Sarah Palin And The Pornography of Violence

It was a chilling scene: Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, flees to Canterbury Cathedral where services are in progress. Knights of Henry II find Becket at the altar, mercilessly drawing their swords and hacking the Archbishop until his skull splits open and he dies.

How did the murder come about? What was the motive? For sure, Henry wanted to consolidate his political power. If he eliminated Becket, he would remove a political obstacle.

Did Henry directly commission the knights to kill the Archbishop? No, Henry was more cunning; he used others as his tools.

History records Henry as saying, “What sluggards? What cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord? Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" Henry’s well-coined phrase, disguised ambiguity, rhetorical structure, falling on the right ears, was calculated to arouse the passions enough to inspire the right type of person to commit murder.

When Sarah Palin put crosshairs on Gabrielle Giffords and 19 other members of congress, she knew the image it would conjure and the passions it would arouse, if it infected the right set of ears. Palin’s crosshairs, Limbaugh’s vitriol, and Beck’s paranoia, all emerge from the same lust for power, each an exquisite example of the pornography of violence.

Injection Vials Recalled over Particulate Matter...

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. has recalled six lots of Acetadote Injection because of particulate matter found in some vials. The company said the recall is a precautionary measure. Acetadote is a treatment to prevent or lessen liver injury after ingestion of a potentially toxic quantity of acetaminophen.

Staff Report, PR Newswire 12/30/2010 Read Article: PR Newswire

Shareholders Fight Back In Suit Against Johnson and Johnson

Johnson and Johnson shareholders have accused the company of ignoring "red flags" that predated J and J product recalls and government investigations into J and J earlier this year.

The shareholders have sued company executives and have asked for damages. The suit claims the company received "years of red flag warnings of systemic misconduct" but did nothing.

The government is "investigating whether J and J illegally marketed drugs and devices for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration and paid kickbacks."

Read: David Voreacos and Alex Nussbaum , Bloomberg: J and J Directors Ignored ‘Red Flags’ on Recalls, Probes…

Insurers Sue Toyota Over Acceleration Crashes

Toyota is back in the news!

Seven insurance companies filed lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corp. in an attempt to recover money they paid to cover crashes associated with sudden acceleration claims. The suits were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and seek damages for more than $230,000 from 14 crashes in the U.S. But, here's the curious thing about the suit.

Insurers rate risk by the type of car the insured drives. Insurers reason that the owners of "certain cars" are a greater risk. Based on data that is very precise, insurers track the payouts for particular makes and models and the reasons for the payout. For example, insurers know the make and model of vehicles that have an unusual number of tire separations, accelerator problems, etc. Consequently, those owners generally pay a higher premium, a premium that reflects the fact that the insurers consider the vehicle unsafe. Insurers even send the data to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, who keeps it secret from the public until the problem becomes subject of a recall. Here's the irony.

Insurers never tell their insureds what they've uncovered about a vehicle, although the insureds premium reflect the fact the insurer considers the vehicle make or model to be a greater risk! Why? Because corporate friendly courts protect insurers by insulating them from liability for failing to notify policyholders about defects in vehicles that insurers track.

Associated Press, The Shreveport Times 01/04/2011 Read Article

Chrysler Recalls Dodge Ram Trucks and Dodge Journey SUVs

Chrysler has announced a recall of 150,000 vehicles in three separate recalls to fix various problems. The recalls cover Dodge Ram trucks and Dodge Journey SUVs. The issues include steering problems and faulty rear axle components in the Ram trucks and faulty airbags in the SUVs. The company has not received any reports of injuries associated with the recalls. Ken Thomas, Forbes 12/31/2010

Insurer Sued Over Death Bets Gone Bad

Leslie Scism of the Wall Street Journal reports that several insurers have filed hundreds of lawsuits during the past two years seeking to cancel life insurance policies that the insurers say were not intended as an "estate planning tool" but rather were crafted to enrich investors speculating on people's lives.

Some investors are striking back, saying that insurers encouraged sales to investors and that the industry called attention to the practice only when its profits were less than expected. Investors want insurers to honor the policies or refund all premiums they have paid. Some seek punitive damages.

So insurance isn't "speculating"? Says who? Who are insurers kidding? Isn't that what insurance is all about? The insurer is like the" house" at a casino. Insurance companies bet you will not die, not wreck your car, or will not get sick, etc, and the insured bets that he will die or will wreck the car, and will get sick!

Can you imagine what would happen in Las Vegas if the casino said, "Hey these games are for entertainment only; we should not have to pay off because some gamblers are good at it!"

Ford Recalls 15,000 Vehicles with Wiring Problems

Ford Motors has recalled 15,000 trucks and crossovers to fix an electrical problem that can result in fire. The recall covers 2011 models of the F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX models. For more read Article: Kansas City Star

LWCC Pays $22.5 Million Dividend To Businesses While Workers Are Cheated

It’s a daily occurrence at hazardous work sites throughout Louisiana. A worker is injured or killed and must depend upon workers compensation to provide income for medical attention, food, housing, education and clothing. That's how the system is supposed to work, but it is not reality.

In reality, the employer does everything in its power to prevent the worker from recovery. The most devastating weapons in the arsenal of employer assault are the Louisiana Worker's Compensation Corporation (LWCC) and the legal impediments to the worker hiring an attorney.

As originally conceived, the LWCC was a creature of the state, state-funded, state-controlled, favoring employers over workers. To make matters worse, Louisiana law limits the amount of money that an injured worker can pay to an attorney for legal representation. By contrast, employers are allowed to pay their attorney whatever it takes to win the case. A virtual David and Goliath legal battle takes place, but, here, the corporate Goliath always wins.

Recently, LWCC announced it would pay a $22.5 million dividend, to be divided among about 18,000 policyholders. The policyholders or employers! In 2009 LWCC paid a $15 million dividend to policyholders; over the past eight years, the business has paid out nearly $159.3 million in dividends. Meanwhile, workers are cheated.

Here in Louisiana, workers compensation is "checkbook justice" from beginning to end!

BP Caught Red-Handed in Conflict of Interest with Gulf Claims Facility

The Center for Justice & Democracy, a citizens' advocacy group, isn’t about to back down from British Petroleum, the mega-national corporation that devastated the Gulf Coast.

The CJ&D has asked various Gulf Coast attorneys general to launch an immediate investigation into possible conflict of interest between BP and the administration of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility by Kenneth Feinberg.

The CJ&D letter objects to Feinberg serving as claims administrator while BP is paying his law firm $850,000 a month for legal fees! Hum... almost a million dollars a month in attorney fees!

CJ&D’s letter charges that “Mr. Feinberg, employed by BP, has decided on his own authority that all claims recipients must release all companies who caused this disaster from any and all legal responsibility, no matter how grossly negligent they were. This sweeping release, which assigns victims’ claims to BP, benefits only one actor: BP – the company that pays Mr. Feinberg’s salary."

Link to CJ&D’s letter!

Glucose Test Strips Recalled in U.S.

Abbott Diabetes Care announced a recall of 359 lots of blood glucose test strips in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company issued a recall after it was discovered the strips may give falsely low blood glucose results. The false results may cause patients "to try to raise their blood glucose when it is unnecessary and to fail to treat elevated blood glucose due to a falsely low reading," the company said. See, Staff Report, PR Newswire 12/22/2010

U.S. Chamber Accused of Tax Fraud $$$$$$

Taking on the "Big Boys" can be hard. And they don't come bigger than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But, one group has decided that enough is enough.

Critics of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service, charging that the chamber violated tax codes by laundering millions meant for charitable work from a group connected with insurance giant A.I.G. The complaint was filed by the newly formed U.S. Chamber Watch, which is backed financially by labor unions. A chamber spokeswoman said the charges are a political ploy.

Read: Chamber of Commerce Accused of Tax Fraud

Read: Letter of complaint to the IRS, which presents a compelling case against the the Chamber.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has such a prominent presence that many Americans believe it is part of the federal government. Tom Donohue, chamber president and CEO, is the sixth highest paid lobbyist in the nation. With fall congressional elections approaching, the chamber plans to spend $50 million in about 40 U.S. House and Senate races. That amount is more than twice the combined cash holdings of the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee as of late May.

Read: Show Him the Money: Tom Donohue scares millions of dollars out of corporations and Republicans. But is his U.S. Chamber of Commerce good for business?

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the largest force for lobbying in America. In 2000, it spent $18.7 million on lobbing . In 2008, it spent $91.7 million. By 2009, the U.S. Chamber pumped in $144.5 million. It's lobbying costs are five times higher than the next highest spender, Exxon Mobil who weighs in at $27.4 million. The Chamber has more than 150 lobbyists from 25 different firms working on its behalf.

Gov. Bobby Jindal gets $25 million from BP for cleanup, but doesn't distribute the funds.

This morning State Sen. Butch Gautreaux appeared on MSNBC.

Because Sen. Gautreaux is from St. Mary Parish, which borders the Gulf of Mexico, the reporter was interested in getting a clearer picture of just how bad the BP oil spill disaster will be for coastal Louisiana. Parishes along the Gulf of Mexico will, no doubt, be the areas most severely impacted by the devastating oil spill.

When asked if Pres. Obama's response to the oil spill was quick enough, Sen. Gautreaux said he personally witnessed US Coast Guard involvement shortly after the oil spill was reported.

After that question was answered, the interview really turned bad for Gov. Bobby Jindal.

The reporter then asked Sen. Gautreaux if Gov.Jindal's criticism of Pres. Obama was justified.

In response to that question, the senator dropped a virtual "political nuclear bomb" on Gov. Jindal.

Sen. Gautreaux said that, Friday, he learned BP gave Gov. Bobby Jindal $25 million to help with cleanup efforts in Louisiana coastal parishes. Sen. Gautreaux said Gov. Jindal has used a measly $3 million of the $25 million for cleanup efforts in the coastal parishes.

So, Gov. Jindal the question is "where has all the money gone... long-time passing?"

Gov. Jindal needs to make a complete accounting of his efforts to timely distribute the remaining $22 million.

The problems only get worse over time! So why wait, Gov. Jindal? Also, why weren't the funds immediately distributed to the coastal parishes to help with cleanup efforts?

Hopefully Gov. Jindal's tune about government response will change. Otherwise, we'll be singing, "Who took the cookie from the cookie jar? Bobby took the cookie from the cookie jar? If not you, then who?"

Tea Party takes the side of BP against Louisiana.

It’s offensive, but it’s expected!

Today, Tea Party Republican Rand Paul took the side of BP against the people of Louisiana.

Determined to protect the British corporation, the Tea Party's Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul criticized President Barack Obama's handling of the Gulf oil spill Friday as putting "his boot heel on the throat of BP" and "really un-American."

Paul made his comment on Good Morning America. "I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business." Psst...Rand, BP's British; Louisiana's American. Do you understand the difference?

Paul further explained, "And I think it's part of this sort of blame-game society in the sense that it's always got to be somebody's fault instead of the fact that maybe sometimes accidents happen."

So what does “sometimes accidents happen” mean in Tea Party language? It means: Hey Louisiana, get over it, sometimes sh** happens.”

More BP Finger Pointing, But No Clean-Up

They're at it again!

As the first congressional hearings into the incident prepared to get underway, the Bigwigs of Big Oil are doing their level best to lay blame on each other. They really...really...are!

So, here's the question: What happened to corporate responsibility and corporate governance? Enough finger pointing. You broke it; now fix it!

See H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press, The Advocate 05/11/2010 Read Article: The Advocate

The finger pointing begins: BP says it’s not responsible for accident

By now, news of the disaster off the coast of Louisiana has circulated around the world. But, the finger pointing among the corporations responsible for the disaster is just beginning. BP's chairman claims that BP "is not responsible for the accident." In the corporate world, passing the buck is good business.

BP claims that Transocean, the owner of the drilling rig, is responsible for the accident.

This is not the first time that BP has failed to take responsibility for safety failures. BP caused a major casualty in Texas in 2005 and avoided liability for it. The safety problems at BP are so bad that the US Department of Labor called BP's safety failures "systemic."

Will BP eventually pay for the disaster? Probably not.

Exxon was found guilty of the Valdez disaster and ordered to pay $5 billion in punitive damages. How much has Exxon paid? NOTHING! That's right, not a penny!

So, don't hold your breath for BP to pay. Let the finger pointing begin!

Wrongful Death Suit Filed Over Toyota Crash

The family of Trina Renee Harris has filed suit against Toyota Motors Inc. Ms. Harris was killed in an accident when her car sped through a stop sign and smashed into a cement wall. The accident occurred just weeks before the recall that would have included Ms. Harris’ 2009 Toyota Corolla.

The Houston Chronicle says Ms. Harris told her husband that she felt the accelerator moved on its own at times, but did not think anything of it.

This is yet another example of corporate indifference. It also highlights the failure of NHTSA to police corporate neglect. For years, the auto industry has virtually controlled NHTSA. And, our families have been the victims of corporate and government indifference.

The Harris suit is the third wrongful death lawsuit filed against Toyota in relation to the recalled vehicles.

For more, see Mary Flood, Houston Chronicle 02/01/2010 Houston Chronicle

Fire Risk Prompts Honda Recall

Honda Motors Co. has begun a large-scale recall due to a defective part that could cause serious injuries or death to occupants. The recall invloves 646,000 units of the Fit/Jazz and City models globally, including 140,000 in the United States.

The cause: a defective master window switch could cause a fire.

One child burned to death after a fire broke out. Other cases have been reported.

For more, read Chang-Ran Kim, The New York Times 01/29/2010 Read Article: The New York Times

How partisan has the U.S. Court become? Very partisan!

During Pres. Obama’s recent State of the Union address, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, a standard bearer for insurance companies and corporations, stooped to the tactics of Republican S.C. Rep. Joe Wilson by mouthing "not true" when Pres. Obama said that the Supreme Court had wiped away "a century of law" that "will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections." Take a look:

Before assuming office, Pres. Obama was a professor of constitutional law. Pres. Obama's criticism hit the proverbial nail on the head, which prompted Justice Alito's "Joe Wilson moment."

Plea Entered For Faking Drug Research

On March 11, 2009, Scott S. Reuben, a Massachusetts anesthesiologist and former chief of acute pain at Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Mass., admiteed he faked data for 21 studies for the efficacy of various drugs. At the time, Reuben was also a former "paid spokesperson" for Pfizer.

Recetnly, Reuben agreed to plead guilty to healthcare fraud in connection with research involving Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex. Reuben could serve a 10-year prison sentence and pay a $250,000 fine.

James A. White, WSJ Blogs 01/25/2010 Read Article: WSJ Blogs

Toddler Death Sparks Crib Recall in U.S.

Another tragedy that could've been prevented.

The recent death of a six-month-old child has prompted the recall of about 635,000 Dorel Asia cribs. The cribs are manufactured by Dorel Asia SRL.

The cause: The cribs have a drop-side that can detach from the frame, thus trapping and suffocating a child.

For more read: Andrea Chang, LA Times 01/20/2010 LA Times