Word: tobacco
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Finally, Bill Clinton got the headline he has been dreaming of for years: "Justice Department Sues Big Tobacco." Claiming that tobacco companies conspired to conceal the risks of cigarette smoking from the public and thus engaged in consumer fraud, federal lawyers will invoke the federal civil racketeering statute and ask for $25 billion to recoup taxpayer dollars spent to cover smoking-related health-care costs for veterans, military personnel, federal employees and the elderly through Medicare payments. Although under the law an award could be triple that if the feds can get a jury to see things their way, even...
...down the debt. Republican proposals so far, rather than cutting spending, would increase it next year about $25 billion, which more than wipes out next year's projected $14 billion surplus. The only place to find that money is to raise taxes (the White House still loves a tobacco tax) or raid Social Security, as lawmakers have routinely done for years...
...irony is that Freaks, the least strenuously hip of the shows, may stand the strongest chance of controversy. The "freaks" of the title are Led Zeppelin-listening Midwestern burnouts who smoke--not just tobacco, of course. "The show will never be pro pot," executive producer Judd Apatow avers. "But every time a kid smokes pot, you can't show him coughing and retching and losing his mind...
...influence, and access, reduces the political importance of those who cannot afford large donations and makes a mockery of the principle of "one man, one vote." Special interests would not give so much money if they did not feel they received benefits in return; companies in various industries, from tobacco to gambling to oil and mining interests, have received favorable treatment from legislators following their campaign donations...
Sources: Wall Street Journal, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, New York Times, Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, AP Online; Daily News, New York Times; International Labor Organization; Los Angeles Times, United Network for Organ Sharing