The world will focus on the presidential race all weekend. It's an excellent time for the corrupt Bush administration to pull a last minute fast one on the American people. That is exactly what is happening. The administration can get away with this for two reasons. First, no one is paying attention. Second, no one really understands the process of administrative regulations.

There is a hidden government in American politics. Not hidden like the CIA or FBI, but hidden in that few of us even know about it or pay attention. It's the administrative process, where the federal agencies make rules and regulations that affect business, the environment, banking and other aspects of American society. While Congress passes laws which get much of the attention, rules and regulations that have the same force and effect as laws get enacted by the administrative bureaucracy. Congress does not pass these rules; the agencies in the Executive Branch of government does. That's the presidency.

I know this sounds boring as hell. But the rules and regulations that come out of the administrative bureaucracy make a difference in all of our lives. They are supposed to be crafted by experts who work in agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education and the Justice Department, to name a few of the more high-profile agencies. But there is always a political element to these rules, as they affect the very businesses which hire lobbyists to push their preferred rules and regulations along and sometimes even help write them. These rules are hard to overturn in the courts, which give the agencies the benefit of the doubt in crafting them.

Work done by the administrative agencies is where the government really rolls up its sleeves. It's where the action really is. Since it's done quietly and only policy wonks pay attention to these agencies, they basically can do what they want. Now that no one is paying attention, the Bush administration is taking advantage of the obscurity of this very important process and kicking out some important but dangerous new rules that affect the issues we care about: the environment in particular.

According to Friday's New York Times (quoting the Washington Post):

A rule put forward by the National Marine Fisheries Service and now under final review by the Office of Management and Budget would lift a requirement that environmental impact statements be prepared for certain fisheries-management decisions and would give review authority to regional councils dominated by commercial and recreational fishing interests.

…

Two other rules nearing completion would ease limits on pollution from power plants, a major energy industry goal for the past eight years that is strenuously opposed by Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups.

One rule, being pursued over some opposition within the Environmental Protection Agency, would allow current emissions at a power plant to match the highest levels produced by that plant, overturning a rule that more strictly limits such emission increases. According to the E.P.A.’s estimate, it would allow millions of tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, worsening global warming.

A related regulation would ease limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants near national parks.

A third rule would allow increased emissions from oil refineries, chemical factories and other industrial plants with complex manufacturing operations.

See how important this stuff is? But can you see how the media and popular culture doesn't pay attention? While the rest of us are complaining about bullshit like presidential gaffes and Sarah Palin's eyeglasses and respect for the American flag, the real business of government is taking place right under our noses. We call these last minute rules "Midnight Regulations." The title speaks for itself.

Now for the invective. God-damn the Bush administration for doing this. The Bush administration has done everything in its power to destroy this country, from the economy to national security to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to the lies and the torture and Hurricane Katrina and every other area that I can think of. On its way out the door, it drops a massive Christmas gift to its biggest constituency, big business and the anti-environmental interests which profit by destroying the environment for profit. I see very little commentary on this, but I did find the House of Representatives (run by Democrats) have objected. Dragging the country through the shit-pile one more time is only natural for the criminals who have tore apart this country brick by brick since the day they took office.