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The GOP Shell Game

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Posted on Feb 27, 2006

By Molly Ivins

AUSTIN, Texas—With the Bush administration, it’s important to have in mind the old carnival con game: Keep your eye on the shell with the pea under it.

Among the many curious aspects of the administration’s approval of the Dubai Ports World takeover of operations at six major ports (and as many as 21) is this exemption from normally routine restrictions: The agreement does not require DP World to keep copies of its business records on U.S. soil, which would place them within the jurisdiction of American courts. Nor does it require the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate requests by the government. So what’s that about?

It makes DP World harder to sue and less subject to American regulation. The lovely thing about the ports deal causing such a commotion is that it allows us to bring attention to this fairly obscure provision, which is, in fact, part of a wave of similar special exemptions that’s starting to turn into a flood.

Here’s a lovely example of how it works: Just before Christmas last year, in a spectacular example of a straight power play, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert pulled off a backroom legislative deal to protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits. The language was slipped into a Defense Department appropriations bill at the last minute without the approval of members of the House-Senate conference committee meeting on the bill.

Lots of players were outraged at the short-circuiting of the legislative process. “It is a travesty,” said Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution. Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), who had specifically checked to make sure the language was not included, was enraged, calling Frist and Hastert “a couple of musclemen in Congress who think they have the right to tell everybody else that they have to do their bidding.” Rep. Dan Burton said succinctly, “It sucks.”

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The way this was done was outrageous, but so is what it did. Frist has received over $270,000 in contributions from the drug industry and has long advocated liability protection for vaccine makers. As the Gannett News Service reports, the provision allows the secretary of health and human services to issue a declaration of a public health emergency, or threat of an emergency, or declaration of “credible risk” of an emergency in the future, thereby protecting the industry against lawsuits involving the manufacture, testing, development, distribution, administration or use of vaccines or other drugs.

In order to prove injury from a drug, a person would have to prove “willful misconduct,” not just actual harm.

But this putrid performance is part of a much larger pattern to protect corporations from the consequences of the damage they cause. The Los Angeles Times reports:

  • “The highway safety agency ... is backing auto industry efforts to stop California and other states from regulating tailpipe emissions.”
  • “The Justice Department helped industry groups overturn a pollution-control rule in Southern California that would have required cleaner-running buses, garbage trucks and other fleet vehicles.”
  • “The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has repeatedly sided with national banks to fend off enforcement of consumer protection laws passed by California, New York and other states.”
  • “The Food and Drug Administration [claims] FDA-approved labels should give pharmaceutical firms broad immunity from most types of lawsuits.”

Because of repeated roof-crushing rollovers that have crippled motorists, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at last proposed a beefed-up safety standard for car roofs—but the proposal also provides legal protection for the manufacturers from future roof-crush lawsuits. So your car roof may be less likely to crush during a rollover, but if it does and leaves you paraplegic, you won’t be able to sue.

Sometimes I’m not sure what planet these people live on—they must think the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal represents reality.

Gee, would a fine, upstanding American corporation actually make a product that would hurt someone? Knowingly? Would they ever lie to cover up after they find out about the problem and continue manufacturing whatever it is until finally forced to stop? Well, would they do that if it was really, really profitable? Could that happen in our great nation?

The trouble with the people who write The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page is that they never read their own newspaper, which still does the best job of business reporting anywhere. Business interests have done a splendid job of vilifying trial lawyers and pretending the only people hurt by limiting the right to sue are trial lawyers.

Look, the trial lawyer is not the one in a wheelchair after a roof-crush rollover leaves someone paraplegic. Do you drive a car?

To find out more about Molly Ivins and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.


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By Dave, March 4, 2006 at 7:29 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Mainly to Pi**es off Moderate, but also to anyone else who cares to listen:

First off, don’t cry about people being cowards who spew and run.  Look at your own post!  You drop a couple of frankly non-sensical comments, and then claim you won’t return!

I may not agree with all of the President’s policies (immigration being a big one), but to continuously claim that his policies are part of some grand conspiracy to destroy the US to enrich himself and his cronies is patently foolish, and there is no proof, other than as I alluded to in my other post; tin-foil hat conspiracies with no proof!!!

If you want to change something, then by all means win an election for a change!  (Oh yeah, I forgot, you only lose as a result of an election being stolen…)  Get over it, he won twice!!

And my God, the references to violence to get your (collective) way sprinkled through the posts are foolish but frightening.  If a conservative made such a comment your side would immediately have images of jack-booted nazis all over the old media.

If there is ANY individual out there that would actually like to discuss facts, I am all about that.  You want to discuss your theories with no facts, by all means, conitnue to show your ignorance and fear.

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By Pissed Off Moderate, March 3, 2006 at 11:01 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Dumbest postings of the day awards go to Dave and Ken at the top of this Comments page.

They belittle Molly’s facts, claim childhood issues and THEN you post a bunch of silly unrelated retarded Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity style mumbo jumbo, turn tail and run? Cowards.

Facts will catch up to you empty-headed (and hearted) fools. You completely ignore real issues and questions you dare not consider in that dumbshit robotic style that is all yours.

You are not true Americans; you support an idiot and only care about getting your share. That’s incredibly hollow, hope you’re proud of that.

I won’t be returning to this thead so type any silly ditto-head nonsense and imagine my middle finger showing the way to enlightenment.

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By Dave, March 2, 2006 at 8:58 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Wow, you guys are really nuts!  Its nice to see the seeds of leftist defeat on sites like this.  People get to see what tin-foil hats you guys are…

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By Ken Hathaway, March 2, 2006 at 12:50 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Molly, did big bad George B. not let you ride in his little red wagon as a kid?  Did he steal your doll?  Sorry, but you sound like a spoiled little girl that is still upset that George did not ask you to the prom.  Molly its time to grow up and quit acting like a spoiled little girl.  My wife said to tell you to please do something with that hair and makeup!

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By Marty Didier, March 1, 2006 at 7:16 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Didn’t Deep Throat suggest that you “Follow The Money?”

The money ends up at:
Mandarin Oriental Group
http://www.mandarinoriental.com/hotel/520000016.asp

This by is considered the Worlds Largest Corruption Laundromat.  Check it out for yourself!

It’s owned by:
Look Who’s Talking
http://www.modernagent.com/x/modernagent/visitor/resources/editorial.cds?n=6039

Who also owns DUBAI! 

The Tribune wrote an article a little while ago entitled:
Just who is building Mandarin?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0510020321oct02,1,4790705.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Little did they know that this is actually a huge Laundromat for Corruption Money. I know this because I was in a family for more than 26 years who joined organized Crime, but this isn’t any ordinary Crime System.  They considered it the World’s Largest Criminal System and for good reason.

If you thoroughly investigate Mandarin Group for who it’s investors are, you may be very surprised.

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By Casey, March 1, 2006 at 6:02 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Rather simple, actually.  In every decision by the Bushes, ask yourself….“If I owned a Fortune 500 corporation, which way would I want this to go ?”.

It will answer every decision you can put to it.  Tax cuts ?  Elimination of the ability of the government to negotiate with drug companies on price ?  Tort Deform ?  Rebuilding of a whiter and richer New Orleans ?  Union Dis-organization ? 

Bush said it himself…“some call you the elite…I call you my base”.  The Dubai ports deal (I must be hallucinating this one, and hope the drugs wear off soon) is typical.  Big players bought Carlyle (Bush Baker and Co.) and so they want to deliver.

You, me, and anyone with an household income under a Quarter Million a year is not a player…....

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By Doug Smith, March 1, 2006 at 4:55 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

E.T. Spoon asks:

“And, by the way, ask yourself, when was the last time the American people took to the streets enmasse like the citizens of, say, Argentina, Franch, Italy and so on, to overthrow an unpopular government?”

I don’t know when the last time was, but the NEXT time will be April 1st! April Fools Day show that we won’t be fooled again.

Wherever you are, whoever you are, take to the streets on April 1st. Stand up to be counted. We want people all over the country to show up right where they are, and invite their neighbors to join them. E-mail everyone you know, put a sign in your window and get out to be counted on April 1st!!

April 1st. just DO it!

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By phurdle, March 1, 2006 at 2:16 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Only comment I have is impeachment now! For Bush and all of those do nothing congresspeople who say nothing and do nothing while this President runs the country in the ground just like he did with every business he tried to run.  Something has to be done now before he does something else stupid and congress looks the other way. We have no leaders representing our interests.,the corporations rule.

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By felicity smith, March 1, 2006 at 10:05 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Maybe Justin Frank is right.  To sum him up, Bush is not playing with a full deck.  Frank attached a lot of very scarey adjectives in front of George’s name, especially scary given that George has his shaking finger on a lot of big buttons.

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By E.T. Spoon, March 1, 2006 at 7:32 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Mr. Hall,
Sorry I didn’t get back sooner. But a story posted on Editor&Publisher;.com http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002076294 today, March 1, reveals this tidbit of information, from an upcoming book by journalist Bill Sammon:
“President Bush now says his 2004 victory over Democratic Sen. John Kerry, who is mulling a comeback in 2008, was inadvertently aided by al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

“For the first time, the president says he was helped by bin Laden, who put out a videotaped diatribe against Bush the Friday before the 2004 election.

“‘I thought it was going to help,’ he decided. ‘I thought it would help remind people that if bin Laden doesn’t want Bush to be the president, something must be right with Bush.’”

Odd, isn’t it, how just at the point when things look bleakest for Bush, up pops Osama?

And, by the way, ask yourself, when was the last time the American people took to the streets enmasse like the citizens of, say, Argentina, Franch, Italy and so on, to overthrow an unpopular government?

Face it, Mr. Hall, we are screwed.

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By Carol Bayard, March 1, 2006 at 7:18 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Everything I read online and in the papers these days is so infuriating that I wonder why somebody hasn’t stopped this bunch with some kind of coup. I’m ready to volunteer for that project.

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By Tom Morrison, March 1, 2006 at 5:45 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Is anyone doing anything to make sure the machinery of election in 2006 will be proofed against the uncertain results of 2000, 2002 and 2004? While no one has proven that the elections referred to were stolen by the Republicans, it is in the interest of the Democrats to make sure that every vote cast is counted and that the votes cast can be reliably recounted. It seems so elementary that I can’t understand why this has not been done by the Democrats, since they are the interested party.

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By This is a ploy by the GOP (UAE Ports Deal) to loo, March 1, 2006 at 4:54 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

This is just another Karl Rove ploy to make the republican jackbooted neocon fascist bastards look legitimate in the eyes of the voters before the November elections, that’s all.  It’s also clear that the republican’s, even with the faux ‘show of force’ against their boy wonder, Dumbya, are really in on this gig from the git go and knew it was a kickback scheme to Snow and the rest of the Carlyle gang of the Bush crime regime.

so, about the only thing missing is Academy Award night for ‘BEST LIAR’ and ‘BEST GOP FAKE OUTRAGE’ here.  We all know that this absolutely b.s. outrage by the GOP scum is just to hopefully buy them some leeway in the November elections.  Hey, where’s Guckert, is he still banging Karl Boy up the kazoo?????????

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By David Wilson, March 1, 2006 at 1:32 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

The Iran war will be an Air War—using strategic nuclear wesapons a la Hiroshima.

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By The Oracle, February 28, 2006 at 10:27 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Actually, the 6/6/6 date for a terrorist attack inside the U.S. might not be that farfetched.

Especially if the Bush Gang starts a war with IRAN between now and that date.

You see, I have my own theory about why Bush seems so dead-set on ramming through this UAE port deal. And I might be wrong. God, how I hope I’m wrong.

On March 20th, Iran is reportedly planning on dumping the petro-dollar and start accepting only petro-euros for any oil they sell on the world’s oil markets.

Can the straighshootin’ oilmen running the White House allow this to happen unchallenged? Hardly.

So, what is the militarily strategic importance of the UAE? It sits on the south side of the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil passes on leaving the Persian Gulf.

But the country that actually has the land that sits directly on the Strait of Hormuz across from IRAN is the Sultanate of Oman.

So, I looked for any connection between Bush, the UAE and Oman. And there is one.

In late 2004, Bush started pushing for both countries to receive Free Trade Agreements with the U.S.. The Omani FTA was signed by Bush on Jan. 19, 2006. Two days earlier, on Jan. 17, 2006, a secret Bush panel okayed the UAE ports deal, even though the UAE FTA is on hold.

In other words, the Bush Gang started “free trade” initiatives with these two countries around the same time in 2004 and, in essence, finalized “free trade” deals with both them, almost on the same day. Except, of course, the UAE “free trade” deal has met with a firestorm of criticism since being made public.

But, once again, what’s so important about these two Arab nations?

If Bush starts war with Iran around March 20th over the petro-dollar/petro-euro issue, then whoever controls the Strait of Hormuz will gain the upper hand.

Are the UAE and Oman, therefore, the staging areas for a D-Day-like assault by U.S. forces across the Strait of Hormuz, in an attempt to establish a beachhead on the Iranian side, that will keep the Iranians from closing down the strait’s shipping traffic?

That’s my guess for what’s behind the UAE port deal. And the concurrent Omani Free Trade Agreement.

So, if this scenario were to unfold in the next month or so, the idea of an Iranian-Hezbollah terrorist attack inside the United States on 6/6/6 doesn’t sound that farfetched. At least, it doesn’t to me. And, of course, if it were to happen, Bush would play it for all the political gain possible, even though he helped provide the catalyst for it happening.

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By Roger Drowne EC, February 28, 2006 at 8:10 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

.
DAMN IT ALL…

... We R Way Way, Past Pissed Off now…

WHEN R THEY GOING 2 GET IT… WHO WILL STAND UP…

HOW LONG CAN THIS GO ON…

WHEN WILL THEY GO 2 JAIL..,

HOW DEAD WILL AMERICA HAVE 2 B

WE - AMERICANS R SICK 2 HAVE BUSH STILL IN OFFICE
.

So Anyway… In Our Pissed-Ness

We Made

New PROTEST IMAGES at…
.
http://www.RogerART.com
.

And info about, de

... CLAEN SWEEP campaign

2 Get Em All… OUT NOW, get get, OUT NOW, OUT NOW

OUT DAMN BUSH FAMILY,

OUT DAMN NeoCons

OUT DAM BUSH FRIENDS / Repugs

GANGSTERS ALL… GET OUT NOW, get, get, get
.

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By william shriver, February 28, 2006 at 8:08 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I have been living overseas for a few years now, while also reading ‘news’ from the U.S. daily.  I am constantly aghast and dumbfounded over what is happening.  It is like reading frightening sci-fi come to life.  I have to wonder; have Americans become completely apathetic, been neutered, lost all of their gray matter, seen Medusa, or all of the above?  There are no good answers I have for my foreign friends who seem equally perplexed.  Frankly, it’s really, really sick.

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By Susan Estelle, February 28, 2006 at 6:53 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I think everyone with 1/2 a brain knew bush was geting some sort of kickback, the deal was just too dam stupid! Republican leaders are getting a clue as to how idiotic & dangerous bush has become. EVEN THE USSUAL REPUBLICAN GOP BIG SHOTS ARE ASKING BUSH WHAT KIND OF ACID HE’S ON!
Here is a guy “tough on terrorism”, selling our very ports to Arabs w/9/11 ties.
All the dirty under the table deals-some so secret even bush doesn’t know about it.
Its a sad day in this country when everyone wants to eliminate the same person from office.

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By John Hall, February 28, 2006 at 5:15 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Re: Comment by E.T. Spoon.
Personally if something like that were actually to happen and al-Queda were connected to the attack, I think at this point the American people, finally rising above the apathy, may seek the head of George W.Bush. As well as those who would try to place the country in a state of martial law.
The only people most likely to go with this action by Bush and Company would be the neoreligious people out there, fearful of the coming of the Apocalypse, readying for the Rapture.

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By clarence swinney, February 28, 2006 at 11:13 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

OK! A bunch of crooks. But, how do you tell the people?

Democrats will not on tv.

Where are ads

Where is leadership..

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By E.T. Spoon, February 28, 2006 at 10:16 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

At the risk of be considered overly paranoid, on my blog I posted:”...a friend posited a thesis that the United States would experience another horrendous terrorist attack this spring. His theory is that somewhere a terrorist bomb will be set off on June 6, 2006.
...And knowing how tied to empty symbolism this administration is, he added, the acronym for this event will be 6/6/6, the mark of the beast.
... A container from Singapore can be off-loaded in San Diego, then trucked to here, Des Moines, IA, without ever being opened until reaching its destination. Imagine the reaction if a container with a nuclear-devise of some sort exploded in, say, Pierre, SD? The Constitution and the Bill of Rights would be thrown in the trash can of history tout de suite; Marines in Homeland Security-drag would patrol city streets; the Republicans would be swept back into office during the general elections, if they are held at all, and immediately seek to repeal the Twenty-second Amendment. George W. Bush, President of the United States for Life!”

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By Gerri Ledesma, February 28, 2006 at 9:05 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I was upset about this before I read this column.  Now it’s outrage.

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By carl mcmath, February 28, 2006 at 5:05 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

preach on, sister!

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