Third World America - Arianna Huffington [104]
10 And the money was, of course, targeted: Ibid.
11 Over the course of the debate: Brian Wingfield, “Wall Street Overhaul Not So Bad for Wall Street,” 17 May 2010, www.forbes.com.
12 For instance, when the Senate was crafting its financial reform bill: “Fannie, Freddie Need to Be Part of Reform: Corker,” 18 May 2010, www.cnbc.com.
13 This despite the fact that in just the first quarter of 2010: Gretchen Morgenson, “Ignoring the Elephant in the Bailout,” 7 May 2010, www.nytimes.com.
14 As of May 2010, according to Morgenson: Ibid.
15 “I don’t understand why people are not talking about it”: Ibid.
16 And why would they do that: Ibid.
17 Indeed, as far back as 1910, Teddy Roosevelt warned: Theodore Roosevelt, The New Nationalism (New York: The Outlook Company, 1910), 13.
18 Teddy Roosevelt must have been spinning in his grave: Adam Liptak, “Justices, 5–4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit,” 21 Jan. 2010, www.nytimes.com.
19 President Obama called the decision “a major victory …”: Ibid.
20 Or the chemical industry’s long-term cover-up: Dan Agin, “More than Genes III: Pregnancy, Toxic Environments, and Fetal Vulnerability,” 1 Dec. 2009, www.huffingtonpost.com.
21 Or the way Big Tobacco has fought tooth and nail: American Cancer Society, “Cigarette Smoking,” 24 Nov. 2009, www.cancer.org.
22 Or the outrageous ripping off of the American taxpayer: Kimberly Hefling, “Iraq Contracts Have Cost Taxpayers at Least $85 Billion Since Invasion,” Associated Press, 12 Aug. 2008.
23 Days after the Upper Big Branch disaster: Michael Cooper, Gardiner Harris, and Eric Lipton, “In Mine Safety, a Meek Watchdog,” 10 Apr. 2010, www.nytimes.com.
24 In an eerie echo, in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon: Russell Gold and Stephen Power, “Oil Regulator Ceded Oversight to Drillers,” 7 May 2010, www.wsj.com.
25 Florida senator Bill Nelson summed it up: Ibid.
26 Chris Oynes, the Interior Department’s top official: Carol E. Lee, “Oynes to Resign in Wake of Oil Leak,” 17 May 2010, www.politico.com.
27 Elizabeth Birnbaum, the head of MMS, was forced out: Tom Raum and Jennifer Loven, “Elizabeth Birnbaum Quits Under Pressure: MMS Director Is Pushed Out After Gulf Spill,” Associated Press, 27 May 2010.
28 Indeed, a federal inspector was at the Upper Big Branch mine: Michael Cooper, Gardiner Harris, and Eric Lipton, “In Mine Safety, a Meek Watchdog,” 10 Apr. 2010, www.nytimes.com.
29 Similarly, there are plenty of financial regulatory agencies: Craig Torres, “Fed Says Capital at Some Major Banks Is ‘Substantially Reduced,’ ” 24 Apr. 2009, www.bloomberg.com.
30 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight: Jonathan J. Miller, “The Federal Housing Finance Agency: Regulators Awaken!” 19 Nov. 2008, www.nytimes.com.
31 And, after Bear Stearns crashed, the New York Fed: Andrew Ross Sorkin, “At Lehman, Watchdogs Saw It All,” 15 Mar. 2010, www.nytimes.com.
32 Regulations are “very difficult to comply with”: Jason Linkins, “Massey CEO Blankenship Has Complained About ‘Nonsensical’ Regulation,” 9 Apr. 2010, www.huffingtonpost.com.
33 The Wall Street Journal cites the arguments: Russell Gold and Stephen Power, “Oil Regulator Ceded Oversight to Drillers,” 7 May 2010, www.wsj.com.
34 “There has been a very good record in deep water [drilling]”: Ibid.
35 Similarly, the reason the financial industry can’t be regulated: Shahien Nasiripour and Ryan McCarthy, “Greenspan Testifies to Financial Crisis Commission, Blames Fannie, Freddie for Subprime Crisis,” 7 Apr. 2010, www.huffingtonpost.com.
36 Massey offers a textbook—and in this case tragic—example: Michael Hupp, “Reports Critical of Massey, Other Mining Operations,” 22 Apr. 2010, www.statejournal.com.
37 In 2009, its Upper Big Branch mine was ordered: Daniel Malloy, “Upper Big Branch Mine Forced to Shut Before,” 9 Apr. 2010, www.post-gazette.com.
38 That same year, the mine was cited for 515 violations: “Miners’ Families Cling to ‘Sliver of Hope,’ ” Associated Press, 7 Apr. 2010.
39 In 2010, by the time of the explosion: