It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


 
George W. Bush's campaign blog, the one that does not permit comments, reports that "The Seniors Coalition" has endorsed George W. Bush's medicare bill. TSC says it has "Four Million Supporters." Wow, what a movement! That's more than 3% of the U.S. population.

It turns out that "The Seniors Coalition" is not a movement of four million after all -- the AARP found that as of 2001 TSC didn't list any revenue from membership dues on its tax return (Source: AARP Bulletin February 2003). TSC is a lobbying organization whose latest calendar of activities is limited to the Washington, DC area. In the most recent year for which data is available from the Better Business Bureau, 2001, 65% of "The Seniors Coalition" funds are themselves spent on fundraising appeals, and a futher 16% of expenses are incurred in direct lobbying of officials.

TSC, investigated by Congress in 1992 for mail fraud, is funded by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune November 16, 2003). Indeed, in a campaign contribution made June 12, 2003, Thomas Moore identifies himself as the "Director of Federal Affairs" for PhRMA, but is identified as "Director of Operations" for "The Seniors Coalition" on TSC's website. Moore also attended a press conference of Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum as a representative of PhRMA on January 31, 2002. I'm sure it's all just a coincidence!

If the Bush administration has to rely on "endorsements" from McMovements like "The Seniors Coalition," support from outside the Beltway must be flagging indeed.


Posted by James Cook at 6:25 AM. # (permalink)




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