NYT documents two new failures of the Bush administration

"Federal Officials Seek to Relax Rules for Dumping Mine Waste"

The Interior Department has advanced a proposal that would ease restrictions on dumping mountaintop mining waste near rivers and streams, modifying protections that have been in place, though often circumvented, for a quarter-century......“The new rule will allow coal companies to dump massive waste piles directly into streams, permanently burying them,” warned Joan Mulhern of Earthjustice, an environmental group that has fought the practice.

"29th on Infant Mortality"

The infant mortality rate in this country declined sharply in the 20th century but then plateaued from 2000 to 2005.......What is particularly shameful is how poorly this country compares with other industrialized countries. In 1960, the United States ranked 12th lowest in the world in infant mortality. By 2004, the last year for which comparative data are available, it had dropped to 29th, tied with Poland and Slovakia. Even with the improvement (between 2005 and 2006), it is still likely to rank 29th, far behind many Scandinavian and East Asian countries that report rates below 3.5.