The Cost of Texas' "Miracle" Economy, Gag Orders and EPA Interference

[unhappycamper]

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/24790-the-cost-of-texas-miracle-economy-gag-orders-and-epa-interference

The Cost of Texas' "Miracle" Economy, Gag Orders and EPA Interference
Saturday, 05 July 2014 13:23
By Amanda Zamora, ProPublica | News Analysis

"They throw these workers away like tissue paper" - In a four-part series, the Texas Tribune investigates the cost of the “miracle” economy that Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders have touted over the last decade: more worker fatalities than any other state, 500,000 workers without workers comp and lax regulation of those with private occupational insurance. — Texas Tribune @byjayroot

More federal workers and those on Wall Street fear retaliation for whistleblowing - It might have something to do with the rise in restrictive nondisclosure agreements being used by the federal government and private employers alike. — The Washington Post via @NEGordon

How politics derailed EPA science on arsenic, endangering public health - The agency concluded in 2008 that arsenic is 17 times more potent than the agency’s own guidelines state, but it has been blocked from releasing its findings for years thanks to lobbying that seems to lead to one Congressman’s door. — Center for Public Integrity via @danielle_ivory

About those SWAT records - A number of SWAT teams in Massachusetts told the ACLU they didn’t have to respond to records requests related to their recent study on the militarization of U.S. law enforcement. Why? Several are run by police-funded “law enforcement councils” that are incorporated as private corporations. — The Washington Post