Author: Ring of Fire Staff

Concerning the revolving door of government regulators who, upon leaving office, take executive and high-ranking positions in the very industries they used to regulate, special outrage can rightfully be expressed regarding Mary Schapiro’s recent joining with Promontory Financial Group. Promontory Financial Group is a global consulting firm that advises its clients on the paths to take when legality conflicts with profitability.  Promontory has loaded its ranks with former government employees and financial regulators, building its profile as a “fixer” between banks and regulators.  For example, the founder and CEO of Promontory, Eugene Ludwig, is the former head of the...

Director of the Bernalillo County, New Mexico Republican Party, and insufferable misogynist, Steve Kush, flew off the handle on his Twitter and Facebook account Tuesday, writing a slew of inappropriate remarks referencing a 19-year-old girl who is a volunteer with Working America as well as targeting the director of the volunteer program. The girl testified before the county commission Tuesday promoting the benefits of fair wages, as Bernalillo County proposed to increase the minimum wage from $7.50 to $8.50. Kush did not take too kindly to the young girl’s suggestion that minimum wage should be raised, taking to his...

The Department of Justice reported yesterday that the supervisor of a $63 million health care fraud scheme has been convicted. 51-year-old Wondera Eason, supervisor of a Miami-area mental health care company, Health Care Solutions Network (HCSN), was found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. She was employed as Director of Medical records at HCSN’s Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), an intensive treatment facility for patients with severe mental illness. Eason, a certified medical records technician, oversaw the “alteration, fabrication, and forgery of thousands of documents, which purported to support the fraudulent claims HCSN submitted to Medicare and Florida Medicaid.”...

A new report asserts that the use of the dispersant Corexit during cleanup efforts after the BP oil spill in 2010 caused more damage to human health and the environment than did the spill itself. The report, Deadly Dispersants in the Gulf, is a collaborative investigation of the health effects of dispersant on humans and ecosystems by the Government Accountability Project (GAP) and the non-profit Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN). The two groups began their efforts in 2011, collecting data from citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida who experienced the oil spill clean-up’s effects first hand. Their findings are consistent with the...

Americans are drawn to products that promise health, beauty, status, and vitality. Flashy packaging and punchy names such as “Monster’, “Rockstar”,“Full Throttle”, and “Jack3d”, promise to deliver a burst of energy to even the most fatigued while providing healthful benefits or significant weight loss. What consumers don’t know is how dangerous a particular ingredient found in these products can be to the body in large quantities. With the recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning against dimethylamylamine (DMAA), an ingredient found in several energy drinks and dietary supplements, the dangers of these products are finally being exposed and manufacturers...