"One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired and demoted. Or worse," reports Deborah Hastings. For reporting illegal arms sales, Navy veteran Donald Vance and a colleague say they were subjected to physical and mental interrogation tactics "reserved for terrorists and so-called enemy combatants." At least $8.8 billion of the $30 billion allocated by Congress for reconstruction in Iraq has disappeared according to a government audit (with some of it going to insurgents). Nevertheless, whistleblowers who call attention to fraud are being "destroyed," according to William Weaver, an advisor to the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. "Sometimes people ask me, 'Should I do this?' And my answer is no. If they're married, they'll lose their family. They will lose their jobs. They will lose everything," Weaver said. Whistleblowers have been fired or demoted, shunned by colleagues, and denied government support in whistleblower lawsuits filed against contracting firms.

According to a recent ruling by federal judge Saundra Brown Armstrong, the Bush administration broke the law by failing to present the latest scientific research about global warming to Congress and the public. The ruling comes in response to a 2006 lawsuit filed by three environmental organizations who charged that the Bush administration violated the Global Change Research Act of 1990 by refusing to produce the National Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the United States, which the White House is required to produce every four years. The last report was completed by the Clinton Administration in October 2000 and warned of severe climate change impacts to some regions of the United States.

"Two lobbyists with lengthy resumes in New Jersey government set up a conference call with the media last week to announce the formation of the New Jersey Affordable, Clean, Reliable Energy Coalition (NJ ACRE), notes an Asbury Park Press editorial. The coalition will "advocate for nuclear energy and, more specifically, a 20-year license extension for the aging Oyster Creek plant" in Lacey, N.J. However, "the lobbyists neglected to point out they are being paid by Exelon Corp., Oyster Creek's owner. There also was no mention of that fact on the coalition's Web site until a news story about their being front men for Exelon appeared in Friday's Asbury Park Press." Since the Nuclear Regulatory Commission "is expected to reach a decision on relicensing by January," reasons the paper, "much of the lobbyists' energy will be directed at the decision-makers themselves." Judging by a press release, one of NJ ACRE's arguments is that "the loss of Oyster Creek and the need to replace its electricity in the face of steadily rising demand would cause significant economic hardship." The release says shutting down Oyster Creek would cost $190 million in increased energy prices and $126 million in lost "economic activity," citing a study funded by Exelon.