A FEDERAL APPEALS COURT TODAY slapped down the Bush administration's four-year attempt to make changes to pollution emissions rules that would allow older coal-fired power plants to modernize their facilities without installing the most recent pollution-control equipment.The ruling, which was handed down yesterday, declared:

... that the changes violated the Clean Air Act and that only Congress could authorize such revisions.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with officials from 14 states, including New York, California and Maryland, who contended that the rule changes -- allowing older power plants, refineries and factories to upgrade their facilities without having to install the most advanced pollution controls -- were illegal and could increase the amount of health-threatening pollution in the atmosphere.

In other words, Pres. Bush tried to usurp Congress's role, give the Executive Branch powers that the Constitution does not allow it, and did it all in the name of Americans' safety and the national interest. Sound familiar?