Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Gina McCarthy the American public administrator, an environmental health and air quality expert currently the assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to head of the EPA. George Zornick in an article published in The Nation magazine titled ‘Obama Makes a Strong Choice to Head the EPA’ states “There are three basic things one would hope to see in the White House’s nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency. …should possess a big, ambitious vision for combating climate change; …should have federal rule-making experience, since that’s the administration’s only real hope for getting things accomplished in that area; and …should be able to get confirmed by the US Senate. At first blush, Obama’s selection of Gina McCarthy seems to clearly check each box. …Here’s why: She constructed or played a role in several pioneering cap-and-trade initiatives. McCarthy spent most of her early career in Massachusetts, eventually becoming a top environmental official for none other than Mitt Romney. She commanded the development of Romney’s “Climate Action Plan” for the state, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to ambitiously low levels… At Obama’s EPA, McCarthy oversaw the clean-air rulemaking process. Though Lisa Jackson headed the EPA and took a lot of heat from Republicans over new regulations, it was McCarthy who was doing much of the “heavy lifting,” according to the National Journal in 2011, “playing a key role in the march of environmental regulations to fight climate change and slash pollution from coal-fired power plants.”… McCarthy already passed Senate confirmation once. Republicans are well aware that the EPA will take the lead in the administration’s climate initiatives, and are certain to battle the EPA nominee regardless of who it is. McCarthy will no doubt face stiff opposition. But insofar as a nominee can be resistant to GOP opposition (and still be a strong pro-environmental choice), McCarthy fits the bill.”

Inspired by George Zornick, The Nation ow.ly/j4nzQ Image source USA Govt ow.ly/j4n8t

George Zornick the American reporter for The Nation magazine and former researcher for Michael Moore’s SiCKO documentary has published an article titled ‘JPMorgan Starts Buying Congress Again’. In the article Zornick states “When the “fail whale” breached at JPMorgan earlier this year, creating billions in embarrassing losses as a result of risky trading, the bank immediately ceased its political giving. Not that the bank didn’t need help from Congress – it certainly did, but a long history of donations to key committees bought CEO Jamie Dimon friendly audiences during hearings exploring the losses. Rather, the bank realized that while on the hot seat, the donations were tainted and likely unwelcome in Congress. But in a clear indication that JPMorgan’s seat has already cooled considerably, the bank is once again doling out the cash. …JPMorgan PAC wrote ten checks to the PACs of ten members of Congress, many of them key members of committees with the power to stop the risky trading that created the multibillion-dollar losses at the federally insured bank this year. Nine Republicans and one Democrat split $36,000 from JPMorgan Chase & Co. PAC in roughly equal amounts. …each of the Representatives sits on [either] the House Financial Services Committee or House Ways and Means. Each senator is on [either] the Senate Banking Committee or Senate Finance Committee. These committees exercise oversight over financial reform implementation and the financial services industry needs them on its side. …this certainly won’t be the last of them—and more importantly, what it buys the industry.”

Inspired by The Nation ow.ly/djjDT image source Twitter ow.ly/djjAs