U.S. Government Protecting Heparin Killers

From the Wall St Jr, May 10, 2008:

"The Food and Drug Administration is withholding a list of Chinese heparin suppliers requested by congressional investigators looking into problems with tainted supplies of the blood thinner, saying confidentiality agreements prevent release of the companies' names."

The American Idealist simply asks this question:

What kind of government do we have in the United States when the Food and Drug Administration, who functions at the pleasure of the President of the United States, is protecting foreign companies who we suspect of deliberately contaminating a drug to increase their profits? A drug that has killed over 80 people in the United States. A drug that is commonly and widely used in surgical procedures.

The American Idealist says the Bush Administration has its head buried in the sand as it fights phantoms in Iraq, squanders our tax dollars, and resources, and protects its cronies and business partners over the security, welfare and health of citizens of the United States.

Bloggers Unite for Human Rights

The American Idealist supports "Bloggers Unite for Human Rights."

Please visit their web page: http://unite.blogcatalog.com/

The American Ideal blog has many stories on Human Rights including Myanmar and the effects of our political decisions on both our own U.S. citizen's human rights as well as those we impact around the world.

Please see our stories on Myanmar, Iraq Camp Bucca, Groom Verdict Sean Bell, and others.

Wolf Blitzer Interviews Hillary Clinton - What Should Happen to BIG Oil

Wolf Blitzer is interviewing Hillary Clinton this afternoon and the American Idealist can tell you that while I voted for Barack Obama in the primary I can get behind Hillary too.

What I liked about the interview this afternoon is that Hillary was relaxed, confident and forthcoming. Showing good leadership Clinton said something that I recently also read in Barack's book, the Audacity of Hope.

Oil companies in this country should not be receiving subsidies from taxpayers. They are making windfall profits out of all proportion to what they have invested to make those profits, and those windfall profits should be taxed and the money put into a fund for truly objective and innovative alternative energy research.

The last time I saw a bunch of lies told before Congress was with the tobacco industry executives who tried to convince us that smoking is good for you. The testimony of the oil executives in the past couple months was the same.

Who really believes BIG OIL is going to to ANYTHING other than protect their own big oil interests? The next time you watch one of those pathetic oil industry P.R. commercials telling you they are spending money in your interest to explore and find new sources of energy, think...

"We're taking your tax dollars to subsidize our outrageous profits and
lifestyles, the highest recorded profits in history - 'Exxon
Mobil's staggering $40.6 billion earnings for 2007 drive the truth home: There's
no business on the planet that gushes forth more profit than selling oil—nothing
even close,' and we're not going to anything to jeopardize that because
we now make more money than most small countries, and don't think for a New
York second, that we aren't hard at work investing them in lobbying efforts,
advertising, and promotion to convince you the people to let us keep them!"

Hoover Wind Tunnel 2 "a lot of 'hot air'"

Our home has the Hoover "Wind Tunnel" 2 vacuum cleaner. We bought it at Kohl's department store with a 30% off Kohl's catalog coupon a couple years ago, and the machine still cost about $200.

Hoover markets the vacum as the best. A competitor to the Dyson which starts at $500. As a consumer you can try to do some research on the web which we did, however, all but the most upscale department stores these days have no customer support. Certainly no one that actually has any product knowledge about various products the store sells. This is as true for Kohl's as it is for Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy etc. The possible exception is Sears and to a lessor extent JC Penny who actually do have people with some appliance product knowledge working in the stores.

What the American Idealist can tell you about the Wind Tunnel 2 is that it has great suction. That thing can suck a golf ball through a garden hose as the saying goes. Of course the operator is penalized by having to push around a machine that weighs as much as a small motorcyle and has far worse wheels and axles.

Bigger problems come into play where the "bag-less" feature and so called HEPA "self-cleaning" filter are involved. For one thing, the self-cleaning HEPA constantly clogs with pet hair even when you empty the bag-less dust catcher with every use! The stupid HEPA won't even rotate any more on our vacum and we have manually cleaned and made sure no pet hair or any other obstruction is clogging it!

Furthermore, Hoover has poorly engineered this machine because you can't even change the HEPA filter yourself. You have to take the vacum into a professional for servicing! What is that? An attempt by Hoover to try to enter the same market as computer printer manufacturers and copy machine purveyors who require you to only get your toner from them?

As my wife and I have said numerous times, "we wouldn't buy another one!"

Evil Alive and Well in Myanmar

As its people suffer and die from lack of food and water the Tribune Newspapers reported this morning that the country's military are simultaneously turning away aid and at the same time they are loading tons of good rice for export through its main port on Friday, May 8, 2008 bound for Bangladesh.

"Four of Thilawa port's five berths for oceangoing container vessels were empty, but a crane was loading large white sacks into the hold of a freighter. The sacks were
filled with rice destined for Bangladesh, according to the drivers of at least
10 transport trucks waiting to deliver several tons more rice to the docks.The
junta has a monopoly on rice exports and said this week that it plans to meet
commitments to sell rice, which has reached record-high prices on the world
market, to countries including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka even though Myanmar's
main rice-producing region suffered the worst cyclone damage. The cyclone caused
massive destruction in the Irrawaddy River delta, where farmers are now
desperate for food.Yet as rice was loaded onto a freighter for export at
Thilawa, cyclone survivors in nearby villages said authorities had handed out
rations of rotting rice, apparently from ruined stocks in the port's warehouse.
The storm soaked about 40 percent of the stored rice supplies, according to the
chief driver, who did not want to be named to avoid problems with government
officials."

For anyone that does not believe the very essence of Evil, Lucifer, or the Devil exists...you need to look no further.

Myanmar/Burma Give People a Chance

What kind of government denies its people urgent and needed help from neighbors that would save lives?

Clarification from the Jr on Oil Bubble

This blogger just corresponded with the Journal's Phil Izzo who pointed out he is

"just reporting what the economists in our survey said. The Wall Street Journal isn't declaring there's no bubble in the commodities market. The majority of the economists in this survey are," and "Only 11%"...of economists... "chose speculation, which is the only choice that would indicate the market is facing bubble conditions."

The American Idealist takes this point well, but also points out that the survey the Journal conducted appears to be complex enough that even their own article states, '"It's a combination of demand and supply issues," said Joseph Carson of AllianceBernstein."

I would still like to see more reporting on the deregulation points that CNN made.

Economists the Jr and Rupert on Oil Prices

This blogger has recently brought you stories on CNN reports about speculative bidding being largely responsible for up to half the cost or $60 per barrel of crude oil.

This afternoon, the Wall St Jr, now under the control of a less than forthcoming owner, Rupert Murdoch, issued an email alert to subscribers titled, "WSJ NEWS ALERT: Most Economists Say Food, Energy Price Surge Not Due to Speculators --WSJ Survey"

However, when one actually reads the article in the Journal, one finds the title is less than objective because the second paragraph of the article states:

"Fifty-one percent of the respondents said demand from China and India was the prime factor in soaring energy prices, and 40% said demand was the chief contributor to rising food costs."

Is this just sloppy reporting by the Wall St Jr or is Rupert Murdoch already at work obfuscating the stories in the previously highly accurate newspaper?

Either way this is a complex issue and the Journal's headline is poor journalism to say the least. I encourage you to read the entire article which is short. Obviously demand will play a role, and at least the Journal had the decency to bring in other opinions from economists such as Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial - see below.


"11% of the economists see a potential bubble driven by speculation. "Commodity markets have become a strange safe haven, with prices well out of line with underlying market fundamentals," said Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial. "I am dumbfounded that a report like Friday's employment report triggered a rally in oil prices... Just plain ridiculous."

What is not mentioned by the Journal that CNN reported is that in 2000 there was a deregulation of market rules and regs which has contributed to the speculative bidding problem in commodity markets.

CNN pointed out that if the bright lights requiring large investors to disclose their positions on commodities trading were put back in place, we would soon see a change in the large investments made by firms that don't need oil bidding up the price of commodities like oil, in an effort to flip their investments and make money in the markets. See my posts below on Oil Prices Who is Responsible?

Hmmm...didn't we just go through a speculative investment bubble and crash due to poor regulation and oversight in the housing market?

McCain Refuses to Give the Best for our Troops G.I. New Bill

So you think Mr. McCain the "war hero" always wants the best for our troops? Think again!

The New York Times editorial columinst Bob Herbert, who prior to joining The Times, was a national correspondent for NBC from 1991 to 1993, and who reported regularly on "The Today Show" and "NBC Nightly News," published an article today titled, "Doing the Troops Wrong."

As you will see if you look at the article, Mr. McCain is just like so many other Republicans that claim to be so strong on defense, he is nothing more than a patsy for the Bush Administration and the Pentagon.

Think those are strong words? Take a look at the article.

Senator McCain’s office said on Monday that it was following the Pentagon’s lead on this matter, getting guidance from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Under pressure
because of his unwillingness to support Senator Webb’s effort, Senator McCain
introduced legislation with substantially fewer co-sponsors last week that
expands some educational benefits for G.I.’s, but far less robustly than Senator
Webb’s bill. “It’s not even close to the Webb bill,” said Paul Rieckhoff,
executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy
group. Politicians tend to talk very, very big about supporting our men and
women in uniform. But time and again — whether it’s about providing armor for
their safety or an education for their future — we find that talk to be very,
very cheap.

Oil Hits Over $120 per Barrel Who is Responsible?

Again - this morning CNN confirms that as much as half the cost of a barrel of oil is nothing more than speculative commodities trading in the market. For that reason I am reposting the entry from April 24 when I first brought this story to you:

Extremely interesting report on CNN this morning who reported that as much as $60 per barrel of the cost of crude oil is nothing more than speculators in the stock market bidding up the price trying to make profits for their hedge funds and other investors.

Also reported - the markets were de-regulated in 2000 coincidentally under the Bush Administration who along with so many other Republicans seem to have complete faith that the free markets without government regulation will always be best for our country! Yeah...right, and Mr. Bush' brother Jeb has some nice Florida swampland we might want to invest in as well.

There is apparently an amendment to the Farm Bill now in the Senate to put back reasonable regulations on these oil speculators which CNN reports, if enacted, could bring down the cost of a gallon of gas by as much as $0.50 cents.

When will people wake up and realize the Republican agenda is rarely what's good for common middle class folk? When our economy collapses to allow a few wealthy Americans to get obscenely rich at the expense of the rest of us!?

National Immigration Rallys

Today's national immigration rallies point out that we have a long way to go with this issue.

The U.S. has gone through wave after wave of immigrants pouring into our country over the course of our history. You would have thought we would have figured out a thing or two, but we have never seemed to understand that without secured borders there can never be any control.

I'm in favor of a comprehensive immigration solution, but as the the old management saying goes, "if you can't measure it, then you can't manage it."

Just like the reform/amnesty legislation passed in the 1980's, if we cannot secure the border with Mexico we will never be able to manage immigration reform.

That said - I would also point out that the U.S. policy over the past 25 years has been hypocritical as in let's hire cheap labor and not pay the payroll taxes and benefits where we can get away with it. No protections for labor that risk their lives in dangerous occupations, no health insurance, but then we complain when our public hospitals and emergency rooms are under sever pressure from the same people.

The U.S. policy as a practical matter is that high border fence now being built to try to calm the citizens that oppose the flood of immigrants from Mexico and to a lesser degree other Latin countries, but on that fence we have posted a huge "HELP WANTED" sign.

Some facts that you might not know - while there are approximately 40 million Hispanics in the U.S. only 12 million are undocumented so 70% are here legally working, contributing to the economy, paying taxes, etc.

Many of the undocumented also work regular jobs that require social security numbers. They are not just heavy labor that work for cash under the table so to speak, but they obtain false documents and pay taxes which they can never claim as refunds where they are due because they are false documents.

There are many sides to this complex issue and we would all do well to thoughtfully consider them before making up our minds that we know how to fix this problem.

Recently the following was published in the New York Times:

April 2, 2008
Editorial
How Immigrants Saved Social Security
Immigration is good for the financial health of Social Security because more workers mean more tax revenue. Illegal immigration, it turns out, is even better than legal immigration. In the fine print of the 2008 annual report on Social Security, released last week, the program’s trustees noted that growing numbers of “other than legal” workers are expected to bolster the program over the coming decades.
One reason is that many undocumented workers pay taxes during their work lives but don’t collect benefits later. Another is that undocumented workers are entering the United States at ever younger ages and are expected to have more children while they’re here than if they arrived at later ages. The result is a substantial increase in the number of working-age people paying taxes, but a relatively smaller increase in the number of retirees who receive benefits — a double boon to Social Security’s bottom line.
We’re not talking chump change. According to the report, the taxes paid by other-than-legal immigrants will close 15 percent of the system’s projected long-term deficit. That’s equivalent to raising the payroll tax by 0.3 percentage points, starting today.
That is not to suggest that illegal immigration is a legitimate fix to Social Security’s problems. It is another reminder, however, of the nation’s complex relationship with undocumented workers. Would the people who want to deport all undocumented workers be willing to make up the difference and pay the taxes that the undocumented are currently paying?
It is also a reminder of Social Security’s dynamism. As society and the economy evolve, so does the system, responding not only to changes in immigration and fertility, but also in wage growth and other variables. As such, it is adaptable to the 21st century, if only the political will can be found to champion the necessary changes. Those include modest tax increases and moderate benefit cuts that could be phased in over decades — provided the country gets started soon.

DISCOVER the Card That Keeps on Taking

DISCOVER Card

The credit card company that keeps on taking by what in my view are patently deceptive practices. Recently, I signed up for Discover's promotional balance transfer and began paying down the balance as agreed.

After a couple months the card company sent me "Hurry and use your card now! Get $10 cash back on any purchase." I carefully examined all the disclosures on the offer and thought, well why not earn $10 and made a small under $50 purchase.

Of course, I should have known that a card company would not bother with full disclosure opting instead for the deceptive practice of baiting it's customers into using their card under false pretenses. Discover promptly started charging me interest on my small purchase. When I called to ask about this, not one, but two arrogant customer service representatives told me that it was my responsibility to read the 25 page card member agreement and NOT Discover's responsibility to disclose any of this on their "Hurry, use your card and get $10 now!" promotion.

To add further insult to deceptive practice, Discover's customer relations or should I say customer abuse personnel went on to tell me that I would never even receive the $10 unless I continued to use the card and make more purchases that would eventually total enough for my "Cash-Back" account to equal $20 because that is the minimum amount Discover considers valid to give cash-back. Apparently, they just keep any amounts under $20 for themselves because after all why would a consumer care about anything less than $20? As if $19.25 was a penny to be left on the sidewalk.

My only alternative was to either pay-off my entire "balance-transfer" as well as the small purchase I made because Discover baited me into using the card under the false pretense of giving me $10, or to live with paying interest on any purchases I made until my promotional balance transfer is paid off.

Discover's management can only be described by me as unethical, and if the Fed Reserve and Congress act on pending re-regulations that have not been pushed by our "business-friendly" Republican friends of the rich and the Bush Administration such behavior by Discover and other card companies will be (as it should be) illegal.

"Another part of the plan would create restrictions on how lenders apply payments borrowers make on their credit cards, people familiar with the matter said. If a borrower has a $500 balance at an introductory rate of 0% and another $500 balance at 10%, the lender would be prohibited from allocating payments only to the 0% balance first." Source: Wall St Jr April 29, 2008 "A Credit-Card Crack Down."

I do, however, have something positive to say about another credit card company. Citibank is my credit card bank of choice under the MasterCard umbrella. They have always gone out of their way to explain and disclose their offers so that consumers like myself can make an informed choice. I have been loyal to them over the decades, and they have in-turn gone so far as to reverse charges and fees even when it was my mistake if I didn't understand something.

As they say "that's why the Citibank MasterCard is the only card I need."

Iraq Camp Bucca

CNN aired an exclusive this morning on an Iraq detention camp named Bucca where reportedly up to 19,000 prisoners have been held - some for as long as 3 years.

General Douglas Stone explained to us that he is using counter-insurgency techniques to help rehabilitate and return thousands of prisoners back into Iraq society as a possible positive force for the American point of view, but the General also explained that many of the fighters including the so called Al Qaeda in Iraq actually took the job of fighting against the Americans for money to help support their families and with the full support and blessing of their families.

I don't know about you, but all of this seems very frightening. Almost 20,000 Iraqis being held in a prison camp and only released when they have been rehabiliated to our way of thinking?

Hmmm...if I'm in a prison camp for as long as 3 years I think I would just about say or do anything to convince my captors I was no longer a threat to them and that I was safe to be released.

This is what passes for converting hearts and minds in the so called war against terrorism? Is it just me or does anyone else find this abusive and hypocritical on the part of the United States?

In my opinion either we're in a war or we're not, and if we're in a war then these types of activities are at best a distraction. Of course, we're really not a in war in the traditional sense, we're attempting to educate and convert an entire country to the American way of living and thinking.

Are we really prepared to continue to put out 7 billion dollars per month of our citizen's tax money for an entire generation of 50 years or more to do this which is what it would take? And at what expense to our own country's needs in education, social security, jobs, and our economy?

Rev. Jeremiah Wright at the National Press Club

Rev. Jeremiah Wright spoke forthrightly this morning at the National Press Club about his position on many topics related to politics and religion.

While many people may not like his tone or his answers it was very clear that this is a highly educated man that is not apologizing for his forceful views. I will be the first to admit that I don't agree with all of Wright's positions such as his view about the United States creating the AIDs virus or causing the 911 attacks. These view are too extreme for my taste. Wright mixed humor with pointed wit and revealed a personality that is charismatic and at times "eyebrow raising."

For example, when the moderator asked him if Barack Obama was not a regular church goer, the Rev. shot back, "What did the Pastor at your church preach on this past Sunday?" No answer, but a little smile from the reporter and a generally free wheeling exchange in good humor characterized this morning's conference.

Two things stood out for me:

1. Anyone can be taken out of context, and if you have ever attended a black church whether Baptist or other denomination you know that the sermons can be firey and full of vim and vigor to make points that if only taken in one or two sentences would certainly be controversial, but taken as a whole during the length of 20, 40 or even 60 minutes or more are not that controversial.
2. The Rev. said this morning, "if you get two people in a room there will be 3 opinions."

The laughter from the audience of a truth being spoken erupted. Rev. Wright made it clear that others may not agree with him on his views, but he is not running for office, he is a religous leader not a political one. Even though he joked about being willing to accept a nod for the Vice Presidency that I can only believe caused groans from Obama strategists.

Finally, I did think the Rev's comparison of the Roman Empire to the U.S. bears some validity. Although, the U.S. is not trying to conquer the world, there is real evidence that we try to run it when things are not going the way we think they should. This extends to issues that are not always a national security threat.

There is a hubris in the United States that we have the best of everything, the best government, the best quality of life, the best "way of living." And as the Rev. pointed out, we also have troops stationed around the world. Just as the Roman Empire sent their armies throughout their known world. We have enough money and power to try to force our will on people and countries stretched over the entire globe, and yet...our own economy, job-losses to outsourcing, dependence on foreign oil, and trillion dollar borrowing from countries like China reveal some huge chinks in our armor!

I am not saying we should be isolationist, but clearly the way we have been approaching both domestic and foreign policies has caused us major problems. Does anyone really believe that peoples that have been ruled by tribal and religious laws for centuries want to be Democratic? I will grant you that Saddam Hussein was not a tribal/religious leader, but think about the power and influence of the Sunni and Shia under his control. Was that not the real culture simmering beneath an iron fist? And is it really our business to try to force Democracy in Iraq?

Is there any reason other than our own economic interests that we would try to impose our system of government in Iraq? Think about no bid Halaburton* contracts that coincidentally is the same company who's roots are in the oil field business. The same company our own Dick Cheney has an association. The same Dick Cheney that held "secret energy meetings" at the beginning of Mr. Bush's administration at which no one, but the participants (large energy companies were present). Mighty handy having your company right there to "help develop oil reserves."

And please don't bring up Al Queda in Iraq because until we invaded Iraq it really didn't exist there and Iraq had zero to do with our 911 attacks. Of course, there are human rights issues, but if that is really our reason for unilaterally* invading a country like Iraq, then why are we not invading Darfur where real genocide is happening now?

** "Total first-quarter revenue for Haliburton climbed 18% to $4.03 billion from $3.42 billion" Source: MarketWatch, April 21, 2008

* Note: by unilaterally I mean that the U.S. has and continues to supply the overwhelming number of troops and money, and many countries have at this writing either pulled out or substantially drawn down their forces which were never more than a small fraction of our own forces.

Groom Verdict Sean Bell

This morning's verdict in New York acquitting all the officers in the slaying of Sean Bell who was killed in a reported hail of over 50 bullets the night of his bachelor party should be a lesson to all of us that if we are pulled over for a traffic stop you have to expect that your life is in danger even if you have no weapon and no malicious intent.

In today's age of cell phones, Blackberry's, iPhones, Treo's, iPods and other electronic devices strapped to our belts or placed in cup holders and other devices in our cars we must all unfortunately keep in mind that if you are pulled over you should not reach for anything, you should not make any sudden movements, you should keep your hands where the officers can see them at all times, and you should address the officers with an even calm tone and respect because you simply cannot know what state of mind the police will be in and if even one of the officers feels threatened in any way they can and will take your life.

I'm not saying this is right...just reality, and as an Idealist, this is a scary thing for me or anyone to think about.

No one will probably ever know exactly what happened in this case. CBS news is reporting that, "the men...were ordered...to halt and...other officers began shooting only after Bell bumped an officer with his car and slammed into an unmarked police van while trying to flee."

Other reports on CNN state that one of the officers saw someone in the car reach for something.

The fact that over 50 shots were fired by police seems a little over the top considering that no weapons were found on the victims.

Speaking for myself I remember only several months ago when I was pulled over by an officer for speeding his partner walked up on the opposite side of my car which I could see through my passenger side mirror. She had removed the strap which kept her gun in its holster on her hip, and she had her hand firmly on the pistol ready to draw and fire at a moments notice. Don't think I wasn't hyper aware that my life was in danger and that if I made any sudden moves or reached for anything inside my car that I might not have been shot!

Granted we need police protection, but officers of the law must make split second decisions and those decisions must be based on very good judgement where lethal force is employed.

Police are people too, and they have bad days, arguments with their spouses, sleepless nights, and all the other problems people experience, but we must hold them to the highest standards of reasoned judgement since their fingers are literally on the triggers that can take lives.

Gas Prices - Who Is Responsible?

Extremely interesting report on CNN this morning who reported that as much as $60 per barrel of the cost of crude oil is nothing more than speculators in the stock market bidding up the price trying to make profits for their hedge funds and other investors.

Also reported - the markets were de-regulated in 2000 coincidentally under the Bush Administration who along with so many other Republicans seem to have complete faith that the free markets without government regulation will always be best for our country! Yeah...right, and Mr. Bush' brother Jeb has some nice Florida swampland we might want to invest in as well.

There is apparently an amendment to the Farm Bill now in the Senate to put back reasonable regulations on these oil speculators which CNN reports, if enacted, could bring down the cost of a gallon of gas by as much as $0.50 cents.

When will people wake up and realize the Republican agenda is rarely what's good for common middle class folk? When our economy collapses to allow a few wealthy Americans get obscenely rich at the expense of the rest of us!?