Free Republic

Senators accuse EPA of minimizing health hazards in New Orleans WASHINGTON The Bush administration was accused today by senators in both parties of minimizing health hazards from the toxic soup left by Hurricane Katrina, just as they said it did with air pollution in New York from the September eleventh attacks. More than a month after the storm, compounded by Hurricane Rita, Environmental Protection Agency officials said one (m) million people lack clean drinking water around New Orleans. Some 70 (m) million tons of hazardous waste remain on the Gulf Coast. While E-P-A officials have warned of serious health hazards...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is systematically leading his country into dictatorship by provoking internal conflict and characterizing his internal opponents as traitors. Beyond Venezuela, he sees himself replacing Fidel Castro as the leader of Latin America's radical left--uniting the region against U.S.-style democracy, free markets, and American influence. Chávez derives popular support from fellow ideologues and a small but committed segment of Venezuela's largely poor population, and he is beginning to use the hemisphere's dependence on Venezuelan oil to encourage leftist movements elsewhere and to pressure other countries into acquiescing to his activities. By politicizing and mismanaging the state petroleum...