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170 of 195 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solidly researched and well argued, August 4, 2004
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. carries on the passionate yet caring politics of his father, who was a one time Attorney General. The son, an environmental lawyer, makes a compelling case for the ways in which corporate interests have sought to deconstruct environmental protections over the last twenty five years. James Watt, Christine Todd Whitman, and Gale Norton--among others--all recieve deservedly harsh criticism, as these supposed stewards of nature continue to manipulate laws, rhetoric, and the truth in order to enrich corporate interests at the expense of the U.S. environment, the health of the American people, and the future of all of us. Many things in Kennedy's book were news to me (who's really behind the deceptively named "wise use" movement, for example). Although Kennedy mostly eschews partisan rhetoric, he compellingly demonstrates what a disaster the Bush administration's policy of "self-policing" has been, and how it has withheld funding in order to strip regulatory agencies of any effective power. Even more frightening, although frighteningly consistent with its policies, is the manner in which the Bush administration has pressured empolyees and scientists, and promoted bogus science in order to distort public debate so that its destructive policies can continue. If you have any concern at all for the environment, for your children, or for truth, you ought to read this book.
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137 of 160 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
RFK Jr's Articulate Attack On Bush's Environmental Policies, August 19, 2004
When friends and acquaintances ask me why I am so adamantly opposed to the current administration, I seldom mention either the flagrant harm or the danger The Bush White House has visited on both us and the general international scene, nor do I reference the horrifying effects of the ill-conceived and poorly executed "war on terror" so often cited as their worst policy blunder. Instead, I routinely cite the extreme anti-democratic moves that Bush and company have made domestically, most specifically against the environment and in squandering our national heritage by way of natural resources and wildlife in the national forests and heretofore carefully managed and protected wilderness areas. In this regard, this well-written and skillfully argued new book by Robert Kennedy carefully articulates the many ways in which the crony capitalism practiced by the current administration is endangering our environment by entrusting its precious resources and fragile ecosystems to the crony capitalists who support him.
Indeed, Mr. Bush appointed several lawyers representing prominent oil and timber lobbying firms as the top echelon at the Bureau of the Interior, which has the crucial responsibility of overseeing the well-being of our vast federal land holdings domestically. Thus we have wolves in the sheep-house, and they are being encouraged by their former employers to assist in a wholesale ravaging of the national park landscape in the pursuit of profit, so much so that even traditionally conservative groups have turned against this Republican administration in sheer disbelieving horror of what is being done to the nation's wilderness areas in the name of conservation.
In pursuing this course, the Bush administration uses Orwellian doublespeak, referring to clear-cutting of old forest as a necessary safety measure to prevent wild fires, or as if doing so will engender long-term gain by encouraging more healthy tree growth. Through his cynical actions he effectively stiff-arms the environmental groups, regularly characterizing them as being mere radical tree-huggers, even though a growing chorus within the scientific community warn of the potentially catastrophic consequences posed by such radical environmental gdegradations being allowed and even encouraged on federal land. Moreoever, by neutering the bulwark of the carefully constructed environmental protection laws through federal regulation, the Bush administration has stripped away the laws that bar such unbridled commercialism, and now acts as the de-facto house ally of big timber,oil, gas and coal firms in stripping the precious non-renewable resources in formerly prohibited areas without either meaningful restraints or any effective federal oversight being placed on their activities. Instead, crude crony capitalism seems to rule the roost.
Of course, this is part of the much wider course of deliberate crony capitalism the administration has systematically instituted since taking office nearly four years ago, and the author carefully maps out the many ways in which this myriad of craven commercial activities act against the interests of the many for the benefit of the few. The book centers on the negative impact that such special interest-oriented federal government means for us as a nation, both in terms of who benefits and who pays, as well as in terms of what our core national values as well as our way of life will come to be in the coming decades. This is an important book, and one I encourage anyone interested in current events to read. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes a powerful argument against the excesses of the current administration, and issues a clarion call to arms for all concerned citizens to help stop it. Enjoy!
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51 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Non-Fiction Horror-Can We Write a New Ending?, September 11, 2004
When I was a kid there was trash on every roadside and tires floating in detergent foam damns on the Potomac River. In Cleveland, the Cuyahoga River actually caught fire. Young people might not appreciate what thirty years of environmental regulation has done to save our country. Unfortunately, many of these young Americans may soon experience a far worse scenario for themselves as Bush and his corporate polluters ransack our country for fun and profit while distracting us with irrelevant talk about swiftboats and flip flops. As this book concisely explains, George W. Bush hasn't flip flopped at all on environmental issues. He has done his best since inauguration day so treat our country like a toilet while his backers bask in tax breaks, subsidies and de-regulation.
This is not a fun read. Turning the pages of this book will reveal horrors in the halls of power that many will find unimaginable. It will also stir the souls of many sleeping patriots who care about our democracy and want to re-establish the rights of our grandchildren to lead healthy lives in this country.
It's time for good Americans to rise up and reclaim our government. I've lived inside the Beltway all of my life (but have traveled to all 48 of the lower states) and I've never seen such a diabolical and destructive regime. As a Washingtonian, I read about these horrific government actions on a daily basis but fear that much of the information contained in this book has been ignored or overlooked by many of my countrymen. Surrounding us with invisible poisons for the singular purpose of maximizing profit is a central component of neo-conservative theory. So is keeping it very quiet. This book will give you a glimpse into the dark world view of Dick Cheney and the other compassionate conservative who have no compassion and are entirely uninterested in conserving anything, especially trees, money and human lives.
If you don't read a lot and want to know how this administration works behind the scenes to trash our country at our expense, this is the book for you. Please read it before the election. God Bless America!
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