Bill Moyers and Michael Winship

Living in these United States, there comes a point at which you throw your hands up in exasperation and despair and ask a fundamental question or two: how much excess profit does corporate America really need? How much bigger do executive salaries and bonuses have to be, how many houses or jets or artworks can be crammed into a life?

After all, as billionaire movie director Steven Spielberg is reported to have said, when all is said and done, "How much better can lunch get?"

But since greed is not self-governing, hardly anyone raking in the dough ever stops to say, "That's it. Enough's enough! How do we prevent it from sweeping up everything in its path, including us?"

Look at the health care industry saying to hell with consumers and then hiking premiums -- by as much as 39% in the case of Anthem Blue Cross in California. According to congressional investigators, over a two-year period Anthem's parent company WellPoint spent more than $27 million dollars for executive retreats at luxury resorts. And in 2008, WellPoint paid 39 of its executives more than a million dollars each. Profit before patients.

This week, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the health insurance industry's lobby, announced they'd be spending more than a million dollars on new television ads justifying their costs.

Speaking at their annual policy meeting in Washington -- and without a trace of irony -- AHIP's president and CEO Karen Ignagni declared, "The current debate about rising premiums has demonstrated that, in fact, we have a health care cost crisis in this country. Unfortunately, the path that has been followed is one of vilification rather than problem solving."

Beg pardon? You're lamenting a health care cost crisis and raising your premiums? Isn't that like the guy complaining there's an obesity epidemic in America while ordering a double Big Mac with extra fries?

Of course, a million is a mere bagatelle in the shadow of the $544 million that was spent on lobbying by the health sector last year, plus more than $200 million in advocacy ads. And a million's just the curtain raiser to what will be spent in these final weeks of health care reform debate.

Two weeks ago, The Washington Post reported, "Washington interest groups have burst back into action in hopes of bolstering or defeating a new Democratic push on health-care reform legislation, sparking another wave of rallies, lobbying efforts and costly advertising campaigns.'

This in spite of the projection that over ten years the Obama plan would plop an additional $336 billion into the insurance companies' pockets -- in the form of subsidies given to those who can't afford to buy health insurance on their own.

Okay, this is getting weird: We're going to help the poor by enriching their exploiters?

But apparently even that won't satisfy big business' voracious appetite for more. On Tuesday, Employers for a Healthy Economy, a coalition of 248 business groups, led by the U.S Chamber of Commerce, and including construction and manufacturing interests, as well as health insurance companies, said that over ten days they will spend up to $10 million on ads aimed at putting the screws on members of Congress to vote against health care reform.

Goodness knows, it isn't just because their profit margins may dwindle. No, according to Neil Trautwein, vice president of the National Retail Federation, one of the trade associations involved, "These bills are job killers. Retail simply cannot afford any higher benefit costs or burdensome mandates." (Never mind that extrapolating from baseline forecasts made by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment Projections Program, the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, projects that health care reform possibly could create an average of as many as 400,000 new jobs a year.)

But beyond the health care fight, and perhaps far more significant in the long run, this effort is just one more example of life, Pandora-style. The Company has arrived, only it's called the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and it's got its sights on anything that moves, damn the natives, full speed ahead.

During 2008, 86% of contributions from the chamber's political action committee went to GOP candidates. The conservatives have found their Avatar, AKA Frankenstein.

Of course there is not actually a Chamber of Commerce, at least the way we might imagine it. This is no confederation of congenial, small town business groups that pass out maps of Main Street and souvenir key rings. The chamber in question is a front group. Yes, yes, it reports a membership of three million businesses, but tax records indicate that in 2008 a third of its contributions came from 19 companies paying between $1 million and $15.3 million. Don't hold your breath: the chamber is not required to reveal who those 19 are.

The March 8 edition of the Los Angeles Times reports that "internal documents suggest the organization's treasury is filled in substantial part by contributions from a couple dozen major corporations most affected by Washington policymakers."

Got it? Predators who prey together stick together.

With all that cash, the Times notes, "The chamber spent more than $144 million on lobbying and grass-roots organizing last year, a 60% increase over 2008, and well beyond the spending of individual labor unions or the Democratic or Republican national committees. The chamber is expected to substantially exceed that spending level in 2010."

This elite organization of oligarchs has been emboldened by the Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, which now allows corporations to spend freely on political campaigns right up until Election Day, and by the chamber's recent success contributing a million dollars for ads supporting Republican Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts.

What's more, writes the Los Angeles Times, "Using trade associations such as the chamber as the vehicle for spending corporate money on politics has an extra appeal: These groups can take large contributions from companies and wealthy individuals in ways that will probably avoid public disclosure requirements."

So with the spring comes anonymous greed run rampant. "In the past a lot of companies and wealthy individuals stood on the sidelines" of politics, a corporate lawyer at Washington's influential law firm Covington & Burling told the Times.

"That cloud has been lifted," he said.

As the sun sets on democracy.

No wonder demonstrators outside that health insurance meeting in Washington this week surrounded the hotel with yellow crime scene tape. The entire country is being mugged.

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Bill Moyers is managing editor and Michael Winship is senior writer of the weekly public affairs program Bill Moyers Journal, which airs Friday night on PBS. Check local airtimes or comment at The Moyers Blog at www.pbs.org/moyers.

Today's most interesting stories in technology, media and entertainment:

Vodaphone HTC smartphones have been shipped with malware. The report comes after Panda Security found the code inside the Android-based smartphone. The virus on the phone spread to PCs the phone
was connected to and may have aided in some cases of identity theft.

Barnes & Noble is developing an eReader application for the iPad. The app, which will mimic Barnes & Noble's Nook tablet, is expected to be available for the near the launch. The free application "designed specifically" for the iPad may help make the iPad a more attractive option than the Kindle. Or maybe not.

Apple is readying the 4th incarnation of its iPhone operating system. The new system may feature multi-tasking, an option that many iPhone users have been waiting patiently for. The iPhone 4.0 OS will reportedly allow users to run more than one app at the same time, giving them more control over their iPhone than ever before.

Today's Video -- The Barnes & Noble Nook

If you are having trouble viewing our video player, view on YouTube.

Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV. Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars

Health reform is back from the dead. Many Democrats have realized that their electoral prospects will be better if they can point to a real accomplishment. Polling on reform -- which was never as negative as portrayed -- shows signs of improving. And I've been really impressed by the passion and energy of this guy Barack Obama. Where was he last year?

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen is President Barack Obama's pick for vice chairman of the central bank in Washington, two people with knowledge of the selection process said.

The nomination is pending completion of vetting by the Obama administration, one person said. The vice chairman gets a four-year term, subject to Senate approval, and a separate term on the Fed Board of Governors. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the selection hasn't yet been announced.

WASHINGTON -- Long before the State Dinner party crashers and the tension with her White House colleagues and the strain in her relationship with the first lady, Desirée Rogers began to understand she was in trouble when David Axelrod summoned her to his office last spring to scold her.

I have been trying to interview Emmy Award-winning composer/philanthropist Peter Buffett for two years.

I wrote about Grammy Award-winning UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo following the U.N. Day Concert back in October of last year (here).

Both musicians have been on my radar because I cover Thought Leaders and Global Citizens - and they represent everything that is right with celebrity: The power to achieve goodness on a grand scale.

Peter (Wiki) and Angelique (Wiki) spoke to me by phone this week about their latest project. It's their new charitable single release called "A Song for Everyone" in support of the Batonga Foundation, Angelique's non-profit dedicated to advancing young women's education in Africa.

The foundation does this by granting scholarships, building secondary schools, increasing enrollment, improving teaching standards, providing school supplies, supporting mentor programs, exploring alternative education models, and advocating for community awareness of the value of education for girls.

The foundation currently has an active presence in the countries of Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, and Sierra Leone.

The name "Batonga" stems from a word Angelique made up as a response to taunts when she was going to school -- the boys didn't know what the word meant, but to her it was an assertion of the rights of girls to education. Batonga!

Angelique, a native of Benin who lived for years in Paris and now resides here in New York City, and Peter, who was raised in Omaha and to this day has a deep appreciation of Native Americans, united to create this moving single.

The song features Angelique's vibrant, uplifting signature 'World' sound, Peter's pop-rock songwriting and catchy melody, with lyrics in both artists' native tongues: English and Yoruba.

100% of the proceeds from downloads of the single will benefit the Batonga Foundation, to give girls a higher education so they can take leadership roles in Africa.

Another crucial part of their mission is advocating for community awareness of the value of education for girls by addressing gender prejudice.

There is a growing consensus that the most cost effective way to help African nations reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for their citizens is to support education for girls.

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan summed it up when he said, "To educate girls is to reduce poverty."

Chatting with Peter and Angelique was the highpoint of my week. Such positive energy! Angelique told me:

My mom was educated. She understood the importance of educating her children, boys and girls. When a girl is born in Africa, she has no identify. Education changes that!

"No woman should ever go through what I went through - you must get your education!," she told me.

My brothers were taught the basics - but also how to go to the market, cook, and sew. The neighbors would laugh about this, but my mother would say: "God forbid if their wife dies - how will they know how to take care of themselves?"

My father was very strong as well and he wanted us all educated. He pushed hard for us. My dad was my champion and he supported me to become an artist.

These ideas were ahead of their time, and the neighbors called my parents "White people," which was not a compliment.

My dad said, '"Call me anything you want - my children will be educated!'"

Both Angelique and Peter stressed how important it was for men to be part of the process of assisting girls. Men must be included. Peter feels that by not being a woman he has a fresh perspective to offer.

Angelique confirmed that by saying she was so happy to be able to work with Peter in helping African girls. He serves as a male role model.

Peter Buffett and his wife Jennifer run the NoVo Foundation. Peter laughed that occasionally friends compliment him on helping his wife 'do her thing' with philanthropy. Trust me, it is their thing. Think Melinda and Bill.

Chatting with Peter, I got immediately that he was on a par with Bono in terms of musicians who know the intricacies of international development.

Peter wants to leverage his own assets to solve the problems of the world, not just hand people the proverbial fish. It is obvious he has learned a few lessons from his father Warren Buffett. Peter told me:

No amount of money can solve all the problems in the world. The challenge for us is to try to keep girls in school past the age of 12, which will impact later generations to come.

We need to leverage our resources to create the 'Girl Effect,' as the Nike Foundation has called it.

Leveraging is what the three B's are into: Bono, Bill Gates, and Bill Clinton. Peter gets this deeply.

Angelique sees the 'Girl Effect' as a form of trickle-up social development. Similar to how immigrant children in America teach their parents how to make it here, the young African girls learning through the Batonga Foundation are encouraged to go home and teach their mothers:

In Africa, many women sign their names at the ballot box with an "X." Our girls can teach them how to write their own name. Then, voting becomes real for them- and the chances of fraud are reduced.

I also ask my girls to teach their mothers how to count. This ability alone opens the world for their moms. We have reversed the process: Our children are teaching our adults.

Peter is just himself - he's neither afraid to sound hackneyed nor controversial:

I realize it sounds trite, but these young women could be your sisters, your nieces, your wives, your grandmothers. We truly are one big family. Our single, "A Song for Everyone," is about this.

You know, I personally hate the word "charity." It assumes someone is lesser. We are all in this together.

We simply must lift everyone into the dignity that we all deserve, and in so doing, humanity wins. We all win. Together.

Angelique was also philosophical:

We need money, but we also need people around the world to keep our girls in their hearts, to think of them as their daughters - not just an anonymous stranger that one gives charity to.

And I cannot deal with people telling me anything is "impossible." Nothing is impossible! Humanity needs to come together, and we can. And we are.

Look at Haiti! Everyone wants to help because we are all connected. We are one planet. Our survival is based on one another.

I asked Peter how he became involved with a cause so far from Nebraska. Growing up in Ohio myself - and working in Asia, Africa, and the Americas - I felt I knew his answer in advance, but felt compelled to ask the obvious. He replied:

Sure, there is poverty in Omaha. Deep pockets of poverty. We just need to extend a hand. Not a hand-out, but a hand. To anyone, anywhere. In Omaha and beyond.

Having just attended the international cell phone conference in Barcelona with 49,000 participants and 1,300 venders, I am now fairly well versed in how the connectivity cell phone technology offers can help in Africa.

Peter, I discovered, knows mobile phone technology inside and out:

There is great promise coming with cell phones, from getting prices to farmers - to being able to pay rural teachers by cell phone banking. Mobile education will be huge.

I was in West Africa where I saw lesson plans being run off on a broken-down copier. Soon, lesson plans will be downloaded to each teacher's cell. It will be transformational.

Angelique agreed:

My mentors in Benin need cell phones to talk to each other effectively. Right now I need 24 cell phones from the same provider to facilitate their communications. Do you know any C.E.O. from a cell phone provider in Benin? Call them for me - I need help!

In my piece about the United Nations concert last fall I wrote:

Angelique then took the stage and sang the world-popular Swahili song, Malaika. She brought the house down with her rendition of Axe Mama Africa!

Her striking voice, stage presence and her fluency in multiple cultures and languages won respect from her peers and expanded her following across national borders.

It also earned her access to humanitarians who sensed the passion in the words of her songs, resulting in her long-term dedication to global charity work.

She has hosted the prestigious and globally important Mo Ibrahim Foundation's Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in both Alexandria, Egypt and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

Peter does not rest on his laurels either. He and Akon's social action website, IsThereSomethingICanDo.com, re-launched last year to coincide with the release of the pair's latest single, "Blood Into Gold."

Now powered by DoSomething.org, a leading cause-focused social networking site, this siteit is an on-line destination where users can get involved, share personal experiences in making a difference, and meet others with common goals - and a passion for change.

Spotlighting a new social cause of worldwide concern monthly, IsThereSomethingICanDo brings much-needed attention to human trafficking as the first featured subject - with more to come.

Fans can visit Do Something's "Celebs Gone Good" blog to see behind-the-scenes video of Angelique and Peter.

As the youngest son of legendary investor Warren Buffett, Peter explains - in his live Concert and Conversation - the reasoning behind his father's decision not to give his children a financial head start in life - and how important it is for each person to define his or her own path, regardless of their wealth or background. Infused with live music performances and video clips from his film, TV, and philanthropic work, Peter's candor and unique talent make for an uplifting and rewarding experience.

Peter uses social media extensively and has an active presence on Facebook and NING. His latest book, Life Is What You Make It, is now available for pre-order at Random House. The book takes on themes of following passions over conventions, and how part of life's journey can be found in the process of giving back.

Angelique ended our interview by telling me what she says in Benin: "I tell my girls that behind me there are many, many people who care so deeply about them. They look at me with such open eyes!"

To join the ranks of those who care about Benin's young women, and the work that Peter Buffett and Angelique Kidjo are doing to support them, download their single today.

Donating to the foundation is simple: Download the single for yourself, "gift" the track to your friends using iTunes, or via Peter's on-line store. Or just make an old-fashioned contribution on-line.

Related Stories by Jim Luce

How Can We Help Orphans in Kenya - When There are 2.4 Million of Them? (Daily Kos)

Chatting with UNICEF's Director Ann Veneman (HuffPo)

U.N. Birthday Rocks For Its Peacemakers (HuffPo)

Bill Clinton: Elder Statesman to the World (Daily Kos

Helping Women: Eliminating Obstetric Fistula in Developing World (HuffPo)

Interview with the Red Cross Secretary General in Geneva (HuffPo)

Fall Pick: American University of Nigeria (Daily Kos)

Moral Obligation of Addressing Global Poverty at Princeton (Blogspot)

Building Cellular Connectivity Where None Exists to Bridge the World

Cell Phones Impacting Psychology, Community, Culture, Arts, and Economics

Cellphone Technology Bridges Digital Divide for Connectivity in Third World

Cellphones Alter Educational Strategies in Developing World

Quite a few observers, including this blogger, have been stunned and frustrated at the refusal to investigate what was almost certain accounting fraud at Lehman. Despite the bankruptcy administrator's effort to blame the gaping hole in Lehman's balance sheet on its disorderly collapse, the idea that the firm, which was by its own accounts solvent, would suddenly spring a roughly $130+ billion hole in its $660 balance sheet, is simply implausible on its face. Indeed, it was such common knowledge in the Lehman flailing about period that Lehman's accounts were sus that Hank Paulson's recent book mentions repeatedly that Lehman's valuations were phony as if it were no big deal.

Well, it is folks, as a newly-released examiner's report by Anton Valukas in connection with the Lehman bankruptcy makes clear. The unraveling isn't merely implicating Fuld and his recent succession of CFOs, or its accounting firm, Ernst & Young, as might be expected. It also emerges that the NY Fed, and thus Timothy Geithner, were at a minimum massively derelict in the performance of their duties, and may well be culpable in aiding and abetting Lehman in accounting fraud and Sarbox violations.

We need to demand an immediate release of the e-mails, phone records, and meeting notes from the NY Fed and key Lehman principals regarding the NY Fed's review of Lehman's solvency. If, as things appear now, Lehman was allowed by the Fed's inaction to remain in business, when the Fed should have insisted on a wind-down (and the failed Barclay's said this was not infeasible: even an orderly bankruptcy would have been preferrable, as Harvey Miller, who handled the Lehman BK filing has made clear; a good bank/bad bank structure, with a Fed backstop of the bad bank, would have been an option if the Fed's justification for inaction was systemic risk), the NY Fed at a minimum helped perpetuate a fraud on investors and counterparties.

This pattern further suggests the Fed, which by its charter is tasked to promote the safety and soundness of the banking system, instead, via its collusion with Lehman management, operated to protect particular actors to the detriment of the public at large.

And most important, it says that the NY Fed, and likely Geithner himself, undermined, perhaps even violated, laws designed to protect investors and markets. If so, he is not fit to be Treasury secretary or hold any office related to financial supervision and should resign immediately.

I am reading the report, and will provide an update later, but here are the key bits (hat tip reader John M). As much as Karl Denninger has done some terrific initial reporting, he does not go far enough as far as the wider implications are concerned.

The key revelation is that Lehman as of late 2007 was routinely using repo transactions at the end of the quarter to mask how levered it truly was:

Lehman regularly increased its use of Repo 105 transactions in the days prior to reporting periods to reduce its publicly reported net leverage and balance sheet.2850 Lehman's periodic reports did not disclose the cash borrowing from the Repo 105 transaction - i.e., although Lehman had in effect borrowed tens of billions of dollars in these transactions, Lehman did not disclose the known obligation to repay the debt.2851 Lehman used the cash from the Repo 105 transaction to pay down other liabilities, thereby reducing both the total liabilities and the total assets reported on its balance sheet and lowering its leverage ratios.

But here is the part of the report that discussed how the Fed aided and abetted Lehman misconduct:

the Examiner questioned Lehman executives and other witnesses about Lehman's financial health and reporting, a recurrent theme in their responses was that Lehman gave full and complete financial information to Government agencies, and that the Government never raised significant objections or directed that Lehman take any corrective action.

So what transpired? The SEC (which in all fairness, has never had much expertise in credit markets, this is a major regulatory problem) handed assessing Lehman over to the Fed, which bent over backwards to give it a clean bill of health:

After March 2008 when the SEC and FRBNY began onsite daily monitoring of Lehman, the SEC deferred to the FRBNY to devise more rigorous stress‐testing scenarios to test Lehman's ability to withstand a run or potential run on the bank.5753 The FRBNY developed two new stress scenarios: "Bear Stearns" and "Bear Stearns Light."5754 Lehman failed both tests.5755 The FRBNY then developed a new set of assumptions for an additional round of stress tests, which Lehman also failed.5756 However, Lehman ran stress tests of its own, modeled on similar assumptions, and passed.5757 It does not appear that any agency required any action of Lehman in response to the results of the stress testing.

So why should we trust ANY government designed stress test, particularly when the same permissive grader, Timothy Geithner, was the moving force behind the ones dreamed up last year, which have been widely decried by banking experts, including Bill Black, Chris Whalen, and Josh Rosner? We linked to a simple analysis by Mike Konczal that demonstrates that for the biggest four banks alone, merely on their second mortgage portfolios, the stress tests of 2009 were too permissive to the tune of at least $150 billion.

Lehman type accounting, in other words, is being institutionalized, with the active support from senior government officials.

It is time for Geithner to go. He is not fit to serve as Treasury secretary.

And the time is overdue for a full audit of the Fed, and in particular the New York Fed, from the start of the Bear crisis through and including all the retrades of the AIG bailout.

To say that Family Research Council head Tony Perkins isn't happy about the fact that gays and lesbians can marry in Washington, D.C. should be considered a huge understatement.

He makes this incredibly ridiculous statement about the marriages:

The last census counted 3,678 same-sex partner homes in D.C. Assuming that number has stayed roughly the same, then the 150 who applied for marriage licenses yesterday would amount to a whopping four percent of the local homosexual population--hardly the stuff of economic recovery. For the Post's $52.2 million projection to come true, all 3,678 of those D.C. couples would have to get married and spend over $14,000 per wedding. (I don't know about you, but my wife and I spent a LOT less!) These "marriages" (which have yet to meet financial expectations in other states) may make a fast buck in the short term, but they will do nothing but drain the economy down the road. Consider the massive health care expenses incurred by taxpayers every year to cope with the diseases spread by homosexual behavior. According to the Kaiser Foundation, federal funding grew to more than $18 billion in 2004 to deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Over half of all U.S. infections are in men having sex with men! That means taxpayers spend roughly $10 billion a year treating the diseases caused by a behavior celebrated in same-sex "marriage." So much for economic development!

And where is the proof of this because Perkins doesn't provide any. I guess he figures that since he "sits on the right hand of God," any comment he makes about the gay community, no matter how rude or untrue, will suddenly become true.

But in actuality, Perkins's comments doesn't surprise me because of his history of wild inaccuracies about the gay and lesbian community. For example:

In February, he implied that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell would cause soldiers to be sexually harassed by their fellow gay service members. While Perkins didn't come out and say it, his claim echoed the discredited research of Paul Cameron who claimed (to the derision of sensible people) that a "new study" of his proves that gay service members are four to seven times more likely to rape their fellow service members.

In October of last year, Perkins spoke out against the Obama Administration's plan to create a national resource center for gay and lesbian seniors. Perkins said at the time:

HHS has no idea how many LGBT seniors exist. No one does! The movement is only a few decades old, and people who are 80- or 90-years-old didn't grow up in a culture where it was acceptable to identify with this lifestyle.

Of course, the real tragedy here--apart from the unnecessary spending--is that, given the risks of homosexual conduct, few of these people are likely to live long enough to become senior citizens! Yet once again, the Obama administration is rushing to reward a lifestyle that poses one of the greatest public health risks in America.

Perkins's statement was contradicted by data supplied by the Obama Administration as well as the magazine Newsweek.

Of course I should also mention that in his claim, Perkins again echoed the discredited research of Paul Cameron who once (using fallacious research) claimed that gay men have short life spans.

In September of last year, Perkins submitted testimony to Congress in opposition of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. In his testimony, when he wasn't supplying anecdotal evidence, Perkins misrepresented medical research to claim that the gay orientation itself is indicative of dangerous health behaviors. He used pro-gay publications to "prove" this point. However, Perkins omitted the fact that the research he was citing at no time blamed the gay orientation for the negative health behaviors in which some gays and lesbians were partaking of. The research placed the blame solely on the effects of gays and lesbians having to deal with a homophobic society.

So basically it all comes down to this - Perkins is yet another religious right phony "expert" whose statements about the gay community should be viewed as a flight of fancy created by a preconceived belief that homosexuality in itself is evil, despite evidence to the contrary.

Welcome to the inaugural blog post from Destination Casa Blanca, the Latino Voice in Politics, carried since 2008 on Hispanic Independent Television Network, HITN. Each week I'll post some thoughts from the latest show, and of course we want you to talk back to your television set, answering with reactions and conclusions of your own.
This week's edition of the program dealt with juvenile obesity, its causes, and solutions. The terrific panel came from a variety of disciplines; epidemiology, social work, dentistry, and health disparities. The panelists were great at diagnoses, but the suggestions about what to do next were less than satisfying. It wasn't their fault: Americans of all ethnic groups have been pretty resistance to the long-understood public health messages concerning nutrition.
Americans are fat. Latinos in America are fatter still, with almost one out of five Latino kids overweight, and some one out of six obese. There is some genetic predisposition to put on weight, that is, a physical tendency to get fatter than other people eating the same food. But the real problem, said our panelists, was not genetic but caloric. We eat too much food, too much of the wrong foods, and exercise too little. Aggravating factors for these food basics include schools serving fattening lunches, selling sugary drinks, and providing too few opportunities to exercise.
So what's a country already dealing with the wrestling the world's highest health care bills supposed to do? Any attempt to tax junk food and sweet drinks brings out the heavy artillery from the powerful and well-funded snack foods and beverage industries. The struggle to keep us from digging our collective graves with a knife and fork and a straw is instead portrayed as Big-Brother style interference in personal liberty and another trespass from the creeping nanny state.
At the same time juvenile onset of adult diabetes is increasing, with the havoc it plays on bodies over time. Latinos, already overrepresented among the uninsured, suffer amputations and lost eyesight from untreated and undertreated diabetes at higher rates than other Americans. Obesity is robbing kids and adults of years of life, and countless happy and healthy years of work and leisure.
As I noted in the show, there's really no controversy here. There is no one who is "pro-obesity." There is no "other side" to bring on to argue the upside of excessive eating, too little exercise, and a lifetime of higher health costs and lost work.
But you can ask anyone who has ever tried to lose 10 or 20 pounds and keep them off how hard changing lifestyle and habits can be. Children are in an even tougher spot: They don't control what food schools serve in lunchrooms, what parents serve at home, or what small grocers carry for sale in their neighborhood markets. Habits of eating, exercise, and body care are often set in childhood. We owe these kids more than we're giving them.
The challenges are so many. A lot of our kids live in neighborhoods where little in the way of fresh and healthy foods are easily available. Take a look at the produce section in a bodega or convenience store: the fruits and vegetables are terrible and overpriced.
However, big supermarket chains are reluctant to move into low-income neighborhoods because they can't turn the profit-per-square foot required by corporate management. Many older center city neighborhoods don't have the kind of structures where a big food retailer can locate, and the chains are reluctant to pay for construction.
There are interlocking and complex patterns of low income, food access, and lifestyle that lead to the kids you see walking the streets of the country's barrios. Many are enormous. Brenda Vernon-Shepherd, the social worker on the panel, noted that lifestyle change should be incremental, gradual, to work over the long haul. No one can lose 40 pounds immediately. But incremental change requires sticking to new ways of life and making them permanent.
Waiting for the federal government to come riding to the rescue of the Latino community's health is probably a bad idea. There's so much we can do for ourselves. Changes that can save thousands of years of healthy life and billions of dollars of health care costs can start right around the dinner table. The panel had one suggestion you can start with immediately: put down that soda!

WASHINGTON -- Jolted by a sudden tightening of the rules, lobbyists and military contractors who have long relied on lucrative earmarks from Congress were scrambling Thursday to find new ways to keep the federal money flowing.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Wolves likely killed a teacher jogging alone along a rural Alaska village road, public safety officials said Thursday.

The Alaska State Medical Examiner listed "multiple injuries due to animal mauling" as the cause of death for Candice Berner, 32, a special education teacher from Pennsylvania who began working in Alaska in August. Her body was found off the road a mile outside the village of Chignik Bay on the Alaska Peninsula, which is about 474 miles southwest of Anchorage.

The autopsy could not say which animals, said Col. Audie Holloway, head of the Alaska State Troopers, but wolves are the chief suspect.

"There's no other carnivores in that area that are out and active," he said.

Wolves, bears, foxes and other wildlife have disturbed bodies in the Alaska wilderness, but Holloway said the autopsy ruled out other causes that may have killed Berner. Additional tests could tie the death to wolves, Holloway said.

"If we're able to actually prove which animal, it will be through some kind of DNA analysis or through some expert that can maybe testify or explain how they know that it's a wolf," he said.

Troopers have plenty of circumstantial evidence leading them to point the finger at wolves.

"There were wolf tracks all around the body, and drag marks associated with those wolf tracks," Holloway said.

Tracks indicated more than one wolf was involved.

"From the number of prints at the scene, we're thinking there probably were, possibly, two, three, maybe four," Holloway said.

Villagers in the community of 105 residents already were on alert because of wolves running boldly near the community, said Johnny Lind, president of the village council.

Choosing his words carefully Thursday before the autopsy results were announced, Lind said wolf involvement was apparent.

"It's obvious. Goodness. It's obvious," he said, adding that he did not want to elaborate.

Since Tuesday, people were not traveling alone, school children were accompanied to school and armed patrols on snowmobiles were looking for wolves, he said.

"Everybody's kind of staying close to the village," he said.

Berner was based in Perryville and employed by the Lake and Peninsula School District, which oversees schools in 14 villages covering an area the size of West Virginia in southwest Alaska.

As an itinerant special education teacher, Berner would rotate among the district's five southern villages and had flown to Chignik Lake multiple times, said Rick Luthi, the district's chief operating officer.

She was originally from Slippery Rock, Pa.

Luthi said Berner during her short time in Alaska tried to take in as many experiences as she could. The district distributed a photo of her on a district outing catching crab.

"She wasn't going to miss anything about living in that area," he said.

Under 5 feet tall, Berner had boxed and lately had been training for long-distance running.

"She was a gymnast by early training and was in very good physical condition," Luthi said.

Most adult male wolves in Alaska weigh 85 to 115 pounds but they occasionally reach 145 pounds, according to the Department of Fish and Game. Females average 5 to 10 pounds lighter than males and rarely weigh more than 110 pounds. Wolves reach adult size by about 1 year of age, and the largest wolves occur where prey is abundant year round.

Attacks by wolves on humans are rare. If Berner's death is confirmed to be by wolves, it would be the first in Alaska.

Multiple calls left for the spokeswoman of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Jennifer Yuhas, were not returned Thursday.

Thursday morning, at the request of Senator Barbara Boxer, I testified before the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works hearing in Washington DC. Chairman Boxer convened the "Federal, State, and Local Partnerships to Accelerate Transportation Benefits" hearing to discuss our 30/10 program to fast track the 12 transit projects in Measure R from a 30-year to a 10-year construction schedule.

Senators Boxer, Inhofe, Lautenberg, Carper, Whitehouse and Voinovich attended the hearing and were all very interested in our efforts. Everybody was intrigued by the 30/10 concept and encouraged us to continue to pursue a partnership with the federal government.

At the hearing, Senator Boxer affirmed her support for 30/10 and said she has begun researching how existing programs can be used to leverage the Measure R half-penny sales tax revenue. It's great to have her on board.

We heard lots of smart technical questions from Senators about financing options. Experts agreed that because LA County is bringing own local money to the table, this could be a model for other areas of the country.

Roy Kienitz, Undersecretary for Policy, USDOT reviewed the many good programs that USDOT currently has, but he noted that they are all "project based," meaning none is large enough to help us build all 12 projects in 30/10.
But there are several that could help us get part of the way there and he wants to figure out a way to make those programs work for us.

Our financial experts believe that we can meet most of our funding needs by financing the project costs up-front using tax exempt bonds and by tapping existing federal programs such as "Build America Bonds" and "TIFIA."

A national infrastructure bank would be a sound financing mechanism, but unfortunately that's several years from being able to provide funding.

We're also exploring a more aggressive federal program of interest rate subsidies, loan guarantees, direct loans, and/or innovative re-payment terms.

It's great to have such a good dialogue with high level Federal officials who understand what 30/10 means for jobs, the environment, and mobility in Los Angeles County.

"The U.N. simply does not have adequate support of the world powers," Juan E. Mendez told me. Coming from anyone, this might be less important.

From a man who has led the most important human rights agencies in the world, I listened very carefully to what he had to say.

Juan teaches international human rights, the prevention of genocide, and basic international law to predominantly post-law school students from around the world working on their LLM degrees.

"My students sign up because they are attracted to human rights. They are people who have had interesting experiences in the trenches, fighting against dictators and authoritarian regimes," Juan told me.

Juan now has students he has taught around the world, including the foreign minister of Georgia (note to American readers: not Atlanta).

"There is a very visible U.S. perspective in the classroom that non-U.S. students do not share. Often times radically different perspectives. But all agree on the universality of international human rights," Juan said.

"The classroom is not entirely free of controversy, but there is an academic atmosphere of respect and tolerance, of understanding and a real effort to communicate."

A native of Buenos Aires, Juan has dedicated his legal career to the defense of human rights. As a result of his involvement in representing political prisoners in Argentina, he was arrested and subjected to torture and administrative detention for a year and a half during the military dictatorship (1976-1983).

During this time, Amnesty International adopted him as a "prisoner of conscience." After his expulsion from his own country in the late 1970's, Juan moved to the U.S.

"The values that undergird human rights - the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights - are universal standards for upholding common human dignity. Of course, there is room for experimentation, but with limits. Human dignity cannot be relative," he explained to me.

For 15 years, he worked with Human Rights Watch, concentrating his efforts on human rights issues in the Western hemisphere. "Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, for example, are specialized groups. They demand the highest standard that one can achieve." Juan told me.

Sometimes I am concerned that we can be Fundamentalist in thinking of American Democracy as the basis for universal truth, and impose our Western values on the governments of developing nations.

Juan disagrees. "These groups are not trying to impose "American-style" democracy on the world, but rather uphold universal standards. Standards that governments have solemnly made by treaty - and standards that make sense as means to uphold human dignity," Juan said.

From 1996 to 1999, Juan served as executive director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights in Costa Rica.

Between 1999 and 2004, Juan was a professor of law and director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights at the University of Notre Dame.

Juan then served under Secretary General Kofi Annan as the U.N.'s Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide from 2004 until 2007.

As Special Adviser, Juan focused much of his attention since 2004 on the Darfur conflict in Sudan, issuing a report in 2005 after visiting the area. He was an endorser of the Genocide Intervention Network.

According to New York State Acting Supreme Court Justice, the Hon. Laura Safer Espinoza:

Juan Mendez served as an inspiration for many of us, who as young attorneys, engaged in human rights work for Latin America during the dark days of brutal military dictatorships.

His ability to transform personal hardship into brilliant and committed work -- in those days at Human Rights Watch, and then at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights -- was extraordinary.

It was not surprising that he has had a brilliant career, and continues to be a consistent presence in the vital world of human rights.

Juan was predecessor to the Hon. Francis Deng, who I interviewed last spring (here).

Juan met Secretary General Ban Ki-moon when he was completing his term as Under-Secretary, and stayed to provide continuity to Francis Deng, who serves in the same position today.

The Hon. Francis Deng speaks highly of his predecessor:

What I find particularly impressive about Juan Mendez beyond his expertise in international law and dedication to the protection of human rights, is his remarkable composure and lack of bitterness in the face of a personal history of persecution and torture in his native country of Argentina.

To the contrary, he exhumes an air of magnanimity and dignified humility.

During his five-year term as the first Special Advisor of the U.N. Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide from 2004 to 2007, he established an extensive network of partners on genocide prevention, including U.N. and other intergovernmental actors, academic scholars, policy analysts, civil society organizations, and activists from around the world.

I am proud to be his successor and to build on the intellectual and operational foundation he established for the mandate.

"The Office of the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide position required full-time attention and better funding after three years of experimentation. I was better able to advocate for these changes as I announced my intention to leave office," Juan explained.

This law professor spoke at length about Ban Ki-moon:

Mr. Ban is steering the United Nations in the proper direction in a very difficult environment. The U.N. does not have adequate support of the world powers.

It is a daunting task and he is s doing his best under trying circumstances. I realize how complicated and thankless that task is.

Of course, the U.N. will only be as powerful as the nations of the world make it. His power rests in the institution itself.

Francis Deng, who followed Juan as Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, says "Juan continues to be a leader in building world peace and respect for fundamental rights and universal human dignity."

"Francis Deng has much experience as a diplomat, extensive knowledge of Africa, and a deep understanding of international law," Juan said.

"But the Office for the Prevention of Genocide, ultimately, is effective only when there is a political will on the part of political actors. And the efforts of Deng and his office are only a drop in the bucket for what needs to be done."

Juan served as president of the International Center for Transitional Justice, located here in New York City, between 2004 and 2009. He continues to serve as President Emeritus of ICTJ.

Between 2000 and 2003 he was a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, and served as its president in 2002.

In addition to the University of Notre Dame School of Law, and American University's Washington College of Law, Juan has taught international human rights law at Georgetown Law School, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the Oxford Master's Programme in International Human Rights Law in the U.K.

Former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter have a great amount of personal involvement and leadership in the international community, Juan agreed. "They have leant their personal prestige to very important causes and initiatives, with varying degrees of effectiveness." Juan said. "It is much welcomed."

Juan was honored recently by the Chinese in Chicago on behalf of his efforts to promote world peace. I covered the ceremony for the Daily Kos (here).

In his remarks presented there, he stated:

I am deeply moved by your decision to honor my efforts on behalf of human rights, peace and friendship among Nations.

It has been a privilege for me to be able to serve former Secretary-General Kofi Annan as his first Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide.

I would have thought that such an appointment was reward enough - though it certainly brought with it a lot of hard work.

I never felt that the task was finally accomplished and I believe very strongly that we all must continue to devote efforts to peaceful resolution of disputes, early warning and appropriate responses to crimes against humanity.

Justice for the victims of those crimes is the most effective way to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.

Juan spoke to me about Barack Obama:

I had great hopes for the president, and am encouraged by his work with health care and bringing the economy back from the brink of disaster.

But I am increasingly concerned about the direction of U.S. foreign affairs. Latin America is being neglected.

In a mistaken effort at avoiding conflict, the president is sadly letting the Republicans call the shots.

In Honduras, for example, the U.S. ended up rewarding corrupt and undemocratic coup-plotters against the better judgment of most Latin American democracies.

This not only breaks ranks with the best friends of the US in the hemisphere; it establishes a dangerous precedent for the defense of democracy and goes against the grain of the campaign promise to prefer multi-lateral solutions to problems.

I am also increasingly concerned about Afghanistan. I understand that it is a deeply complex effort, but remain unconvinced that the military buildup will either enhance our security or correct the problems of Afghanistan.

I realize an immediate pullout will leave a dangerous situation on the ground, but the inevitable will be made worse once the U.S. actually does pull out.

But of course the president has not even completed his first year, so hopefully these glitches can be ironed out.

Our conversation even touched on the disaster in Haiti. "I hope that the international community comes to the aid of President Rene Preval quickly. After so many failed attempts in Haiti, there was finally progress towards building the nation. I hope that this disaster does not halt that progress," Juan said.

"President Clinton's initiatives are involved with social and economic rights, health, education and social entrepreneurship. All of these will play an enormous role in rebuilding Haiti," Juan said.

Individuals and NGOs will play an increasingly large role in the world as civil society becomes further impacted by connectivity. "Not to overshadow the states, but to complement the duties of the states," Juan said.

"The voice of civil society will be increasingly amplified globally by an independent and free media," he predicted.

Related Stories by Jim Luce

2010 World Peace Gala Awards Juan Mendez Peace Prize in Chicago (Daily Kos)

Meet U.N. Secretary General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Francis M. Deng (Huffington Post)

Asia Society's Prez on Global Citizens Like Obama (Huffington Post)

Interview with the Red Cross Secretary General in Geneva (Huffington Post)

Chatting with UNICEF's Director Ann Veneman (Huffington Post)