About Dorry Samuels

Posts by Dorry Samuels:

Dear Bank of America, it’s time to break up.

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Grab your box of tissues, chick flick, pint of Ben & Jerry’s and – your ATM card? That’s right, Bank of America. We’ve got some breaking up to do.

You see, it’s not you; it’s me. Well, actually, it really is you. You’re too big to fail and I just don’t think you’re strong enough to make it through hard times.

But, dear banking behemoth, it doesn’t have to hurt. As smaller, less complex institutions, you wouldn’t put us all in jeopardy if your strength did slip (and a New York University study predicted you’re the most likely to).

There are things you can do to feel better.

Put a little pep back in your step with some heartfelt belted oldies. You remember that old diddy, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” don’t you? Well, here’s a new spin.

There’s nothing better to cheer you up than seeing Geithner get down, Bernanke boogie and Paulson get frisky for finance. We couldn’t forget Ken Lewis or Brian Moynihan either. Let’s break it down and break them up.

Public Citizen presents, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” Bank of America style.

New EPA emissions rule: No longer can power industry invest in politicians instead of pollution controls

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The EPA today issued new safeguards to reduce mercury and other toxic air pollutants from the smokestacks of the nation’s aging fleet of coal and oil-fired power plants. In addition to lowering mercury emissions, the new rule will reduce other fine particle heavy metals like arsenic, chromium, and lead, saving thousands of lives and billions of dollars each year.  EPA has estimated that the power plant air toxics rule will avoid between 6,800 and 17,000 premature deaths each year, and will result in annual savings of $48 to $140 billion.

Here’s our Texas office director’s take on it:

“For decades, the electric power industry has delayed cleanup and lobbied against public health rules designed to reduce pollution,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas office. “They have decided that it was cheaper to invest in politicians than pollution controls and we see the result here in Texas. The technology and pollution control equipment necessary to reduce emissions of mercury and other dangerous air toxics are widely available and are working at some power plants across the country. There is no reason for Americans — and Texans in particular — to continue to live with risks to their health and to the environment.”

This Week in the Halls of Power: Nixon testimony unsealed, activist house parties, ethics rules post-Abramoff scandal and more

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Flickr photo by tarsandsaction

We’ve got a busy week coming up here at Public Citizen with lots of ways that activists can get involved.

We’ll get a recap from yesterday’s very successful protest on the Keystone XL pipeline, in which so many activists showed up that they could encircle the White House. Allison Fisher, the outreach director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, will give us the rundown.

Also over the weekend, disgraced-lobbyist-turned-pizza-shop-accountant Jack Abramoff shared with CBS’ “60 Minutes” about the tactics he used to buy the loyalty of members of Congress — and get legislation for his clients. It’s appalling. Public Citizen’s congressional ethics guru, Craig Holman, will tell us about the ethics rules enacted in the wake of Abramoff’s scandal and Public Citizen’s role in crafting them.

Ah, now where you get involved: Public Citizen and partner organizations will be working with activists nationwide Wednesday night at house parties to plan for action related to the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will join the approximately 200 house parties by phone and webcast. It’s not too late to participate. Find a house party in your area, and learn more about Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People campaign. Can’t make it Wednesday night? Fret not. We’ll have a video posted of the event by the end of the week.

On Thursday, the content of former President Richard Nixon’s grand jury testimony on the Watergate investigation is set to be made public, all thanks to the legal work of Public Citizen. Talk about a remarkable moment in history!

Stay tuned for all this and more from your busy friends here at Public Citizen.

This Week in the Halls of Power: Lawmakers tackle regulations, we tell super committee how to cut spending and petition the FDA

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Flickr photo by visulogik

Public Citizen is still operating in overdrive after last week’s hugely successful 40th Anniversary Gala. (Read a recap here and check out pictures here.) We plan to post video of the gala’s speeches early this week, so check back!

This week, we have a lot on tap.

We will be asking the FDA to place a stronger warning on the label of a drug because of its increased risk of mortality.

And Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, will participate in a briefing on Capitol Hill regarding a coalition report we put out telling Congress’ supercommittee how it can cut billions of dollars of federal spending by trimming environmentally harmful subsidies.

Speaking of action on the Hill, many pro-Big Business lawmakers will be back at it tomorrow, pressing their anti-consumer agenda, which involves blocking federal agencies from being able to issue life-saving safeguards that protect public health, the environment and more. We will be there to counter them. Watch for a double-header tomorrow: First up, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Regulatory Accountability Act, followed by a mark-up of the REINS Act. That’s the bill that would require Congress to approve every single health, safety and environmental rule – which of course would bring our regulatory system to a standstill. Stay tuned for Public Citizen’s take on the legislation.

Also on the regulatory front, Public Citizen will be chatting this week with small business owners who disagree with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and value regulation. We’ll hear their stories and report back.

And on the direct action front, we continue to push for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission [the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said corporations can spend as much as they want to influence elections]  and are excited to have U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on board for our November 9 house party calls. There is still time to get involved!

Well, lots to do now, so time to get back to work. Thanks for checking in and be sure to check back often to see what else is coming down the pipeline. (Yes, that’s also something we’re working on.)

Money and Democracy Update: Occupy, Bain Capital donations, Wolf PAC, donor contact selling & more!

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Stunning Statistics of the Week:"Public Citizen Money and Democracy"

  • $34,000: Amount presidential candidate Mitt Romney has received this year from employees of Bain Capital, a private equity firm he co-founded
  • 18: Number of employees who donated that amount to Romney
  • $76,600: Amount President Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have collected from Bain employees
  • Three: Number of donors who gave that amount to Obama/DNC

Bill Moyers encourages activists to keep fighting for the people, despite corporate hijacking of our elections
Journalist Bill Moyers helped Public Citizen ring in the big 4-0 this week by headlining the organization’s 40th anniversary gala. His keynote address touched on the capture of our political system by the ultra-rich and how activists can engage in dedicated citizen action to combat it. Check out these highlights from his speech.

Hey, what’s your number? Political campaigns may share it
It seems like political campaigns would do anything to make an extra buck, now apparently including selling donors’ contact information to outside groups, a Roll Call study has found. As a result, campaigns have raked in millions of dollars from donors’ personal information. Privacy advocates say that while renting out these contact lists may be lucrative, campaigns should inform their potential donors that their digits may be shared.
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