Lame-Duck Watch: Parting Shots Edition

By Melissa August, Amanda Bower, Val Castronovo, Matthew Cooper, Randy Hartwell, Daniel S. Levy, Ellin Martens, Josh Tyrangiel and Rebecca Winters

EAT MY DUST In his last days in office, George Bush laid a few land mines for Bill Clinton, such as sending troops to Somalia and bombing Iraq only days before Clinton's Inauguration. Returning the favor with a raft of last-minute appointments, pardons and Executive Orders that thumb a nose at George W.'s Administration, Clinton has:

--Announced a plan to protect 58.5 million acres of federal land by banning commercial logging and new roads. Bush criticized such a plan during the campaign

--Issued ergonomic standards to protect workers, a poke at Bush's Big Business benefactors

--Ordered medical-privacy protections opposed by Bush's health-care-industry supporters

--Pardoned two women serving long prison terms on minor drug charges, saving them from strict federal-sentencing laws favored by his successor

--Created new pollution curbs for diesel trucks and power plants, again irking George W.'s business ties

--Slapped new license plates on the presidential limo that support statehood for the District of Columbia, which Bush opposes. This Executive Order at least can be undone with a screwdriver