In catching up with past news, with Tom Ridge's exit we discovered:

Mr. Ridge joined with the Environmental Protection Agency in considering new safety rules in 2002. But after the oil and chemical industries met with Karl Rove, the president's political adviser, and other senior aides, the White House quietly blocked those efforts, current and former officials say.

Of course, we learned nothing of this prior to the election when the public was instead being force-fed the illusion that GW Inc. was doing all it could to protect the country from terrorist attacks. I guess as long as it didn't involve our chemical plants and maritime ports.

It seems wherever and whenever the EPA is involved, the administration is sure to be there to fight back. Everyday, the newspapers are filled with anti-environmental articles (granted, normally buried). Here's a recent story. Also, a right-wing think tank is soon to release a report that claims global warming will benefit mankind (the group has close ties to Bush advisers and is partially funded by ExxonMobil). Recall at NRDC.org, they released a 111-page report that shows "more than 150 assaults on our environmental safeguards between January 2003 and March 2004."

The administration will continue to fan the flames of terrorist fears as this threat serves as the perfect distraction, allowing them to circumvent & rewrite regulations behind closed doors. It's similar to the old-hat trick where the bank robbers set fire to a building down the street from the bank, causing a commotion / diversion as they proceed to clean out the vault.