Your Pirate Name Is...

Black Sheik of Rumps

Government health insurance, like large employer health insurance, is based on a simple concept: Risk pooling. The more of us in this together, the more our health risks will average out among the population. When I'm sick, many more will be well, and so the group will be able to bear the costs of my illness. Moreover, the greater the size of the pool, the greater our ability to negotiate better deals, demand fairer treatment, and generally find market strength in numbers. This is true, in a maximal sense, for Medicare, with its tens of millions of members and ability to set doctor-payment rates. And it's relatively true for large employers. Democrats, in general, want to expand this model, bringing more people into government and employer options, and ensuring that ever fewer individuals are forced to face the health system on their lonesome.

In contrast, McCain would like to take the health-care system in the opposite direction, toward an individual market where individuals seek coverage without the protection of large insurers or the government. Thus, the core of McCain's health-care proposal is a tax credit designed to ease people out of employer insurance and help employers pull away from offering coverage. McCain would give individuals a $2,500 tax credit and families a $5,000 tax credit meant to help them seek cheaper coverage options, such as health savings accounts, in the private market. And it is this cheaper coverage that is truly the point of McCain's health plan. "I would seek to encourage and expand the benefits of [health savings] accounts to more American families."

The benefits of those accounts are simple: low monthly premiums. The drawbacks are similarly clear: very high deductibles, lots of personal financial risk, and relatively sparse coverage. "These accounts put the family in charge of what they pay for," enthuses McCain. But that's not quite accurate. Individuals have no more autonomy under these accounts than in a traditional sense. They are just more acutely sensitive to the price of their care, which means they'll purchase less of it, and overall health spending will fall.

[***]

Give McCain this: His philosophy is clear. McCain believes that Americans use too much health care, and he has created a plan that will make care less affordable so millions of Americans will use less. He even has a euphemistic description for this approach: "The key to real reform," he says, "is to restore control over our health-care system to the patients themselves … These accounts put the family in charge of what they pay for."

That's undoubtedly true. Parents weighing an emergency room visit they can't afford no doubt realize that they are in charge of what they are paying for. They are certainly more "price sensitive." They are certainly not acting with the wanton disregard of an insured family who seeks care for their feverish child without a second thought. The question, of course, is whether this sort of cost sensitivity is desirable.

So ask yourself this question: It's 3 a.m. one December night in 2010 -- one year after health reform was passed. Whose signature do you wish were on that bill? The president who believed you needed health insurance, and the peace of mind to seek medical care? Or the president who believed you needed more "price sensitivity," and left you to the tender mercy of the insurers? Are we in this together, or are we better off alone?

But where would this leave the Lower Classes traditionally reliant on Medicaid or state-equivalent programmes--subjected to high-pressure sales campaigns from private-sector health plans to the point of causing deliberate bedlam and confusion?

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AS YOU'VE NO DOUBT HEARD ON THE NEWS, HURRICANE IKE'S WRATH AND FURY HAVE LEFT GALVESTON ISLAND A VIRTUAL "NO-GO" AREA save for one house standing.

In consequence thereof, "look-and-leave" for Galveston residents, even with proper identification, has been suspended Until Further Notice, with access essentially limited to:

• emergency services;
• utility crews restoring power, gas, telephonic and CATV services;
• government agencies; and
• relief agencies such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, both of which would appreciate cash (as opposed to "in-kind") donations.

And there are probably going to be some who will insist that the Lower Classes (especially such deemed "chronic and habitual welfare cases") from Galveston Island and Houston essentially resettle themselves in the name of "social improvement" based on Lystenkian models which have been formally discredited--preferably in what are essentially travesties of Euro-model "new towns" based on the "agro-industrial complex" concept of the last few years of the Nicolæ Ceauçescu regime in Romania (i.e., nothing more than concrete-and-cinderblock high-rise apartment towers surrounded by a Community Centre whose only shopping option is Wally World and little else).

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MEANWHILE, THE "PATRIOTIC" HATEMONGERS AND XENOPHBES OF ANTI-SEMITIC NATURE IN PARTICULAR are probably all over themselves trying to explain the current and ongoing state of socioeconomic turmoil in simple, easily-understood contexts for the benefit of the Great Unwashed as include John McCain's so-called "fundamentals of the economy--the workers."

Which, when all is said and done, amounts to nothing more than sugarcoated "dog-whistle" anti-Semitism such as is common during major periods of socioeconomic upheval or uncertainty, reinforced with appeals to the "Dominionist" movement as expects salvation to come only through theocratic rule and control of the means of production and distribution "based on Christian Principles."

Dominated, unfortunately, by the worst sort of inebriates, drug addicts, paranoid schizophrenics, sex maniacs and others weird and unwholesome using His Name for potentially blasphemous effect. Whose ranks, or so Dame Rumour hath it, includes one Sarah Palin.

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WITH ANOTHER SEASON IN WISCONSIN DELLS HAVING ENDED FOR THEIR OUTDOOR WATERPARKS, let's just hope that the 2009 season doesn't see brochures such as the following (an actual waterpark brochure from Turkey, IIBC):

more the engrish!

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IS IT JUST ME ... OR IS THE GOP'S FREQUENT RESORT TO TERRORISM-RELATED ATROCITY PROPAGANDA AGAINST THE DEMOCRATS a deliberate scaremongering such, one which hopes to see Responsibility for Law and Order returned to the people?

(For which, methinks, read nothing short of sadisto excesses of the old tolchocking and rozzrezzing, among other examples of "whatever means necessary" towards racially-selective Law and Order, carried out in camera by the likes of Black Legion types who are, for the most part, weird and unwholesome. Not to mention expected to show no remorse or guilt, expected all the while to believe that they are acting for the Peace, Safety and Good Order of the Community, expected to deny the real motives therefor if and when asked by their superiors.

(And let's not forget where the Oklahoma City Incident occured under a Democratic President.)

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MEANWHILE, IN CHINA, THE DESIRE TO "DEVELOP SOCIALISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS" "BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY" shows nothing but a reckless and utter disregard for public health, safety or welfare.

Witness an emerging scandal where dairy products found to have contained melamine, a compound used in plastics manufacture, have caused the deaths of four infants and sickened hundreds of others who consumed infant formula thus contaminate.

And it's not confined to infant formula or powdered milk anymore: Food-safety inspectors have discovered where fluid milk and yoghurt products from three dairies were likewise contaminate with melamine.

The likely patsy for all this: The need to stretch out limited supplies.

(The same excuse, it turns out, that dairy farmers and milk suppliers used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to excuse watering down milk, or otherwise padding out low production with adulterants like chalk, molasses or even plaster of Paris, inspiring some to comment that "dairymen cheat as meanly as faro dealers.")

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AND WITH THE NEWS THAT GOVERNMENT BAILOUTS OF TROUBLED BANKS AND LOAN COMPANIES COULD REACH INTO THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, as announced by the Treasury and five other central banks overseas, here's something to think about:

"Money is the root of all evil."
Why not invest yours in United States Savings Bonds?

Or what otherwise precludes your doing so? (Leave any logical-sounding explanations you may have in the comments section for preferring material consumption goods over investing in the United States Government's day-to-day requirements.)

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NOT MANY OF YOU KNOW THIS, BUT WALLY WORLD HAS A MAJOR STAKE IN THE BRITISH SUPERMARKET CHAIN ASDA, as explains why it seems like many of the same deceptively-suggestive advertising tricks Wally World deploys to create the aura of consumers getting value for money while so shopping also applies with ASDA.

Case in point: The following recent Advrtising Standards Authority (ASA) adjudication involving ASDA claims of low prices:

Ad
a. A national press ad for Asda showed a large arrow pointing to a smaller arrow.  Text inside the large arrow stated "Asda 2916 products cheaper."  Text inside the smaller arrow stated "Tesco 962 products cheaper."  A large box below the arrows stated "Yep, we've done it again.  The independent price checker says so.  ASDA."  Smaller text underneath the large box stated "This week, independent comparison site mySupermarket.co.uk checked prices for all 7564 same brand/size products on both Tesco and Asda websites - there's no place like ASDA."

b. A TV ad began with a caption at the bottom of the screen that stated "mySupermarket.co.uk.  PRICES CHECKED 18/02/08."  The ad then showed large and small arrows similar to those in the press ad.  Text inside the smaller arrow stated "Tesco 962 products cheaper."  Text inside the larger arrow stated "Asda 2916 products cheaper."  Voice-over stated "This week, independent price checker mySupermarket.co.uk found that Tesco were cheaper on 962 products.  Not bad until you discover that the same independent price checker found Asda were cheaper on more than three times as many.  Asda.  Why pay more?"  Large text in the centre of the screen stated "ASDA.  WHY PAY MORE?"

Issue
Tesco challenged whether:

1. the press ad and

2. the TV ad were misleading because they believed the prices mySupermarket.co.uk had used for the purposes of the comparison were lower in many cases than the prices charged in Asda stores or to online shoppers.

Tesco also challenged whether:

3.  the press ad and

4.  the TV ad were misleading for suggesting that the comparative figures were accurate for an entire week when that was not the case.

Response
1. & 2. Asda said mysupermarket.co.uk were an independent company who took online pricing data from all of the four major supermarkets and produced pricing information on identical branded products. They understood that information was then independently verified and formed the basis of price comparison claims made by the major supermarkets. Asda stated that they operated a national pricing policy and that prices on their website were identical to in-store prices. They said that, although the investigated ad did not state a disclaimer, other ads before and after it had stated "online prices may vary from in-store." They said that was a standard disclaimer in case errors occurred. Asda supplied a copy of the price comparison data mysupermarket had provided on which their price comparison claim was based. Asda believed the data mysupermarket published on 18 February was collated over the weekend of 16 February. They said as many as 3,000 price reductions were actioned over a weekend on their website and in store in time for when stores opened on Monday. They said it was possible that some shelf-edge labels might continue to show the previous, higher price but customers at the till would always be charged the new, lower price.

Regarding the TV ad, Clearcast said they were satisfied that the comparison was a fair and genuine one of the pricing of both Asda and Tesco; that mysupermarket's methodology was sound and that the ad was not misleading. Clearcast supplied the price comparison information they had seen to support the claim. They said they had also received the pricing information referred to by Asda above. They said the ad was one of several similar ones for Asda that they had approved over consecutive weeks. They said their understanding was that Asda's online and in-store prices were identical to those in the comparison data and that there were no significant price changes after the comparison was made.

3. & 4. Asda said the price checks for the press ad were made on the same date as was stated in the TV ad. They said the date the prices were checked was omitted from the press ad due to an error and that that error would be rectified in future press ads. They said that, although the price checks were made on one day only, Asda had since obtained similar data for the days that followed (Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 February), which they believed showed Asda's prices were lower than Tesco's for those days also.

Regarding the TV ad, Clearcast believed the on-screen text "PRICES CHECKED 18/02/08" made clear to viewers when the checks were made and that there was a historical element to them. They believed the warning was sufficient to prevent the ad becoming misleading should, for instance, any slight, limited and unavoidable price variations occur or any items become de-listed while the ad was on air. Clearcast did not believe viewers expected prices to remain static for the entire time the ad was on air but considered that the broad principle that Asda had more cheaper, identical products than Tesco remained accurate. They said the ad was not transmitted for more than seven days.

Assessment
1. & 2. Upheld
The ASA noted that the ads identified the name of the independent company that had made the price checks and stated that the company had checked Asda and Tescos' website prices and used them for the basis of the claim. We noted Asda's statement that they operated a national pricing policy; that prices on their website were identical to their in-store prices and that ads before and after the investigated ad contained what Asda described as a standard disclaimer that online prices might vary from those in-store in case of error. We also noted their response that it was possible some shelf-edge labels might continue to show the previous, higher price but customers at the till would be charged the new, lower price. We noted that neither Asda nor Tesco had provided till receipts or similarly definitive proof that showed the prices charged when the products were purchased in-store, but that Tesco had supplied data, also compiled by an independent company, that compared prices by scanning shelf bar codes. According to that data, approximately 100 products cited as being cheaper at Asda were cheaper at Tesco, and approximately 50 further products cited as being cheaper at Asda were priced equally at Tesco.

We considered that, although the ads made it clear that the claim was based on a comparison of website prices, customers were likely to expect to be able to obtain those savings whether shopping in-store or online. In light of the data Tesco supplied, and in the absence of till receipt evidence (or similar), we considered Asda's evidence did not conclusively prove the specific claim that 2,916 products were cheaper at Asda than they were at Tesco. We concluded that the claim was not substantiated and that the ads were misleading.

On point 1 the press ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) 18.1 and 18.3 (Comparative claims) and 19.1 (Other comparisons).

On point 2 the TV ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence) and 5.4.6 (Comparative advertising).

3. Upheld
We noted that the date the prices were checked was omitted from the press ad due to an error and welcomed Asda's assurance that that error would be rectified in future press ads. We also noted that Asda had provided price comparison data for the three days that followed the price check, which they believed showed Asda's prices were lower than Tesco's for those days also. For the reasons stated in 1 and 2 above, however, we did not consider Asda had shown that the pricing information they had used for the comparison was accurate. In the absence of data to show when the price checks took place, we considered the ad suggested the claim was valid for the entire time it appeared, but that Asda had not demonstrated that was the case. We therefore concluded that the ad was misleading.

On this point the press ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 18.1 and 18.3 (Comparative claims) and 19.1 (Other comparisons).

4. Not upheld
We noted that the TV ad stated "PRICES CHECKED 18/02/08." Although the voice-over stated "This week ..." we considered viewers were likely to understand that the price check was a snapshot taken on a single day and that prices in the competitive supermarket sector might not remain static. Notwithstanding our concerns that the data did not support the claim about the number of products that were cheaper at Asda than they were at Tesco, we considered the statement "PRICES CHECKED 18/02/08" made the date of the price check clear and did not consider that any other element of the ad suggested the price comparison claim was necessarily valid for the entire week the ad was shown.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 5.1 (Misleading advertising) but did not find it in breach.

Action
The press ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Asda to remove it and to ensure they held suitable evidence before making price comparisons in future. We told them to consult the CAP Copy Advice team before publishing any future comparative ads.

The TV ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

So much for Wally World's current slogan of "Save money. Live better."

IN THE WAKE OF CERTAIN WEIRD AND UNWHOLESOME ELEMENTS PREPARING A MAJOR "SWIFT-BOATING" CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE OBAMA/BIDEN TICKET, Your Correspondent makes note of, and would like to call your attention to, a "grass roots" attempt @ "swift-boating" against Ms. Palin by using her own remarks against her (thanks to YouTube and, ultimately, Brave New Films):

After all, Ms. Palin deserves such treatment in the first place.

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ONCE AGAIN, MICHAEL "LIBERALISM IS A MENTAL DISORDER" SAVAGE HAS GONE ON THE WARPATH, ALL THE WHILE (UN)CONSCIOUSLY (UN)AWARE that "words have consequences" against one of his more notorious targets, Muslims.

Media Matters for America explains in this e-mail:

Dear Friend,

On the September 16 broadcast of his syndicated radio show, discussing a caller's comment that "Muslim fundamentalists" are "walk[ing] around Northern Virginia as if they own the place," Savage asked, "Why would a nation that is as evolved as America, and as liberal as America is socially, want to bring in throwbacks who are living in the 15th century? Now you have to ask yourself, what's the benefit? What is the societal benefit of bringing in throwbacks, some of whom are no doubt terrorists, and some of whom are gonna produce children who will become terrorists?"

It's time to pick up the phone again and let those who carry his show in your area know what you think about his hate speech and racist comments.

We all know this isn't the first time Savage has used his #3 nationwide syndicated radio show to denigrate people and incite hate. Here are just a few of the other outrageous statements Savage has made that Media Matters has documented:

• On autism: "A fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "
• On asthma: "[W]hy was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], 'When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], "I don't know, the dust got me."' See, everyone had asthma from the minority community."
• On immigrants from Africa: "There's the new America for you. Bring them in by the millions. Bring in 10 million more from Africa. Bring them in with AIDS. Show how multicultural you are. They can't reason, but bring them in with a machete in their head. Go ahead. Bring them in with machetes in their mind."
• On the Democratic Party: "The Democrat [sic] Party is the minority party. ... [Sen. Barack] Obama is a minority, a half minority at least. The membership is made up largely of minority blocs, the Hispanic caucus and the gay caucus -- caucuses that are all against the white person."
• On Guantánamo Bay: "I'd hang every lawyer who went down to Guantánamo to defend those murderers."

Please look up your local Savage affiliate and take action here: http://mediamatters.org/action_center/savage_action/

Thanks for your action on this important call --

Erin Hofteig
New Media Director
Media Matters for America

And as I've said previously, Mr. Savage, among other doyens of conservative talkback radio, should think about the consequences of their words in case some misguided or mentally-unstable listener carries out infamous or notorious crimes inspired by such comments, and gives his or her show indirect credit or inspiration in police interrogation.

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AND TO HELP THE PUBLIC CALL ATTENTION TO THE CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER OF VOTER INTIMIDATION AND SUPPRESSION CAMPAIGNS preparatory to Indecision 2008, your attention is called to the just-launched Voter Suppression Wiki online, which allows you to:

1. read up on the latest campaigns of voter intimidation, harrassment or interference with voter-registry campaigns; and
2. after signing up, posting your own reports in this respect.

I would also be one to recommend this to law-enforcement agencies, the FBI in particular, to monitor and keep watch of voter-intimidation and -interference campaigns that they will want to timely follow up on--unless they're "simply following orders" to ignore "frivolous, vexatious or otherwise malicious" complaints. 

more the engrish!

SO MUCH FOR THE NEOCONSERVATIVE/FASCISTI ARGUMENT THAT THE "FUNDAMENTALS OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY***ARE STRONG" in the face of creeping unemployment, unstable job markets, $700 billion erased from the value of equities just yesterday in response to the "creeping communism" paranoia about the AIG bailout, an election sure to become all the tighter and @ once uncertain (even with the influence of third-party candidates figured into the equation) and many of the leading retailers being forced to start their Christmas campaigns just this week out of fear that holiday-season sales may be rather soft.

Add to that their secret desire of expecting schoolchildren from families deemed "chronic and habitual welfare cases" to be in School-to-Work programmes without question or reservation--especially so the kind as are nothing short of bromide-laden lectures and parroted-on-cue-in-an-obnoxious-sounding-Sonovox-stylee bumper-sticker slogans promoting Neocon/Fascisti articles of faith expecting such so "advised" (read: forced) into enrollment to be part of the first generation to "willingly and graciously" say No to State welfare and, instead, embrace a "healthy and positive" respect for Industry, Self-Reliance, Personal Responsibility, Thrift based on Cash Economy and a Wholesome and Simple Home Life based all the while on free-market capitalism as Great White Father.

The which, in the right set of circumstances, could cause mental and emotional harm that those involved will try evading liability for, citing a "liability waiver" signed as a "mere formality" (or so the official patsy will have it).

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A CLOSE RELATIVE OF MINE SENT ME THE FOLLOWING CHAIN E-MAIL MAKING THE ROUNDS OF THE INFORMATION STUPORBAHN as makes some worthwhile points vis-a-vis Indecision 2008, and the choices offered, which are worth sharing:

If you were the boss ... which team would you hire?

With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, skyrocketing Federal spending, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc. etc., this is an unusually critical election year.

Let's look at the educational background of the candidates and see what they bring to the job:

Obama:
Occidental College - Two years.
Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

& Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 out of 899 (meaning that, like George Bush, McCain was at the bottom of his class)

&Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire to lead the most influential nation in the world?

(Hint: We, The People are "the boss" for the sake of the foregoing.

(Hence, all the more importance of making sure voter registrations are accurate and timely, or registering if not registered already. And also being all the more vigilant to campaigns of real or suspected voter suppression, intimidation or interference with voter-registration drives in targeted districts, which should be timely reported to law enforcement.

(As for the chain e-mail, you're urged to share it with your e-mail circles--responsibly, of course. "Spamming" can only backfire an otherwise well-intentioned campaign.)

FOR SOME REASON OR ANOTHER, THERE'S BEEN DELAYS IN THE DISPLAY OF POSTINGS TO BLOGDRIVE BLOGS, THE EXAGGERATOR INCLUDED, through much of today.

Hence, readers, if you can see this posting, please e-mail me and let me know how you are and how you are doing. I just want to know if you're reading this.

As well, perhaps some answers need to be coming from Blogdrive as explains the delay in posting to member blogs without the common courtesy of giving prior timely notice on their website or the update blog.

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"THE TRUTH?! YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!"

Thus observed Jack Nicholson's character in A Few Good Men challenging the credibility of what a Marine court-martial would allow in evidence for one of their own charged with infamous murder.

And such seems to be the equally-cavalier mindset certain specimens of conservative Zealotry and True Belief (Good Christians All, remember?) have in suggesting that the Great Unwashed, especially so Archie Bunker/Alf Garnett types, cannot be entrusted with the Truth "lest such result in Error," as if suggesting that Error was really some class of a Loathsome Mental Disorder somehow related to the dreaded "schizophrenic germs," which were to be seen in the same league as the common cold, influenza, typhoid fever and Other Loathsome and Contagious Diseases.

(As a matter of fact, it's my understanding that there is no clear medical consensus on what exactly causes schizophrenia and related disorders of the mind; however, they are unanimous on the point that "schizophrenic germs" do not exist except as a scare tactic.)

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AND, COME TO THINK OF IT, THERE ARE SOME WEIRD AND UNWHOLESOME TYPES WHO WOULD JUST LOVE TO USE THE PREVAILING STATE OF ELECTORAL UNCERTAINTY to unleash some class of North Korean-stylee "Loyalty Drill" as an insturment of fear and paranoia in the name and authority of the State--especially when targeting, and deliberately so, lower-income, economically-deprived and/or National Minority neighbourhoods, such usually being seen as "potential hotbeds of seditious tendencies" along Secular-Progressive lines.

Especially so in the wake of the Federal Reserve Board's offer of an $85 billion emergency buydown of failing insurer AIG, which those among the "Loyalty Drill" crowd would like to use as a starting point of paranoia about the likelihood of an Obama/Biden win come November being but the first step towards Creeping Communism and its "conspiring" to Undermine Our Antient and Pecuilar Soverignty and Soverign Identity as a Pecuilar Among the Nations by Divine Ordinance.

Hence, so this line of attack for "Loyalty Drill" purposes would have it, a McCain/Palin vote is one for the defence of Our Antient and Pecuilar Soverignty and Soverign Identity, which is conditioned by, and conditional upon, free-market capitalism with American characteristics being the Great White Father as will empower the Lower Classes into a New Golden Age of Industry, Self-Reliance, Personal Responsibility, Thrift based on Cash Economy and a Wholesome and Simple Home Life based on a "pure" capitalist model.

Same which sees Self-Regulatory Codes of Good Practice sponsored by industry and trade associations to be more than adequate regulation thanks to automatic and arbitrary "safe harbour" declarations showing no regard for possible harm to competition by tacitly endorsing cartel behaviour through ambiguously-phrased language ... not to mention forcing consumers experiencing problems with products or services to needlessly "jump through hoops" in what amounts to nothing less than a kangaroo-court scenario, with needlessly arbitrarily delays in processing responses notwithstanding provisions in said Self-Regulatory Codes calling for their handling within timely and reasonable limits.

Let alone the aura of "freedom of choice" being manipulated through price-fixing agreements, control of supply and territory, quotas, creating deliberate and artificial shortages as required through stockpiling in locked and sealed warehouses, Reseller Price Maintenance, even restrictions or blanket bans on brand advertising to control market share artifically and arbitrarily.

In other words, the point of this whispering campaign's meme:

A vote for McCain/Palin means the economy must get all the worse before it can get better--if @ all.

Be sure to spread the word--but spread it responsibly.

And something else to think about, in response to the possible anti-Semitic platitudes and bromides in response to the AIG bailout and likely other actions which could only stoke the "Creeping Communism!!!" meme, in an idiotic-sounding singsong:

"Money is the root of all evil."
Why not invest yours in United States Savings Bonds?

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SOMETHING WHICH MAY BE WORTH KEEPING EYES AND EARS ALL THE MORE OPEN TO IN THE COMING MONTHS, especially if the socioeconomic uncertainty poses all the more a clear and present danger to the point where jobs may be all the more difficult to find--especially among the so-called "fundamentals of the economy" otherwise known as the Joe Sixpack crowd, traditionally unlikely to have realistic job or career skills for the New Socioeconomic Model and Paradigm (let alone being cannon-fodder for crude and deliberate prolefeed in the Fox Prolefeed stylee).

As in an adjudication this week from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in England's Green and Pleasant Land involving a company needing what they claim are "home mailers:"

Ad
A magazine ad, for Direct Marketing UK, stated "HOME WORKERS URGENTLY REQUIRED No Experience Necessary Computer Not Required Direct marketing company requires self motivated home workers to do envelope work. Earn £1.60p per envelope  Example of Earnings  Do 50 envelopes get paid £80?  Do 100 envelopes get paid £160?  Do 250 envelopes get paid £400?  The more envelope work you do the more cash you earn  We Give You Full On Going [sic] Advice and Support  For your free information pack please call Liam on 0906 XXX XXXX  Or text info followed by your full name and address only to 07XXX XXXXXX  Or e-mail your name and address to info@XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.net  Or send a S.A.E. to direct marketing UK, PO Box 174, Merseyside L34 5WS ... Join or apply now at www.directmarketinguk.net". Small print at the bottom of the ad stated "All calls cost £1.50p per minute at all times from a BT land line one off joining fee applies".

The follow-up literature stated "Earn up to £500+ per week ... We pay an amazing £1.60 for each envelope that you mail!  You earn £5.00 commission on each order generated by your mailings! ... Does the idea of becoming an independent home mailer, mailing envelopes appeal to you? ... This is your chance to double or quadruple your current income in a matter of days ... By following our instructions contained within the home business mailwealth program, all of the envelopes will arrive pre-addressed or typed on ... That means you will NOT have to address any envelopes what so ever.  Just simply secure the envelopes as per our instructions and post them to us for payment ... As soon as we receive your shipment of envelopes, we will rush you, your paycheque!  ... We just need the help of honest hard working home mailers to place direct marketing information into envelopes for us on a continuous basis.  We can assure you that the more envelopes you mail into us as per our instructions, The more money you will make lets [sic] say for example you only mailed us 180 envelopes a week you would get paid £288 ... but if you mailed into us 350 envelopes You would get paid £560 per week direct to you ... Please note that this is not A GET-RICH SCHEME or a mere envelope filling exercise ... HOW TO GET STARTED IMMEDIATELY! Please complete your priority APPLICATION FORM enclosed and send it back to us within 7 working days. We will require a small one off fully refundable registration fee of only £49.99. This will help to cover the cost of the administrative cost involved in post and packaging your start-up-pack to you. And all the materials you will ever need to get started and to providing YOU with ongoing support and advice and setting up your file ...".

Issue
Two complainants, one of whom said he expected the work to involve envelope filling but found that it consisted of placing ads that asked consumers to send a S.A.E. for a free information pack on envelope work, thought the ad and follow-up literature:

1. did not make clear the nature of the work, and

2. did not make clear that the rate of £1.60 per envelope was reduced if responses returned were more than seven days old and that a minimum of 20 responses had to be returned to achieve any payment.

The ASA challenged whether:

3. the quoted earnings were realistic and whether the ad and follow-up literature misleadingly implied that earnings were dependent on the respondent's ability to work, and

4. the follow-up literature made clear the marketer's geographical address, since the ad did not.

Response
1. Direct Marketing UK (DM) pointed out that the follow-up literature, which respondents to the ad received, stated " ... Please note that this is not A GET-RICH SCHEME or a mere envelope filling exercise ...". They said the ad was designed to find people who were interested in their scheme but their main advertising message was contained in the follow-up literature. They said their main business was selling names and addresses to other companies for marketing purposes. They asserted that they did not operate a pyramid scheme.

2. The follow-up literature asked recipients for a £49.99 fee to receive a start-up pack. DM said the start-up pack made clear the restrictions on the payment rate of £1.60 per envelope.

3. DM said they paid scheme participants by postal order and had not kept any records of payment.

4. DM said their geographical address was in the start-up pack.

Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA noted the ad claimed "Direct marketing company requires self motivated home workers to do envelope work" and the follow-up literature stated " ... Does the idea of becoming an independent home mailer, mailing envelopes appeal to you? ... Just simply secure the envelopes as per our instructions and post them to us for payment ... As soon as we receive your shipment of envelopes, we will rush you your paycheque! ... We just need the help of honest hard working home mailers to place direct marketing information into envelopes for us on a continuous basis ..."; we considered both the ad and the follow-up literature suggested that DM were offering payment for stuffing envelopes.

We considered that consumers responding to the ad and follow-up literature would not expect to have to place ads themselves. However, one of the complainants sent us a copy of the start-up pack. It contained a Home Business Mailwealth Program Manual, which asked recipients to place ads in shop windows or newspapers stating, for example, Marketing company requires workers to earn extra cash doing home-based work, and asking consumers to send a stamped addressed envelope to the home workers address for free details. If the home worker received any replies, he or she was required to forward them to DM. We considered that consumers were paying £49.99 for the opportunity to receive compensation that was derived primarily from the introduction of other consumers into the scheme. We therefore considered that DM were operating a pyramid scheme.

We concluded that neither the ad nor the follow-up literature made clear the nature of the work and were therefore misleading.

On this point, the ad and follow-up literature breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 52.4b (Employment and business opportunities).

2. Upheld
We noted DM had previously been told by the CAP Copy Advice team that it was likely to be acceptable to quote "£1.60 per envelope"  providing that was the fee paid to everyone. We also noted the Copy Advice team were not aware of the true nature of the work involved when they gave their advice.  We noted the start-up pack stated " ... We will pay a reduced rate of £1.00 for each envelope that are [sic] Older than 7 days old from when we receive them ..." and " ... We will only be able to issue a cheque for a minimum of 20 envelopes.  You may make this total up in separate batches, to ensure that each envelope is less than 7 days old when we receive it ...". However, we noted the ad stated "Earn £1.60p per envelope" and the follow-up literature stated "We pay an amazing £1.60 for each envelope that you mail!"; we considered they both misleadingly suggested that £1.60 per envelope was the fee paid to everyone. We considered the restrictions on the payment rate were significant and ought to have been made clear to consumers in the ad or follow-up literature, before they had made a financial commitment to the scheme.

On this point, the ad and follow-up literature breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 52.4i (Employment and business opportunities).

3. Upheld
We noted the Copy Advice team had told DM that the claim "Do 250 envelopes and you will be paid £400+" should be removed if most people on the scheme did not achieve that level of payment. We noted the follow-up literature stated "Earn up to £500+ per week ..." and " ... if you mailed into us 350 envelopes You would get paid £560 per week ...". We noted DM had sent no evidence that the quoted earnings had ever been achieved. Given that rates were reduced for replies that were older than a week, the numbers of envelopes quoted in the ad would have to be less than a week old on receipt by DM to achieve the corresponding quoted payment rates; we considered that would be difficult to achieve. We considered DM had not proved that the quoted earnings were realistic.

We also noted the ad stated "The more envelope work you do the more cash you earn" and the follow-up literature stated " ... the more envelopes you mail into us ... The more money you will make ..." which we considered implied home workers could earn as much money as they wanted depending on their eagerness to work, whereas we understood that the amount earned depended on how many people replied to the notices placed. We concluded that the ad and follow-up literature were misleading.

On this point, the ad and follow-up literature breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 52.2 (Employment and business opportunities).

4. Upheld
We noted neither the ad nor the follow-up literature made clear DMs geographical address, despite the fact that the Copy Advice team had advised DM to include a full geographical address instead of a PO Box address in the follow-up literature. We also noted the geographical address was not in the start-up pack despite DMs assertion that it was.

On this point, the ad and follow-up literature breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 52.4a (Employment and business opportunities).

Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Important note: A new Code clause was introduced to reflect the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and applied to marketing communications that appeared after 24 June 2008. Although the ad appeared before that date, we noted the new Code clause stated "marketing communications should not offer schemes under which consumers pay or give consideration for the opportunity to receive compensation that is derived primarily from the introduction of other consumers into the scheme and not from the sale or consumption of products (pyramid schemes)". Because DM were operating a pyramid scheme, we told them not to advertise it at all.

And though the ad in question is from Great Britain, there are worthwhile lessons we "morally superior" Americans can learn, because "it's a small world, after all ..."

more animals

QUOTH JOHN McCAIN: "THE FUNDAMENTALS OF OUR ECONOMY ARE THE WORKERS, AND THEY ARE STRONG."

Which sounds, methinks, like something out of Communist or even Fascist/Nazi propaganda, never mind their articles of faith holding nothing but contempt for the working classes while officially claiming to represent their best interests.

To the Communists, workers were expected to be in full control of the means of production and distribution, expected to accept the Marxist doctrine of "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his need" as a Sanctii Sanctorum.

To the Fascists and Nazis, workers were seen to be but a larger part of a Greater Collective Whole known as Industry, and that they show due respect and obescience to their employers--a throwback to the Fascist movement's roots in corporatism, which expected employers to be all the more generous to their employees to the point of pacifying them against joining "subversive" labour unions.

(The which may want to be something Fox Prolefeed and their ilk may want to ponder, what with their reckless and utter contempt for liberals and Secular-Progressives expressed in their McCarthyistic dismissal therefor as "Communists" or "Nazis" absent proof or, @ mininum, a clear understanding of basic ideological differences. And do they choose to willfully ignore the warnings of History by way of the "Red Scare" which Sen. McCarthy wrought in the early 1950's, ruining as it did many thousands of innocent people to the point of suicides in some extreme cases?)

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IN ANY CASE, THE McCAIN/PALIN TICKET WANTS THE WORKING CLASSES TO SEE THEMSELVES AS PART OF A NOBLE AND PRIVILEGED CASTE based on free-market capitalism with American characteristics being their Great White Father; one as will empower them to a New Golden Age of Industry, Self-Reliance, Personal Responsibility, Thrift based on Cash Economy and a Wholesome and Simple Home Life; one as will answer any and every need thanks to greater selection and lower prices.

Unfortunately, such is one with the Producerist agenda, which holds that this supposedly Arcadian ideal is under threat from two different and opposing fronts:

• One the one hand, by Wall Street, The City, the Bahnhofstrasse, and the "International Jewish Conspiracies" controlling all "to the greater detrius of Christendom;" and,
• On the other hand, by unchecked and uncontrolled immigration (especially among those deemed to be "inferior peoples or races" or otherwise practicing religions not in communion with a "pure" form of Christian teaching--especially so such based on Fundamentalist and Primitive theologies), "chronic and habitual welfare dependency" (especially so among "inferior peoples") and a "morally bankrupt" system of State Social Security and welfare placing too great an emphasis on dependency over industry.

Is it any wonder, then, that the Producerist movement has such strange bedfellows as "the Four Hundred," neo-Nazis, White Christian Supremacists and the Archie Bunker/Alf Garnett element as common supporters and sympathisers?

And is it any wonder where, in the face of a clear and emerging state of socioeconomic deterioration and hardship, the McCain/Palin camp is expecting the workers to hold dear their privileged role and place within the traditional free-market capitalistic model and paradigm while jobs are becoming harder, if not difficult, to come by, incomes are shrinking and the rich-poor gap is widening all the more to the point of risking major social upheval?

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COME TO THINK OF IT, WE MAY WANT TO KEEP OUR EYES OPEN IN THE E-MAIL FOR A MAJOR RETURN OF THE "JONATHON ROURKE/JODY JACOBS" "FIVE REPORTS" CHAIN LETTER as made the rounds wholesale in the face of major uncertainty over the outcome of the 2000 Presidential elections, as witness the following paragraph early on:

I'll make you a promise. READ THIS E-MAIL THOROUGHLY TO THE VERY END--Follow precisely what it says to the letter--and you will not have to worry about who is President, whether or not there is a recession, or whether you will keep your current job....

Especially so the sort targeting especially lower-income or otherwise socioeconomically-vulnerable neighbourhoods where jobs are likely to be limited or unavailable, particularly so to the detrius of such with few or no realistically marketable job skills in the current socioeconomic state.

*************

SPOT WHAT'S WRONG HERE: Crude oil prices approaching $90/bbl on the NYMEX ... Gulf Coast offshore fields out of production since Hurricane Gustav's arrival, and remaining so in Ike's wake; likewise with refineries in the same general area ... gas prices across the country seeing wholesale and unexpected spikes in pricing, in some cases approaching $5/gallon, and with shortages of supply in some areas for the immediate and foreseeable future ... and militants in Nigeria's Niger Delta oilfields region launching attacks seeking greater autonomy and wealth-sharing, and resorting (or so rumoured) to sabotage on pipelines to make their feelings known.

Not to mention an unpredictably uncertain Presidential election here in a presumably "morally superior" United States which is prone to be exploited all the more by weird and unwholesome elements as could manipulate things all the more.

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AND YOU HAVE TO WONDER IF FEMA'S RELIEF-DISTRIBUTION NETWORK FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE IKE IN AND AROUND HOUSTON, TX is designed primarily for the sake of pacifying victims enough into voting Straight Republican come November, reinforced by fear and paranoia about an Obama/Biden victory meaning nothing less than Creeping Socialism on a par with Certain Contagious, Loathsome and Notorious Diseases and Illnesses.

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AND SPEAKING OF THE RACIST IMPRECATIONS RAISED BY THE MARKETING OF "OBAMA WAFFLES," OFFICIALLY EXCUSED BY ITS CREATORS AS "POLITICAL SATIRE," @ $10 a box, perhaps it was time to bring up an interesting little history lesson involving a highly-respected brand of pancake mix whose name carries the unfortunate taint of Jim Crow-era racial sensibilities and stereotypes playing off the former.

Let's let the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia @ Ferris State University explain how Aunt Jemima pancake mix played up the racist "mammy" stereotype for marketing purposes:

Mammy's most successful commercial expression was (and is) Aunt Jemima. In 1889, Charles Rutt, a Missouri newspaper editor, and Charles G. Underwood, a mill owner, developed the idea of a self-rising flour that only needed water. He called it Aunt Jemima's recipe. Rutt borrowed the Aunt Jemima name from a popular vaudeville song that he had heard performed by a team of minstrel performers. The minstrels included a skit with a southern mammy. Rutt decided to use the name and the image of the mammy-like Aunt Jemima to promote his new pancake mix. Unfortunately for him, he and his partner lacked the necessary capital to effectively promote and market the product. They sold the pancake recipe and the accompanying Aunt Jemima marketing idea to the R.T. Davis Mill Company.

The R.T. Davis company improved the pancake formula, and, more importantly, they developed an advertising plan to use a real person to portray Aunt Jemima. The woman they found to serve as the live model was Nancy Green, who was born a slave in Kentucky in 1834. She impersonated Aunt Jemima until her death in 1923. Struggling with profits, R.T. Davis Company made the bold decision to risk their entire fortune and future on a promotional exhibition at the 1893 World's Exposition in Chicago. The Company constructed the world's largest flour barrel, 24 feet high and 12 feet across. Standing near the basket, Nancy Green, dressed as Aunt Jemima, sang songs, cooked pancakes, and told stories about the Old South--stories which presented the South as a happy place for blacks and whites, alike. She was a huge success. She had served tens of thousands of pancakes by the time the fair ended. Her success established her as a national celebrity. Her image was plastered on billboards nationwide, with the caption, "I'se in town, honey." Green, in her role as Aunt Jemima, made appearances at countless country fairs, flea markets, food shows, and local grocery stores. By the turn of the century, Aunt Jemima, along with the Armour meat chef, were the two commercial symbols most trusted by American housewives. By 1910 more than 120 million Aunt Jemima breakfasts were being served annually. The popularity of Aunt Jemima inspired many giveaway and mail-in premiums, including, dolls, breakfast club pins, dishware, and recipe booklets.

The R.T. Davis Mill Company was renamed the Aunt Jemima Mills Company in 1914, and eventually sold to the Quaker Oats Company in 1926. In 1933 Anna Robinson, who weighed 350 pounds, became the second Aunt Jemima. She was much heavier and darker in complexion than was Nancy Green. The third Aunt Jemima was Edith Wilson, who is known primarily for playing the role of Aunt Jemima on radio and television shows between 1948 and 1966. By the 1960s the Quaker Oats Company was the market leader in the frozen food business, and Aunt Jemima was an American icon. In recent years, Aunt Jemima has been given a makeover: her skin is lighter and the handkerchief has been removed from her head. She now has the appearance of an attractive maid--not a Jim Crow era mammy.

(Come to think of it, the current Aunt Jemima looks somewhat like a cross between Diana Ross and Oprah Winfrey, no?)