Outrages of the Week

1. NY: Lame Duck Pataki Waddles the Way the Credit Card Companies Want
   Soon on his way out as Governor, New York's George Pataki has been going to bat for business interests repeatedly. The latest incident is particularly heinous. After hearing concerns from constituents, legislators passed a bill prohibiting so-called "universal default." Under universal default clauses, credit card companies can hike your interest rate up for a late payment on any bill -- a bill for a different credit card, a utility payment. The universal default terms are punitive. That is apparently how Lame Duck Pataki likes it. The bill made it through the statehouse, only to be met with a veto stamp. [TPMCafe, 08/22/2006; Progressive States Network, 08/24/2006]
2. GA: Perdue Gets the Magic Kingdom Hookup
   Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue likes land. Just ask him. That may explain why he was willing to throw down $2 million on 20 acres of wetlands in Florida that he had never seen -- land appraised at only $185,700. Of course, it would be pretty scary to think a chief executive of a state is making that bad of business decisions. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is a reason for his actions. The seller of the land is a major GOP donor and a Perdue appointee to a state board. The land in question is only six miles from Walt Disney World and is adjacent to a new road to the Magic Kingdom due to be completed in a few months. The low appraisal value means low taxes. The ease of draining and developing the land means millions to be made. Suspicious? Perdue doesn't think so. He just likes land. [Associated Press, 08/22/2006]
3. US: Shadowy Anti-Union Organization Runs Misleading Ads Targeting Public Employees
   Public employees in Michigan, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon have been subjected to negative ads all week. The ads, which accuse public employees of being lazy and overpaid, are being run by the Center for Union Facts, a front group for business interests that refuses to disclose its donors. The group has already been caught lying -- they denied working in concert with the forces pushing TABOR-style spending cap initiatives in the four states despite clear evidence to the contrary. They have also admitted to some media outlets that the initiatives are one factor in their decision to run the ads. [Associated Press, 08/22/2006; Progressive States Network, 08/21/2006; Oregon AFL-CIO, 08/24/2006; Las Vegas Gleaner, 08/24/2006; The Grand Rapids Press, 08/23/2006]
4. LA: Back of the Bus? Segregation Rears Its Ugly Head
   A white school bus driver in Coushatta, Louisiana sent nine black children to the back of a bus because they were sitting in seats in the front of the bus "designated" for white students. After complaints were made by the parents, the bus driver was instructed to create assigned seating, which she did -- assigning the black children to two seats in the back, "meaning the older children had to hold the younger ones in their laps." [Shreveport Times, 08/24/2006]
5. KY: Fletcher Admits Wrongdoing to Court, Denies it to Public
   Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher may be the nation's worst executive. He literally seems so incompetent at times that it would be believable if he spent $2 million on land worth only $185,700. Faced with seemingly endless corruption investigations into his administration and relentless scrutiny with blogs, he literally tried to prevent state employees from reading blogs (particularly BlueGrassReport.org) -- the better to hide his own malfeasance. One of the big scandals related to hiring scandals within state government -- scandals for which Fletcher was under indictment. This week, Fletcher admitted to wrongdoing in a plea agreement and promised to make changes to the state's personnel system, then turned around and told the public the "distraction" had ended -- Kentucky's long, statewide nightmare is over. Or not. [New York Times, 08/25/2006; BlueGrassReport.org, Just Check Regularly for Updates]