DAVID GUILBAULT

BIG BUCKS FOR EARLY DEATHS

Good Lord.  Does anyone think that Wall Street has learned its lesson about risky, esoteric financial instruments?  Well, they haven't.  The investment industry is about greed, and nothing but greed.  The New York Times reports today that investment banks are looking to buy life insurance policies that the ill and elderly sell for cash.  They will then package thousands together into bonds and resell those to investors, who will receive payouts when the insured people die.  And here's the precious part:  The earlier the policyholder dies, the bigger the return.  So, Wall Street is hoping to make big bucks on early deaths.  Boy, do we need strong government regulation of the financial industry.

UNHEALTHY LIES

Congressional Republicans and health insurance lobbyists are lying to the American people - knowingly and cynically - to protect their greedy entrenched interests by killing health care reform.  That's the truth, pure and simple.

"The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems."

- Steven Pearlstein, The Washington Post

SICK TALK ON HEALTH CARE

The chief disinformation operative of the Republican party is leading a propaganda campaign against national health care reform.  He is Frank Luntz. 

He has crafted a 28-page talking points memo for Conservatives, called "The Language of Health Care 2009," to trumpet the dishonest accusation of a "Washington takeover of healthcare."  It is cynical, distorted, fear mongering self-interest at its worst.

Luntz advises opponents of universal health care to make the debate about "politicians," "bureaucrats," and "Washington," and to highlight "horror stories" about "government takeover."  He tells them to play on the fear the public has of "denied treatment."

Luntz writes, "The best approach is to empathize with the fear, anxiety and financial pain people are clearly feeling right now. So instead of dismissing their concerns, acknowledge them – up front – and then pivot to your solution. Some conservatives will undoubtedly find this distasteful. But failure to connect on a personal level at the beginning will lead to communication failure at the end."

Later he writes, "It is essential that “deny” and “denial” enter the conservative lexicon immediately because it is at the core of what scares Americans most about a government takeover of healthcare. Then add to it the source of that denial and you have the perfect anti-government, anti-Washington and anti-Democratic message."

So, you will hear this mantra repeated from Republican after Republican:

“No Washington bureaucrat or healthcare lobbyist should stand between your family and your doctor. The Democrats want to put Washington politicians in charge of YOUR healthcare. We can and must do better. Say no to a Washington takeover of healthcare and say yes to personalized patient-centered care.”

Of course, "personalized patient-centered care" is code for health insurance company control. That is the powerful industry Luntz and his cohorts are trying to protect.

Luntz and his associates are the premier manipulators of language for selfish, partisan ends.

Read one of his mission statements from their web site (emphasis is mine): 

Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research

"Our focus is on language. We believe that every word you use matters.  Luntz, Maslansky is known across the nation for how we reframe issues.  From changing the “estate tax” to the “death tax,” “tax cuts” to “tax relief,” “global warming” to “climate change” – time after time we have succeeded in changing the course of the debate.  By focusing on how to communicate your message, Luntz, Maslansky helps you reframe the issue using your side’s words and messages.  Our unique research methodology allows us to precisely gauge public opinion and develop the most effective approach and language to take control of the issue.  We know how to change hearts and minds and motivate people to act."

from Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research website

Their goal is to help "virtually every major industry" to distort their message and mask their true agenda.  Another quote from their web site:

"In the political arena, our CEO, Dr. Frank Luntz, is known for helping change the public vocabulary – he transformed the "estate tax" into the "the death tax," moved the public debate from "school vouchers" to "opportunity scholarships," and re-cast "drilling for oil" as "exploring for energy."  ...  In the corporate arena, Luntz, Maslansky currently works for clients in virtually every major industry: pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, energy, health care, transportation, sports, entertainment, travel and tourism, shopping centers, grocery stores, restaurants, food, and beverages."

If Frank Luntz is involved in a public campaign, you may assume the goal is to "pull the wool over your eyes."

And, so then, is his mission in the health care debate.

Photo Credit:  Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

BING IS THE BORG

Once again, Microsoft is showing itself to be the arrogant, power-hungry evil empire it has always been.  Their ad for their "new" search engine Bing (formerly Live Search), in customary form, takes over the web page it occupies, forcing its message on the unsuspecting user.  Today, when I went to The New York Times, the Washington Post, Huffington Post and MSNBC, there was the ad, popping up and taking over half my screen with its obnoxious braggadocio.  Unlike Apple's user-friendly ads that play silently, in the same ad spaces as the Bing intrusion, and only open when you click them.  But, Microsoft cannot help but act like the Borg, trying to take over and dominate every technology.  Their slogan is "From now on, Bing and decide."  I've decided.  No Bing.  No Borg.  No Microsoft.

WORKERS STIFFED

Let there be no doubt that the modern Republican Party has never been a friend to workers.  Their interests lay with management.  Businesses that they are beholding to have done all they can to keep wages and benefits low.  Now, they are trying to scuttle the commitments they have made to pensioners.

The Big Three auto companies, in particular, are whining that they need relief from their 'legacy costs', contractual obligations for the long term well-being of their longtime labor force.  They're trying to poor-mouth their way out of financial contracts with their retired workforce.

In an article on the USA website today by DeWayne Wickham, he says a memo reveals the real motive behind Senate Republicans' opposition to the bailout of Detroit.  An unsigned 'Action Alert' says: "Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it."

In the same edition a reader's letter to the editor notes that three of the senators opposing the bailout are from Southern states that are host to foreign automaker plants, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama, where workers have lower wages and fewer benefits than their counterparts at the Big-Three.

So, the message from the GOP continues to be clear - they are for higher profits for management, bigger dividends for stockholders and lower wages and benefits for workers.

LINCOLNIAN TRUTHS

Wise and relevant quotes from Abraham Lincoln, pertinent to the failings of today's journalism, the belligerence of the Bush administration, the greed of corporate America, the dangers of misgovernment and the cynicism of politics:

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed."

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to  tremble for the safety of my country; corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in High Places will follow, and the Money Power of the Country will  endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the People, until  the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed."

"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."

"These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people."

"Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure."

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disentrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

"What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?"

"Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap -- let it be taught in schools, in seminaries,  and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;  -- let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and  enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave  and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars."

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

Photo Credit:  Matthew Brady

MAN WITH A PLAN

Barack Obama has outlined core principles for the legislation being considered to address the current economic crisis (see below), which he urges Senator McCain to support.  They seem pretty sound.  And you can read the highlights of his overall economic plan on his website.

'I believe that several core principles should guide this legislation.

First, there must be oversight. We should not hand over a blank check to the discretion of one man. We support an independent, bipartisan board to ensure accountability and complete transparency.

Second, we need to protect taxpayers. There should be a path for taxpayers to recover their money, and to turn a profit if Wall Street prospers.

Third, no Wall Street executive should profit from taxpayer dollars. This plan cannot be a welfare program for CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility has contributed to this crisis.

Fourth, we must help families who are struggling to stay in their homes. We cannot bail out Wall Street without helping millions of families facing foreclosure on Main Street.

Fifth, we both agree that this financial rescue package should move on its own without any earmarks or other measures.

We have different views about the need for other action, but this must be a clean bill.

This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. This is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem – this is an American problem. Now, we must find an American solution.'

- Barack Obama

JOHNNIES-COME-LATELY

I'll admit that I have limited understanding of how money markets work.  To me, the stock market has always been akin to a gambling casino.  I do, however, understand the powerful motivation of greed and the cost of unregulated money grabbing.

So, here we are, the poor taxpaying citizens of this rich country, being forced to pay off the bad debts of the money managers - outrageous bills run up by poor judgments, fiscal incompetence, unregulated speculation, dishonest loan sharking and unbridled profiteering.

I've been away from the news for the past few weeks, so I have a lot of reading and studying and listening to do as this administration pushes Congress to take quick and dirty action now.

Seems to me they all need to take a deep breath and take pause.  I applaud anyone who is counseling caution and careful deliberation before enacting panicky legislation.

Tonight, George W. Buffoon went on the airwaves to sell his drastic recovery plan to the American people, and more importantly, those in Congress who are worried about sending our economy over the precipice.

This president, the most incompetent of my lifetime, looked and sounded like a frightened little boy who finally realized that he is in way over his head and is scared to death about what might happen, now that he has totally screwed up.

Meanwhile, as everyone involved from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue have been meeting for days, conducting hearings and clearly doing the best they can to come together to forge a bipartisan solution, Johnny-come-lately McSame makes a ridiculous announcement that he is suspending his campaigning (thus avoiding a Friday night debate appearance with Barack Obama) and is riding in to Washington to save the world from economic collapse.

The smart and right thing to do at a time like this, for both candidates, is to outline broad statements of principle about their economic philosophies for the future, and then to work together and in concert with the administration and our congressional lawmakers to come up with what is best for the country in this current crisis.

Instead, this buffoon thinks he is going to set us all straight and right the economic ship of state by his very presence in the nation's Capitol.  He forgets that he is part of the political party that got us in this trouble in the first place.  He's starting to believe his own bogus reformist revisionism.  He talks bipartisanship and then takes an obvious political gambit.  He is no leader and he needs to be cast aside.

I most definitely do not want McCain and Palin to be in charge in Washington.  It's time for these two bogus Western mavericks to get the hell out of Dodge.

While Obama has always had all his positions specifically outlined on his website, John McCain has been vague about what he would do in almost any situation.  You can, however, now read his speech about the economy from September 17th on his website.

Photo Credit: Brendan Smialowski & Todd Heisler/The New York Times

BAD PEOPLE

Missive Twelve
To My Darling Children

Here's the truth, my darling children.  The differences between Democrats and Republicans are the differences between right and wrong.

It's pretty simple, really.  Republicans want little or no government.  And so, they have always done all they can to starve it to death, with massive tax breaks for the wealthy and taxpayer-funded giveaways to big business.  They can't stand that the federal government has taken any of their money.  So, they want it back.

You see, they want to be able to make money without interference, with no governmental regulations or restrictions.  They don't want to answer to anyone, particularly Washington, as they build their wealth.

In order for them to grow that wealth, they need to keep wages low and benefits meager.

The bottom line is that the bottom line is all that matters to them.  It's their money, and they will decide how they get it, how they keep it, and how they'll use it.

They are on a crusade to stop funding any and all social safety nets, like Social Security and Medicaid.  They are on a mission to bring an end to worker pension funds.

They don't care if American workers lose their livelihoods and, in some cases, their lives, as they send jobs overseas for a pittance.

The only thing that gets their unbridled funding is an all-powerful military-industrial complex.  That's so they can wield their muscle around the world, maintain their hold on power and protect their monied, corporate interests.

If you were privileged enough, or clever enough, or lucky enough, or educated enough, or connected enough or unscrupulous enough to become wealthy, then you are in their club.  And club members look out for one another.

If you were underprivileged, uneducated, poverty-stricken, discriminated against, born into a cycle of despair or just plain unlucky, then you are really not their problem.  You are on your own.  They feel they owe you nothing, except charity.

Forget that institutional racism, sexism and classism have always been alive and well in this country.  Forget that hard-working people across this nation struggle with low-paying jobs, inadequate education, dangerous working conditions, no health care, crippling debt, diminishing opportunities, mortgage foreclosures and no savings for the future.

Republicans accept those poor souls as the price of doing business.  Let the churches feed and cloth those ne'er-do-wells with hand-me-down Republican threads.

But, do NOT tax the Republicans to provide a working government with laws to protect a decent minimum wage, universal health coverage, earned retirement, a safe and sustainable environment, worker rights and safety, an equal public education system, discrimination-free housing or a fair justice system. 

Those are the right things that Democrats work to build and maintain.

I no longer accept the argument that both Republicans and Democrats are good people, just with differing policies on how to tackle the problems of the world.  Bullshit.  Republicans who are out for themselves and who are complicit in allowing the less fortunate to fend for themselves are bad people - period.

The 40 most party-loyal House Republicans, according to the Washington Post.

OBSCENE OIL PROFITS

Record profits continue to roll in for Big Oil:

Exxon Breaks Profits Record, but Shares Fall

'Buoyed by soaring oil prices, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported $11.7 billion in second-quarter profits, breaking its own record for the highest quarterly earnings in U.S. corporate history.

The 14 percent increase in profits from the second quarter of 2007 was almost entirely due to sharply higher net income from oil and gas production. High crude oil prices more than offset a steep drop in earnings at the company's refining and marketing businesses, as well as an 8 percent drop in the company's oil and gas production volume.

Revenues surged to $138 billion, up 40 percent from a year earlier. Exxon's earnings were widely expected and reflect industry trends.

Earlier, Royal Dutch Shell reported a 33 percent increase in profits. On Tuesday, BP reported a 28 percent increase from the second quarter of 2007, and last week ConocoPhillips said net income rose 13 percent. ...

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama seized on the Exxon announcement to poke at his GOP rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

"Perhaps the only thing more outrageous than Exxon Mobil making record profits while Americans are paying record prices at the pump is the fact that Senator McCain has proposed giving them an additional $1.2 billion tax break," Sen. Obama (Ill.) said. "Instead of an energy policy that reads like an oil company wish list, it's time to create a new American energy economy by investing in alternative energy, creating millions of new jobs, increasing fuel efficiency standards and ending the tyranny of oil once and for all."

Steven Mufson, Washington Post, July 31, 2008

OIL MEN BUSH & CHENEY

They've started a war, raided the treasury, eviscerated environmental protections, given huge tax cuts to their wealthy sponsors and lied to the public - all for their corporate benefactors.  But, thankfully, time is running out for the Bush/Cheney cabal.

Cheney's Office Sought to Change Climate Testimony

'Seeking to play down the effects of global warming, Vice President Dick Cheney's office pushed to delete from congressional testimony references about the consequences of climate change on public health, a former senior EPA official claimed Tuesday.

The official, Jason K. Burnett, said the White House was concerned that the proposed testimony last October by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might make it tougher to avoid regulating greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

Burnett's assertion, which he made in a July 6 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, conflicts with the White House explanation at the time that the deletions reflected concerns by the White House Office of Science and Technology over the accuracy of the science.

Burnett, until last month a senior adviser on climate change at the Environmental Protection Agency, wrote that Cheney's office was deeply involved in getting nearly half of the CDC's original draft testimony removed.'

Associated Press, July 8, 2008

MOYERS ON BIG OIL & IRAQ

As always, you can count on Bill Moyers to see through the lies and report on the underlying motives of the powers that be.  Watch and/or read his essay on Big Oil and Iraq.

Excerpts from Bill Moyers Journal

'Oh no, they told us, Iraq isn't a war about oil. That's cynical and simplistic, they said. It's about terror and al Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire, and ashes. And now the bottom turns out to be the bottom line. It is about oil. ...

Take a look at this headline the other day in The New York Times: "deals with Iraq are set to bring oil giants back." Read on: "Four western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power. ...

There you have it. After a long exile Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP are back in Iraq. And on the wings of no-bid contracts - that's right, sweetheart deals like those granted Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater. The kind of deals you get only if you have friends in high places. And these war profiteers have friends in very high places.'

Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers Journal, June 27, 2008

ALWAYS TEN YEARS AWAY

I've noticed that throughout my lifetime, every time there is a regulation or initiative to improve something for the benefit of the environment - auto emissions, carbon reductions, water purity, fuel efficiency, etc. - the goal for completion is always set at a decade out.  Seems, no one is ever willing or able to curtail the offending practice now, or soon.  Of course, the planet doesn't wait.  Some scientists are speculating that the North Pole will lose its ice for the first time in human history- this year.

Exclusive: No ice at the North Pole

'It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year... Seasoned polar scientists believe the chances of a totally ice-free North Pole this summer are greater than 50:50 because the normally thick ice formed over many years at the Pole has been blown away and replaced by huge swathes of thinner ice formed over a single year.  This one-year ice is highly vulnerable to melting during the summer months and satellite data coming in over recent weeks shows that the rate of melting is faster than last year, when there was an all-time record loss of summer sea ice at the Arctic.'

Steve Connor, The Independent, June 27, 2008

One has to wonder, when hearing promises to do something about global environmental problems in ten years, whether there is really any desire to do anything at all.

Of course, the Bush administration is all about giving the oil companies free rein to drill every last drop of oil before there is any substantive progress in moving to alternative fuels.  In his 2007 State of the Union address, he outlined his 'Twenty in Ten' initiative.  The goals are to delay any real progress in cleaner, cheaper energy sources.

Excerpts:  State of the Union 2007

'It's in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply -- the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power, by even greater use of clean coal technology, solar and wind energy, and clean, safe nuclear power. (Applause.)

We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. (Applause.) We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol -- (applause) -- using everything from wood chips to grasses, to agricultural wastes.  We made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies here in Washington and the strong response of the market. And now even more dramatic advances are within reach.

Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we've done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years.(Applause.) When we do that we will have cut our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East.

To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 -- and that is nearly five times the current target. (Applause.)

At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks -- and conserve up to 8.5 billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017.  Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but it's not going to eliminate it.

And so as we continue to diversify our fuel supply, we must step up domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways. (Applause.) And to further protect America against severe disruptions to our oil supply, I ask Congress to double the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (Applause.)'

President George W. Bush, January 23, 2007

In related news, The Sun reports that Mercedes-Benz plans to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2015.  Again, with the delayed timetable.  But, still, good news for the environment, and bad news for the oil companies.

Merc Plan Fuel Seven Year Ditch

'Mercedes are aiming to end the need for filling your fuel tank with petrol or diesel within just seven years. The German firm are determined to make their model range run on alternative fuels - to improve costs, become more eco-friendly and because the oil supply will eventually run out ... This includes making current engines even cleaner and more fuel-efficient while increasing the amount of hybrids, emission-free electric cars and clean-fuel gas engines and the further development of battery and hydrogen-powered vehicles.'

Phil Lanning, The Sun, June 20, 2008

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE OIL

This article in today's New York Times speaks for itself.  Iraq was all about the oil.

Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back

'Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.

The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.

There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.'

Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, June 19, 2008