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CONSUMER News:
 Corporate
-  Secrets
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-  Computerized
- Data-Mining
-  Web
-  Psychology
-  Drug
-  Federal
- Consumer
-  Privacy
-  Law
-  Politics
"Insurers shun those taking certain meds: How health insurers secretly blacklist those with certain ailments." ... "Trying to buy health insurance on your own and have gallstones? You'll automatically be denied coverage. Rheumatoid arthritis? Automatic denial. Severe acne? Probably denied. Do you take metformin, a popular drug for diabetes? Denied. Use the anti-clotting drug Plavix or Seroquel, prescribed for anti-psychotic or sleep problems? Forget about it." ... "This confidential information on some insurers' practices is available on the Web -- if you know where to look." ... "What's more, you can discover that if you lie to an insurer about your medical history and drug use, you will be rejected because data-mining companies sell information to insurers about your health, including detailed usage of prescription drugs." ... "To make sure that applicants are not lying, insurers hire a data-gathering service -- Medical Information Bureau, Milliman's Intelliscript or Ingenix Medpoint." ... "Intelliscript and Medpoint do computerized searches of a person's drug use, gleaned from pharmacy benefits managers and other databases." ... "Last year, the Federal Trade Commission accused both companies of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not offering to provide consumers with information about them. The companies agreed to settlements in which they promised to let people see their personal information." (1, 2) -By John Dorschner -MiamiHerald
Economic
- History
-  Jobs
- Consumer
- Government
"GDP revision shows 6.3% decline in fourth quarter: Worst quarter in 26 years led by weak spending, investment, exports." ... "The U.S. economy experienced its most violent contraction in a generation during the fourth quarter, with real gross domestic product plunging at a 6.3% annualized seasonally adjusted rate, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in its third estimate of quarterly growth." ... " GDP hadn't fallen so much since the first quarter of 1982. It was the third largest decline in GDP in 50 years." ... "Economists believe the current quarter, which ends March 31, was nearly as bad. Current projections look for GDP to fall at a 5.1% annual pace. Since 1947, GDP has never fallen by more than 4% for two quarters in a row." ... "Some have a more extreme view: "The economy will contract by a staggering 7% to 8% in the first quarter, before the economy begins to stabilize,"wrote Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for IHS Global Insight." ... "The recession that began in December 2007 intensified in the fourth quarter following the government's rescue of several large financial institutions and the collapse of Lehman Bros. The ensuing credit squeeze has driven consumer and business confidence to generational lows, and cost 3 million Americans their jobs." ... "The slump in the economy in the fourth quarter was broad based, with declines in every major sector except the federal government. Corporate profits fell at the fastest pace since 1953." ... "Final sales to domestic purchasers -- domestic demand -- fell at a 5.8% annual rate, the biggest drop since the second quarter of 1980." -By Rex Nutting -MarketWatch
 Barack
Obama - Federal
-  Enforcement
- Financial
-  Accounting
- Politics
- American
International Group - Consumer
- Crises
- History
-  US
-  International
"Geithner to Propose Vast Expansion Of U.S. Oversight of Financial System." ... "Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner plans to propose today a sweeping expansion of federal authority over the financial system, breaking from an era in which the government stood back from financial markets and allowed participants to decide how much risk to take in the pursuit of profit." ... "The [Democratic President] Obama administration's plan, described by several sources, would extend federal regulation for the first time to all trading in financial derivatives and to companies including large hedge funds and major insurers such as American International Group. The administration also will seek to impose uniform standards on all large financial firms, including banks, an unprecedented step that would place significant limits on the scope and risk of their activities." ... "Most of these initiatives would require legislation." ... "In coming months, the administration plans to detail its strategy in three other areas: protecting consumers, eliminating flaws in existing regulations and enhancing international coordination." ... "The nation's financial regulations are largely an accumulation of responses to financial crises. Federal bank regulation was a product of the Civil War. The Federal Reserve was created early in the 20th century to mitigate a long series of monetary crises. The Great Depression delivered deposit insurance and a federally sponsored mortgage market. In the midst of a modern economic upheaval, the Obama administration is pitching the most significant regulatory expansion since that time." ... "The administration's signature proposal is to vest a single federal agency with the power to police risk across the entire financial system." (1, 2, 3) -By Binyamin Appelbaum and David Cho with contributions by Zachary A. Goldfarb -WashingtonPost
Financial
- Crisis
- Politics
-  Sports
-  Entertainment
- Marketing
-  Trip
- History
- Consumers
- Government
- Lawmakers
- Obama
- Nevada
-  New
York
"Unapologetic CEOs: What Did the Banks Do With Your Cash? Bank CEOs [Chief Executive Officer], With $125 Billion in Taxpayer Money in Hand, Testify and Defend Before Congress." ... "The heads of eight major banks that received $125 billion in taxpayer bailout funds were largely unapologetic for their role in helping to create the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression as they testified before Congress this morning." ... "The CEOs said they are trying to lend out more money and pledged to return to profit, be more transparent and repay taxpayers as soon as possible." ... "But for the most part, the CEOs in their prepared testimony shrugged off recent criticism about the high level of pay within their firms, the use of luxury jets and posh trips to Las Vegas or Monte Carlo [Monaco]." ... "Bank of America took heat recently for sponsoring a five-day carnival-like affair outside the Super Bowl. The event -- known as the "NFL experience" -- included 850,000 square feet of sports games and interactive entertainment attractions for football fans and was blanketed in Bank of America logos and marketing calls to sign up for football-themed banking products." ... "The eight financial firms received a combined total of $125 billion since October through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, commonly referred to as TARP." ... "Lawmakers have expressed outrage that the funds are not fulfilling their purpose of increasing the flow of credit to consumers. They point to a report released last month by the New York state comptroller that said Wall Street firms had handed out $18 billion in bonuses last year." ... "That news led [Democratic] President Obama to impose new restrictions on executive compensation for banks that receive money through the TARP in the future." ... "In the face of pressure from Washington, Citigroup recently scrapped plans to purchase a $50 million luxury jet." (1, 2, 3, 4) -By Matthew Jaffe and Scott Mayerowitz -ABCNEWS.com
Criminal
-  Food
-  Safety
-  Science
- Consumers
- Health
-  Ga
-  Agricultural
- Corporation
-  Plant
"FDA: Plant knew peanuts laced with salmonella." ... "As far back as 2007, salmonella-laced products were shipped by a Georgia peanut company [owned by Stewart Parnell] that knew the peanuts probably were tainted and sometimes after tests confirmed that contamination, inspection records show." ... "Federal law forbids producing or shipping foods under conditions that could make it harmful to consumers' health." ... "Food and Drug Administration officials earlier had said Peanut Corp. [Corporation] of America waited for a second test to clear peanut butter and peanuts that initially were positive for salmonella. But the agency amended its report Friday, saying that the Blakely, Ga. [Georgia], plant actually shipped some products before receiving the second test and sold others after confirming salmonella." ... "The salmonella outbreak has been blamed for at least eight deaths and 575 illnesses in 43 states. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation. More than 1,550 products have been recalled." -By Brett J. Blackledge and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar with contributions by Mary Clare Jalonick -AP via -Yahoo 
Barack
Obama -  Noteworthy
- Economic
- Crisis
- History
- People
-  Families
- Jobs
-  Homes
- Consumer
-  Energy
- Health
Care -  Education
- Internet
- Science
-  Transportation
-  Construction
- Government
- Legislation
- Politics
"The Action Americans Need." [By Democratic President Barack Obama] ... "By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bring." ... "What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis." ... "Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse." ... "That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress. With it, we will create or save more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, provide immediate tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, ignite spending by businesses and consumers alike, and take steps to strengthen our country for years to come." ... "This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education. And it's a strategy that will be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability, so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent." ... "In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive." ... "I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail." ... "Every day, our economy gets sicker -- and the time for a remedy that puts Americans back to work, jump-starts our economy and invests in lasting growth is now." ... "Now is the time to protect health insurance for the more than 8 million Americans at risk of losing their coverage and to computerize the health-care records of every American within five years, saving billions of dollars and countless lives in the process." ... "Now is the time to save billions by making 2 million homes and 75 percent of federal buildings more energy-efficient, and to double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy within three years." ... "Now is the time to give our children every advantage they need to compete by upgrading 10,000 schools with state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries and labs; by training our teachers in math and science; and by bringing the dream of a college education within reach for millions of Americans." ... "And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway." ... "These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. They're patient enough to know that our economic recovery will be measured in years, not months. But they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide." ... "So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time." -By Barack Obama -WashingtonPost
Digital
-  Television
- Technology
- Law
- Wireless
- Companies
- Obama
- Consumer
"Plan to delay U.S. switch to digital TV thwarted by Republicans." ... "An attempt to delay the U.S. [United States] switch to digital-only television transmission by four months has been scuttled by the House of Representatives." ... "House Republicans voted down a bill on Wednesday that would have postponed the latest date for the transition to digital broadcasting from analog until June 12. The changeover is set for [February] Feb. 17." ... "The majority of House members voted 258-168 in favour of the bill, but it required two-thirds support to pass." ... "Republicans oppose the delay because they say it would confuse consumers, burden wireless companies and would create added costs for broadcasters. [Democratic] President Barack Obama, Senate Democrats, and consumer advocates have said the delay is necessary to accommodate people who are unprepared." -AP via -CBC.ca 
Barack
Obama - Government
- Economics
- Legislation
- Poor
- Unemployed
- Consumer
- Construction
- Politics
"GOP [Republicans] may vote no, but economists back Obama stimulus." ... "Economists think the stimulus plan that the House of Representatives will vote on Wednesday, while far from perfect, will help stimulate the moribund U.S. [United States] economy." ... "There's no panacea for what ails the economy. A stimulus plan will work only in combination with other actions, such as more aid to the banking system to spark lending and boost consumer confidence, and the implementation of any plan will be as important as what's in it." ... "However, most leading economists who are experienced in public policy generally favor the stimulus plan that the House is considering because through it the government will step up spending at a time when private-sector spending has fallen off sharply." ... "The House legislation would erect four pillars of economic stimulus. It would provide income support to the poor and recently unemployed, distribute aid to state governments, seek relatively quick employment gains through public works spending and aim to spark consumer and business spending through targeted tax cuts." ... "Private-sector economists who support the stimulus plan say that it could be made better, and, yes, bigger." ... ""I would make the package bigger . . . increase the package to over $1 trillion," [Moody's chief economist Mark] Zandi said." -By Kevin G. Hall -McClatchyDC.com 
Consumer
- Home
- Law
- Government
- Politics
"Citigroup Backs Bankruptcy Courts Cutting Loan Rates (Update1)." ... "Citigroup Inc. [Incorporated], one of nine U.S. [United States] banks to get government aid, agreed to support legislation that would let bankruptcy judges cut mortgage rates for at-risk borrowers, three U.S. senators said today as financial industry lobbyists said the compromise was flawed." ... "Citigroup in November got $306 billion of U.S. government guarantees for troubled mortgages and toxic assets to stabilize the bank. The deal, brokered by the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. [Corporation] required the bank to modify terms for guaranteed troubled loans based on a model created by the FDIC." ... "Congress has passed several measures in the past year to stem home foreclosures, including a $300 billion bill passed in July aimed at helping 400,000 borrowers keep their homes. Senate Democrats were unable in April to adopt the bankruptcy proposal. Republicans, and the banking industry, said the plan would raise costs because lenders would try to recoup losses in court with higher rates on other loans." ... "The revised bill Citigroup endorsed would give judges the ability to adjust principle payments or interest rates on existing loans, and could extend the term on the loan, according to the language of the bill, which would force lenders to take losses without a say in bankruptcy court proceedings." ... "Citigroup accounted for 7 percent of the U.S. market for servicing home loans as of Sept. 30, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance newsletter in October. " -By Margaret Chadbourn -Bloomberg
Money
- History
"Consumer Borrowing in U.S. Falls Record $7.9 Billion (Update1)." ... "Consumer borrowing dropped by a record $7.9 billion in November as Americans scrambled to boost savings in face of the deepening recession and amid an investor exodus from securities backed by credit-card and other loans." ... "The slump brought consumer credit down to $2.57 trillion, and capped the first back-to-back monthly decline since 1992, the Federal Reserve said today in Washington. The biggest decrease came in securitized assets, an area where Fed policy makers are creating a new $200 billion lending program to shore up credit." ... "Today’s figures foreshadow a prolonged drop in consumer spending as households try to reduce debt with their net worth declining and job losses accelerating, analysts said." ... "The Fed’s figures don’t cover borrowing secured by real estate. In October, credit fell by $2.8 billion, previously reported as a drop of $3.5 billion. " -By Shobhana Chandra -Bloomberg
Corporate
- Government
- Investigators
- Politics
- Accounting
- Consumer
"Madoff misled SEC in '06, got off." ... "Securities and Exchange Commission investigators discovered in 2006 that Bernard Madoff had misled the agency about how he managed customer money, according to documents, yet the SEC missed an opportunity to uncover an alleged Ponzi scheme." ... "The documents indicate the agency had Madoff in its sights amid multiple violations that, if pursued, could have blown open his alleged multibillion-dollar scam. Instead, his firm registered as an investment adviser, at the agency's request, and the public got no word of the violations." ... "Harry Markopolos - who once worked for a Madoff rival - sparked the probe with his nearly decadelong campaign to persuade the SEC that Madoff's returns were too good to be true. In recent days, The Wall Street Journal reviewed emails, letters and other documents that Markopolos shared with the SEC over the years." ... "When he first began studying Madoff's investment performance a decade ago, Markopolos told a colleague at the time, "It doesn't make any damn sense," he and the colleague recall. "This has to be a Ponzi scheme."" -By Gregory Zuckerman -WSJ.com via -GreenwichTime.com 
 Poll
-Financial
- Consumer
- Job
- Rent
- Federal
- Debt
- History
"New Poll Shows 63% Are Already Hurt by Downturn." ... "The deepening recession has eroded the financial standing and optimism of a broad swath of Americans, nearly two-thirds of whom say that they have been hurt by the downturn and that the country has slipped into long-term economic decline." ... "A new Washington Post-ABC News poll also found that a rapidly increasing share of Americans -- 66 percent, up from just over half a year ago -- are worried about maintaining their standard of living. Nearly two in 10 said they or someone living in their household had lost a job in the past few months, and more than a quarter said they had their pay or hours reduced. And 15 percent said that at some point in the past year they fell behind on their rent or mortgage." ... "The poll captures the widening fallout from the faltering economy that policymakers are struggling to contain. The Federal Reserve yesterday cut its target for the federal funds rate to a range of zero to 0.25 percent, the lowest on record." ... "The poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans support new federal spending to stimulate the economy, and majorities of both Democrats and Republicans back the idea." ... "Twenty-four percent approve of the way [Republican] President Bush is handling the economy, and a similarly paltry 23 percent approve of the broader federal response to the crisis." ... "Democrats, Republicans and independents alike are highly critical of the federal action to address the crisis -- among each group, more than seven in 10 disapprove. In part, the criticisms stem from skepticism that the government has put in place adequate controls to avoid waste and fraud in the use of federal money in the economic recovery effort." (1, 2) -By Michael A. Fletcher and Jon Cohen with contributions by Jennifer Agiesta -WashingtonPost
 Christmas
- Children
- Consumer
- History
- Sacramento
-  California
"Christmas bleak for KB Toys as it files Chapter 11." ... "The toy retailer filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday just two weeks before Christmas and announced plans to immediately liquidate its stores, including all four in the Sacramento [California's capital] area." ... ""It's sad that all of these companies are going out of business," said Gina Quivan of Sacramento after a day of Christmas shopping with husband Justin Vasquez and their three children. Vasquez carried a large bag of toys stamped with the KB Toys logo." ... "KB Toys now joins a growing list of household names tacking up going-out-of-business signs, from Linens 'n Things to Mervyns to Circuit City and Shoe Pavilion. That a toy retailer failed just before Christmas shows how bleak things have become." ... "Retail sales are at their worst in 35 years, and three in five people say they'll spend less money over the next 90 days, according to a survey of consumer spending released Thursday by Maryland-based researcher ChangeWave." ... "The 86-year-old company decided the most viable way to cover its debt was to liquidate its stores via immediate going-out-of-business sales." -By Darrell Smith -SacBee.com |
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"• an economic meltdown of historic proportions""Yesterday, joined by San Jose [California] Mayor Chuck Reed and Oakland [California] Mayor Ron Dellums I [San Francisco, California's mayor Gavin Newsom] announced a nine-step policy plan for transforming the Bay Area into the "Electric Vehicle (EV) Capital of the U.S. [United States]" In support of this initiative Better Place, a global electric transportation company announced that it would enter the U.S. market with California as its first state, beginning in the Bay Area." ... "Commercial availability of electric cars is targeted to begin in 2012, and Better Place estimates its network investment in the Bay Area will total $1 billion when the system is fully deployed. I welcomed Better Place's announcement and anticipate many other EV companies will focus on the Bay Area as a top-priority market." ... "Electric vehicles represent an overarching, game-changing solution that allows us to transform, and recharge the American transportation sector for the 21st century. By accelerating the conversion of the car industry from its oil dependent past, to a new electric century, we can jump start the car industry, eliminate our dependence on oil, reduce our required presence in the middle east, create millions of jobs, and eliminate a significant portion of our CO2 emissions." ... "This plan ties together a triangle of influence that can get our nation back on track: Detroit [Michigan] car makers who know how to scale production, working in concert with San Francisco's culture of innovation, aided by Sacramento [California's capital] and Washington DC [America's capital] policy-making. The goal is to create a sustainable strategic advantage for the US instead of a series of bailouts." ... "As California prepares to launch this electric recharge infrastructure project, it can also serve as a blueprint for a more widely integrated solution." ... "California can generate upwards of $2.5B in new investment in jobs and the economy for the infrastructure effort, with billions more in cars and battery sales to consumers. The nation as a whole can trigger tens of billions in infrastructure, manufacturing and innovation investment. At the same time, this conversion reduces the cost to the consumer and nation per mile we drive. California, followed by the western US states of Oregon and Washington are ready to drive this effort." -By Gavin Newsom -HuffingtonPost.com
"• a car industry crashing, because of a lack of innovation and growth"
"• oil dependence transferring our wealth abroad"
"• an extended military presence in the Middle East"
"• and climate change, which threatens the health of our planet"
Food
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Joe
Biden - 
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McCain - Corporate
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Mo
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Arizona
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Tennessee
- 2008
Election
John
McCain - 
Hillary
Clinton - Barack
Obama - Consumer
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York - 2008
Election
Housing
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John
McCain - 
William
E. Timmons, Sr. - Corporate
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Japan
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Election
Prices
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Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Oil
- Companies
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- 2008
Election - 
Ohio
- Arizona
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WATCH:
McCain Oil Industry Lobbyists Puppet Masters ad
Hacking
- Business
- Computer
- Consumer
- Data
- Identity
Theft -Privacy
- US
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Ukraine
- China
Money
- Gasoline
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Consumer
- Financing
Housing
-Market
-History
- "Rise
in Renters Erasing Gains for Ownership." ... "Driven
largely by the surge in foreclosures and an unsettled housing market, Americans
are renting apartments and houses at the highest level since President
Bush started a campaign to expand homeownership in 2002." ... "The percentage
of households headed by homeowners, which soared to a record 69.1 percent
in 2005, fell to 67.8 percent this year, the sharpest decline in 20 years,
according to census data through the end of March. By extension, the percentage
of households headed by renters increased to 32.2 percent, from 30.9 percent."
... "The figures, while seemingly modest, reflect a significant shift in
national housing trends, housing analysts say, with the notable gains in
homeownership achieved under Mr. Bush all but vanishing over the last two
years." ... "Many of the new renters, meanwhile, are struggling to get
into decent apartments as vacancies decline, rents rise and other renters
increasingly stay put. Some renters who want to buy homes are unable to
get mortgages as banks impose stricter standards. Others remain reluctant
to buy, anxious that housing prices will continue to fall." ... "The confluence
of factors has largely derailed what Mr. Bush called “the ownership society,”
his campaign to give millions of people — particularly minority and lower-income
families — a shot at homeownership by encouraging lenders to finance more
home purchases." ... "“We’re not going to see homeownership rates like
that for a generation,” said Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s
Economy.com, a research company." (1, 2)
-By Rachel
L. Swarns -NYTimes
Electricity
- Market
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- Enforcement
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Texas
Health
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Environmental
- Safety
- Laws
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EU
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Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Corporate
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- Arizona
- 2008
Election
Consumer
- Home
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Education
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- Poor
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US
- Military
- Families
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Iraq
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Afghanistan
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Israel
- Consumer
- Business
- 
Terrorism
- Politics
- History
- "Bush
Says He's Not A Golfer In Wartime." ... "[Republican]
President Bush said yesterday that he gave up golfing in 2003 "in solidarity"
with the families of soldiers who were dying in Iraq, concluding that it
was "just not worth it anymore" to play the sport in a time of war." ...
"Democrats have criticized Bush for allegedly not requiring Americans to
sacrifice enough while waging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and for urging
people to keep shopping as a way to fight terrorism after the [September]
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Bush was also widely criticized in August 2002
when he decried terrorist bombings in Israel while golfing and then told
reporters: "Now watch this drive."" ... "... [Presidential historian Robert]
Dallek, who is critical of the current president's legacy, said Bush's
remarks about Iraq "speak to his shallowness." Dallek added: "That's his
idea of sacrifice, to give up golf?"" -By Dan Eggen
-WashingtonPost
WATCH:
"Now watch this drive," video of Republican President Bush golfing
immediately after explaining that "We must stop the terror. I call upon
all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers,
thank you. Now watch this drive."
Mother's-Day
- 
Museum
- 
West
Virginia - 
Woman
- Mother
- People
- Consumer
- Marketing
- Industry
- "For
the mother of Mother's Day, it's just never been right."
... "Anna Jarvis never had children, but she became the mother of Mother's
Day, giving birth to the holiday during a serene church ceremony in her
hometown [Grafton, West Virginia] 100 years ago." ... "At first, her creation
was perfect and pure. People honored their mothers the way she envisioned
it -- with a white carnation, a symbol of maternal purity, a handwritten
note or a day off." ... "But then her holiday started acting like a rebellious
teenager, selling out to the flower and card industry, leaving Miss Jarvis
bitter and disillusioned. She ended her life in a mental asylum." ... "The
story of Miss Jarvis and the holiday that she couldn't control come to
life in two exhibits more than 20 miles south of Morgantown [West Virginia].
The International Mother's Day Shrine memorializes the first Mother's Day
service on May 10, 1908, the anniversary of the death of Miss Jarvis' mother,
Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis." ... "Four miles away from Grafton in Webster
[West Virginia] is the Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum, a lovingly restored
wooden Civil War-era house." ... "Miss Jarvis likely would cringe if she
could see Mother's Day today." ... "The simple white carnation handed out
to mothers in the former Andrews Methodist Church 100 years ago has given
way to modern marketing -- crowded department store Mother's Day sales,
restaurant pitches for elaborate brunches and dinners, ornate floral bouquets
and rows upon rows of Mother's Day cards, instead of the handwritten note
she urged. On average, Americans are expected to spend $138 each on mom
this Mother's Day, ringing up $15.8 billion in sales." ... "In her day,
Anna Jarvis was a public figure and irresistible newspaper copy as she
crashed confectioners' conferences, broke up a War Mothers' rally and threatened
lawsuits -- all in the name of saving her beloved Mother's Day from encroachers."
-By Cristina Rouvalis
-Post-Gazette.com
Consumers
- Food
- Safety
- Humans
- Health
- Law
- Politics
- 
Animals
- Agriculture
- Business
- 
Kan
- US
- Japan
- "Government
asks court to block wider testing for mad cow." ...
"The [Republican President] Bush administration on Friday urged a federal
appeals court to stop meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad
cow disease, but a skeptical judge questioned whether the government has
that authority." ... "The government seeks to reverse a lower court ruling
that allowed Arkansas City, Kan.[Kansas]-based Creekstone Farms Premium
Beef to conduct more comprehensive testing to satisfy demand from overseas
customers in Japan and elsewhere." ... "Less than 1 percent of slaughtered
cows are currently tested for the disease under Agriculture Department
guidelines. The agency argues that more widespread testing does not guarantee
food safety and could result in a false positive that scares consumers."
... "Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, can be fatal
to humans who eat tainted beef. Three cases of mad cow disease have been
discovered in the U.S. [United States] since 2003." -By
Sam Hananel -AP
via -SFGate.com
Secret
- Government
- 
Intelligence
- Terrorism
- Politics
- Illegal
- Surveillance
- Investigation
- Internet
- Archive
- 
Library
- Electronic
- Civil
Liberties - Brewster_Kahle
- Censorship
- San
Francisco - California
- Student
- Health
- Consumer
- Telephone
- Electronic
- Data
- National
Security Letter - "FBI
Targets Internet Archive With Secret 'National Security Letter', Loses."
... "The Internet Archive, a project to create a digital library of the
web for posterity, successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act
order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the
order public, civil liberties groups announced Wednesday morning." ...
"On November 26, 2007, the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] served
a controversial National
Security Letter (.pdf) on the Internet
Archive's founder Brewster Kahle, asking for records about one of the
library's registered users, asking for the user's name, address and activity
on the site." ... "The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive's
lawyers, fought the NSL [National Security Letter], challenging its constitutionality
in a December 14 complaint
(.pdf) to a federal court in San Francisco [California]. The FBI agreed
on April 21 to withdraw the letter and unseal the court case, making some
of the documents available to the public." ... "The Patriot Act greatly
expanded the reach of NSLs, which are subpoenas for documents such as billing
records and telephone records that the FBI can issue in terrorism investigations
without a judge's approval. Nearly all NSLs come with gag orders forbidding
the recipient from ever speaking of the subpoena, except to a lawyer."
... "Brewster Kahle called the gag order "horrendous," saying he couldn't
talk about the case with his board members, wife or staff, but said that
his stand was part of a time-honored tradition of librarians protecting
the rights of their patrons." ... ""This is an unqualified success that
will help other recipients understand that you can push back on these,"
Kahle said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning." ...
"Though FBI guidelines on using NSLs warned of overusing them, two Congressionally
ordered audits revealed that the FBI had issued hundreds of illegal requests
for student health records, telephone records and credit reports. The reports
also found that the FBI had issued hundreds of thousands of NSLs since
2001, but failed to track their use. In a letter to Congress last week,
the FBI admitted it can only estimate how many NSLs it has issued." -By
Ryan Singel -Wired
Hillary
Clinton - John
McCain - Gas
- Politics
- Consumer
- Memorial
Day - Labor_Day
- New
York - 2008
Election
- "Clinton,
McCain Push Gas Tax Break Economists Panned (Update1)."
... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton
and [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain are both
pushing a ``gas-tax holiday'' to give consumers an 18.4- cent-a-gallon
price break. Clinton says the plan will take excess profits from oil companies.
McCain says it will help families buy school supplies." ... "Economists
have a different take: They say the oil companies may end up the biggest
beneficiaries, while the aid to families wouldn't be enough to buy a $35
backpack." ... "The trouble with the plan, they say, is that oil prices
are rising because of low supplies, and companies will continue to charge
the average $3.60 a gallon and just pocket the money that would have gone
to federal taxes." ... "``That's $10 billion, and it's going into the pockets
of oil refiners,'' said Leonard Burman of the Tax Policy Center in Washington.
``The last time I checked, they didn't need it.''" ... "Ethan Harris, chief
U.S. [United States] economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., said families
would save only about $18 a month. Burman estimated the total savings from
Memorial Day to Labor Day at $28." ... "New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
said the proposal was ``about the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time
from an economic point of view.''" -By Alison Fitzgerald
-Bloomberg
Clinton
- McCain
- Obama
- Infrastructure
- Auto
- Transportation
- 
North
Carolina - 2008
Election - Oil
- Companies- Politics
- "Clinton-McCain
gas tax holiday slammed as bad idea." ... "The [gas]
tax is used to fund the Highway Trust Fund that builds and maintains roads
and bridges." ... "Economists said that since refineries cannot increase
their supply of gasoline in the space of a few summer months, lower prices
will just boost demand and the benefits will flow to oil companies, not
consumers." ... ""You are just going to push up the price of gas by almost
the size of the tax cut," said Eric Toder, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings
Tax Policy Center in Washington." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Barack] Obama criticized the plan as pure politics and said the
only way to lower the price of gas is to use less oil." ... ""It would
last for three months and it would save you on average half a tank of gas,
$25 to $30. That's what Senator Clinton and Senator McCain are proposing
to deal with the gas crisis," he said on Tuesday in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina." ... ""This isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer,
it's an idea designed to get them through an election."" (1, 2,
3)
-By Alister Bull with contributions by Bill Trott
-Reuters
McCain
- Clinton
- Obama
- Transportation
- Infrastructure
- Federal
- Money
- Arizona
- New
York
- 
Illinois
- 2008
Election - Labor_Day
- Memorial
Day - Consumer
- Car
- Gas
- Politics
- "What
a gas: Candidates seem far less presidential when
they talk about 'gas tax holidays' rather than the nation's ongoing needs."
... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]
Sen. John McCain's idea to give Americans a summer holiday from federal
gas taxes is about as weighty as a Barbie Dream Car, yet he can't stop
driving it into the ground." ... "Neither can [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton. The
two presidential contenders can't resist the chance to pander to voters
and, as a bonus, paint [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate
and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama as an elitist. By doing so, they're
missing an opportunity to show leadership on some major long-term challenges
-- such as updating the nation's crowded roads and aging bridges." ...
"In a speech on April 15, McCain proposed that the federal government suspend
the 18.4-cent-per-gallon gas tax and the 24.4-cent-per-gallon diesel tax
between Memorial Day and Labor Day. ... "McCain's idea is problematic on
several levels. First, it would begin and end several months before the
next president takes office, so it's more of a thought balloon than a plan.
Second, the tax relief would save the typical American family only about
$40 per car, while also siphoning $10 billion from the cash-strapped federal
highway fund." ... "What's more, leading economists say the tax break would
do little to lower the prices at the pump. More likely, the slightly lower
prices would lead to higher demand, which would push the prices back up,
allowing oil companies to make more money while federal tax coffers go
hungry." ... "This is an election-year sop, not a plan for the future."
-Oregonian
Consumer
- Opinion
- History
- Fuel
- Employment
- Houses
- Cars
- Michigan
- "U.S.
Economy: Sentiment Weakens More Than Anticipated (Update3)."
... "U.S. [United States] consumer confidence
fell more than forecast in April to a 26-year low as record fuel prices
and rising unemployment threatened to reduce spending." ... "The Reuters/University
of Michigan sentiment index decreased to 62.6, from 69.5 the previous month.
The measure was down from a preliminary estimate of 63.2 issued on April
11." ... "Consumers are growing increasingly anxious because the economy
has lost almost a quarter million jobs so far this year, gasoline is up
17 percent and property
values have fallen. Sales of houses and cars have declined as a result,
contributing to a slowdown that may bring an end to the six-year expansion."
... "The index of consumer expectations
for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer
spending, dropped to 53.3 from 60.1 last month." ... "The economy lost
80,000 jobs in March, the most in five years, following a 76,000 drop in
payrolls in each of the prior two months, according to figures from the
Labor Department." ... "The average price of regular unleaded gasoline
rose to a record $3.58 a gallon yesterday, according to data from AAA [American
Automobile Association]." ... "Cars and light trucks sold at an average
15.2 million annual pace in the first three months of the year, the fewest
since the third quarter of 1998." -By Bob Willis
-Bloomberg
Consumer
- Real
Estate - History
- "Regulator
fears wave of bank failures." ... "US bank failures
could rise above "historical norms" as a weakening economy puts pressure
on badly underwritten loans, particularly in commercial real estate, according
to a bank regulator." ... "In an interview with the Financial Times, John
Dugan, who oversees about 1,700 national banks as comptroller of the currency,
said the growing problems for lenders follow a period of almost four years
in which no institution regulated by his agency had failed." ... "Mr Dugan's
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is particularly worried about
lending by smaller banks to commercial real estate developers for condominiums
and other projects. More than a third of smaller community banks have made
commercial property loans that exceed 300 per cent of their capital, the
OCC [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] says. By comparison, in
1987, when hundreds of banks failed amid a commercial property collapse,
such banks had commercial property loans equal to 175 per cent of their
capital." (1, 2)
-By Daniel
Pimlott, Krishna
Guha and Joanna
Chung -FT.com
-
- Media
- Politics
- Corporate
- Network
- 2008
Election - 
-
-
-
- Torture
-
- Human
Rights -
- Consumer
-
- 
- Safety
-
-
-
- Death
Penalty - "Okay,
Now I'm Bitter." [Mary Mapes on what
DISNEY/ABC didn't cover in the 2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate debate in Pennsylvania with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama]
... "In Iraq, we've seen a rebound in suicide bombings and gotten the disquieting
information that Iraqi soldiers have been fleeing the battlefield in frightening
numbers." ... "Americans learned that detailed discussions of torture techniques
had been held in the [Republican President] White House -- our White House
-- and President Bush revealed that he knew this and approved." ... "[Home]
Foreclosure rates have spiked to frightening levels." ... "U.S. [United
States] shoppers were told that food prices in this country are rising
at a higher pace than at any time in the past 17 years." ... "The airline
industry floundered through dreadful days of groundings, amidst safety
concerns, economic ailments and passenger anger." ... "Oil prices are setting
new records almost every day and $4 a gallon gas is coming soon to a service
station near you." ... "The anguish over China's human rights record and
its handling of Tibet turned the Olympic torch relay into a cross between
Spain's Running of the Bulls and 3rd grade keep-away." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain, acting like a mean old
man trying to chase those pesky voters off his lawn, refused to endorse
a new GI bill that would help those currently serving our country get a
college education." ... "The Supreme Court issued a fractured opinion on
the death penalty that for the first time in years raises the real possibility
of a national debate on the value and morality of the ultimate punishment."
... "And we are in the middle of what is clearly the most important, most
consequential election of my lifetime -- and I'm no spring chicken." ...
"Instead, I sat in front of my TV open-mouthed, listening to a hodgepodge
of juvenile questions about flag jewelry, the possibility of a "dream"
ticket, elderly radicals, Charlie Gibson's personal tax concerns and ministers
who emote too much. What, no time for a question about Cindy McCain's purloined
pork chop recipe?" -By Mary Mapes
-HuffingtonPost.com
Consumer
- Economy
- Nevada
- California
- 
Florida
- "Foreclosures
jump 57 percent in last 12 months." ... "Home foreclosure
filings surged 57 percent in the 12 month-period ended in March and bank
repossessions soared 129 percent from a year ago, as homeowners struggled
to make mortgage payments, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Tuesday."
... "For the month of March, foreclosure filings, default notices, auction
sale notices and bank repossessions rose 5 percent, led by Nevada, California
and Florida, RealtyTrac said." ... "The rise in March to filings on a total
of 234,685 properties followed a 4 percent decline in February, RealtyTrac
reported." ... "RealtyTrac said the peak has yet to be reached." (1, 2,
3)
-By Lynn Adler with contributions by Leslie Adler
-Reuters
Consumer
- Money
- History
- Poor
- Families
- Agriculture
- "Food
Costs Rising Fastest in 17 Years." ... "The U.S.
[United States] is wrestling with the worst food inflation in 17 years,
and analysts expect new data due on Wednesday to show it's getting worse.
That's putting the squeeze on poor families and forcing bakeries, bagel
shops and delis to explain price increases to their customers." ... "U.S.
food prices rose 4 percent in 2007, compared with an average 2.5 percent
annual rise for the last 15 years, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. And the agency says 2008 could be worse, with a rise of as
much as 4.5 percent." ... "Eggs cost 25 percent more in February than they
did a year ago, according to the USDA [United States Department of Agriculture].
Milk and other dairy products jumped 13 percent, chicken and other poultry
nearly 7 percent." -By Ellen Simon
-AP via -SFGate.com
Families
- Jobs
- Consumer
- Economic
- History
- Accounting
- "For
Many, a Boom That Wasn’t." ... "The bigger problem
is that the now-finished boom was, for most Americans, nothing of the sort.
In 2000, at the end of the previous economic expansion, the median American
family made about $61,000, according to the Census Bureau’s inflation-adjusted
numbers. In 2007, in what looks to have been the final year of the most
recent expansion, the median family, amazingly, seems to have made less
— about $60,500." ... "This has never happened before, at least not for
as long as the government has been keeping records. In every other expansion
since World War II, the buying power of most American families grew while
the economy did. You can think of this as the most basic test of an economy’s
health: does it produce ever-rising living standards for its citizens?"
... "“We have had expansions before where the bottom end didn’t do well,”
said Lawrence F. Katz, a Harvard economist who studies the job market.
“But we’ve never had an expansion in which the middle of income distribution
had no wage growth.”" ... "But the larger point is still crucial: the modern
American economy distributes the fruits of its growth to a relatively narrow
slice of the population." -By David
Leonhardt -NYTimes
Federal
- Law
- Enforcement
- Politics
- Consumer
- Homeowners
- "A
to-do over plan's to-dos: Push to revamp financial
industry regulation sets up a battle between [Republican President] Bush
and Congress." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson's blueprint for regulatory reform, officially unveiled Monday,
set the stage for a major confrontation with Congress by offering no relief
for troubled homeowners and advocating what in many cases was less, not
more, federal supervision of the nation's troubled financial system." ...
"Paulson proposed the broadest restructuring of federal regulatory institutions
in three-quarters of a century with a call to merge organizations and redraw
lines of authority that in some cases went back to the Great Depression.
But the plan would put off for years, if not indefinitely, any attempt
to create detailed new regulations for the streamlined new system to enforce."
... "As a result, even if eventually adopted, the new scheme would do little
to protect against a repetition of the current crisis or something very
much like it, the Treasury secretary acknowledged." ... "The limited nature
of the proposals, contained in a 218-page document titled "Blueprint for
a Modernized Financial Regulatory Structure," also drew immediate, if measured,
fire from Democrats." ... ""It was regulators' mindless belief that the
market is always right that made them deaf to warnings that the subprime
market was trouble," complained Barbara Roper, investor protection director
for the Consumer Federation of America." ... ""Until you change that attitude
and the reluctance to regulate, consumers and investors aren't going to
see any benefit. There is absolutely nothing for consumers and investors"
in the plan, at least for the foreseeable future." -By
Peter G. Gosselin -ChicagoTribune
Food
- Agriculture
- Plant
- Land
- History
- Ethanol
- Companies
- Animal
- Consumers
- "Corn
forecast suggests rise in food prices is ahead."
... "U.S. [United States] farmers plan to cut back corn planting and boost
soybean production, a shift that could send ripples from the farm belt
to your grocery bills." ... "The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday
released its prospective plantings report. The report, which came amid
surging grain prices, bore news that affects grain farmers, livestock producers,
ethanol companies, food processors and, ultimately, consumers." ... "Corn
plantings are expected to fall 8 percent this year, to 86 million acres,
according to the Department of Agriculture. Last year farmers planted a
post-World War II record of nearly 94 million acres of corn to meet burgeoning
demand for ethanol, which is expected to soon absorb about 30 percent of
domestic corn production." ... "“Last year many soybean growers switched
from soybeans to corn as ethanol expansion strongly increased the demand
for corn,” the Department of Agriculture said." ... "This year, though,
many of the 86,000 farmers surveyed for the report said they were shifting
production back toward soybeans, which had surged in price. Soybean planting
is expected to increase 18 percent this year, to almost 75 million acres."
... "Corn is trading near its record-high price of $5.70 a bushel, more
than double the price of two years ago. Soybeans are hovering around $12
a bushel, nearly double last year’s level." (1, 2)
-By Victoria Sizemore Long
-KansasCity.com
John
McCain
- 
Edwards
- Consumer
- Laws
- Politics
- Arizona
- Women
- 2008
Election - "McCain's
health plan fails her test: Neither Elizabeth Edwards,
whose cancer is incurable, nor the presumptive Republican presidential
nominee would be covered by his policy, she asserts." ... "Elizabeth Edwards,
the wife of former [2008 Election] Democratic presidential contender John
Edwards, said she and [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]
John McCain have one thing in common: "Neither one of us would be covered
by his health policy."" ... "Edwards lodged her criticism of the presumptive
Republican presidential nominee's proposal Saturday at the annual meeting
of the Assn. [Association] of Health Care Journalists." ... "Under McCain's
plan, insurance companies "wouldn't have to cover preexisting conditions
like melanoma and breast cancer," she said." ... "McCain has been treated
for melanoma, the most serious type of skin malignancy. Edwards in 2004
was diagnosed with breast cancer, and announced a year ago that it had
returned and spread into her bones, meaning it no longer could be cured."
... "His [McCain's health] plan would make it difficult for people with
preexisting conditions, but who aren't covered by a government- or job-sponsored
plan, to buy individual coverage, Edwards said." ... "Cancer survivors
are routinely denied insurance when they try to purchase it as individuals,
health experts say." ... "Edwards also criticized McCain's proposal because
it would allow companies to sell health insurance across state lines."
... ""... Edwards said the plan would allow insurers to move their headquarters
to states in which consumer protection laws are weak." -By
Rong-Gong Lin II -LAtimes
Noteworthy
- Consumer
- Finances
- Law
- Politics
- "'Muscle'
Silences Credit Card Adversaries." ... "Christy Mylar
Smith and her husband paid their Citibank card bill on time for years --
but when they paid late twice in one year, their interest rate increased
from 12.9 percent to 31.4 percent overnight." ... "Steven Strachan has
a FICO score in the high 700s, has always paid on time, has never gone
over the limit, yet Chase increased his rate from 10.99 percent to 24.99
percent." ... "Steve Autry accepted a fixed rate for life of 9.9 percent
from Capital One. Now Capital One tells him that the cost of business and
rising interest rates will cause his rates to increase, even though he
has been a customer in good standing for many years." ... "Marvin Weatherspoon
took advantage of a low introductory rate from Bank of America, but because
he was a few days late in paying one month, his interest rate has been
increased from 4.25 percent to almost 25 percent. Only $108 of his $347
monthly payment goes to the principal. He has tried to work with the bank,
but felt "he had no voice."" ... "At the 11th hour, the credit companies
found a way to stop those that had traveled to Washington today to tell
their story to the congressional panel on consumer credit." ... "The banks
whose practices were about to be discussed on Capitol Hill demanded that
those testifying before Congress about credit card practices sign a waiver
that allowed their personal financial information be revealed to the public."
... "The Republicans on the subcommittee backed the banks' requests and
a procedural battle would have ensued." (1, 2)
-By Vija Udenans -ABCNEWS.com
Corporate
- Government
- Wiretapping
- Amnesty
- Phone
- Customers
- Classified
- Intelligence
- Terrorism
- Politics
- "House
Steers Its Own Path on Wiretaps." ... "In continued
defiance of the [Republican President Bush] White House, House Democratic
leaders are readying a proposal that would reject giving legal protection
to the phone companies that helped in the National Security Agency’s program
of wiretapping without warrants after the Sept. 11 attacks, Congressional
officials said Monday." ... "Instead of blanket immunity, the tentative
proposal would give the federal courts special authorization to hear classified
evidence and decide whether the phone companies should be held liable."
... "President Bush has been insisting for months that Congress give retroactive
immunity to the phone companies, calling it a vital matter of national
security." ... "Democrats have accused Mr. Bush of fear-mongering." ...
"The flash point in the debate has been the question of whether to protect
AT&T and other major phone companies from some 40 lawsuits pending
in federal courts, which charge that the companies’ participation in the
eavesdropping program violated federal privacy laws and their responsibilities
to their customers." ... "With some conservative Democrats in the House
favoring immunity for the phone companies, Democratic leaders conceded
that the proposal would face opposition even within their own party. And
they said that even if it were approved by the House, it was certain to
face strong opposition from the White House and probable defeat in the
Senate." -By
Eric
Lichtblau -NYTimes
Water
- Drugs
- Human
- Health
- Environmental
- Science
- Investigation
- Industry
- Consumer
- Safety
- Federal
- Law
- Earth
- Wildlife
- California
- 
New
Jersey - Michigan
- 
Ky
- "Sex
Hormones, Mood Stabilizers Found In Drinking Water Of 41 M Americans."
... "A vast array of pharmaceuticals _ including antibiotics, anti-convulsants,
mood stabilizers and sex hormones _ have been found in the drinking water
supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated
Press investigation shows." ... "To be sure, the concentrations of
these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion
or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist
their water is safe." ... "But the presence of so many prescription drugs
_ and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen _ in
so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of
long-term consequences to human health." ... "In the course of a five-month
inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking
water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas _ from Southern California
to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit [Michigan] to Louisville, Ky. [Kentucky.]"
... "How do the drugs get into the water?" ... "People take pills. Their
bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through
and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is
discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is
cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers.
But most treatments do not remove all drug residue." ... "And while researchers
do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure
to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies
_ which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public _ have found
alarming effects on human cells and wildlife." ... "The federal government
doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water."
... "The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural
sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated." ...
"Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily
avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do
not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's
main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems."
... "Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of
40 percent of the nation's water supply." -By Jeff
Donn, Martha Mendoza, and Justin Pritchard
-AssociatedPress via -HuffingtonPost.com
Illegal
- Corporate
- Government
- Surveillance
- Terrorism- Investigation
- Consumer
- Finances
- Telephone
- Internet
- Data
- Intelligence
- Politics
- Rights
- History
- Audit
- 
Vt
- "More
FBI Privacy Violations Confirmed." ... "The FBI [Federal
Bureau of Investigation] acknowledged it improperly accessed Americans'
telephone records, credit reports and Internet traffic in 2006, the fourth
straight year of privacy abuses resulting from investigations aimed at
tracking terrorists and spies." ... "Testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee
hearing, [FBI Director Robert] Mueller raised the issue of the FBI's controversial
use of so-called national security letters [NSLs] in reference to an upcoming
report on the topic by the Justice Department's inspector general." ...
"An audit by the inspector general last year found the FBI demanded personal
records without official authorization or otherwise collected more data
than allowed in dozens of cases between 2003 and 2005. Additionally, last
year's audit found that the FBI had underreported to Congress how many
national security letters were requested by more than 4,600." ... "National
security letters, as outlined in the USA Patriot Act, are administrative
subpoenas used in suspected terrorism and espionage cases. They allow the
FBI to require telephone companies, Internet service providers, banks,
credit bureaus and other businesses to produce highly personal records
about their customers or subscribers without a judge's approval." ... "Speaking
before the FBI chief, [Vermont Democratic Senator and] Senate Judiciary
Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. [Democratic-Vermont], urged Mueller to be
more vigilant in correcting what he called "widespread illegal and improper
use of national security letters."" ... ""Everybody wants to stop terrorists.
But we also, though, as Americans, we believe in our privacy rights and
we want those protected," Leahy said. "There has to be a better chain of
command for this. You cannot just have an FBI agent who decides he'd like
to obtain Americans' records, bank records or anything else and do it just
because they want to."" -By Lara Jakes Jordan
-AP via -SFGate.com
Peoples
- Homes
- Cars
- Economics
- "Banks'
losses could put $900 billion squeeze on consumers:
Troubled loans – from homes to cars – could trim economic growth by 1 percentage
point, a new forecast says." ... "Consumers and businesses now face an
economic downturn made more difficult by a contraction among banks and
other lenders. In fact, the health of banks has become perhaps the biggest
source of uncertainty about the economy." ... "How bad is the damage?"
... "By one new estimate, troubled mortgages alone could knock a full percentage
point off economic growth in the year ahead. And mortgages are just part
of the problem. With losses also rising on loans for everything from cars
to commercial real estate, banks effectively will have less money available
to make new loans – perhaps $900 billion less." ... ""The reality is that
banks are in trouble," says Ed Yardeni, an economist who until recently
has been optimistic about the economy's prospects for avoiding recession.
"I don't think they'll go bankrupt. [But] we're in the process of cleaning
up the mess that the financial engineers created" by reselling shaky home
loans to investors." ... "Late last week, a team of researchers put forward
a detailed analysis of the problem – or at least the biggest known chunk
of the problem." ... "The most likely outcome is that mortgage losses in
the current cycle will total $400 billion, concluded the four economists
involved, Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs, David Greenlaw of Morgan Stanley,
Anil Kashyap of the University of Chicago, and Hyun Song Shin of Princeton
University." ... "Currently, consumers and businesses hold some $30 trillion
in debt, so the $900 billion drop represents roughly a 3 percent cut in
credit, according to Yardeni." -By Mark Trumbull
-CSMonitor
Political
- Terrorism
- Corporate
- Government
- Telecom
- Amnesty
- Surveillance
- Intelligence
- Secrecy
- Consumer
- Internet
- History
- "Bush
Spy Bill Stance Called Fear-Mongering: [Republican
President Bush] President: U.S. Could Face Attacks That Would Make 9/11
"Pale By Comparison"." ... "President Bush, in remarks meant to spur House
Democrats into accepting a controversial new bill that would expand the
government's ability to spy on Americans, warned that the country faced
terror strikes that would make September 11 "pale by comparison."" ...
"In response, critics of the new bill accused Mr. Bush of "fear mongering,"
and of trying to deflect attention from the bill itself. Its most controversial
provision would prevent Americans from suing phone companies that helped
the administration spy on them since the [Republican President Bush] White
House surveillance program was instituted in 2001." ... "Mr. Bush has made
immunity from civil prosecution for the telecoms a must-have element for
revamping the nation’s surveillance laws, repeatedly saying he would veto
any bill that does not exempt telecoms from lawsuits." ... "The House-passed
version does not include telecom immunity. This past week, the Senate approved
a similar version which includes a provision that protects telecoms from
civil lawsuits." ... "There are approximately 40 lawsuits now brought by
citizens and consumer groups against companies that enabled the government
to illegally eavesdrop on Americans' phone and Internet communications."
... "Opponents of the administration's program, which engaged wiretaps
against any and all Americans without obtaining court-ordered warrants,
say the telecoms' participation was illegal. They say that, given the Bush
administration's penchant for secrecy, lawsuits against the telecoms are
the only way to obtain disclosure about the facts from the government."
... "Information being sought includes details about the origins of the
program. The administration admitted that the sweeping domestic surveillance
originated in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. However, declassified
documents obtained by the National Security Archive and testimony that
is part of these lawsuits suggest the National Security Agency program
was put into place shortly after Mr. Bush was inaugurated, long before
9/11." -Contributed to by David Morgan
-AP -CBSNews
Food
- Agriculture
- Markets
- History
- Consumer
- 
Minnesota
- 
South
Dakota - 
North
Dakota - US
- Worldwide
- "Record
wheat price ignites food inflation fears: It's $15
a bushel at Minneapolis Grain Exchange [Minneapolis, Minnesota] and expected
to keep climbing." ... "The highest wheat price in U.S. [United States]
history - more than $15 a bushel - was reached Thursday in Minneapolis
as a trading frenzy inflames the grain markets, fans fears of spiking food
costs and revives worries about food shortages." ... "With wheat stockpiles
dwindling, a worldwide scramble is under way for bushels of high-protein
spring wheat, the variety grown in Minnesota and the Dakotas [South Dakota
and North Dakota] and traded at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange [Minneapolis,
Minnesota]. Already, spring wheat prices have tripled in the past year
and are poised to move even higher." ... "Thursday's closing price of $15.23
a bushel may be jubilant news for wheat farmers and the rural Midwest,
as the historic rally pushes corn and soybean prices near records, too.
But it could mean new price shocks for consumers, and it already alarms
food companies that need wheat for such consumer staples as bread, cereal,
crackers and pasta." ... "In 2007, the rate of U.S. food inflation more
than doubled to a 17-year high of 4.8 percent. Some expect that pace to
nearly double again this year." ... "The [Minneapolis Grain Exchange] exchange
was founded more than a century ago in an era when Minneapolis was the
flour milling capital of the world, and it nourished local companies like
General Mills, Pillsbury and Cargill. It remains the U.S. marketplace for
spring wheat, a tough, high-protein variety that makes bread rise and bagels
possible." ... "On Thursday, the local grain elevator in Halstad, Minn.
[Minneapolis], was paying $16.13 per bushel for spring wheat. " -By
Tom Webb -TwinCities.com
Health
- Food
- Safety
- Consumer
- Freedom
of Speech - Genetic
- Science
- Agriculture
- Corporate
- Law
- Politics
- Vermont-
"Ben
& Jerry's Fights For Labeling Rights: States,
Industry Challenge Ice Cream Maker's Right To Advertise As Synthetic Hormone-Free."
... "Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. [Incorporated], one of the first companies
to label its ice cream as free of a synthetic hormone, is protesting a
move by some states to restrict such labeling." ... "The South Burlington
[Vermont] ice-cream maker has joined a national campaign to block what
critics say is an effort driven by Monsanto Co. [Company], which markets
recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST, also known as recombinant bovine
growth hormone, or rBGH." ... ""We're very concerned about, from a primary
standpoint, the freedom of speech to be able to put what we believe is
truthful and appropriate messaging on our packaging," said Rob Michalak,
a spokesman for Ben & Jerry's, which has mounted a campaign to get
consumers on its side." ... "But a newly formed farmers' group, backed
by Monsanto, is pushing for labeling changes, saying the hormone-free labels
imply that the milk is safer than other milk, when they say it's not."
-AP via -CBSNews
John
Edwards
- Consumer
- Marketplace
- Politics
- Government
- Law
- 2008
Election - North
Carolina - 
South
Carolina - "Health
Care Up to Public, Edwards Says." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and North Carolina's] Former Senator
John Edwards does not discount the possibility that his health care proposal,
which would allow Americans to buy new government insurance packages modeled
on Medicare, could evolve into a federalized system like those in Canada
and many European countries. And if it does, Mr. Edwards said he would
be just fine with that." ... "But Mr. Edwards, of North Carolina, emphasized
in a 40-minute interview on health policy that the choice would be made
not in Washington, but by consumers in an open marketplace where private
insurance competes with government plans." ... "“American health consumers
will decide which works best,” Mr. Edwards said Wednesday afternoon while
traveling through South Carolina on his campaign bus. “It could continue
to be divided. But it could go in one direction or the other, and one of
the directions is obviously government or single-payer. And I’m not opposed
to that.”" ... "If the government is able to undercut private insurers
on price — by forgoing profit, reducing overhead, and maximizing economies
of scale — it theoretically could put the private system out of business
and become the de facto insurer for the nation." ... "Republican candidates
and policy strategists have raised the specter of “socialized medicine”
and depicted the Democratic plans as a back-door route to a so-called single-payer
government system." ... "Mr. Edwards brushed off that critique. “There
is nothing back-door about it,” he said. “It’s right through the front
door. We’re going to let America decide what health care system works for
them.”" (1, 2)
-By Kevin
Sack -NYTimes
Consumer
- Emergency
- "Fed
Shifts to Lending Concern in Emergency Rate Cut (Update1)."
[Federal Reserve cuts rate by 0.75 percentage points to 3.50 percent]
... "The Federal Reserve signaled today that it has grown increasingly
concerned over the reluctance of banks to provide credit to companies and
consumers, restrictions that may exacerbate an already slowing economy."
... "The central bank, executing a record emergency reduction in its benchmark
interest rate, said in its statement that ``credit has tightened further
for some businesses and households.'' The Federal Open Market Committee
also noted that ``strains in short- term funding markets have eased somewhat.''"
... "The Fed lowered interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point
after stocks plunged in Europe and Asia on heightened fears of a U.S. recession."
... "The Fed's first steps in addressing the August credit collapse were
to buttress liquidity to keep financial markets stable. Officials cut the
charge on direct loans to banks on Aug. [August] 17 [2007] in an unscheduled
conference call. Last month, the central bank introduced a new tool to
inject funds into banks through two monthly auctions of cash." -By
Scott Lanman -Bloomberg
Consumer
- Accounting
- History
- Labor- Food
- Health
- Gasoline
- Politics
- "New
inflation data explain middle-class squeeze." ...
"New data from the Labor Department confirm what most middle-class Americans
already know: Inflation is squeezing them." ... "As consumer prices rose
by 4.1 percent last year, the highest rate since 1990, the prices of basic
essentials such as food, gasoline and health insurance climbed far more
steeply, explaining why so many Americans are telling pollsters that the
economy is their chief concern." ... "The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
Wednesday that the price of food and beverages rose 4.8 percent. At the
same time, real weekly earnings failed to keep pace, rising 0.9 percent
for the year. In the simplest of terms, a dollar earned bought less." ...
"Digging deeper into the data reveals, for example, that the price of bread
rose 7.4 percent last year, almost twice the rate of inflation." ... "The
price of eggs rose 29.2 percent in 2007, while the price of fresh whole
milk was up 13.1 percent. Since July, when milk prices first soared, the
price of fresh whole milk has risen by almost 23 percent." ... "The price
of health insurance, another major political-campaign theme, rose by 10.1
percent last year." ... "Gasoline prices rose 8.2 percent on average last
year, the slowest rate of growth since 2002. But pump prices began climbing
anew in October and for the last quarter of 2007 average prices rose by
just more than 30 percent." -By
Kevin
G. Hall -McClatchyDC.com
Consumer- History
- Energy
- "Wholesale
prices rose by 6.3 percent in 2007: Year-over-year
gain was largest in 26 years." ... "Wholesale inflation last year shot
up by the largest amount in 26 years while retailers suffered their worst
December shopping season in five years as mounting economic woes caused
consumers to put away their wallets." ... "The Labor Department reported
that wholesale inflation [the Producer Price Index] was up 6.3 percent
for all of 2007, reflecting a huge increase for the year in various types
of energy costs ranging from gasoline to home heating oil." ... "Meanwhile,
retail sales fell by 0.4 percent in December, the worst showing in six
months, the Commerce Department reported. Consumer confidence has plunged,
reflecting the worsening housing slump and a lingering credit crisis."
... "The big increase last year reflected the fact that energy prices rose
by 18.4 percent after having declined by 2 percent in 2006. It was the
biggest annual increase in energy costs at the wholesale level since they
rose by 23.9 percent in 2005." -AP
via -MSNBC
John
Edwards
- Hillary
Clinton
- Barack
Obama - Government
- Economy
- Workers
- Families
- Alternative
Energy - Consumer
- 2008
Election
- "Responding
to Recession." ... "On the Democratic side, [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards, although never
the front-runner, has been driving his party’s policy agenda. He’s done
it again on economic stimulus: last month, before the economic consensus
turned as negative as it now has, he proposed a stimulus package including
aid to unemployed workers, aid to cash-strapped state and local governments,
public investment in alternative energy, and other measures." ... "Last
week [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton
offered a broadly similar but somewhat larger proposal. (It also includes
aid to families having trouble paying heating bills, which seems like a
clever way to put cash in the hands of people likely to spend it.) The
Edwards and Clinton proposals both contain provisions for bigger stimulus
if the economy worsens." ... "And you have to say that Mrs. Clinton seems
comfortable with and knowledgeable about economic policy. I’m sure the
Hillary-haters will find some reason that’s a bad thing, but there’s something
to be said for presidents who know what they’re talking about." ... "The
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama campaign’s
initial response to the latest wave of bad economic news was, I’m sorry
to say, disreputable: Mr. Obama’s top economic adviser claimed that the
long-term tax-cut plan the candidate announced months ago is just what
we need to keep the slump from “morphing into a drastic decline in consumer
spending.” Hmm: claiming that the candidate is all-seeing, and that a tax
cut originally proposed for other reasons is also a recession-fighting
measure — doesn’t that sound familiar?" ... "Anyway, on Sunday Mr. Obama
came out with a real stimulus plan. As was the case with his health care
plan, which fell short of universal coverage, his stimulus proposal is
similar to those of the other Democratic candidates, but tilted to the
right." ... "I know that Mr. Obama’s supporters hate to hear this, but
he really is less progressive than his rivals on matters of domestic policy."
-By Paul
Krugman -NYTimes
Countrywide
Financial Corp - Consumers
- Homes
- California
- Employees
- "Mozilo
could reap $115 million: The Countrywide [home mortgage
corporation] CEO's [Chief Executive Officer's] potential pay if his company
is acquired rankles critics." ... "Countrywide Financial Corp. [Corporation]
founder Angelo Mozilo, one of the nation's highest-paid chief executives,
stands to reap $115 million in severance-related pay if his troubled company
is acquired by Bank of America Corp., regulatory filings show." ... "Free
rides on the company jet are also included in Mozilo's departure deal,
and the company will pick up his country club bills until 2011." ... "Other
executives, including Home Depot Inc.'s [Incorporated's] jettisoned CEO,
Robert Nardelli, have garnered bigger going-away packages. But critics
say Mozilo's arrangement is especially nettlesome given the losses that
Countrywide investors have suffered in the last year. Company shares rallied
Thursday to $7.75, up $2.63, but that's still down 82% from their high
last year." ... ""He has driven the stock price into the ground and the
company has been destroyed," [American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees director of pension and benefits policy Richard] Ferlauto
said. "Their customers have lost their homes and he is potentially walking
away with more than $100 million. For us, that's unconscionable enrichment.""
... "The [Los Angeles] Times reported last year that Mozilo made changes
to his stock-trading arrangements that allowed him to ramp up his sales
of company stock before Countrywide shares went into a tailspin." ... "Combining
those sales with pay and previous gains on the sale of stock, Mozilo has
taken more than $650 million out of Countrywide over the course of the
last 10 years, Ferlauto said. Add in potential severance payments and the
Calabasas[California]-based company would have enriched Mozilo to the tune
of three-quarters of a billion dollars." -By Kathy
M. Kristof -LAtimes
Corporate
Money - Politics
- Ads
- 2008
Election - 2004
Election - Workers
- Homes
- John
Edwards
- Hillary
Clinton
- Barack
Obama
- 
Mike
Huckabee - North
Carolina - New
York
- Illinois
- 
Arkansas
- 
Iowa
- US
- Consumer
- Litigation
- Globalization-
"Chamber
of Commerce vows to punish anti-business candidates:
The group indicates it will spend in excess of the approximately $60 million
it put out in the last [2004 Election] presidential cycle." ... "Alarmed
at the increasingly populist tone of the 2008 [Election] political campaign,
the president of the U.S. [United States] Chamber of Commerce is set to
issue a fiery promise to spend millions of dollars to defeat candidates
deemed to be anti-business." ... ""We plan to build a grass-roots business
organization so strong that when it bites you in the butt, you bleed,"
chamber President Tom Donohue said." ... "The warning from the nation's
largest trade association came against a background of mounting popular
concern over the condition of the economy. A weak record of job creation,
the sub-prime mortgage crisis, declining home values and other problems
have all helped make the economy a major campaign issue." ... "Presidential
candidates in particular have responded to the public concern. Former [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Senator] Sen. John Edwards
of North Carolina has been the bluntest populist voice, but other front-running
Democrats, including [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and
Senator] Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Senator] Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, have
also called for change on behalf of middle-class voters." ... "On the Republican
side, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Arkansas
Gov. [Governor] Mike Huckabee -- emerging as an unexpected front-runner
after winning the Iowa caucuses -- has used populist themes in his effort
to woo independent voters, blasting bonus pay for corporate chief executives
and the effect of unfettered globalization on workers." ... "Reacting to
what it sees as a potentially hostile political climate, Donohue said,
the chamber will seek to punish candidates who target business interests
with their rhetoric or policy proposals, including congressional and state-level
candidates." ... "In advance of today's news conference, Donohue told The
Times of his plans to be active in 140 congressional districts this year,
as well as the presidential contest." ... "At the state level, Donohue
said his organization would be active in nearly four dozen contests for
attorney general and state supreme courts. Both state courts and attorneys
general are involved in decisions affecting business, including consumer
protection and a wide range of litigation." ... "Under Donohue, the organization
has also frequently aligned itself with GOP [Grand Old Party=Republican]
priorities." ... "Under a system Donohue pioneered, corporations contribute
money to the chamber, which then finances attack ads targeting individual
candidates without revealing the name of the businesses involved in the
ads." -By Tom Hamburger
-LAtimes
Money- Discrimination
- Crime
- 
Maryland
- Homeowners
- Consumers
- Ohio
- New
York
- "Baltimore
Is Suing Bank Over Foreclosure Crisis." ... "Baltimore’s
[Maryland state] mayor and City Council are suing Wells Fargo Bank, contending
that its lending practices discriminated against black borrowers and led
to a wave of foreclosures that has reduced city tax revenues and increased
its costs." ... "The recent surge in homeowner defaults nationwide, generated
by lax lending practices during the real estate boom, has officials bracing
for a range of problems that often accompany foreclosures. Some municipalities,
including Cleveland [Ohio] and Buffalo [New York], are trying to make lenders
responsible for abandoned properties to ward off crimes like arson, drug
use and prostitution." ... "In the suit, Mayor Sheila Dixon joined with
the City Council to ask that the court bar Wells Fargo from charging higher
fees to black borrowers. Many of these borrowers paid more under the bank’s
subprime lending program, designed for less creditworthy consumers, and
are more likely to default on their loans." ... "In 2006, Wells Fargo made
high-cost loans, with an interest rate at least three percentage points
above a federal benchmark, to 65 percent of its black customers in Baltimore
and to only 15 percent of its white customers in the area, according to
the lawsuit. Similarly, refinancings to black borrowers were more likely
to be higher cost than to white ones and to carry prepayment penalties."
-By Gretchen Morgenson-NYTimes
Consumer
- Autos
- Homes
- Money
- History
- "Delinquent
Nation: Late Payments Soar: Late Payments On Consumer
Loans Jump To Highest Point Since Last Recession." ... "Late payments on
a cluster of consumer loans, including those for autos, home improvement
and certain home equity loans, climbed in the summer to their highest point
since the country's last recession in 2001." ... "The American Bankers
Association reported Thursday that the delinquency rate on a composite
of consumer loans increased to 2.44 percent in the July-to-September quarter.
That was up sharply from 2.27 percent in the previous quarter and was the
highest late-payment rate since the second quarter of 2001, when the economy
was suffering through a recession." ... "Late payments on home equity lines
of credit jumped to 0.84 percent in the third quarter. That was up from
0.77 percent in the second quarter and was the highest since the final
quarter of 1997." ... "Meanwhile, the delinquency rate on "indirect" auto
loans — which are arranged through dealerships — jumped in the third quarter
to 2.86 percent, a 16-year high." -AP
via -CBSNews
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