To the Point

The Cheney Energy Case

The Bush White House has gone all the way to the US Supreme Court to keep secret the names of Vice President Cheney-s Energy Task Force. The task force recommended an expansion of nuclear power and oil exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, policies which are opposed by the Sierra Club. Both the Sierra Club and the conservative group, Judicial Watch, claim Americans have a right to know the participants' identities. The White House says secrecy-s not just necessary for making policy. It-s protected by the Constitution. Is it all about politics, or is it a real test of principles fundamental to American government? Warren Olney joins experts in environmental policy and national security law, an attorney for the Sierra Club and former Nixon counsel John Dean, for a look at Cheney's Energy Task Force, the Constitutional separation of powers, and politics in an election year. Making News Anti-Terror Money Stuck in Bureaucracy, Misdirected Since September 11, Congress has approved no less than $6.3 billion to help local responders prepare for attacks of terrorism, but 80 percent of it is mired in bureaucracy, and the money that has been spent isn-t going where it-s really needed. That-s according to the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. Josh Meyer, who reports for the Los Angeles Times, has details on the problems, the process and the prognosis. Reporter's Notebook: Rats in New York and LA Today-s Los Angeles Times describes a man in Brooks Brothers suit and cuff links, walking the alleys of downtown Beverly Hills. He-s not scouting movie locations or walking off an unsuccessful date, but looking for rats. Robert Sullivan is author of a book subtitled, Observations of the History and Habitat of the City-s Most Unwanted Inhabitants, about an animal that-s always with us, and which can be fascinating.