam Hussein. And as a result, there are no longer torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq."
-Bush, remarks in the Rose Garden, April 30, 2004

"Because we acted, torture rooms are closed, rape rooms no longer exist, mass graves are no longer a possibility in Iraq."
-Bush, remarks at "Ask President Bush" event, Michigan, May 3, 2004

Read more at: http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/bushisms/index.html

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