It is not only former White House employees who are declining invitations to appear before Congress. Battles on similar fronts are occurring on the labor and employment fields. There are two primary battles. One involving a secret regulation issued by the Department of Labor

The second one reported here - concerns the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). After a very negative report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Rep. Miller demanded that the PBGC turn over documents related to that GAO report. So far PBGC has not provided the documents. PBGC says that it will comply but first it has to get a report from its consultant.

crossposted from unbossed

Yesterday's diary talked about proposed changes in the Securities and Exchange Commission's regulations on "proved" oil reserves when oil companies claim when they seek investors.  There are some good parts to these new regulations, and some scientifically valid arguments for others.

There is also the possibility that the new regs, combined with an elimination of the ban on offshore drilling, could mean a financial windfall for oil companies, whether or not they actually drill more oil.

Climb aboard and let's go exploring.

Republican lawmakers, led by the country's most famous failed oilman, are pushing hard to lift the prohibition on drilling offshore.  Joined by a chorus of petroleum companies, trade groups, "independent advocates" and media puppets, they claim that changing the law will allow oil interests to begin drilling "now" and lower oil prices.  

Many on the left oppose lifting the ban, sensing that the talk of "increased supply" and "energy independence" are smokescreens to hide a change in law that amounts to a massive giveaway to the oil companies.  They are right, but they've only heard half the story.

Drill deep with me on this one.

Activists in Canada have wrung some changes from the government in regard to Bill C51 ithttp://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/07/19/natural-health-advocates-defeat-gove rnment-power-grab.aspx?source=nl

but the bill is so draconian that it stands as a warning to all of us of what corporate/government agencies will do to destroy alternative movements that are growing, whether in health or in food, and the means that they are using.

http://articles.mercola.com/...

John McCain has released the 25-year Energy Rebuilding Plan. But while it may have all the bells and whistles, the problem is that the John McCain 25-year Rebuilding Plan does nothing to address our energy crisis.

As reported in the New York Times today, a certain, small segment of American global society would like to allow firms to offer foreign securities directly in U.S. markets, without actually having to follow U.S. accounting rules. It appears likely that they will succeed in leaving yet another mess for Pres. Obama to clean up, since that change would work to the detriment of the vast majority of Americans.

Federal officials say they are preparing to propose a series of regulatory changes to enhance American competitiveness overseas, attract foreign investment and give American investors a broader selection of foreign stocks.

But critics say the changes appear to be a last-ditch push by appointees of President Bush to dilute securities rules passed after the collapse of Enron and other large companies — measures that were meant to forestall accounting gimmicks and corrupt practices that led to those corporate failures.

Legal experts, some regulators and Democratic lawmakers are concerned that the changes would put American investors at the mercy of overseas regulators who enforce weaker rules and may treat investment losses as a low priority.

My take...

This is the third in a series on the usurpation of power that has taken place in the federal administration agencies. They are taking away the right to sue pharmaceutical companies for serious injuries caused by dangerous drugs, among other things. The first part  described the basic problem.

To remind readers: This is huge

This is an action on the level of Congress' outlawing all state laws on this issue, something that I doubt they would do. This is why this court interpretation of the FDA's action here would seem to be an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power.

crossposted from unbossed

This is part two of a discussion of a disturbing trend by the Bush Administration. They are using obscure parts of federal agency regulations to destroy the right to sue manufacturers who have caused serious injuries. Part one described the revelation made by  reporter Pete Yost in hisWashington Post story - Bush administration rules limit lawsuits on May 13, 2008.

This is huge

This is an action on the level of Congress' outlawing all state laws on this issue, something that I doubt they would do. This is why this court interpretation of the FDA's action here would seem to be an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power.

crossposted from unbossed

You may have seen the article by Pete Yost, Bush administration rules limit lawsuits. The gist of the article is that the Bush Administration refused to be stymied by Congress' refusal to protect companies that hurt, kill, or otherwise people from tort suits. As in so many other cases, the Administration turned to federal agencies and administrative processes to do in the dark what it could not do in public.

You may have read it and tut-tutted, but not me. OK, I did tut-tut, but I also compiled a mental list of questions which I plan to share with you.

crossposted from unbossed

An important part of our government is the regulator process. The Administrative Procedure Act mandates public participation in key parts of the regulatory process. However, being heard means knowing that comments are invited on an issue of concern and then trying to find what you are lookinf for and then wade through the information on making your comments. Frustrating, because it is now so available on line. But keep in mind, until recently, you could only find this information by going to a law or other legal or very large library and then wade through all sorts of confusing books.

But that has changed now.

This morning, just a few minutes ago, Erin Burnett of CNBC was on Morning Joe with Joe Scarborough calling for the nationalization of an industry. Was it the healthcare industry so we could all benefit from taking profit out of the business of keeping people healthy, no? It was nationalizing the airline industry because it is hemorrhaging money.
Ms. Burnett has apparently looked over the profit reports of the airlines and determined that when you balance their profit and loss reports for the whole time they have been in existence they have lost money. I'm sorry I don't get it. We should nationalize an industry that only affects a certain segment of the population because they can't make a profit. This while being completely hands off the healthcare industry that affects us all.

Trust former Goldman Sachs CEO Paulson as much as you trust Bush to do the right thing and tell the truth. Expect the plans to hurt consumers, take away protections, de-regulate industries, take away the influence of congress, increase partisan influence, corporate influence and protect corporations from litigation and prosecution.

crossposted from www.opednewwww.opednews.com

Indiana wants me. Well, it would if I lived there.

Looks like the state government under Governor Mitch Daniels (R) wants all booksellers to register and pay $250.00 if they sell adult material  (those selling such on before 30 June are exempt, so start selling Playboy/Playgirl now!).

Now, Daniels is known as "The Blade" for his poker playing and social services budget cutting acumen (h/t Wikipedia) but I think he cut too much off this time.

Cross-posted at my blog and BlueNC

Today's Charlotte Observer includes the first of a potentially devastating six-part series on poultry-plant safety.  

The first part focuses on House of Raeford, one of the ten largest poultry producers in the country.  It's based in Hoke County, half an hour south of Fayetteville and operates plants in North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana.  It supplies deli turkey and chicken products to companies such as Blimpie, Golden Corral and Food Lion.  It also counts several school systems among its customers--including my hometown system, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.  It claims to have one of the best safety records in the industry--but the Observer amply demonstrates that this record is a mirage.  

I own a slow food restaurant and am concerned about where our food comes from and how it is grown. One of my friends forward this email this morning. Please post comments concerning leafy greens at http://www.regulations.gov/...
Also think about joining the Slow Food movement Slow Food USA

Do you remember the New York Times story The Richest of the Rich, Proud of a New Gilded Age?  Only last July,  billionaires denounced any increase in taxes, and praised the deregulation they had gotten the Democrats and Republicans to approve.  The greatest of them all was Citigroup's Sanford Weill:

His achievement required political clout, and that, too, is on display. Soon after he formed Citigroup, Congress repealed a Depression-era law that prohibited goliaths like the one Mr. Weill had just put together anyway, combining commercial and investment banking, insurance and stock brokerage operations. A trophy from the victory — a pen that President Bill Clinton used to sign the repeal — hangs, framed, near the magazine covers.

"People can look at the last 25 years and say this is an incredibly unique period of time," Mr. Weill said. "We didn’t rely on somebody else to build what we built, and we shouldn’t rely on somebody else to provide all the services our society needs."

How it all turned out on the flip

In Vectors of Credit (9/1/07), Michael Lewitt writes "A real solution to the subprime mortgage problem requires a combination of monetary policy action and legislative reform to remove abusive lending practices from the system. This problem should not be left in the hands of the individual states to handle; a hodge-podge of different state regulations is insufficient to address the problem. Instead, there should be federal mortgage legislation to address the flaws that led to the current subprime meltdown, which was completely foreseeable and therefore completely avoidable. Without such legislative action, the Federal Reserve will be left in a situation where it will merely be lighting the fuse for another series of abuses and a future conflagrations [sic] in the credit markets that could make the current one pale in comparison..."

Today, the Bush Administration is relaxing regulations for strip mining and mountaintop removal, in the shadows of the mining tragedy in Huntington, Utah.  Impossible to not call that out...