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cHicagO (ap) -- with republicans locked in

a contentious and expensive primary, president

barack Obama has spent a small fortune in

recent months to build and maintain a campaign

operation that is larger, more diverse and more

focused on november's general election than

any of his opponents' organizations.

republican contenders like mitt romney and

rick santorum have surely been watching their

expenses during their primary elections: mil-

lions here for ad spending, millions there for

travel, rallies and consulting fees. what's left

keeps the lights on, the phones ringing and the

staff paid.

but Obama, who faces no serious challenger for

the democratic nomination, has sunk his cash

into an expansive brick-and-mortar operation

with offices in nearly every state. His campaign

has spent more than $135 million on operations

through February, according to an associated

press analysis of Federal election commission

records. that's about $3 million more than all

his gOp challengers combined.

republicans bristle over reports that Obama's

paid staff exceeds 500, many of whom work in

the campaign's chicago headquarters.

"i think the campaign is single-handedly trying

to lower the unemployment rate by hiring field

staff," romney political director rich beeson

said. "when they point to the fact about how

many people they've got hired and how many

offices they've got, they're just trying to distract

people from the reality of (how) they're going to

have a heck of a time finding people to get out

and vote for him."

a review of Obama's balance sheets reveals a

small army of paid staffers trying to help the

democratic president win a second term.

campaign filings list more than 330 paid

staffers in chicago and 200 more spread across

the country - payroll costs that exceed $6.3 mil-

lion during the last two months alone.the num-

bers also suggest signs of stress.

Obama's team has spent more than $7 million

since january on fundraising-related expenses

like postage, printing and telemarketing, in

some cases to contact the same kind of low-dol-

lar donors who supported Obama four years

ago. the campaign also spent millions more on

expenses like online advertising and consulting,

which in some cases can be tied to fundraising.

with offices in nearly every state, the campaign

also faces rising overhead. through the first two

months of the year, Obama spent approximately

$1.1 million on computer equipment, $435,000

in rent and utilities, $305,000 on telephones,

and $19,000 on office supplies, federal filings

show.

"we're building the largest grass-roots cam-

paign in history," campaign spokesman ben

labolt said. "you can see it here, but it's really

happening in the states."

the core of Obama's operation is packed into

the sixth floor of chicago's prudential building,

where 300 staffers sit side by side at long rows

of tables, working from laptops and cellphones.

colorful college pennants hang from the ceiling

and often represent key swing states: the

university of north carolina, Ohio state and

the university of michigan. need a designer t-

shirt or bumper sticker? a room managed by

two staffers houses a swelling collection of

campaign memorabilia for sale.

in one corner, more than a dozen workers field

questions from journalists scattered across the

country. elsewhere, others coordinate media

appearances for Obama's high-profile support-

ers. Other staffers focus on fundraising, voter

identification, social media and campaign-

finance reporting.

beyond the windy city, Obama's campaign said

opened five field offices in arizona, a state it

O b a m a O u t s p e n d sRepublican Campaigns

By Millions

Place

Stamp

Here

in the news this weekObama Outspends

republicancampaigmns

His campaign has spent more than $135 mil-lion on operations through February, accordingto an associated press analysis of Federalelection commission records.

page 1

miami On list FOr bigweatHer disaster

the greatest threat from extreme weather is tohighly populated, poor regions of the world,the report warns, but no corner of the globe -from mumbai to miami - is immune.

page 3

wells FargO tO Facelending prOgram class

actiOn suit

wells Fargo & co was ordered to face a class-action lawsuit in minnesota federal court byinvestors who accuse the bank of improperlytouting a lending program as safe when in factit was risky. page 4

HigH Oil rices must besubject OF criminalinvestvestigatiOn

the manipulation of the crude oil markets byspeculators, who are essentially establishing acasino environment and betting the price of oilup to put money in their own pockets.

page 5

making car paymentstakes priOrity,

study Finds

the recession and its hangover may haveturned bill-paying habits upside down. cash-strapped americans are paying off their carloans before they pay credit card bills andmake mortgage payments,

page 5

real HealtH careadvOcates Face

insurence mandateby removing the words “over 65” from themedicare law, every american will have healthcare page 6

predictiOns On Fate OFHealtH reFOrm

twenty-six states have challenged the constitu-tionality of the law, primarily over two provi-sions -- a requirement that most adults havehealth insurance by 2014 or face a penalty,

page 7

Continued on page 2

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2 Legal Street News Monday, March 19, 2012 ___________________________________________________________

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expects to be increasingly competitive in the

fall. the campaign is also taking advantage of

party resources there, relying in part on the

state's democratic party for staffing, phones

and computer equipment, records show.

Obama's operation had $84.7 million in cash-

on-hand by Feb. 29. but the romney campaign

- which is hardly hurting for cash after raising

about $74.8 million - says it's not impressed.

romney's boston-based campaign is a fraction

of the size of Obama's, although its organization

dwarfs its republican competitors. with around

100 paid staffers, romney has spent more than

$180,000 in rent and utilities since early

january in at least 16 states, records show, from

massachusetts to utah. santorum, whose

national headquarters was technically a post

office box until this month, spent just $19,000

since the beginning of the year on rent-related

expenses.

romney's ability to compete against Obama's

growing organization has become a selling

point on the trail.

"as republican primary voters in illinois, we

have an opportunity to look at the field of can-

didates, and look at them and say, `who can go

toe-to-toe not just with barack Obama, but the

chicago machine that is his operation?'" rep.

aaron schock, a top romney supporter in

illinois, said recently. "we cannot afford to

nominate someone on our ticket who cannot

withstand the barrage, who does not have the

organizational strength and fortitude to go toe-

to-toe with barack Obama."

Obama's massive campaign is part of what

drives supporters to give money to "super"

political action committees popping up this

election cycle. major super pacs like american

crossroads, which supports republicans, and

restore Our Future, which supports romney,

have tens of millions of dollars apiece to help,

thanks to federal court rulings that have stripped

campaign-finance rules to allow unlimited -

and, at times, effectively anonymous - dona-

tions from billionaires, corporations and labor

unions.

"as a general rule, the big institutional money

goes inordinately to incumbents regardless of

party, while outside money plays the role of bal-

ancing out the party in power or stopping a spe-

cific initiative," crossroads spokesman

jonathan collegio said. gOp-leaning super

pacs have spent more than $50 million on tv

ads this election; crossroads is largely waiting

to spend its money until the general election.

whatever the case, the democrats' current

financial advantage is something Obama's cam-

paign isn't taking for granted. Obama changed

course last month in his criticism of super pacs

and began encouraging big-money supporters to

give to priorities usa action, a group working

in his favor.

Continued from page 1

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wasHingtOn (ap) -- global warming is

leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat

waves that nations should prepare for an

unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly

weather disasters, an international panel of cli-

mate scientists said in a new report issued

wednesday.

the greatest threat from extreme weather is

to highly populated, poor regions of the world,

the report warns, but no corner of the globe -

from mumbai to miami - is immune. the docu-

ment by a nobel prize-winning panel of climate

scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones

and more frequent heat waves, deluges and

droughts.

the 594-page report blames the scale of

recent and future disasters on a combination of

man-made climate change, population shifts

and poverty.

in the past, the intergovernmental panel on

climate change, founded in 1988 by the united

nations, has focused on the slow inexorable rise

of temperatures and oceans as part of global

warming. this report by the panel is the first to

look at the less common but far more noticeable

extreme weather changes, which lately have

been costing on average about $80 billion a year

in damage.

"we mostly experience weather and climate

through the extreme," said one of the report's

top editors, chris Field, an ecologist with the

carnegie institution of washington. "that's

where we have the losses. that's where we have

the insurance payments. that's where things

have the potential to fall apart.

"there are lots of places that are already

marginal for one reason or another," Field said.

but it's not just poor areas: "there is disaster

risk almost everywhere."

the report specifically points to new

Orleans during 2005's Hurricane katrina, noting

that "developed countries also suffer severe dis-

asters because of social vulnerability and inade-

quate disaster protection."

in coastal areas of the united states, proper-

ty damage from hurricanes and rising seas could

increase by 20 percent by 2030, the report said.

and in parts of texas, the area vulnerable to

storm surge could more than double by 2080.

already u.s. insured losses from weather

disasters have soared from an average of about

$3 billion a year in the 1980s to about $20 bil-

lion a year in the last decade, even after adjust-

ing for inflation, said mark way, director of sus-

tainability at insurance giant swiss re. last

year that total rose to $35 billion, but much of

that was from tornadoes, which scientists are

unable to connect with global warming. u.s.

insured losses are just a fraction of the overall

damage from weather disasters each year.

globally, the scientists say that some places,

particularly parts of mumbai in india, could

become uninhabitable from floods, storms and

rising seas. in 2005, over 24 hours nearly 3 feet

of rain fell on the city, killing more than 1,000

people and causing massive damage. roughly

2.7 million people live in areas at risk of flood-

ing.

Other cities at lesser risk include miami,

shanghai, bangkok, china's guangzhou,

vietnam's Ho chi minh city, myanmar's

yangon (formerly known as rangoon) and

india's kolkata (formerly known as calcutta).

the people of small island nations, such as the

maldives, may also need to abandon their

homes because of rising seas and fierce storms.

"the decision about whether or not to move

is achingly difficult and i think it's one that the

world community will have to face with

increasing frequency in the future," Field said in

a telephone news conference wednesday.

this report - the summary of which was

issued in november - is unique because it

emphasizes managing risks and how taking pre-

cautions can work, Field said. in fact, the

panel's report uses the word "risk" 4,387 times.

__________________________________________________________Legal Street News Monday, March 19, 2012 3

| Associated Press

Car Thief WhoC r a s h e d W a sEating, Texting

Field pointed to storm-and-flood-prone

bangladesh, an impoverished country that has

learned from its past disasters. in 1970, a

category 3 tropical cyclone named bhola killed

more than 300,000 people. in 2007, the stronger

cyclone sidr killed only 4,200 people. despite

the loss of life, bangladesh is considered a suc-

cess story because it was better prepared and

invested in warning and disaster prevention,

Field said.

a country that was not as prepared,

myanmar, was hit with a similar sized storm in

2008, which killed 138,000 people.

the study forecasts that some tropical

cyclones - which include hurricanes in the

united states - will be stronger because of glob-

al warming. but the number of storms is not

predicted to increase and may drop slightly.

some other specific changes in severe

weather that the scientists said they had the

most confidence in predicting include more heat

waves and record hot temperatures worldwide

and increased downpours in alaska, canada,

northern and central europe, east africa and

north asia,

ipcc chairman rajendra pachauri told the

associated press that while all countries are

hurt by increased climate extremes, the over-

whelming majority of deaths occur in poorer,

less developed places. yet, it is wealthy nations

that produce more greenhouse gases from burn-

ing fossil fuels, raising the issue of fairness.

some weather extremes aren't deadly, how-

ever. sometimes, they are just strange.

report co-author david easterling of the

national climatic data center says this month's

u.s. heat wave, while not deadly, fits the pattern

of worsening extremes. the u.s. has set nearly

6,800 high temperature records in march. last

year, the united states set a record for billion-

dollar weather disasters, though many were tor-

nadoes.

"when you start putting all these events

together, the insurance claims, it's just amaz-

ing," easterling said. "it's pretty hard to deny

the fact that there's got to be some climate sig-

nal."

northeastern university engineering and

environment professor auroop ganguly, who

didn't take part in writing the ipcc report,

praised it and said the extreme weather it high-

lights "is one of the major and important types

of what we would call `global weirding.'" it's a

phrase that some experts have been starting to

use more to describe climate extremes.

Field doesn't consider the term inaccurate,

but he doesn't use it.

"it feels to me like it might give the impres-

sion we are talking about amusing little stuff

when we are, in fact, talking about events and

trends with the potential to have serious impacts

on large numbers of people."

kennewick, wash. (ap) -- texting andeating while driving? not the best plan. dothose things while driving a stolen truck and thetrouble mounts.

kennewick, wash., police say a chevy pick-up truck previously stolen in nearby richlandran into a ditch and drove through some logsand lawns before hitting a home wednesday.

neighbors and the homeowner saw a manrun from the scene. a benton county sheriff'sdeputy in the area made an arrest a short timelater.

spokesman mike blatman tells the tri-cityHerald (http://is.gd/wuepmy ) the arrested mansaid he was eating a croissant and reading a textmessage when he lost control of the truck.

the spokesman says 32-year-old jeromykirkendall of kennewick was booked into thebenton county jail for investigation of possess-ing stolen property.

it wasn't immediately known if kirkendallhas an attorney or how much damage was doneto the home.

MiAMi ON LiST fOR BiG

W E AT H E R d i S A S T E R S

MiCH. MiLiTiA HEAd, SON pLEAdG u i LT y T O G u N C H A R G E

4 Legal Street News Monday, March 19, 2012 ___________________________________________________________

DETROIT (AP) -- A Michigan militialeader and his son each pleaded guiltyThursday to illegally possessing a machinegun, ending a six-week trial that took a dra-matic turn this week when a judge dis-missed more serious charges of conspiringto rebel against the government.

The gun charges were the only ones leftagainst David Stone and Joshua Stoneafter U.S. District Judge Victoria Robertssaid prosecutors had failed to present evi-dence of a specific plan to go to war againstlaw enforcement and federal authorities.She acquitted them and five other membersof the Hutaree militia Tuesday.

David Stone, 51, and Joshua Stone, 23,of Lenawee County, Mich., each admittedthey possessed a machine gun. They werereleased on bond after two years in custodybut could face additional time in prisonwhen they are sentenced in the monthsahead.

In an interview, David Stone rocked in achair at the defense table and said FBIagents should be disciplined for theiractions in the 18-month investigation. Hesaid acquittal on the conspiracy charges isa "victory for everyone" who cherishes theFirst Amendment.

Stone described himself as a "stand-uptrue American patriot" whose anti-govern-ment comments and bravado about killingpolice was not a call to attack the UnitedStates.

"It's amazing how someone can take acomment out of context and make it towhatever they want it to be," he said.

For weeks, jurors in Detroit heardsecretly recorded conversations betweenDavid Stone and an FBI informant andagent. He talked about killing police, build-ing bombs and engaging an internationalcoalition of freedom-hating law enforcersdubbed the "brotherhood."

Federal authorities said the Hutareewanted to kill an officer, attack the funeral,cause chaos in the countryside and launcha war against the government. But prose-cutors this week acknowledged there wasno specific plan - an admission that clearly

irritated the judge.

"What the government has shown,instead of a concrete agreement and planto forcibly oppose the authority of the gov-ernment, is that most - if not all - of thesedefendants held strong anti-governmentsentiments," Roberts said in a 28-pagedecision. "But the court must not guessabout what defendants intended to do withtheir animosity."

A juror, Rickey Randall, 58, said thejudge made the right call. He said the jurylikely would have cleared the militia mem-bers on all but the weapons charges.

"I heard talk, talk, talk, but no action,"Randall said. "I was shocked by their effortto bring the defendants to trial. ... Do youthink a group that small can go up againstthe mighty U.S. government?"

In her first remarks since most of thecase was gutted, U.S. Attorney BarbaraMcQuade said she disagreed with thejudge but conceded that "reasonable mindscan disagree on where legal lines aredrawn."

"The court's order dismissing the moreserious charges in this case was disap-pointing, but it does not shake our commit-ment to dismantling groups who wouldharm our citizens and law enforcement offi-cers, and these efforts will continue,"McQuade said in a statement.

David Stone said the outcome of thetrial likely will stir anxieties about the gov-ernment among other militias.

"Now they know their paranoia is true,"he said, referring to the FBI's tactics.

David Stone's wife, Tina Stone, wasamong the militia members cleared of allcharges. She told The Associated Pressthat her husband's Hutaree days are over,although she said the group was never theviolent threat that the government hadclaimed.

Wells Fargo tof a c e l e n d i n g p r o g r a m

class-action suitwells Fargo & co was ordered to face a

class-action lawsuit in minnesota federal courtby investors who accuse the bank of improperlytouting a lending program as safe when in fact itwas risky.

judge donovan Frank of u.s. district courtin minnesota, in certifying the case as a class-action on tuesday, said the disgruntledinvestors should proceed as a group becausethey had common issues and were sufficientlysimilar.

the city of Farmington Hills employeesretirement system, a pension plan, sued wellsFargo in October 2010 on behalf of 100 institu-tional investors over its securities lending pro-gram.

in court papers, the plaintiffs said that start-ing in 2006, they had invested funds in the lend-ing program, which they said the bank adver-tised as safe and low-risk.

but wells Fargo instead invested the moneyin risky and illiquid financial products such asmortgage backed securities, the plaintiffs said,and in so doing had breached its fiduciary duty.

To strengthen the social sector by advancingknowledge about philanthropy in the U.S. andaround the world.

OUR PURPOUS IS

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Hopr for Today...Hope for Tommarow

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A Washington statewildlife spokesman says two salmon-eatingCalifornia sea lions have been captured this week atBonneville Dam and killed by lethal injection.

The Oregonian reports the deaths are the firstthis year after a federal judge ruled last month theprogram could proceed.

Washington Fish and Wildlife spokesman CraigBartlett says the sea lions were captured Tuesday.

The killings are limited to California sea lionsdocumented as targeting spring chinook or steel-head near Bonneville, the first dam the returning fishencounter on their run up the Columbia River.

The sea lions also must return to the damdespite nonlethal hazing and be spotted nearby forat least five days, though the days can accumulateover several years.

The Humane Society of the United States hasfiled suit in an effort to permanently end the sea lionkillings.

2 S a l m o n - E a t i n gS e a L i o n s K i l l e dAt Bonneville dam

__________________________________________________________Legal Street News Monday, March 19, 2012 5

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M a k i n g C a r p a y m e n tTakes priority, Study finds

new yOrk (ap) -- the recession and its

hangover may have turned bill-paying habits

upside down. cash-strapped americans are pay-

ing off their car loans before they pay credit

card bills and make mortgage payments, a study

finds.

it used to be that americans would pay their

home loans first, then their credit card and car

loans. after all, homes have been the most valu-

able possession for most people for decades,

and nobody wanted to jeopardize that.

but transunion, a credit information com-

pany, studied the payment patterns of 4 million

americans with at least one car loan, one credit

card and a mortgage and found a clear priority

for staying current on the car loan.

among americans who were late on pay-

ments last year, 39 percent were delinquent on

the mortgage while current on the car loan and

credit cards, and 17 percent were late on credit

cards while current on the other two.

Only 10 percent were late on the car loan

while current on the other two.

"today, most people need a car to get to a

job or to look for a job, and that has made cars

a priority," says ezra becker, the company's

vice president of research and consulting.

when transunion first did the study in

2006, staying current on the mortgage was the

priority: Only 3.6 percent of americans were

late on the mortgage and current on other pay-

ments. more people - 5 percent - were late only

on credit cards.

it hasn't helped that home prices keep falling

while the mortgage remains by far the biggest

payment for most people, and that millions of

people owe more on the mortgage than what

their houses are worth.

the latest standard & poor's/case-shiller

home price index found that prices in big cities

had fallen to 2002 levels, down 34 percent from

the peak.

there is also more leeway on the mortgage.

Foreclosure can take two to three years. cars

can be repossessed 90 days after people stop

paying.

matt saxton of columbia, md., was not sur-

prised by the study's results. saxton is on unpaid

medical leave from work, recovering from spine

surgery and relying on his savings.

saxton says he dares not be late on his car

payment and risk having his car repossessed.

instead, he's decided to be late on his credit

cards and student loans.

"i can work with the credit card companies.

they won't shut off or take away anything,"

says saxton, who made a $474 payment this

week. "i won't have the ability to get to work or

even get another car if they repossess this one."

H i G H O i L p R i C E S M u S T B E S u B j E C T O f C R i M i N A L i N v E S T i G A T i O N

Gas prices are emerging as one of thecentral issues in the 2012 presidential elec-tions. The Republicans are saying the issueis: increase American oil, increase NorthAmerican-produced oil. They want thepipeline of Canadian tar sands oil down tothe Gulf to hit American refineries, and theysay this will decrease the price of gasolineat the pumps. President Obama inresponse is saying more or less the samething, except he's saying he has increaseddomestic supply and domestic production.But how much does increasing domestic oilsupply really affect prices?

Michael Greenberger. He's currently aprofessor at the University of MarylandSchool of Law, where he teaches homelandsecurity and financial law. He's a formerdivision director at the U.S. CommodityFutures Trading Commission, where heworked closely with Brooksley Born.

GREENBERGER: The truth is that itwould probably have a very limitedincrease, if at all, because the presidenthimself has identified the fact that it isn'treally supply-demand. The problem here(and this problem has been corroborated bystudies at Princeton and Stanford and MITand the London School of Economics), it'sthe manipulation of the crude oil markets byspeculators, who are essentially establish-ing a casino environment and betting theprice of oil up to put money in their ownpockets. On April 21, 2011, the presidentrecognized this, said it wasn't supply-demand, it was manipulation by specula-tors. He asked the Justice Department toconvene a task force to look into it. And 11months later, nothing had been done. Thepresident was so concerned about this that

two or three weeks ago he announced thathe wanted the attorney general to "recon-stitute" that task force. It's my own view—and a lot of experts' views that look at thesemarkets—is that if there was a serious crim-inal investigation, that investigation in andof itself would drive speculators from themarkets, and the price would reach its realsupply-demand fundamental, which issomewhere between $60 and $80, ratherthan $120.

GREENBERGER: Well, it is true thatkeeping oil off the market through the use ofsupertankers which circle the world is aproblem. But the bigger problem is thatwhen you go into the crude oil futures mar-ket, you can buy multiples of the supply ofoil around the world. Right now, if youlooked at futures contracts calling for thedelivery of oil, the supply called for is 33times the physical supply of oil in the world.And those futures prices are the price dis-covery prices. So if you keep buying futuresand don't call for delivery, you're sending amassive false supply signal to the market.And when people go to sell a barrel of oil,what they do is look at the futures price,where the demand appears to be 33 timesthe amount of oil in the world.

If you actually look at supply-demandfigures in the real market, the United Statesis now a net exporter of oil rather thanimporter of oil. And when the presidentkeeps saying we have enough supply andwe're getting enough supply, he's right. It isnot a supply-demand problem. But he hassaid—and, unfortunately, our JusticeDepartment hasn't followed up on it—thatwe have to pursue this as a criminal matterand drive these speculators from the mar-ket.

And, yes, one of the techniques that's

Q: And I should add you're also thefounder and director of the Center forHealth and Homeland Security. So let's

take up this question that's being discussedin the elections, first of all. How much—howbig an issue or how much effect would ithave on gas prices to increase domestic

Q: Now, if there is an an investigation,one would think it should start with and takeup the role of these commodity traders. AndI think it doesn't get talked about very much,but there's—some of the biggest players inspeculation also own oil, in the sense thatthey buy it, transport it, and resell it. Bigcommodity traders—some of the biggestbanks are some of the biggest commoditytraders. How much is this—how much doesthis affect the price of gas? And add tothat—maybe you could speak a bit aboutthis—if I understand it correctly, there'sdozens, maybe even hundreds of super oiltankers sitting out at sea keeping oil off themarket, and these supertankers are beingrented by the same companies that arehedging over here that the price of oil'sgoing to go up. Explain the dynamics of allof this.

Continued on page 8

6 Legal Street News Monday March 19, 2012_____________________________________________________________

G A S p R i C E S A R E R i S E i N G

T O p f u E L S A v i N G T i p S

SOME TOp vACATiON dESTiNATiONS

it’s Our economy, the organization i co-

direct with margaret Flowers, md, single payer

action and 50 doctors filed an amicus brief in

HHs v. Florida, the challenge to the affordable

care act being heard in the supreme court this

week.

we support health care reform but oppose

the insurance mandate. merely removing two

words from existing law will achieve the

president's stated goals of universal, affordable

and guaranteed health care. by removing the

words “over 65” from the medicare law, every

american will have health care based on a

proven public health care model that has been in

existence since 1965. this will control costs and

immediately provide health care to everyone in

the united states

Forcing americans to buy insurance is both

unconstitutional and bad policy. even the most

favorable estimates of the affordable care act

predict that tens of millions of americans will

not have health insurance when it is fully imple-

mented in 2019. the number of employers

offering health benefits will decline under the

aca pushing employees into the individual

insurance market where coverage is skimpier

and more expensive. the cost of premiums con-

tinues to rise and insurance coverage continues

to shrink, putting patients at risk of personal

bankruptcy when they suffer a serious accident

or illness.

the united states already spends enough to

provide health care to all. as the amicus brief

states: “studies conducted by the nonpartisan

general accounting Office and the nonpartisan

congressional budget Office have consistently

concluded that if a national single payer system

were implemented in the united states, adminis-

trative cost-savings alone would be enough to

guarantee universal coverage without increasing

overall healthcare spending.”

in addition, improved medicare for all will

slow the growth in the cost of health care. the

cost of health care under medicare is growing

more slowly than private insurance-based health

care, despite the fact that it deals with america’s

elderly and disabled populations, groups that

generally need more health care services.

unlike private insurance, under medicare the

increased cost is not due to administrative costs

and bureaucracy. medicare’s administrative

longer be threatened with increased premiums,

decreased coverage and financial ruin caused by

an insurance industry that puts profits before

people.

we filed the amicus brief because forcing

people to purchase a flawed product, private

health insurance, is not necessary and will not

achieve the goals of universal, guaranteed and

affordable health care. there is a health care

model in the us already that will achieve these

goals - that's improved medicare for all.

medicare for all is constitutional and simple to

attain - just drop a few words from existing law

and we will be on the path to joining the rest of

costs have been consistently about 2% while pri-

vate insurance is 16% administrative costs.

instead, the aca builds and expands the sys-

tem of private insurance. this system is among

the least efficient of any healthcare system cur-

rently operating in developed nations. the brief

states “in 2009, 28 healthcare expenditures

accounted for 17.4 percent of gdp in the united

states, compared with only 9.6 percent in the

average Oecd [the Organization for economic

co-operation and development] nation” and

“measured per capita, healthcare expenditures in

the united states ‘are by far the highest among

Oecd countries.’”

medicare provides health services that peo-

ple like, as the brief points out: “in addition to

achieving universal coverage for americans

aged 65 and older and maintaining consistently

low administrative costs, medicare is also high-

ly rated by senior citizens who are its primary

beneficiaries – 51 percent of whom give their

health insurance an ‘excellent” rating.’”

if the us congress had considered an evi-

dence-based approach to health reform instead

of writing a bill that funnels more wealth to

insurance companies that deny and restrict care,

it would have been a no brainer to adopt

improved medicare for all. all the data points to

a single payer system as the only way to accom-

plish universal health care and control health

care costs.

it is also bad precedent to allow the federal

government to mandate all americans buy a cor-

porate product. this takes corporate welfare to

new levels of extreme. if this is upheld, will a

future president facing an economic crisis

require americans to buy cars made in the usa

– of course, with a government subsidy? Or,

will the pension crisis in the united states be

‘solved’ by setting up a pension exchange of jp

morgan, bank of america, well Fargo, chase

and citibank and require americans to buy a

federally subsidized pension from wall street?

Finally, an improved medicare for all system

will give everyone in the united states the great-

est control of their own healthcare. the insur-

ance industry will be removed from between

doctors and patients. doctors will not have to

convince an insurance, profit-minded, bureau-

crat to pay for a treatment. and, people will no

R e a l H e a l t h C a re A d v o c a t e sShould Support Repeal of thei n s u r a n c e M a n d a t e

1 Avoid High Speeds: .2 Do Not Accelerate or Brake Hard: 3 Keep Tires Properly Inflated4 Use A/C Sparingly5 Keep Windows Closed6 Service Vehicle Regularly7 Use Cruise Control8 Avoid Heavy Loads9 Avoid Long Idles10 Purchase a Fuel Efficient Vehicle

Now is a great time to plan a vacation. With plenty of travel deals and special

offers, it is easy to get away, even on a tight budget. Following are some of the

hottest vacation destinations this year.

Las Vegas Las Vegas is one of the top choices for a getaway. Mexico: From fine beaches to colonial cities and ancient pyramids, Mexico has some-thing to offer everyone.Caribbean: Its white sand, pretty corals, and relaxing beaches are sure to make yourtrip well worth it.Hawaii: The Hawaiian islands continue to entice tourists and provide a beautiful settingfor a vacation.

Italy: Italy is a top location for honeymoon-ers New York City San FranciscoOrlandoWilliamsburg, VirginiaBrazil

investigators say they knew that threemontana children reported missing had beenliving with their father on a sailboat in thebahamas, but they could do nothing because ofan arduous extradition process.

belgrade police det. dustin lensing says abreak came saturday, when an anonymous tipled to the arrest of the children's stepmother inHawaii. angela bryant told authorities that herhusband, james bryant, and the children were insouth Florida.

border officials spotted the boat tuesdayabout 30 miles off Florida. lensing says jamesbryant was attempting to return to bahamianwaters.

the couple has been charged with parentalinterference and are awaiting extradition tomontana. if convicted, each would face a maxi-mum penalty of 10 years in prison and a$50,000 fine.

Extradition KeptMont. Mom FromKids in Bahamas

__________________________________________________________Legal Street News Monday March 19, 2012 7

HANDICAP PERMITSBroke your leg? Had Surgery? A

new state law enables you to get a90-day temporary permit to usehandicapped parking spaces.

The cost is $15.00 from county tagoffice locations, and the permit

hangs from the rear-view mirror soit will be clearly visible through the

windshield.Applicants must have a physi-

cian’s statement attesting to theirdisability. For more information,

visit or call your county tag office.

L E G A L E x p E R T S O f f E Rp R E d i C T i O N S O N f A T E O fH E A LT H - R E f O R M L E G i S L AT i O N(Healthday news) -- now comes the hard part.

Following three days of arguments thatended wednesday over the constitutionality ofthe health-reform legislation passed bycongress in 2010, the nine justices of the u.s.supreme court will settle in to decide whetherthe entire law -- or key provisions -- can stand.

their decision is expected in june.

equally hard is trying to predict just how thejustices -- typically described as four conserva-tives, four liberals and one "swing" member --will vote on the polarizing legislation.

twenty-six states have challenged the con-stitutionality of the law, primarily over two pro-visions -- a requirement that most adults havehealth insurance by 2014 or face a penalty, andan expansion of medicaid, the government-runinsurance program for lower-income individu-als.

arguments over those provisions dominatedmuch of this week's hearing before the highcourt.

"it's very hard to tell what can happen as aresult of the oral arguments. [justice samuel]alito has moved firmly into my 'no' vote col-umn. but i think [chief justice john] robertsand [justice anthony] kennedy are still possiblevotes to uphold the statute," said reneelanders, a professor at suffolk university lawschool in boston, who wrote a recent commen-tary on the law in the new england journal ofmedicine.

"i think we learned from the oral argumentsthat definitely the four democratic appointees -- [justice ruth bader] ginsburg, [justicestephen] breyer, [justice sonia] sotomayor and[justice elena] kagan -- will definitely vote touphold every part of the statute," she said.

but another legal expert said it can be riskyto read too much into what the justices had tosay this week.

"before the arguments started, if you askedme my prediction, i would have told you that ithought it would be a very close case and iwould put my money on the court upholding thelaw by a 5-4 decision -- and that's still what iwould say," said gregory magarian, a professorat washington university school of law in st.louis.

still, magarian had this caution: "it's hard tolook at it and say it's a slam-dunk that they'regoing to uphold the thing."

even before this week's arguments, stephenpresser, a professor of legal history atnorthwestern university school of law, pre-dicted that the supreme court would find thehealth-reform law unconstitutional.

now, "it's even more likely than i thought itwas before," presser said. "what we've got isfive justices, ones we suspected -- roberts,alito, scalia, [clarence] thomas and kennedy -- all expressing skepticism and, indeed, all fiveperhaps hinting that throwing out the wholeaffordable care act is the right move in thiscase," he added.

"the clear message is that the 10thamendment [which concerns the division ofpowers between the federal and state govern-ments] still has some teeth," presser said.

allison Orr larsen, an assistant professor oflaw at the college of william & mary inwilliamsburg, va., said she expected the hear-ings to be "spirited and lengthy" and she wasn'tdisappointed. but, she added, "what seems likea surprise is that the press should be calling [thecourt's decision] already, which seems a dubi-ous endeavor. it's hard to predict supreme courtopinions based on oral arguments alone."

the patient protection and affordable careact is the most ambitious government health-care initiative since the medicare and medicaidprograms of the 1960s. key provisions of the2,409-page law include:

new Orleans (ap) -- congress haspassed a stopgap three-month transportation billthat does not include a provision to send 80 per-cent of clean water act fines from the 2010gulf of mexico oil spill to gulf states.

the bill was passed thursday after heatedpartisan debate.

a senate version of the bill included lan-guage to set aside fine money for gulf states.but that provision was stripped in the rush to geta stopgap measure passed before the Housegoes into recess.

u.s. sen. mary landrieu, a louisianademocrat, blamed House republicans for thisnew delay in getting the fines set aside for thegulf.

bp plc is expected to pay billions of dol-lars in fines for the spill and louisiana is bank-ing on that money to move coastal restorationplans forward.

Congress punts On

Setting Aside Bp

fines for Gulf

House Passes Bill toKeep Highway Aid

Flowing

the House has passed a stopgap three-

month transportation bill to keep federal aid

flowing to construction projects.

the bill was passed thursday largely along

party lines after republicans and democrats

traded verbal jabs over how best to prevent eco-

nomic disruption.

the House action means the senate must

pass the same measure before saturday to avoid

a shutdown of the projects. that's when the gov-

ernment's authority to spend money on trans-

portation programs and levy federal fuel taxes

expires.

the House planned to begin a two-week

recess thursday.

without action, democrats estimate that as

many as 1.8 million construction-related jobs

would be at risk just as states are preparing for

the spring and summer construction season. the

government could also lose about $110 million

a day in uncollected gas and diesel taxes.

http://www.charities.org/

http://www.aging-research.org

LIVEUNITED

http://www.unitedway.org/

TAKE ACTIONGIVE

ADVOCATEVOLUNTEER

used is to fill up oil tankers and have themcircle the world and never enter the oil intothe delivery market. And if you're able to betup the price of that oil, why would you everwant to sell it? It's like a precious commod-ity appreciating in value, and it's more valu-able to you in a tanker than it is selling it offbefore it reaches its peak price.

That's the problem we face today, and isas true of the subprime meltdown, the BPoil spill, the recent MF Global's stealing of$1.6 billion. The Justice Department,across the board, has refused to bring seri-ous indictments. And that's why the ques-tion that's recently been raised is: is thepresident better off with a more aggressiveattorney general who listens to the presi-dent, which this attorney general does notdo?

GREENBERGER: I think we have towait and see what happened. I think it wasa surprise to the president to find out threeweeks ago that the task force he called intobeing on April 21, 2011, had essentially notdone anything and is something of a joke.Look, the president has a hundred issues todeal with. He can't be president and theprosecutor of oil markets. That's the role ofthe Justice Department. The JusticeDepartment has fallen down on this, on thesubprime meltdown, on the BP oil spill, andon the MF Global stealing of $1.6 billion.

My view is if the attorney general doesnot move on this stuff, he is not going to bearound very long. Why is that? Because theonly issue the Republicans have right nowis the high price of gasoline. Otherwise theeconomy is doing well. That's the issue thatthey are pounding the president on and theDemocrats in Congress. And if the presi-dent doesn't move on his own thinking, he'sessentially destroying his own campaign.But even more important for you and me,he's assisting in the destruction of the econ-omy, because gas prices, if they keep goingup, will break the back of the recovery.

8 Legal Street News Monday March 19, 2012 ___________________________________________________________

GREENBERGER: It's an important fac-tor, and the story is even worse than theway you described it. Essentially, the lawwas, since 1936, and then reframed andemphasized in the passage of Dodd–Frankin July 2010, that speculators should onlyconstitute around 30 percent of the crudeoil futures market. Today, speculators are80 percent of the market, and the 20 per-cent of the market is people who really han-dle oil trying to hedge their price risk.Dodd–Frank was supposed to fix that, butin the implementation of Dodd Frank, WallStreet behind closed doors went to workand they watered down the rule that wasimplemented, to the point where it almosthas no effect, and then they went into fed-eral court to get that rule enjoined. And myprediction is in the next week or two a fed-eral court will enjoin the limits on specula-tors by administrative activity.

But that is not the only avenue that'sopen to the government. The governmentcan go in and bring criminal indictments foran intent to manipulate the price in anupward direction. Almost every observer ofthese markets who's of an independentmind, who isn't profiting from the high priceof oil, says that there is manipulation inthese markets. It's the kind of manipulationthat Enron conducted in 1999 and 2000 tocontrol the electricity market on the WestCoast. In that era, the conservative JusticeDepartment created a very tough task forceand handed down indictments. This JusticeDepartment almost seems like it's in a con-spiracy with the speculators to let them goon, by conducting an investigation that is, inWashington, D.C., considered to be laugh-able.

GREENBERGER: It is absolutely—it isan identical problem. Right now, with gasprices going over $4, that's the issue that'smost immediately hitting the U.S. con-sumer's pocketbook. But right behind the

price of energy is the price of food, and thesame speculative devices—the invest-ments that allow you to bet that the price ofwheat and rice and cotton will go up—is atwork. If you looked into these manipulationissues, you would not only find that theprice of oil is being manipulated, but you'dfind the price of agricultural products isbeing manipulated.

Now, in the United States that's an issueof pocketbook, but last week I attended ameeting of relief agencies around the world,and in the Third World, the price of food isa life-or-death matter. People are starvingbecause banks are manipulating the priceof agricultural products for their own profit.

If the Justice Department would open aninvestigation, would get the FBI involved,would talk to market participants, would talkto academics, would subpoena records,that act in and of itself would so scatter thespeculators—'cause they don't want tospend time in jail—that the price of all thesecommodity staples would start comingdown. If indictments were handed down,the price would really come down. But noth-ing in Washington is happening to interferewith feverish speculation that is damagingthe U.S. economy, the world economy, andfor that matter the prospects of theDemocratic Party in 2012. The RepublicanParty has only one issue right now, gasprices. That could be fixed by a toughinvestigation. That investigation is not tak-ing place.

GREENBERGER: They are—you can-not reach a conspiracy with fellow traders inthe market to drive the price of a commodi-ty in one direction or another and to alterthe price from market fundamentals. TheCEO of Exxon a year ago said the price ofoil should be between $65 and $75. Supply-demand is exactly the same today. But wesee it approaching $120. Goldman says it'llgo to $130. That premium is a speculativepremium and is being caused not just bythe innocent overwhelming of these mar-kets by speculators without an evil intent,but it's like shooting fish in a barrel. If youcan control the price of oil by manipulatingthe market with other traders, you're goingto do it, and you're especially going to do itwhen the investigations that are takingplace are a laughable subject among any-body who understands these markets andthe laxity of our federal enforcement pow-ers.

H i G H O i Lp R i C E S M u S TB E S u B j E C T O f C R i M i N A Li N v E S T i G A T i O N

Q: Or the president is saying things forpublic consumption but not really givingstrong marching orders to his attorney gen-eral. I mean, one would think if the presi-dent was really determined, he would eitherget this attorney general to respond or get anew one.

Q: Now, one of the things, if I under-stand correctly, that around 2008 there wasthis change in regulation where companiesthat were primarily in hedging and specula-tion weren't supposed to—I mean, bankswere not supposed to also be physical com-modity owners. And that change—that wallcame down because of the crisis. Thebanks argued, we need to be able to dothis. But it's—that wall's never come back

up again. So places like JPMorgan andGoldman and others are now playing bothsides of the street, commodity owners andspeculators. Is that right? And if so, howimportant a factor is that?

Q: Now, the price of oil, obviously,affects the price of everything, but mostimportantly food. And this type of manipula-tion of markets, a lot of experts are saying,is not confined just to oil, but you're findingthe same, first of all, concentration of own-ership of the global food chain and thesame kind of speculation when it comes tofood in terms of hedging and futures mar-kets. How big a problem is this role of spec-ulation in creating what some people aresaying is going to be another food pricebubble?

Q: And what law is being broken? Like,when we've talked directly to some of thesecommodity players, some of the peopleinvolved, they say, yeah, it's not good, it'snot good for the world economy, but every-one's doing it and, quote-unquote, "we'renot really breaking any laws". What lawsare they breaking?

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