Here are three questions for John McCain.  They will  not be asked.

The Republican Party's hiring itself out to the oil industry for this coordinated "Drill Now" campaign reminds me of an old joke.  (I'll shorten it.)

Kentucky Fried Chicken comes to the Pope and says, "We'll give you $500,000 a year to change the Lord's Prayer to 'give us this day our daily fried chicken'."  The Pope says, "No way."  Then they offer $1 million.  The Pope gives a long spiel about this is a sacred prayer, from God, etc.  They give their final offer: $10 million a year.

Have you heard about Wal-Mart's campaign to intimidate its workers into voting against Democrats?

Suppose Obama were to say something along the lines of "When I am elected we are going to enforce the law."  Nothing more.  This is not a statement that people can find fault with.

It was great seeing so many of you in Austin last week!

At least one major right-wing smear attack on Obama may be gearing up.  I'll call it the "Who Sent You" campaign.  As weird as it sounds -- and it is weird stuff -- the gist of it is that Obama's birth was part of a secret plan by communists, Jews and one-worlders to take over the world.   As you read this it is going to sound so fanatically wingnut/John Birch Society/black helicopter/precious bodily fluids weird that you are likely to dismiss it as the rantings of crazy people.  But I have learned over the years that this stuff resonates with a certain crowd, and they are remarkably effective at tapping the fears of Americans.  

Keep in mind how weird and unbelievable the Swift Boat accusations seemed -- and remember the powerful effect they had on the public and election results.  In The Swiftboaters Are Back in the Water I wrote about the effectiveness of the dishonest accusations,

Atria Senior Living and Lazard --  I've been writing about bigger-picture issues but today I'd like to go back where this started, to the most vulnerable people - the elderly.  The residents at the Atria Senior Living facilities are the direct victims of a big company buying up a number of senior living chains, combining them into one big chain and then financializing this as an investment, because everyone knows that the Boomers are getting old so this is a great way to get in on the ground floor of a growing business.  

I have been writing about the Campaign to Improve Assisted Living -- please visit their website.  

I'd like to talk about the larger picture.  The other day I asked Who Is the Corporation:

So here is the thing.  When you talk about a corporation doing something, who are you talking about?  In reality you are talking about a few PEOPLE, not some anonymous corporation, PEOPLE.  And when you talk about the people of a corporation you are not talking about Bob in Sales or Mary in Accounts Receivable.  They are not the people who make decisions -- they aren't even asked.  They are told from the top how it is going to be.  When you talj about a corporation doing or saying something you are really talking about A FEW PEOPLE and the things these people do and say are not for "the company" they are necessarily for THEMSELVES.  Corporations do not have voices or thoughts or ideas, a few people who have control of the resources of the corporation do, and always, always act for their OWN gain.

Today let's take a look at Why?

Last week in Gouging Vulnerable Seniors -- What Can Be Done? I wrote about two big pension funds that have invested in the "Lazard affiliate" that owns Atria Senior Living, and suggested they ask Lazard to clear up their act.  (If you are not familiar with what is happening with Atria, please click this.)  One of these funds is in Quebec, the other in the Netherlands.  These funds have signed on to the United Nation's Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI) and these principles call for investors to take action when their investments are causing harm.

I have been writing about Atria Senior Living, owned by a "Lazard-affiliate."  Atria is big a chain of facilities where elderly people live.  It offers assisted living care and "memory care"(which means Alzheimer's care facilities).  Lazard is a big "Bermuda-based" (HA!) Wall Street "buyout firm."

Here's the deal.  Big Wall Street firm Lazard buys a few senior-care facility chains and combines them into Atria.  The "boomers" are aging and will need care so this is the Next Big Thing investment.  Pension funds and others hand over to Lazard millions for this "investment," expecting Lazard to provide a rich return.  This means the seniors (well, their incomes, actually) are the PRODUCT, not the customer here.  The seniors are an annoyance, inefficient, demanding, in the way of maximizing revenue.  Employees are even worse, of course, because they expect to get paid, and want to go home sometimes, and are generally in the way of the supreme goal of maximizing revenue.

So far this week, in the unfolding story of Atria Senior Living, Bermuda-based (HA!) buyout firm Lazard and the really, really rich guy at the top of the food chain Bruce Wasserstein:

Part four: Gouging Vulnerable Seniors -- What Can Be Done?:

The world recognizes that there is a problem with this kind of uninhibited greed. Many people and organizations recognize that such a system is not sustainable, harms the people who work for the companies, the communities around them, the customers and the economies in which they operate. Sure, a few executives make out like bandits for a while, but over time it doesn't do the rest of us any good, not even their companies.

This is part four of an unfolding series on the Atria Senior Living chain of senior living facilities, and how they treat their residents and workers. So far:
Part three: Living and Working at Atria
Part two: Extreme Wealth Just Isn't Enough
Part one: When Seniors Are the Product

I have been writing this week about the Atria Senior Living facilities, which are owned by a Lazard-"affiliated" fund.  The elderly people who live in these corporate-owned and managed facilities are treated as a product, neatly packaged up and flowing to the investors.  Services for them are costs that must be reduced and reduced, while the rates increase and increase.  Employees are an irritating necessity, not human beings to be fairly compensated and treated with respect.

Part three of our unfolding story is about living and working at Atria Senior Living.

Part One of the unfolding story was about the vulnerability of the elderly -- perfect targets for exploitation.  

In Part One the Bermuda-based (HA!) "buyout" firm Lazard, LLC. set up Atria Senior Living which an "affiliated entity" owns.

Atria houses seniors, and collects a monthly fee, which ends up in Lazard's (affiliated) bottom line. ... Atria has been reducing services, raising rates, cutting wages, and generally treating the residents and employees like money trees that exist to be squeezed.

Part Two is about extreme wealth.

The unfolding story of how a wealthy buyout firm takes advantage of vulnerable old people and low-wage employees to make money and enrich its top executives.

To set the stage, think about yourself getting old, or about your parents or grandparents.  Think about reaching a point where you just can't quite get by living on your own at home anymore.  So at some point you decide you have to move into a senior facility.  What about if you need assisted-living facilities -- a place with people to help you take a shower and things like that.  And finally, think about when you might need "memory care." (This is a the name for a special facility for people with Alzheimer's disease.)

I had the opportunity to talk with Donna Edwards for a while today, here at the SEIU 2008 convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  She says that you should run for office, and a lot more than that.

Hillary made a statement the other day that can be interpreted different ways.  Some people are trying to claim that she said she is staying in the race in case Obama is assassinated.  Others say she was just saying that the Democratic primaries often extend until June.

I'm not going to get into the argument about this here, except to remind everyone that in 1972 the Nixon campaign pioneered the strategy of disrupting Democratic primary races. I think it should be clear that much of the conflict in this year's primary is being pushed by the right through the Drudge report, Washington Times, Fox News, etc. but for some reason in this election many Democrats seem willing to pick it up and run with it.  This is a mistake.

Over the last few weeks I have been writing about the plight of security guards working for a company called Inter-Con, a contractor at Kaiser Permanente Hospitals in California.  One post I wrote on this was titled, Why Don't We Hear About Labor Issues Anymore? and I want to get to that subject some more here.  But first, I want to go over what was covered.

(Continues)

When you are deciding whether to listen to a Republican when they talk about Democrats as "appeasers," consider this.  Crooks and Liars has the story of Oliver North on Fox News backing up Republican accusations that Democrats are "appeasers."

So who is Oliver North?  Oliver North is the guy that Republican President Ronald Reagan sent to provide weapons and missiles to Iran.

Last week security guards working at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California went on strike to protest illegal anti-union activities on the part of their employer, Inter-Con Security.  Instead of hiring security guards directly in California, or using a union-friendly security contractor, Kaiser contracts with Inter-Con.  The strike lasted three days.

A few local TV news broadcasts covered the story, and there were a few newspaper articles announcing that there was going to be a strike.  But there was almost no actual coverage of the strike except on progressive sites and labor outlets.  What's up with that?  

Why does the media barely cover labor issues?