choofnagle
Posts by this author
July 26, 2007
Jesse McKinley reports in the Times:
It was a good day for the Devil in San Francisco on Tuesday, as the Taxicab Commission voted to keep the Dark Lord's favorite number -- 666 -- affixed to an allegedly cursed cab.
The vote, which came after an amused period of public comment and annoyed looks…
July 25, 2007
Seth Stevenson over at Slate describes all 12 types of ads in the world and urges us to resist them all:
To me, the 12 formats serve...well as a weapon of defense for the consumer under assault from endless advertising messages. It's like learning how a magic trick works: Once the secret's revealed…
July 20, 2007
I know that my earlier post on Gen Y kids was a bit bogus. There are huge generalizations and no real data in the argument. But I'm going to stir the pot more by posting portions of an earlier column by Jeffrey Zaslow on Generation Y that has a bit more anecdote and information about how the…
July 19, 2007
The Wall Street Journal continues its campaign against Generation Y with an article by Jeff Zaslow that tries to explain why so many young people act with such a sense of entitlement. It pins the blame on, among other things, California, indulgent parenting, and consumer culture. But I suspect…
July 16, 2007
Getting "buy-in" from an industry is crucial when attempting to regulate in favor of consumer protection or environmentalism. If the industry fundamentally does not accept the values embodied in the effort, it finds ways around it. After all, these companies have the brightest lawyers and…
July 11, 2007
Patricia Cohen reports in today's New York Times on a development in economics that will have a huge effect on denialism: the increased willingness to question the orthodoxy of neoclassical economics. Consumer rights, environmental protection, and any number of other issues has suffered for…
July 11, 2007
Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona alleged yesterday in testimony before the House Government Reform Committee that the White House censored his speeches and activities. Laura Mackler of the Wall Street Journal reports:
The most recent U.S. surgeon general told Congress the Bush administration…
June 28, 2007
Another interesting article in the Times discusses shining the light on pharmaceutical industry gifts to doctors. What's interesting about it is that shows another example of how industry self-regulatory principles often have holes (here, a lack of "detail") that leave the problem to be addressed…
June 27, 2007
So, Apple releases Itunes 7.2, complete with the ability to download DRM-free, high-quality MP3s. However, these MP3s contain all sorts of personal information in the metadata, thus allowing tracking of who possesses the files. The solution? Privatunes, a program provided by a French company…
June 27, 2007
An article in today's New York Times shines some light on drug industry gifts to doctors. Pretty interesting stuff:
Vermont officials disclosed Tuesday that drug company payments to psychiatrists in the state more than doubled last year, to an average of $45,692 each from $20,835 in 2005.…
June 15, 2007
I just received my July issue of Harper's Magazine, complete with an article about lobbying and public relations in Washington. Unfortunately, the article is behind a paywall, but it's too good for me not to share some highlights.
It seems to me that this article screams for a legislative…
June 15, 2007
The courts, prodded on by libertarians, civil libertarians, and corporate-funded think tanks, have afforded more and more protection for "commercial speech," expression in the business interest of the speaker. Commercial speech has a lower level of protection than religious and political…
June 14, 2007
Watch your newsstand for the July issue of Harper's Magazine. Today's Wall Street Journal reports today that Harper's Ken Silverstein has written an article describing his experience posing as a businessman with interests in improving the image of Turkmenistan. He approaches lobbying firms, and…
June 8, 2007
And finally, we come to the final card. Perhaps industry's strongest card--"we'll lose money"--is not really denialism, but it is what motivates so much of the bad rhetoric in public policy debates.
And of course, the truth is more nuanced. Proposals for reform create new opportunities, and…
June 7, 2007
Suricou Raven guessed it--after calling your opponent "Unamerican," you call them "Communist." Here, use loaded phrases, such as "the proposal smacks of the paternalistic 'command and control' of Communism."
June 6, 2007
Almost any proposal can be styled as "Un-American." Typically this is bundled with wild, inaccurate claims about European regulations (i.e., you can't do business in Europe at all). You'll wonder if the denialist has even been to Europe!
Update: Mark H provides this article as an example of…
June 5, 2007
The denialist can almost always argue that a proposal is unconstitutional. After all, businesses were afforded many civil rights before women achieved suffrage.
June 5, 2007
This is a very powerful argument in the post-9/11 environment. And if you're a denialist worth your salt, you can figure out a way to claim that your industry is a potential target for terrorism.
Danger! can be used to get things done quickly, as Verisign realized when it wanted to move a "root…
June 4, 2007
"Can't be enforced" is a different argument than "it won't work" (the Jack of Diamonds). Here, the denialist is usually threatening to operate an offending practice overseas, or oddly enough, arguing that because a proposal doesn't give someone a right to sue, it isn't worth passing.
Of course…
June 2, 2007
Giving money to the leadership of the Senate and House is a great strategy, because no proposals will be considered at all if the leadership blocks them. The leadership is rarefied; one only taps them in desperate situations
June 1, 2007
Believe it or not, I've heard industry lobbyists say that they'd stop doing business in California/America if certain consumer protection regulations passed. It's totally implausible, but still a high-value card.
June 1, 2007
As Paris Hilton gets ready for her short stay in jail, she increasingly is photographed carrying Jesus books. And today, she appears on my favorite blog wearing a "Faith" hoodie, and carrying Count Your Blessings, Spiritual Warrior, and some others.
Her behavior recalls Machiavelli's advice:
...a…
June 1, 2007
The denialist can always raise the specter of "big government." As in, the proposal at issue will create bigger government, complete with appeals to fears of world government and stuff like satan. This is a high-risk card because big business loves big government.
May 31, 2007
Sometimes the success of a consumer intervention will create "blowback," and allow the industry to not only win but also demand other concessions.
An excellent recent example of regulatory blowback came with the creation of the federal Do-Not-Call Registry. In creating the registry, the…
May 30, 2007
If the denialist is on the brink of losing, a number of high stakes arguments can be made. The bear/bull market argument is one of my favorites. Just look at tax policy--no matter what the economy is doing, tax cuts are the solution. And in privacy, if the economy's weak, there shouldn't be…
May 29, 2007
Two related arguments--the denialist will say that the regulation won't work. And they won't help in finding a way to come to a reasonable solution.
Finally, continuing in the teenager theme, the denialist will argue that they won't comply, even if directed to by law. Rule of law be damned!
May 28, 2007
The fifth hand brings increasing petulance. One common tactic at this point is to admit to the behavior in question, and like a teenager, say "we'll we've always done this," and therefore we should be able to continue to do so.
May 25, 2007
It's time to go on the offensive. Call your opponent a ninny!
One of the best examples of this comes from--you guessed it--our friend Jack Abramoff. One of Jack Abramoff's teammembers, Dennis Stephens, once proposed to attack Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert because Ruskin's group was…
May 25, 2007
At this point, the denialist must propose "self regulation" to deal with the problem that doesn't exist. Self-regulation is a set of rules that an industry generates to govern itself. The cool thing about self regulation is that it cannot be enforced, and once the non-existent problem blows…
May 24, 2007
The Newhour had a debate tonight full of denialism provided by Paul Miller, former head of the American League of Lobbyists. It's an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how the lobbying tactics outlined in the Denialists' Deck of Cards can be employed to fight a proposal without really dealing…