K Street Celebrations
July 12th, 2008 by Jon Taplin
All over Washington this weekend the corporate lobbyists who have fought against any kind of auto fuel standards or factory pollution standards are popping champagne corks. The Bush administration said that there will be no new climate change administrative decisions for the rest of their term.
Just think they can proudly report back to their clients like Exxon and GM that in 8 years they have been 100% successful in blocking any progress on fuel efficiency or global warming.
How do they sleep?
Shakespeare, in Henry VI, Part 2, said “The first thing we do is we kill all the lawyers.” I suggest we add the lobbyists to the hit list.
And, pursuant to your last post, if I disappear, you’ll know why.
Shakespeare, in Henry VI, Part 2, said “The first thing we do is we kill all the lawyers.” I suggest we add the lobbyists to the hit list.
And, pursuant to your last post, if I disappear, you’ll know why.
“How do they sleep?”
Very well, and on piles of money.
“How do they sleep?”
Very well, and on piles of money.
When you don’t have ethics or morals, you sleep pretty well..
scum..absolute scum..
@Patrick
Most of the lobbyists are lawyers already, so kill all the lawyers and you kill two birds with one stone.
When you don’t have ethics or morals, you sleep pretty well..
scum..absolute scum..
@Patrick
Most of the lobbyists are lawyers already, so kill all the lawyers and you kill two birds with one stone.
Hardly surprising, considering Bush’s farewell at the G8 Summit.
“Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter,” he said, grinning and punching the air.
I guess he’s given up hoping to be remembered fondly.
Hardly surprising, considering Bush’s farewell at the G8 Summit.
“Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter,” he said, grinning and punching the air.
I guess he’s given up hoping to be remembered fondly.
The idea that resisting higher CAFE standards was good for business is plainly inexplicable. Detroit is now in the position of producing a fleet of gas guzzlers while the world demands higher mileage; CAFE standards would have forced all automakers to the same mileage and thereby improved the competitive position of the American companies.
Plainly inexplicable.
The idea that resisting higher CAFE standards was good for business is plainly inexplicable. Detroit is now in the position of producing a fleet of gas guzzlers while the world demands higher mileage; CAFE standards would have forced all automakers to the same mileage and thereby improved the competitive position of the American companies.
Plainly inexplicable.
Did he really do that, Rachel? That’s so Texas it’s almost funny.
Jon, looks to me like the Aministration pulled off an old trick of legislative drafting usually reserved for speakers or leaders of Congress. You load up the truck, bury a poison pill somwhere in the heap, and set the thing to take effect right about the time the courts, with a little nudging, discover the pill and blow the whole thing up. If this is what happened, then it was a quite a “feat of construction” on the the part of the White House Counsel, notwithstanding the probability that the Democrats were so entranced by all the goodies on the truck that they never noticed the pill.
Did he really do that, Rachel? That’s so Texas it’s almost funny.
Jon, looks to me like the Aministration pulled off an old trick of legislative drafting usually reserved for speakers or leaders of Congress. You load up the truck, bury a poison pill somwhere in the heap, and set the thing to take effect right about the time the courts, with a little nudging, discover the pill and blow the whole thing up. If this is what happened, then it was a quite a “feat of construction” on the the part of the White House Counsel, notwithstanding the probability that the Democrats were so entranced by all the goodies on the truck that they never noticed the pill.
Hugo- I’m sure the best minds at the Federalist Society were engaged in planning this project.
Hugo- I’m sure the best minds at the Federalist Society were engaged in planning this project.
For a nice view of GWB: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fze2J2Ve9is
OK, it’s not him talking pollution, cars, or oil…but it makes for an interesting confirmation of who “we the people” chose as a leader…or was chosen for us.
For a nice view of GWB: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fze2J2Ve9is
OK, it’s not him talking pollution, cars, or oil…but it makes for an interesting confirmation of who “we the people” chose as a leader…or was chosen for us.
Yeah. That’s the track; the WH doesn’t probably have it in-house. (And that alone, man, I mean how effing sad is that?)
Yeah. That’s the track; the WH doesn’t probably have it in-house. (And that alone, man, I mean how effing sad is that?)
Jon, with all due respect, this post and your NSA post reveal the contradictions and fissures in your own global-consultant-telecom, listen-to-me-recovering Hollywood DRM/Set-Top Cop-man spirit.
While I admire your position and consider you trusted mentor and growing colleague (we need to set up our chats and I want to check in w/ the grp. on the collection soc. project), of course there won’t a real, substantive dialogue on privacy when real people outside of the blogasphere’s rosy gates are feeling extreme, economic and identity dislocation and those in the blogasphere “assign readings” compared to a what I’ve described as a more humble, mindful, non-social media approach.
There’s this whole, arrogant, west-side, Huff-a-puff speaking from on high that still resides in your remnant, Industry, super-connected, Obami-Geffen party dropping self, which you are still embedded in.
I admire the grass-roots side that aspires to promote such a national dialogue, but the “the week reading assignment” post reveals the difficulty you will face as long as you feel a self-indulgent desire to “assign” readings, compared to going through social media withdrawal and promoting projects with substantive, humble, more modest grass-roots focus. I heard Castells speak at Farmlab and his Studio for Social Scuplture group is a great blue-print for this different mind-set and paradigm.
I’ll check in w/ you this week to see if you have time in July. In a wonderful coincidence, Joe Gantz told me that a decade ago in a mtg. at CAA, he told his reps there needs to be new collection societies so we could be able to create some momentum from inside and outside with the strike as a great catalyst.
Jon, with all due respect, this post and your NSA post reveal the contradictions and fissures in your own global-consultant-telecom, listen-to-me-recovering Hollywood DRM/Set-Top Cop-man spirit.
While I admire your position and consider you trusted mentor and growing colleague (we need to set up our chats and I want to check in w/ the grp. on the collection soc. project), of course there won’t a real, substantive dialogue on privacy when real people outside of the blogasphere’s rosy gates are feeling extreme, economic and identity dislocation and those in the blogasphere “assign readings” compared to a what I’ve described as a more humble, mindful, non-social media approach.
There’s this whole, arrogant, west-side, Huff-a-puff speaking from on high that still resides in your remnant, Industry, super-connected, Obami-Geffen party dropping self, which you are still embedded in.
I admire the grass-roots side that aspires to promote such a national dialogue, but the “the week reading assignment” post reveals the difficulty you will face as long as you feel a self-indulgent desire to “assign” readings, compared to going through social media withdrawal and promoting projects with substantive, humble, more modest grass-roots focus. I heard Castells speak at Farmlab and his Studio for Social Scuplture group is a great blue-print for this different mind-set and paradigm.
I’ll check in w/ you this week to see if you have time in July. In a wonderful coincidence, Joe Gantz told me that a decade ago in a mtg. at CAA, he told his reps there needs to be new collection societies so we could be able to create some momentum from inside and outside with the strike as a great catalyst.
Re: Lewis
What’d he say? In English, or at least a real language, please. Or maybe it’s all an in-joke. I’m so far out, I’m almost back in, but not quite.
Re: Lewis
What’d he say? In English, or at least a real language, please. Or maybe it’s all an in-joke. I’m so far out, I’m almost back in, but not quite.
He used up our quota of adjectives for the month.
He used up our quota of adjectives for the month.
Lewis-Don’t you have more socially meaniful activities than spending your time commenting on this blog?
The weekend reading assignment is of course tongue in cheek and this community knows that. You worry too much about my soul. I can take this from a former student with the good will inherent in your post. Of course their are contradictions. I revel in them.
As to your worries that I spend too much time blogging, be reassured. I used to spend an hour day writing in a diary/commonplace book. Now I do it publicly and have this very smart community to critique my musings.
How cool is that?
Lewis-Don’t you have more socially meaniful activities than spending your time commenting on this blog?
The weekend reading assignment is of course tongue in cheek and this community knows that. You worry too much about my soul. I can take this from a former student with the good will inherent in your post. Of course their are contradictions. I revel in them.
As to your worries that I spend too much time blogging, be reassured. I used to spend an hour day writing in a diary/commonplace book. Now I do it publicly and have this very smart community to critique my musings.
How cool is that?
I think many of us here have given up less interesting hobbies for the blogosphere. I gave up television two and a half years ago, and I’m much happier spending an hour and a half a day on the Internet than watching some dumb show with too much product placement. Love how they make sure the Coke can logo is facing the camera… As for how effective we all will be in the future…I don’t know, but this is rather like the town meetings of old New England in the dialog. And who better to give us reading assignments than a professor? I guess I dropped out of college long ago enough that it doesn’t bother me a bit! And besides, the professor is younger than I am by a bit.
I think many of us here have given up less interesting hobbies for the blogosphere. I gave up television two and a half years ago, and I’m much happier spending an hour and a half a day on the Internet than watching some dumb show with too much product placement. Love how they make sure the Coke can logo is facing the camera… As for how effective we all will be in the future…I don’t know, but this is rather like the town meetings of old New England in the dialog. And who better to give us reading assignments than a professor? I guess I dropped out of college long ago enough that it doesn’t bother me a bit! And besides, the professor is younger than I am by a bit.
I think Lewis is talking to himself again…
I think Lewis is talking to himself again…
Hmmm. No, I use my own blog to talk to myself.
I enjoy reading Jon’s post, as well as the community’s and find it a worthy replacement for that early Today show pick-me-up-spirit.
My overall question is this: since Jon has stated the need for a complete societal re-examination due to the “Interregnum”. The question becomes: what is the best spirit and communication network needed to begin to promote such necessary projects?
This is where Jon shows a split: the tele-com consultant/ex Wall Street insider going to Geffen party and the inspiring, Public Knowledge, social media blogger who inspired his class w/ Digial Political Comm. tools.
We all belong to different networks, different facets of our identity, I too revel in my contradictions as well as my friends and teachers.
But the key question is this: when Jon, or any similarly ambitious “Grand” project leader enters the public sphere, it will be attacked for challenging the corporate power structure and the contradictions between these two poles will need to be integrated or fissures will result, damaging the very noble intentions in the first place.
And yes, I do think the blog is very very cool….we just need you to get the side Video player so I can watch the JT-curated morning videos.
Take care.
Hmmm. No, I use my own blog to talk to myself.
I enjoy reading Jon’s post, as well as the community’s and find it a worthy replacement for that early Today show pick-me-up-spirit.
My overall question is this: since Jon has stated the need for a complete societal re-examination due to the “Interregnum”. The question becomes: what is the best spirit and communication network needed to begin to promote such necessary projects?
This is where Jon shows a split: the tele-com consultant/ex Wall Street insider going to Geffen party and the inspiring, Public Knowledge, social media blogger who inspired his class w/ Digial Political Comm. tools.
We all belong to different networks, different facets of our identity, I too revel in my contradictions as well as my friends and teachers.
But the key question is this: when Jon, or any similarly ambitious “Grand” project leader enters the public sphere, it will be attacked for challenging the corporate power structure and the contradictions between these two poles will need to be integrated or fissures will result, damaging the very noble intentions in the first place.
And yes, I do think the blog is very very cool….we just need you to get the side Video player so I can watch the JT-curated morning videos.
Take care.
“The current president, trying to ease market tensions and boost supply, called last month for Congress to lift its prohibition before he did so himself.”
From an AP wire story about Bush lifting the executive ban on new offshore drilling.
I love how this American press is still curled up in Bush’s lap, fast asleep. He tells them, “I’m only doing this to ease market tensions and increase supply!” Anyone who was awake might say, “Won’t it take many years for this new oil to come on line, so won’t this action have no effect, none, zero, on current market tensions and the price of oil? Aren’t you in fact using this as a smokescreen to give yet another multi-billion-dollar goodie to your friends in the energy industry, and lock in the deal before you leave office, when you can personally profit from it?”
They might also say, “Wasn’t the story a few years ago that the supply was good but we couldn’t refine it fast enough? Didn’t we hand out 30 billion to the oil companies? How come that hasn’t resolved the market tensions?”
But they’re content to sigh happily and repeat the mantra.
“The current president, trying to ease market tensions and boost supply, called last month for Congress to lift its prohibition before he did so himself.”
From an AP wire story about Bush lifting the executive ban on new offshore drilling.
I love how this American press is still curled up in Bush’s lap, fast asleep. He tells them, “I’m only doing this to ease market tensions and increase supply!” Anyone who was awake might say, “Won’t it take many years for this new oil to come on line, so won’t this action have no effect, none, zero, on current market tensions and the price of oil? Aren’t you in fact using this as a smokescreen to give yet another multi-billion-dollar goodie to your friends in the energy industry, and lock in the deal before you leave office, when you can personally profit from it?”
They might also say, “Wasn’t the story a few years ago that the supply was good but we couldn’t refine it fast enough? Didn’t we hand out 30 billion to the oil companies? How come that hasn’t resolved the market tensions?”
But they’re content to sigh happily and repeat the mantra.
Lewis: I don’t think many of us see Jon as a project leader. Many of us here (though I speak only for myself), view this forum as more of a Socratic approach, involving as many as will participate, given that they bring valid thought and cerebral effort and agree to a sense of decorum. Differing opinions are tolerated and even embraced, so long as they are not specious.
Just my $0.02. Which I think is the equivalent of one eye-dropper-full of Regular Unleaded…
- Zhirem
Lewis: I don’t think many of us see Jon as a project leader. Many of us here (though I speak only for myself), view this forum as more of a Socratic approach, involving as many as will participate, given that they bring valid thought and cerebral effort and agree to a sense of decorum. Differing opinions are tolerated and even embraced, so long as they are not specious.
Just my $0.02. Which I think is the equivalent of one eye-dropper-full of Regular Unleaded…
- Zhirem
Zhirem,
I agree w/ you completely about this forum taking more of a Socratic approach and that’s why I enjoy it so much. What I find interesting about the “Socratic” method in an academic environment like where I first met Jon (the “USC” branded one), is the relationship is no longer binary between teacher and student.
It is now tri-partite between teacher, student and server host of the students’ and teachers’ published work.
Our Digital Pol. Comm. seminar became an interesting case-study as that blog was erased or “de-published” when the server host, the Annenberg Center for Communication, underwent a brand identity switch from being an inter-disciplinary center affiliated with ASC to a center attracting top USC grad. students.
Thus, your feedback and Jon and my experience raises interesting questions as public schools hopefully will begin to use more social media tools. I do feel these tools can empower students, but the integrity of their server hosting needs to be addressed.
So your opinion, I’d say, is worth the market rate of $3.59/galloon in So Cal!
Zhirem,
I agree w/ you completely about this forum taking more of a Socratic approach and that’s why I enjoy it so much. What I find interesting about the “Socratic” method in an academic environment like where I first met Jon (the “USC” branded one), is the relationship is no longer binary between teacher and student.
It is now tri-partite between teacher, student and server host of the students’ and teachers’ published work.
Our Digital Pol. Comm. seminar became an interesting case-study as that blog was erased or “de-published” when the server host, the Annenberg Center for Communication, underwent a brand identity switch from being an inter-disciplinary center affiliated with ASC to a center attracting top USC grad. students.
Thus, your feedback and Jon and my experience raises interesting questions as public schools hopefully will begin to use more social media tools. I do feel these tools can empower students, but the integrity of their server hosting needs to be addressed.
So your opinion, I’d say, is worth the market rate of $3.59/galloon in So Cal!
Zhirem- I sure don’t think I’m a project leader. I just throw some ideas out to an incredibly smart bunch of people from all over the world. And they generally teach me something every day.
Zhirem- I sure don’t think I’m a project leader. I just throw some ideas out to an incredibly smart bunch of people from all over the world. And they generally teach me something every day.