I smell a smoking rat.
"Pull the other leg - it's got bells on it" - a family saying when someone is trying to pass off a whopper as the truth. Even the government's lawyers are appalled by Bush's Justice Departments demand a reduction of the tobacco companies fine from $130 billion to $10 billion.
The two lawyers said the lower penalty recommendation would weaken the department's position in any possible settlement with the industry and "create an incentive for defendants to engage in future misconduct by making the misconduct profitable."
Last year the two largest tobacco companies Altria (Philip Morris' new sanitized name - doesn't it remind you of "altruistic"?) and Brown and Williamson spent nearly $200,000,000 on their lobbying efforts. Could that have made a difference??
And while we're on the subject of stinky smoke... Bush's Environmental Wrecking Agency just loosened the proposed new emission standards for coal plants.
Save a life: throw the bums out.
The two lawyers said the lower penalty recommendation would weaken the department's position in any possible settlement with the industry and "create an incentive for defendants to engage in future misconduct by making the misconduct profitable."
Last year the two largest tobacco companies Altria (Philip Morris' new sanitized name - doesn't it remind you of "altruistic"?) and Brown and Williamson spent nearly $200,000,000 on their lobbying efforts. Could that have made a difference??
And while we're on the subject of stinky smoke... Bush's Environmental Wrecking Agency just loosened the proposed new emission standards for coal plants.
Save a life: throw the bums out.
posted by JoieDe at 8:22 AM
1 Comments:
You should try reading the Court of Appeals decision that forced the DOJ to cut back on the remedies it was seeking: United States v. Philip Morris USA, 396 F. 3d 1190 (D.C. Cir. 2005). You may smell a smoking rat, but I'm afraid that's just ignorance. Take a little time to get educated about the facts (you might also want to read the letter from one of the career DOJ laywers on the case, Frank Marine, in the June 15 WashPo) before you jump to conclusions.
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