The fall of Enron sounds the death knell for one of the great rackets of the last decade: Green Seals of Approval, whereby some outfit like the Natural Resources Defense Council or the Environmental Defense Fund would issue testimonials to the enviro-conscience and selfless devotion to the public weal of corporations like Enron. These green seals of approval were part and parcel of the neoliberal pitch, that fuddy-duddy regulation should yield to modern, "market-oriented" inducements to environmental problems, to which indeed NRDC and EDF were always the prime salesfolk of neoliberal remedies for environmental problems.

In fact, NRDC was socked deep into the Enron lobby machine. Here 's what happened:

In 1997, high-flying Enron found itself in a pitched battle in Oregon, where it planned to acquire Portland General Electric, Oregon's largest public utility. Warning that Enron's motives were of a highly predatory nature, the staff of the state's Public Utility Commission opposed the merger. They warned that an Enron takeover would mean less ability to

AUSTIN -- When George W. Bush was governor of Texas, many political observers had a theory that whenever he started holding photo ops with adorable little children, it was time to grab your wallet because it meant some unconscionable giveaway to the corporations was in the wind.

I did not fully subscribe to the theory, but having noticed a number of adorable-child ops in the past few weeks, I decided to check for what might be flying under the radar, with the following results:

-- The Bush administration has reversed Clinton-era regulations for mining on public lands, including a measure that gave federal officials power to block mining operations that could cause "substantial and irreparable harm." The Environmental Protection Agency says about 40 percent of Western watersheds have been polluted by mining. From California to Alaska, bankrupt and abandoned gold mines leak acid and heavy metals into streams. There are 500,000 abandoned mines around the country with cleanup costs estimated in the tens of billions.

More than a third of the Western United States, including Alaska

Has the collapse of Enron finally pushed Social Security "reform" off the political agenda for the foreseeable future? Half the stock on Enron employees' 401K retirement plans was Enron paper, contributed as a company match, for which, of course, Enron took tax deductions. Then, when Enron went into its final plunge, Enron's executives froze the stock on the 401K plans, thus denying workers any chance to salvage their retirement funds, even as the stock went through the floor. Senior executives skipped clear of the rubble, and then sent in cops and grief counselors to subdue their furious employees.

September 11 interrupted many political conspiracies in America, few more fraught than the long campaign to "reform" Social Security. And, as with many other nefarious projects, September 11 placed the Bush team on far more favorable ground than the mire in which he found himself at the end of the summer, unable to balance the books without a raid on Social Security's famous lockbox, meaning the pledge not to use any surplus on the Social Security account for other purposes.

FREEP HERO

Representative Barbara Lee

Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland, California, the lone dissenter in the U.S. House of Representatives in a 480-1 vote in favor of President Bush’s use of force resolution. Lee said “We must not rush to judgment. Far too many innocent people have already died. Our country is in mourning. If we rush to launch a counterattack, we run too great a risk that women, children and other noncombatants will be caught in the crossfire.” She warned against allowing “outrageous acts by vicious murderers [to] inflame prejudice against all Arab Americans, Muslims, Southeast Asians, or any other people . . .” In March 1999 Lee was the sole House member to vote against the bombing of Serbia. If things spin out of control in the Middle East, and well they might if the United States overreacts, future historians will record that Lee, like the late Senator Wayne Morris who voted against the Tonkin Gulf resolution that started the Vietnam escalation, was a lone voice of sanity and decency. Read the text of her dissent in the Autumn issue section.

THE FREE PRESS SALUTES:

When OSU alumni and Buckeye fans came to soak up the glory of a new team, a new coach, and a newly-renovated stadium, animal activists were on hand to remind them that a university is more than just sports. OSU’s reputation rides on the value of its teaching and research. Right now, OSU is tarnishing that reputation by endorsing Podell’s cats-on-speed experiment which has been condemned by academics and AIDS activists, as well as advocates for animals. POET asked alumni to support the Buckeyes with cheers and enthusiasm, but to withhold their buck$ until this cruel and unnecessary research is shut down.

On May 1, 2001 cat #OOIOZ3, involved in the experiment, was “Found Dead.” Details have yet to be released. As we have said many times before this project will NOT help cats nor will it help people. Please continue to speak out for the cats.