July 2, 2009 | Posted by John M. Simpson
The U.S. Justice Department is serious about probing the Google Books settlement for possible anti-trust violations. Consumer Watchdog was one of the first organizations to ask the department to investigate.
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March 20, 2009 | Jamie Court
The president talked and joked easily with America from Jay Leno's couch last night, as close to a fire side chat as it gets in these times. Leno is no Jon Stewart but Obama did offer some clues as to where his financial regulatory approach is going.
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March 19, 2009 | Posted by Judy Dugan
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top GOP politician in the health care
reform debate, is positive that Americans don't need an option to
private, for-profit health insurers. He sees his
anything like offering Medicare as a voluntary option to consumers as a deal-killer, according to CQ.com (subscription
barrier). A guy with Grassley's mind-set must also see private
contractors as the saviors of Iraq and AIG as the model for a healthy,
deregulated financial system.
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March 19, 2009 | Posted by Jamie Court
After Enron's fraud on California during the 2001 electricity crisis
became clear, a lot of politicians felt they had to give back their
Enron contributions. Our consumer group was the beneficiary of a few
of those returned dollars, since we fought the energy industry's
deregulation schemes. Now Open Secrets reports AIG's contributions,
from employees and related political action committees, to federal
lawmakers totaled $9.3 million over the last decade, with an exact
50%-50% split between Democrats and Republicans. AIG sure knows how to
hedge its bets.
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March 18, 2009 | Posted by Jamie Court
A newspaper reporter just called to ask about the state of privacy
under electronic medical records, which will now be spreading thanks to
$20 billion in the federal economic stimulus plan. Electronic medical
records can help avoid medical mistakes, like those suffered by Dennis Quaid's newborn twins, but the privacy protections under the stimulus bill need to improve.
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Recent Articles:
Consumer Group Letters Charge Conflict of Interest in Oil-Friendly Outcome of California Fuel Temperature Study
CONTACT: Judy Dugan, 213-280-0175, or 310-392-0522 x305, or Jamie Court, x327
March 17, 2009
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Beer Keg, Lakers Tickets, Wine Lodge Trip Among Gifts To OC Lawmakers
By Brian Joseph, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
March 11, 2009
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Concerns Over Drug Companies' Political Donations
By Health News Desk, PERSONAL LIBERTY DIGEST
March 10, 2009
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Lobbyists Paid For A $14,000 Getaway To Wine Country During Budget Talks, As Well As Pricey Trips Abroad
By Patrick McGreevy and Eric Bailey, LOS ANGELES TIMES
March 9, 2009
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Health Sector Has Donated Millions To Lawmakers
By Dan Eggen, THE WASHINGTON POST
March 9, 2009
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