Saturday, August 05, 2006

The Fox and the Chicken Coop

This week Bush announced another great appointment. He has nominated Susan Dudley to be the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which approves all federal regulations (such as for the environment or the nation's health) deemed economically and otherwise significant. This is a natural job for someone who appears to be anti-government-regulations. As director of regulatory policy for the Mercatus Center, housed at George Mason University, she has been active in opposing many proposed regulations.

For example, she feels that fatigue in truck drivers who do not rest has not been systematically proven to contribute to highway deaths; that's kind of a logic-defying claim.

Or with regard to arsenic in our drinking water, she has said, "though evidence from other countries supports an association between arsenic and certain forms of cancer, the effect of exposure to the low doses present in the U.S. water supply is very uncertain, and science alone cannot determine the appropriate level [of protection]"; perhaps God can determine that level.

She does not feel that we are entitled to information about the effect of some chemicals, "Even if we determine that information on the release of certain chemicals has a net social value, we cannot assume that more frequently reported information, or information on a broader range of chemicals would be more valuable." What about an old bromide such as "The Truth will set you free"?

1 comment:

R J Adams said...

There is one undeniable trait about Bush - he is uncompromisingly consistent in choosing the absolutely wrong person for the job.