One amazing decision came in 2004, when a Kansas producer asked [the U.S. Department of Agriculture] for permission to test its own cows, so that it could resume exports to Japan. You might have expected the Bush administration to applaud this example of self-regulation. But permission was denied, because other beef producers feared consumer demands that they follow suit.
The Bush administration has forced hundreds of dedicated civil servants out of their jobs and replaced them with ideological hacks (and legacy appointees). There's a lot of damage to be undone.
