"...what Alan Greenspan focuses on when he talks about the health of the American family is whether or not they'll be able to continue to make the payments on those outstanding credit cards, and outstanding loans. Because if they can keep making the payments, if they can keep a shoulder to the wheel, then it means the banks are safe. Ultimately, Alan Greenspan's constituency is just the banks. Just keep those banks safe, and that means everything is happy.

[...]

"...Let's talk about what's happened to families, not in the long past, just since the year 2000. Since the year 2000, credit card defaults, that is people who are not making even the minimum monthly payment, up 55 percent.

"Home mortgage foreclosures ­ people who desperately want to keep up the payments on that one asset, because if you don't, it means you're out on the street ­ up 45 percent. And bankruptcies, the ultimate declaration of financial death that I can't make it anymore, up 33 percent.

[...]

"Alan Greenspan, our national economic leader, has stood up for the last four years and told Americans, "Borrow against your house. If you can't close the gap at the end of the month, just borrow against your house."

[...]

"...think about what happens when you load up more debt on your house.

"Just you are rolling the dice at the table in Las Vegas. And here's how you're rolling it. You're rolling it that your income's going to continue to go up. That nothing serious is going to go wrong in your family that's going to make it hard to make those payments.

"Someone's going to get sick, you're going to lose a job, you're going to be without health insurance. Someone's going to get divorced. None of those things are going to happen to you. And here comes the third one, the one you hit on.

[...]

"And then here comes the real hooker. And when mortgage foreclosures start in earnest, it doesn't just affect the person who's been foreclosed against, it affects everybody up and down the block.

"When banks take homes away in foreclosure, housing prices for the entire neighborhood drop.

Warren has argued in previous work that hired gun hack academics are producing pro-credit-industry research that helps companies fight off consumer protection and rational policy.

Similarly, our sacred right to porn consumption is being further burdened by the Department of Justice. That agency just announced that it is tightening the regulations regarding the identification and documentation of porn stars.

But Ron Reagan is also slinging it. In recent interviews, as the Post reports Reagan's son is criticizing the Bush Administration:

"Dad was also a deeply, unabashedly religious man," Ron Reagan told mourners. "But he never made the fatal mistake of so many politicians -- wearing his faith on his sleeve to gain political advantage."

[...]

"Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" Wednesday evening, Reagan denounced Bush's opposition to broadening embryonic stem cell research, calling it "shameful." He called Bush's decision to invade Iraq a "terrible mistake" and said, "We lied our way into the war." Then he said he was eager to see Bush defeated in November.

[...]

"My father never felt the need to wrap himself in anybody's mantle. He never felt the need to pretend to be anybody else," Reagan said. "This is their administration. This is their war. If they can't stand on their own two feet, well, they're no Ronald Reagans, that's for sure."

"He returned to CNN again Thursday with another round of denunciations, saying at one point, "My father didn't know George W. Bush from Adam."

Found near Florida and 18th NW.

Found near Florida and 18th NW.

"The following food establishments were closed for health code violations....

Alero

1724 Connecticut Ave. NW

Closed June 14 for improper temperatures of potentially hazardous foods, inadequate basic sanitation, unclean food contact surfaces and equipment and uncovered and unprotected food on display. Reopened June 15.

Starbucks Coffee

1700 Connecticut Ave. NW

Closed June 14 for plumbing fixtures in poor repair, inadequate basic sanitation, unclean food contact surfaces and equipment, uncovered and unprotected food on display and evidence of rodents. Reopened June 16.

"More than a dozen lawmakers attended a congressional reception this year honoring the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in which Moon declared himself the Messiah and said his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons."

"At the March 23 ceremony in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) wore white gloves and carried a pillow holding an ornate crown that was placed on Moon's head. The Korean-born businessman and religious leader then delivered a long speech saying he was "sent to Earth . . . to save the world's six billion people. . . . Emperors, kings and presidents . . . have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."

[...]

"The event's organizers flew in nearly 100 honorees from all 50 states to receive state and national peace awards. The only "international crown of peace awards" went to Moon and his wife.

"Some Republicans who attended the event, including Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (Md.), said they did so mainly to salute the Washington Times, a conservative-leaning newspaper owned by Moon's organization. "I had no idea what would happen" regarding Moon's coronation and speech, Bartlett said yesterday.

[...]

"Moon has claimed to have spoken in "the spirit world" with all deceased U.S. presidents, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed and others. At the March 23 event, he said: "The founders of five great religions and many other leaders in the spirit world, including even Communist leaders such as Marx and Lenin . . . and dictators such as Hitler and Stalin, have found strength in my teachings, mended their ways and been reborn as new persons."

"In EWG's assessment, Just For Men Brush-In Color Gel for Mustache, Beard & Sideburns, Natural Real Black merits a whopping 9.5 score (on a scale of 0 to 10, the top end reflecting the highest risk). Rite Aid Pure Baby Oil comes in for a tiny 1.1 rating. In between are Crest Rejuvenating Effects Liquid Gel Toothpaste (4.3) and Speed Stick Deodorant Solid, Fresh Scent at 5.3. EWG says all those products impose a cumulative chemical load about which too little is known.

"The rating system offers a means of quantifying the answer to a controversial question: Just what are we doing to ourselves when we slather stuff on our bodies? At first blush, the numbers may scare you. Dig deeper and you'll find much that could temper your fear -- or, depending on your point of view, fire your temper.

[...]

"But the industry says the public shouldn't fear its products. Gerald McEwen, vice president for science of the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA), maintains that "cosmetics really are safe. There are not a huge number of complaints, and no evidence of a lot of health problems from their use."

"In any case, the context for any possible risks need to be taken into account. Michael Thun, head of epidemiology for the American Cancer Society, says that "evidence doesn't support the view [that cosmetics are major contributors to cancer risk] at all. If cosmetics pose any [cancer] risk at all, that risk is very small compared to known major risks like smoking, [poor] nutrition, obesity and physical inactivity and sunlight."

"EWG itself encourages a moderate response to the data. EWG project director Jane Houlihan says Skin Deep's findings are "cause for concern, but not alarm."

100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics, by Arthur Kallet and F.J. Schlink (Vanguard Press, New York, 1933)

"A hundred million Americans act as unwitting test animals in a gigantic experiment with poisons, conducted by the food, drug, and cosmetic manufacturers," argued Kallet and Schlink in 1933. They highlighted dozens of examples of this experimentation, including a product to remove freckles that contained mercury, fruits and vegetables coated in arsenic and lead, and hair-removal crèmes containing rat poison. This work of experts from Consumers' Research, Inc. (the predecessor of Consumers Union) is one of the most important books of the century, one that named specific dangerous products but also set forth a framework for addressing the problem of unsafe food, drugs, and cosmetics and unethical marketing practices.

The book, along with the death of 100 people from "Elixir Sulfanilamide," contributed to the passage of the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It required that products had to be actually tested before they were unleashed on the public. Many attribute the 1938 law to the rise of modern pharmaceutical science, as the uses of products were no longer controlled by ad men, who among other things, recommended that Lysol, the household cleaner, be used as a vaginal douche and that the mouthwash Listerine could be used to prevent tuberculosis.

The parallels between food and drug regulation in that era and privacy legislation today are strong. At the time, protection for foods focused on notice--­companies could market extremely dangerous products as long as they disclosed their contents. Without a floor of standards for quality, to be competitive many cut corners and used dangerous additives to preserve food. Online privacy today is similar in that there are no norms aside from those promised in privacy notices. To be competitive, many engage in privacy-invasive practices or reserve the right to do so. Groups like EPIC are limited in filing complaints with governments when a company contravenes its own promises, so it makes sense to promise very little and to reserve the right to alter their promises when they are made. Whether we ever get an online privacy and accountability act remains to be seen.

--Chris Jay Hoofnagle

Howard Gossage said yes: "A billboard has no other function, it is there for the sole and express purpose of trespassing on your field of vision. Nor is it possible for you to escape; the billboard inflicts itself unbidden upon all but the blind or recluse. Is this not an invasion of privacy? I think it is, and I don’t see that the fact that a billboard is out-of-doors make the slightest difference. Even if it were possible for you to not look at billboards if you didn’t so choose, why in the world should you have to make the negative effort? Moreover, this invasion of your privacy is compounded in its resale to a third party. It is as though a Peeping Tom, on finding a nice window, were to sell peeps at two bits a head.

[...]

"...what is the difference between seeing an ad on a billboard and seeing an ad in a magazine? The answer, in a word, is permission–or, in three words, freedom of choice. Through a sequence of voluntary acts you have given the magazine advertisement permission to be seen by you. You bought the magazine of your own volition; you opened it at your own pleasure; you flipped or did not flip through it; you skipped or did not skip the ads; finally, it is possible to close the magazine entirely. You exercise freedom of choice all down the line.

"The same is true of advertisements in newspapers. It is also true of radio and television commercials though in a different way, I’ll admit. Arthur C. Clarke, in Holiday, likened TV viewers to "readers who have become reconciled to the fact that the fifth page of every book consists of an advertisement which they are not allowed to skip." The fact is that Mr. Clarke and you are allowed to skip–to another channel, to Dr. Frank Baxter, or to bed; you can turn it off entirely. Or you can throw the set out the window. You cannot throw U.S. 40 out the window, especially if you are on it. Nor can you flip a billboard over. Or off. Your exposure to television commercials is conditional on their being accompanied by entertainment that is not otherwise available. No such parity or tit-for-tat or fair exchange exists in outdoor advertising.

"And this leads us to the other aspect of the intra-advertising controversy: do laws that discriminate against outdoor advertising discriminate against every other medium? The answer is yes–if you regard Outdoor as an advertising medium, which I don’t. It is not an advertising medium; it is isolated advertising. An advertising medium that incidentally carries advertising but whose primary function is to provide something else: entertainment, news, matches, telephone listings, anything. I’m afraid the poor old billboard doesn’t qualify as a medium at all; its medium, if any, is the scenery around it and that is not its to give away. Nor is a walk down the street brought to you through the courtesy of outdoor advertising.

[...]

"Whatever legal arguments might be made about whether this guidance applies to those held by our troops in Iraq or elsewhere, the fundamental mandate to treat POWs and detainees humanely and as our troops would like to be treated themselves remains valid, paramount and immutable.

Report to Chris' for Instant Social Conversion and Aversion Therapy

[...]

"The proposed settlement, subject to approval by a federal judge in Peoria, Ill., is the largest legal bill yet by the Decatur, Ill., grain-processing giant in connection with its price-fixing scandal of the mid-1990s.

[...]

"When news broke in 1995 of a raid on ADM headquarters by antitrust investigators, civil attorneys raced to file this lawsuit on speculation that something would turn up on high-fructose corn syrup. Indeed, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had managed to secretly record ADM executives at meetings with executives of rival makers of lysine, a livestock feed additive and much smaller product category.

"The Justice Department wrung a $100 million fine and confession from ADM in 1997 about lysine and citric acid, and sent three ADM executives to prison, but the government dropped its investigation of corn sweetener.

"In-person renewal allows driver license examiners the opportunity to refer certain older drivers for medical evaluation [that] . . . may include more sophisticated testing such as neurological examinations, comprehensive visual examinations, simulator tests and road tests," the report concluded.

"The study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham was based on a review of government statistics from 1990 to 2000, during which there were 4,605 driver fatalities involving people 85 and older.

"Lawyers at mega-firm Perkins Coie are warning polluter clients that "over the next few months" they "should anticipate increasing federal environmental enforcement. We have already seen increasing numbers of federal and state criminal investigations," the firm's environmental group said in a May 27 e-mail ominously titled: "The Knock at the Door: Are You Ready?"

[...]

"In the e-mail, Perkins Coie also notes that "the press will be looking for stories on environmental concerns. Are you ready if a reporter, agency official or officer with a warrant shows up at your door?" One thing is certain, the firm adds, "no matter who it is -- you have very little time."

"And the advice offered is quite sound. For example: "Write down and memorize important responses" to avoid misunderstanding, misquotation or a garbled message.

[...]

"The rules are pretty straightforward: "Do not obstruct, but also do not freely convey information," the lawyers advise, and "take detailed notes of documents taken." (Granted, hard to do when you've "assumed the position," spread-eagled against the wall, but they're right that you should try.)

Another article covers bioterrorism surveillance, complete with pictures of the most likely afflictions. An appendix to the article has a list of phone numbers for FBI field offices in every state.

Health Code Violations

Cafe Citron

1343 Connecticut Ave. NW

Closed May 27 for inadequate basic sanitation, evidence of rodents and unclean food contact surfaces and equipment. Reopened May 30.

Check out this earlier post where Cafe Citron was shut down on May 20th for similar reasons.

My bumper sticker, Roll Over and Die, has gained even more gravitas! Don't believe me--read the New York Times and note how GM is blaming rollovers on drivers (the auto industry used to blame accidents on drivers and advocate driver education rather than make their cars safer with basic things like seat belts):

"The rear-wheel-drive version of the Ford Explorer, the nation's best-selling sport utility vehicle, tipped up on two wheels during a rollover test performed by the government, according to results released Monday.

[...]

"The government said three other popular S.U.V.'s tipped during tests: the Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon, both by General Motors, as well as the rear-wheel-drive version of the Mercury Mountaineer, also made by Ford. The extended cab version of a pickup truck made by Toyota, the Tacoma, also tipped up on two wheels.

"The results underscore that sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks are not as safe as many consumers believe because they ride higher from the ground than passenger cars do. Generally speaking, S.U.V.'s and pickup trucks have higher fatality rates for their occupants than passenger cars, and substantially higher death rates than minivans.

"...at least one version of four of the six S.U.V.'s tested tipped up on two wheels; both versions of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon did so. The Dodge Durango and the Honda Pilot did not. Dodge is a unit of DaimlerChrysler.

[...]

"Consumer groups have been sharply critical of the government's new testing because it has inflated grades for some vehicles; even the Tacoma that tipped up on two wheels received four of five stars on the test, a finding that baffled some experts.

[...]

"G.M., in a statement, pointed to drivers, not vehicles, as the real rollover problem.

There are a lot of celebrations internationally for Bloom's Day, but what is going on in DC? Kelly's Irish Times has passed again on hosting a reading of Ulysses. Where can a Washingtonian drink beer and celebrate?!

[...]

"In the deserted darkness of Chaguitillo, a TV blared. Weirdly, it was that third-rate gangster movie, "Brother Rat." Starring Ronald Reagan.

"Well, my friends, you can rest easier tonight: the Rat is dead.

"Killer, coward, conman. Ronald Reagan, good-bye and good riddance.

Bob McIntyre, the Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said: "Well, on paper, the corporate tax rate is 35 percent, but because there's so many loopholes, so many shelters- well, we did a study, looking at companies through 1998, 250 of the biggest, and their average rate by 1998 was 20 percent, not 35. And lately, we think the rate is down to about 15. In other words, companies are paying less than half of what they're supposed to...From 1950 to 2000, corporations averaged about 17 percent of the federal taxes. And all of a sudden, now, down to 7 percent- 7 percent of the government paid for by corporate taxes. So yeah, they're paying a whole lot less than they used to, and the rest of us are picking up the tab for it."

[...]

"The complaint filed in New York state Supreme Court alleges that Glaxo systematically withheld negative information about the drug, also known as paroxetine. While the company's representatives and sales literature drew attention to a single study that showed Paxil had positive results, they hid four other studies, the complaint says. Unmentioned were studies that that found no clear evidence that the drug is effective in minors and that suggested it could increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior.

"The complaint cites a 1998 internal Glaxo memo that said the company's "target" was to "effectively manage the dissemination of these data in order to minimize any potential negative commercial impact."

The Chicago Daily Herald reports:

"Japanese car maker Mitsubishi Motors said on Wednesday it found more cases of defect coverups dating back 11 years in another blow to its brand, still tainted by a devastating recall scandal four years ago.

"Japan's fourth-largest auto maker said it found about 160,000 cars spanning 17 models that may need to be recalled after looking into past practices of repairing safety-related defects secretly without issuing a formal recall as required by law.

"In 2000, Mitsubishi Motors suffered the biggest setback in its history when its decades-old practice of systematically hiding customer complaints came to light, forcing it to recall two million vehicles worldwide.

The Big Hunt

1345 Connecticut Ave. NW

Closed May 20 for unclean food contact surfaces and equipment,
inadequate basic sanitation, evidence of rodents inside
establishment and uncovered and unprotected food on display.
Reopened May 22.

Cafe Citron

1343 Connecticut Ave. NW

Closed May 27 for inadequate basic sanitation, evidence of rodents
inside establishment and unclean food contact surfaces and
equipment.

"Soaring gas prices in the run-up to Memorial Day, which usually has the most expensive gas of the year, have contributed to a notable increase in drive-offs at gas stations and convenience stores. Although no statistics have been collected, industry officials say the increase is striking in contrast with a pronounced decrease after many states passed laws defining gas theft as a prosecutable crime."

Second, good news, a recent decision by a DC judge has ordered the city to stop charging underage drinkers as criminals:

"The decision by Judge Zoe Bush was a victory for lawyers representing dozens of people who have been charged with underage possession of alcohol, only to have their cases thrown out because various judges found that criminal charges were unwarranted.

"Police and prosecutors, who had been averaging up to 15 criminal cases a week, said the threat of arrest was a deterrent. But the plaintiffs, many of them college students, said the arrests were unsettling experiences that left them with undeserved criminal records.

"Instead of being given citations akin to traffic tickets, as would happen were they charged with a civil violation, the plaintiffs were arrested and taken to police stations, where they were photographed, fingerprinted and often held for several hours.

[...]

"Elsewhere in the region, the legal consequences of underage possession vary. In Maryland, it is generally treated as a civil offense, according to the state attorney general's office. In Virginia, it is more apt to be handled as a criminal offense, authorities said.

"The activists, who spray-painted some works and broke others, were charged but later acquitted. Church officials condemned the art show, and the lower house of the parliament, up in arms, overwhelmingly passed a decree ordering the state prosecutor to act against the exhibit's organizers. A commission of art historians, asked by the prosecutor's office to evaluate the exhibition, did not find it to have incited religious hatred -- to the consternation of Orthodox officials and nationalists. Another commission, this time including a psychologist and a sociologist, was appointed. It found unanimously that the exhibition had indeed incited religious hatred.

"As a result, Samodurov [the museum's director] and others associated with the show have recently been indicted for inciting such hatred. They face up to five years in prison.

Samodurov and Andrey Kovalev run a page tracking the events and news coverage. Here are pictures pre and post attack.