by Penny, Laura
But in the event you are a perpetrator (and you know in your heart of hearts if you are), I say unto you: Shame. Shame! Have you no sense of decency? You take names in vain, and send legions of vain names into the world. And when you fuck with English, you are money-changing in my temple.
This book is the fruit of many hours of Googling, and of consulting a host of government and policy-wonk databases, reading newspapers, and looking at recent nonfiction books. I am deeply indebted to many fine researchers and publications. Web links are operative as of March 2005. The italicized phrase at the beginning of each citation refers to a key fact or idea in the chapter specified, and may not be an exact quotation from the text.
CHAPTER ONE
2 message discipline: Mark McKinnon, quoted in Jake Tapper, “Ari: Gone but Not Forgotten,” Salon. com, May 19, 2003; online at www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/05/19/ari/.
2 Burson-Marsteller: Their Web address is www.bm.com.
5 Harry Frankfurt: See Harry Frankfurt, On Bullshit (Princeton University Press, 2005).
9 Bullfighter: Deloitte & Touche are no longer associated with Bullfighter, which can now be downloaded at www.fightthebull.com. See Jonathan Glater, “Holy Change Agent! Consultants Edit Out Jargon,” The New York Times, June 14, 2003.
CHAPTER TWO
21 Total U.S. ad spending: Figures come from Robert J. Coen’s Insider’s Report, produced by the Universal McCann agency. The most recent report is available online at www.universalmccann.com/Insiders1204.pdf.
21 global PR revenues: PR revenue figures come from the Council of Public Relations Firms, online at www.prfirms.org/resources/rankings/2002_rankings.asp.
24 Bill Hicks: His scathing monologue against advertisers and marketers is from his 1992 show, Revelations, available on a DVD released by Rykodisc in 2004, Bill Hicks Live.
25 Trojan horse of sweet melody: See Nat Ives, “Marketing Meets Anti-Establishment Music,” The New York Times, November 6, 2002.
26 TiVo pop-ups: See Jefferson Graham and Michelle Kessler, “Ads to Pop Up When TiVo Users Scan Past Commercials,” USA Today, November 18, 2004.
27 letter to John Lahr: The lengthy anti-censorship letter appears in Love All the People: Lyrics, Letters, Routines (Soft Skull Press, 2004.)
28 shift from ads to PR: See Al and Laura Ries, The Fall of Advertising and Rise of PR (HarperBusiness, 2002).
28 Credibility Index: The index is online at www.prsa.org/_About/prsafoundation/nciIndex.asp?ident=prsa0.
29 Code of Ethics: The Code of Ethics is available at www.prsa.org/_About/ethics/pledge.asp?ident=eth6. A preamble notes that emphasis on enforcement of this code has been eliminated, and describes the pledge as a useful guide.
29 Burson-Marsteller clients: From Conal Walsh, “Fur Flies as Greenpeace Grandee Takes PR Shilling,” The Guardian, January 13, 2002, business section.
30 History of U.S. advertising: See Jackson Lears, Fables of Abundance: A Cultural History of Advertising (Basic Books, 1995).
30 History of PR: See Stuart Ewen, PR! A Social History of Spin (Basic Books, 1998).
31–33 Edward Bernays: My account is based on Larry Tye’s excellent biography, The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations (Crown, 1998).
33 Propaganda: Bernays’s book has been reissued with an introduction by Mark Crispin Miller (Ig Publishing, 2004).
34 The Silver Anvil Award: Case studies for winners from 2000 to present are available at www.prsa.org/_Awards/silver/index.asp?ident=sil0.
39 Front groups and astroturfing: See www.prwatch.org, and John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, Toxic Sludge Is Good for You: Lies, Damn Lies, and the Public Relations Industry (Common Courage Press, 1995).
40 Medialink: Their website has been revamped and now touts “the spirit to turn promises into reality” at www.medialink.com/mdlkRela.htm.
40 pro-Bush letter to the editor: See “Stupid Papers and GOP Astroturf,” at Daily Kos, Tuesday, August 17, 2004; online at dailykos.com/story/2004/8/17/17029/2550.
40 Office of National Drug Control Policy: The Government Accountability Office chastised the ONDCP for the VNRs and using the term Drug Czar. The GAO report is online at www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/303495.htm.
40 Armstrong Williams: See Howard Kurtz, “Administration Paid Commentator: Education Department Used Williams to Promote ‘No Child’ Law,” Washington Post, January 9, 2005.
CHAPTER THREE
43 longest bear market: See John Waggoner and Adam Shell, “Bear Turns a Baffling 3,” USA Today, March 19, 2003.
43 National Bureau of Economic Research: The Recession Dating Procedure is available online at www.nber.org/cycles/recessions.html.
43 economy remained sluggish: See Steven Greenhouse, “Looks Like a Recovery, Feels Like a Recession,” The New York Times, September 1, 2003.
43 36 million Americans living in poverty: See Income, Poverty and Health Insurance 2003, from the U.S. Census Bureau. Available at www.census.gov/hhes/www/income03.html.
43 debt, as of January 2005: See the Bureau of Public Debt’s debt-to-the-penny website for constant updates: www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm.
43 record-breaking trade deficit: See the Census Bureau’s February 10, 2005 report at www.census.gov/indicator/www/ustrade.html.
44 get some ribs, Stretch: See Remarks by the President to the Press Pool, Nothin’ Fancy Café, Roswell, NM, January 22, 2004; available online at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/200401225.html.
45 Wealth figures: From Inequality.org, at www.inequality.org/facts.html.
49 Survey of Consumer Finances: See more on the 1998 survey in a January 2000 government bulletin, Recent Changes in U.S. Family Finances: Results from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances, at www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2000/0100lead.pdf.
51 Ethical Funds: There is a press release related to the lawsuit on their website at www.ethicalfunds.com/do_the_right_thing/about_ef/newsroom/2000_articles/02_02_00.asp.
51 The Facts on Saving and Investing: Released by the SEC in 1999. It is still on their website, at www.sec.gov/pdf/report99.pdf.
52 28 percent of Americans owed more: See Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, “Economic Inequality Seen As Rising, Boom Bypasses Poor,” survey released June 21, 2001; online at people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=8.
52 Record number of bankruptcies: See press release from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, August 18, 2003; at www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/603b.pdf.
52 margin debt: See the Financial Markets Center chart on margin debt, available online at www.fmcenter.org/site/apps/s/content.asp?c=8fLGJTOyHpE&b=222624&ct=278485.
54 CEO pay and stock performance: See Scott Klinger, “The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall: High CEO Pay and the Effect on Stock Prices,” United for a Fair Economy, April 6, 2001; available online at www.faireconomy.org/press/2001/Bigger_They_Come.pdf.
55 Coca-Cola: See The Economist, “Douglas Daft: The New Broom at Coca-Cola,” February 10, 2000, and “Who’s Wearing the Trousers?” September 6, 2001.
56 CEO pay and downsizing: See Scott Klinger, “The Bigger They Come,” cited above.
59 increased by 201 percent: See The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “Two Decades of Extraordinary Gains for Affluent Americans Yield Widest Income Gaps Since 1929, New Data Indicates,” Tuesday, September 23, 2003; at www.cbpp.org/9-23-03tax-pr.htm.
60 21 million underemployed: See John E. Schwarz, “The Hidden Side of the Clinton Economy,” The Atlantic Monthly, October 1998.
60 long boom income increases: See www.inequality.org/facts.html.
61 pragmatics of tax policy favor the wealthy: See David Cay Johnston, “IRS More Likely to Audit the Poor and Not the Rich,” The New York Times, April 16, 2000.
61 “real rich people”: See President Bush’s remarks in Annandale, VA, on August 9, 2004; online at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040809-3.html.
62 13 percent debt se
rvice ratio: See Alan Greenspan’s February 23, 2004 speech, “Understanding Household Debt Obligations,” available at www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/20040223/default.html.
65 decline of meritocracy: See “Ever Higher Society Ever Harder to Ascend: Meritocracy in America,” The Economist, December 29, 2004.
65 mendacious math: See Paul Krugman, The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century (W. W. Norton, 2003).
CHAPTER FOUR
68 genius of capitalism: O’Neill quoted in Eric Alterman and Mark Green, The Book on Bush: How George W. Misleads America (Viking, 2004).
69 50 percent in consulting: See Arthur Levitt’s testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Securities and Banking, September 28, 2000; online at www.sec.gov/news/testimony/ts152000.html#P49_9309.
71 corporate responsibility: The White House website has not been updated since 2003, but it is still available at www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/corporateresponsibility/.
71 Larry Thompson: See Anitha Reddy, “Deputy AG Profited Before Stock Fell; Thompson Exercised Providian Options During Transition,” Washington Post, August 2, 2002.
72 corporate fraud task force: See Fact Sheet Second Year Anniversary of President Bush’s Corporate Fraud Task Force, Federal Document Clearing House, Federal Department and Agency Documents, Regulatory Intelligence Data, July 20, 2004.
74 “very dangerous and very counterproductive”: Gramm’s remarks are part of the Conference Report in the Senate on Sarbanes-Oxley on July 25, 2002.
74 super-sweet for accounting firms: See Mark Jaffe and Peter Robison, “Sarbanes-Oxley Becomes ‘Open Checkbook’ for KPMG, Ernst &Young,” at Bloomberg.com, November 4, 2004; online at www.Bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aAlUCtlfw9DI&refer=us.
75–78 corporate personhood: See Thom Hartmann, Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights (Rodale Books, 2004), and Joel Bakan, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (Free Press, 2004).
83 The Economist: See “Is Government Disappearing?” The Economist, September 27, 2001.
85 corporate tax revenues: See Joel Friedman, “The Decline of Corporate Tax Revenues,” Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, October 24, 2003; online at www.cbpp.org/10-16-03tax.htm.
85 $143 billion: See Jonathan Weisman, “Senate Passes Corporate Tax Bill: Bush Plans to Sign $143 Billion in Cuts,” Washington Post, October 12, 2004.
85–86 Paul O’Neill: See Ron Suskind, The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, The White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill (Simon and Schuster, 2004).
86 Enron paperweights: See Rick Bragg, “Enron’s Collapse: Workers Feel Pain of Layoffs and Added Sting of Betrayal,” The New York Times, January 20, 2002.
CHAPTER FIVE
93 Contract with America: Text is still available online at www.house.gov/house/Contract/CONTRACT.html.
96 latter-day radical Tom: See Michael Weisskopf and David Maraniss, “Forging an Alliance for Deregulation,” Washington Post, March 12, 1995.
96 Tom DeLay: See Lou Dubose and Jan Reid, The Hammer: Tom DeLay, God, Money, and the Rise of the Republican Congress (Public Affairs, 2004).
97 “Gestapo of government”: See “What’s Next for the EPA?” on PBS NewsHour Online, December 21, 1995; at www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/epa_12-21.html.
97 gerrymandering: See Jeffrey Toobin, “The Great Election Grab,” The New Yorker, December 8, 2003.
98 associates indicted: See Sylvia Moreno, “Three DeLay Workers Indicted in Texas,” Washington Post, September 22, 2004. See also Lou Dubose, “Justice Delayed,” Mother Jones, November/December 2004.
98 ethics complaints: See Charles Babington, “Ethics Panel Rebukes DeLay,” Washington Post, October 1, 2004.
98 changing their ethics rules: See Charles Babington, “GOP Pushes Rule Change to Protect DeLay’s Post,” Washington Post, November 17, 2004. See also Carl Hulse, “House GOP Acts to Protect Chief,” The New York Times, November 18, 2004.
98 GOP reversed their decision: See Carl Hulse, “After Retreat, GOP Changes House Ethics Rule,” The New York Times, January 5, 2005.
99 outgoing House ethics chair: See Mike Allen, “House Ethics Chair Likely to Be Replaced,” Washington Post, January 6, 2005.
99 Project Relief: See Jan Reid, “Sin of Emissions,” Mother Jones, September/October 1996, and Michael Weisskopf and David Maraniss, “Forging an Alliance for Deregulation,” cited above.
100 K Street Project: See Nicholas Confessore, “Welcome to the Machine,” Washington Monthly, July/August 2003. See also Jim VanderHei and Juliet Eilperin, “Targeting Lobbyists Pays Off for GOP,” Washington Post, June 26, 2003.
103 about twenty-four thousand lobbyists: See Alex Knott, “Lobbyists Bankrolling Politicians,” Center for Public Integrity, May 6, 2004; online at www.public-i.org/bop2004/report.aspx?aid=273.
105 campaign financing: See www.opensecrets.org, the definitive campaign finance site, sponsored by the Center for Responsive Politics. See also Charles Lewis and the Center for Public Integrity, The Buying of the President 2004 (Perennial, 2004).
106 527s: See “Silent Partners,” Center for Public Integrity, online at www.public-i.org/527/.
CHAPTER SIX
115 200 billion in 2002: See IMS Health, “World Pharma Sales Growth: Slower but Still Steady,” at www.imsglobal.com/insight/news_story/0302/news_story_030228.htm.
115 17 billion: See pharmiweb.com, “Going OTC in the USA,” October 18, 2004; online at www.pharmiweb.com/Features/feature.asp?ROW_ID=508.
119 Prairie Plant Systems: For more details about Canada’s medical marijuana contract, see the Office of Cannabis Medical Access at the Health Canada website, online at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/ocma/bckdr_3-0601.htm.
119 Partnership for a Drug-Free America: See Cynthia Cotts, “The Partnership: Hard Sell in the Drug Wars” The Nation, March 9, 1992.
120 $2.7 billion: The General Accounting Office issued a report on FDA supervision of DTC advertising in October 2002: “Prescription Drugs: FDA Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Has Limitations,” online at www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-03-177.
121 80 percent of seniors: See the special section on drugs in Health: United States 2004, National Center for Health Statistics, online at www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm.
122 Big Pharma, the most profitable sector: See Marcia Angell, The Truth About Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It (Random House, 2004).
123 $500 billion, $800 billion: See phrma.org, the website of the industry’s advocacy group, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America. Summaries of the industry position on DTC ads, research costs, profits, and so forth are available online at www.phrma.org/publications/quickfacts/.
123 Public Citizen report: See “Rx R&D Myths: The Case Against the Drug Industry’s R&D ‘Scare Card,’” Congress Watch, July 2001; online at www.citizen.org/congress/campaign/special_interest/articles.cfm?ID=6538.
125 New York Times: See Kurt Eichenwald and Gina Kolata, “Drug Trials Hide Conflicts for Doctors,” The New York Times, May 16, 1999.
126 up to 370: See the Public Citizen website. They have also launched a new site, worstpills.org, to keep track of potentially dangerous drugs like Vioxx and Celebrex.
129 Prilosec and Nexium: For more on the switch from Prilosec to Nexium, see Malcolm Gladwell, “High Prices: How to Think About Prescription Drugs,” The New Yorker, October 10, 2004.