Talking Points Memo: Richard Nixon's Watergate grand jury testimony to be unsealed - A transcript of former President Richard Nixon's testimony on the Watergate scandal before a grand jury in 1975 is going to be unsealed thanks to a lawsuit filed by Public Citizen on behalf of an historian.

The Olympian: Super PACs channel flood of money in 2012 elections - Relaxed campaign spending rules unleashed a torrent of cash in the 2010 elections. In 2012, it could be a deluge.

Huffington Post: Media squawked when it should have jumped on oil market speculation coverage - After firebrand Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders leaked confidential data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to the Wall Street Journal last month -- data that dramatically illustrated how speculators were dominating the oil futures market during the 2008 spike in oil prices -- other news outlets jumped on the story.

Salon: One Republican candidate's hellfire - George Bush Park burst into flames on Sept. 13, one month to the day after Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced his candidacy for president of the United States.

New York Times: Drugs, Risk and The Myth of the 'Evil' Addict - My column on making Naloxone available over-the-counter to reverse overdoses drew many plaudits and two main strands of criticism.

NorthJersey.com: FDA panel should have pharamceutical expertise - THE HEAD of the Food and Drug Administration recently indicated that the agency may consider loosening a conflict of interest policy that restricts scientists with industry financial ties from advising U.S. regulators.

Trucking Info: Mica says he will challenge any changes to hours rule - Rep. John Mica, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, warned President Obama that he will challenge andy changes to the current hours of service rule.

Chicago Tribune: Doctors and pharmaceutical companies - I read with interest the article on huge payments by pharmaceutical companies to doctors so that those doctors will educate colleagues about certain medicines.

Kansas City Star: Groups urge Sebelius to reopen malpractice databank - Six leading journalism organizations are calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to immediately restore public access to a federal database that contains statistical information on the malpractice and disciplinary histories of thousands of doctors nationwide.

U.S. Daily Politics: Pharmaceutical company payments to doctors raise ethical concerns -  We expect our doctors to "first do no harm" and to provide treatment based on what's in our best interest.

St. Louis Beacon: Coincidence taxes credulity - The effective investigator learns to distrust coincidence.

New York Times: E.P.A. is Perry's favorite target - Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has built a political career running against Washington, and no agency more symbolizes what he considers the meddlesome and economy-choking evils of the federal government than the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Huffington Post: House Republicans' Labor Budget Cuts Rules That Protect Rooftop Workers From Falling, Coal Miners From Coal Dust - In addition to blocking President Obama's health care law and slashing funding for job training, the budget plan presented by House Republicans for health and labor programs this week would scuttle several worker safety protections put forth by the Department of Labor.

Bradenton: Bourbon distillers focus on South Korea free trade debate - Distillers of bourbon -- Kentucky's trademark spirit -- are hopeful that a long-stymied free-trade agreement with South Korea will boost U.S. liquor exports.

McClatchy: Has 'crony capitalism' tainted Perry's campaign for president? - In 2008, Larry Soward, one of three commissioners on Texas' environmental regulatory agency, cast the lone dissenting vote against licensing a controversial low-level nuclear disposal site in far West Texas.

The Hill: GOP wrongly claims greens' support for EPA delay bill - The House Energy and Commerce Committee's GOP leadership inaccurately claimed Thursday that a number of green groups support legislation to delay – perhaps indefinitely – a pair of Environmental Protection Agency power plant pollution regulations.

Huffington Post: Wall Street Vampires - Vampires. Thieves of the night. As sunlight is said to be deadly to them, these mythical creatures venture out to drain the blood from their innocent victims only when it is dark outside.

The Plain Dealer: Sen. Rob Portman says trade agreement with S. Korea helped EU exports jump at U.S. expense - The day before President Barack Obama announced a $447 billion proposal to boost the economy and create jobs, Portman joined a group of GOP Senators Sept. 7, 2011, at a Capitol Hill news conference to suggest that Obama could create jobs quickly by sending pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress, where all three would likely pass with bipartisan support.

Roll Call: Holman: Pay-to-Play Will Thrive With Budget Debate - The debt ceiling compromise, in which a super committee of 12 Members of Congress will determine the fate of the federal budget, has elevated pay-to-play politics in government contracting to new heights.

Safety.BLR: 5 Health & Safety Regs Have Saved 1000s of Workers, Group Says - Five health and safety regulations that were largely opposed by industry have saved thousands of lives and prevented tens of thousands of injuries, according to an analysis by Washington-based Public Citizen.

Bloomberg News: AT&T Gave $963,275 to U.S. Lawmakers Urging Approval of T-Mobile USA Deal - Representative Pete Olson and 99 fellow House Republicans signed a letter yesterday urging the Obama administration to resolve a government lawsuit and let AT&T Inc. (T) buy T-Mobile USA Inc. 

OEN: Heroes of the Antiglobalization Movement - A tutor at our local polytech has asked me to do a 90 minute class in November on the antiglobalization movement.

ICTSD: Trans-Pacific Talks Inch Forward at Chicago Meeting - The eighth round of talks for the proposed nine-country Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement showed movement in several areas, according to reports, with negotiators now ready to address “sensitive areas.”

The Washington Post - Who is really leveling “cronyism” charges at Perry? - In a post today entitled “Perry’s system of patronage and cronyism,” Jennifer Rubin highlights a scathing report by Texans for Public Justice entitled “Crony Capitalism: The Republican Governors Association in the Perry Years.”

BGR: Heavy with $963,275 in AT&T donations, lawmakers push for T-Moble merger approval - The Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit against AT&T in an effort to block its planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA, but that has not stopped 100 lawmakers from signing a letter pushing the government to settle the suit and approve the merger.

The Kansas City Star: Reopen database on doctors, groups urge top officials - In a letter to key members of Congress and to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, six prominent journalism organizations are asking that a database containing statistical information on doctors’ malpractice histories be made public again.

Politico: Report: Some regs could spur growth - Federal regulations may not be so bad after all.

All Voices: Weight-loss pill manufactures still attempting to gain FDA approval - Manufactures of pills face tough challenges when attempting to receive FDA approval and at times they get rejected but this does not keep them from trying.

SecuringPharma: USTR wants stronger anti-counterfeiting measures in Asia-Pacific -  The US government has launched a new strategic initiative called Trade Enhancing Access to Medicines (TEAM), which includes plans to work with Asia-Pacific trade partners on strengthening anti-counterfeiting measures.

Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers' side jobs help bolster their paychecks - The national economy is struggling to keep its head above water. On Capitol Hill, it's a different story.

Wall Street Journal: Tylenol supplies low for flu season - A staple of the American medicine cabinet may be hard to come by this fall because of a slew of recalls -- but that's all the more reason to take a closer look at the cold and flu medications you stock at home.

Forbes: Public interest law, then and now - In 1914, the NAACP decided that it needed to expand its efforts to achieve racial equality, so it filed its first friend-of-the-court brief. With this modest step, the era of public interest law began.

International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development: Mixed victory for Mexico as WTO rules on "Dolphin Safe" labelling - A WTO panel on Thursday found fault with the United States’ “dolphin safe” labelling practice for tuna products, ruling that the label meant to inform consumers on the use of dolphin-friendly fishing practices was unnecessarily trade restrictive.

Consumer Affairs: Feds take down malpractive database - For more than 15 years, researchers, reports and policymakers have been able to access an online database that anonymously tracks physicians’ records of malpractice, medical errors and medical discipline.

Guatemala News: Panama: free trade tax haven - Panama is the sink where the dirtiest money is laundered, writes Nicholas Shaxson, author of Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens.

Truth About Trade: Teamsters sucking over Mexican trucking dispute - The Teamsters and activist group Public Citizen are suing the Obama Administration to stop the agreement between the US and Mexico on cross-border trucking access under NAFTA.

Clinical Advisor: Watchdog group claims California not disciplining dangerous docs - The watchdog group Public Citizen has alerted California Gov. Jerry Brown that the state's medical board has failed to take action against more than 700 health care providers who were disciplined for wrongdoing between September 1990 and the end of 2009.

Ars Technica: How a trouble West Virginia lawyer foisted a Teen Anal Nightmare on the nation - In September 2010, West Coast Productions—maker of such films as Teen Anal Nightmare 2 and Juicy White Anal Booty 4—paired up with West Virginia lawyer Ken Ford to file a set of mass lawsuits against online file-sharers.

The Nonprofit Quarterly: New report says Obama lobbyist policy actually undermines transparency - The organizations that pay attention to money in politics (such as the Center for Responsive Politics, which publishes the Open Secrets Blog) have taken note of a new report by the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI).

AFL-CIO: Corporations backing new trade deals outsource 18,600 jobs - Congress will soon consider three so-called free trade agreements (FTAs) between the United States and Korea, Colombia and Panama.

Campaign and Elections: Is Citizen's United really to blame for the spending? -It is time to recognize that the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), otherwise known as McCain-Feingold, was a failure.

The Associated Press: Health groups weigh in on cigarette label suit - Several public health groups are weighing in on a lawsuit over graphic cigarette warning labels that include the sewn-up corpse of a smoker, saying the federal government has a strong interest in more effectively informing people about the effects of tobacco and current warnings aren't sufficient.

The Nation: Can education consumers help make farm labor fair? - This summer in California, as legions of migrants culled America's bounty from sun-scorched fields, Governor Jerry Brown put the right to unionize even further out of their reach.

AMERICAblog: WTO says US measures to reduce teen smoking violate WTO rules - This pretty much speaks for itself. Note the role of the WTO as an anti-environmental-regulation entity.

The Hill: New Rule Would Expand Tight Obama Lobbying Rules to Federal Workers - A new regulation proposed this week by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) would prohibit all federal government employees from accepting any gifts from lobbyists. 

Daily Whistleblower News:  - The 2011 Whistleblower assembly takes place next week on September 19 and 20. The theme this year is "Whistleblowers Protecting the Public."

Chron.com: EPA won’t “force the lights to go out” in Texas with emissions rule, official says -  A top EPA official today rebuffed concerns that some Texas power plants could shut down because providers do not have enough time to prepare for new requirements to reduce toxic emissions that cross state lines.    

Thinkprogress.org: Leaked documents reveal major speculators behind 2008 oil price shock: hedge funds, Koch, big banks, oil companies - Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) leaked confidential data about oil speculation to a number of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal.

WNYC.org: The Biggest Spending Corporations Disclose Less about Political Activity - This week, Michele Bachmann charged that “crony capitalism” can explain Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s support of a mandate for the HPV vaccine in Texas, a policy that was later overturned by the Texas legislature

MySA: — A top Environmental Protection Agency official on Thursday rebuffed concerns that some Texas power plants could shut down because they might not have enough time to prepare for a new federal limit on toxic emissions that cross state lines.

Wall Street Journal: FDA panel backs plans for premarket studies of organ-prolapse mesh devices - A federal advisory panel Thursday called for more clinical studies and tougher regulation of certain surgical mesh products used to treat pelvic organ prolapse, an often painful condition that affects thousands of women.

Fox News: Supercommittee Co-Chief Murray under fire as deficit talks begin -  Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who was picked by Majority Leader Harry Reid to co-chair the deficit-reduction supercommittee, is taking criticism from both sides of the political aisle. 

Bloomberg: J&J Vaginal surgical mesh faces FDA panel as number of lawsuits increase - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and rival makers of transvaginal meshes told Food and Drug Administration advisers they agreed on the need for more safety studies of the implants as well as labeling changes to warn of potential risks.

Talking Points Memo: Post-Citizens United, SEC should force political disclosure, report argues - With the 2012 political money machine now in full post-Labor Day gear, watchdog groups are trying to turn up the pressure on businesses and unions to disclose every dollar they spend on behalf of candidates, even though that kind of transparency isn't required by law. 

San Francisco Chronicle: Republicans attack EPA regulations as job killers -The Republican prescription for job growth, shared by tonight's presidential debaters and Republicans in Congress, is to dismantle regulations proposed by the Obama administration, especially the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming these are a key culprit in widespread unemployment.

Washington Post: Fulfilling the promise of 'Citizens United' - The Supreme Court’s January 2010 Citizens United decision to permit corporations to spend unlimited sums to influence federal elections was premised on a pair of yet-unfulfilled promises: Corporations would disclose their expenditures, and shareholders would be able to police such spending.

Bloomberg: Republicans vow opposition to U.S. Consumer Bureau nomination - Senate Republicans hearing testimony from President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said they wouldn’t confirm anyone to run the agency without changes to its structure.

Iowa Independent: New child labor proposals will impact some family farms - In its first such move since 1970, the U.S. Department of Labor is taking aim at risky exposures for minors, and the proposed rules could spell changes for family farming operations.

Huffington Post: Labor Day showdown: can advocates stop 'NAFTA of the Pacific'? - This Labor Day, the Pacific Rim will wash into the Midwest's flagship city, and activists will confront the tides of global commerce with a demand for global economic justice.

Wall Street Journal: Teamsters sue over Mexican-truck plan - The Teamsters union filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration on Friday seeking to block the government's plan to allow Mexican trucks back into the U.S., in a sign of the growing rift between unions and the administration over trade.

In These Times: The great corporate tax swindle: dozens of companies pay CEO more than IRS - America's CEOs are truly in a league of their own when it comes to pay and power. 

Politico: Obama executive order gets push from interest groups - Public interest groups are growing increasingly frustrated with the Obama administration’s indecision regarding a draft executive order that, as conceived, would force government contractors to reveal new details about their politicking.

Continental Capital Investment Ltd: Oil speculation debate: Public Citizen demands disclosure - Commodities traders, unlike big buyers and sellers of stocks, have never had to disclose their holdings publicly. But that hidebound system is coming under attack.

CBSNews: FDA questions studies of breast implant safety - A panel of expert advisors to the FDA has been asked to solve a mystery: What happened to thousands of women who enrolled in studies designed to evaluate rare complications that might arise years after they received silicone gel breast implants?

Los Angeles Times: Solar panel firm Solyndra to cease operations - The California solar panel manufacturer that received a high-profile $535-million Energy Department loan guarantee said it was ceasing operations, laying of 1,100 workers and preparing to file for bankruptcy protection.

Bloomberg: Trucking rules called 'radioactive' - President Barack Obama’s inclusion of two proposed rules on truckers’ driving hours on a list of the seven most expensive pending U.S. regulations makes them so politically sensitive they may not survive, according to an industry group.

Washington Post: Rick Perry's donors fare well, Texas-style - Just before Labor Day weekend, two San Antonio multi-millionaires will co-chair a $25,000-a-couple country club fundraiser for Republican Gov. Rick Perry, an event meant to persuade business leaders beyond Texas to help their friend win the White House.

EHS Today: Groups Turn the Heat Up on OSHAGroups Turn the Heat Up on OSHA - Saying that OSHA has dragged its feet on enacting a standard to protect workers from heat exposure, thereby allowing hundreds of workers to die of heat-related illness and thousands to be seriously injured, Public Citizen and other groups have sent OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels a 50-page petition requesting such a standard.