You may remember Jay Lehr from an earlier comment on his use by CNN and other reputable news organization as a nuclear safety expert (“Unrequested fission surplus”: Kent Brockman, meet Jay Lehr 15 March 2011). Jay made the rounds of some of America’s finest journalistic green rooms last year, bravely assuring us that there was nothing wrong at the tsunami struck Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Despite Jay’s assurances of the highest safety technology and standards, and the impossibility of any real damage, the disaster drove tens of thousands from their homes (likely forever), revealed a sordid history of company mismanagement and criminality, and was projected last year to cost the Japanese taxpayers over one trillion US dollars for clean up alone. Jay also boldly predicted no one would die as a result of the events. Studies now estimate up to 1000 locals will be expected to die from radiation released during the explosions, steam release, and melt-downs at the plant. So he owes me a coke.
In recent days, a leak from within The Heartland Institute — the craven industry backed advertising agency for which Lehr is “Science Director” — has revealed all sorts of nasty details. Richard Littlemore at DeSmogBlog fills us in:
…the Heartland Institute’s budget, fundraising plan, its Climate Strategy for 2012 and sundry other documents (all attached)… prove all of the worst allegations that have been levelled against the organization.
It is clear from the documents that Heartland advocates against responsible climate mitigation and then uses that advocacy to raise money from oil companies and “other corporations whose interests are threatened by climate policies.” Heartland particularly celebrates the funding that it receives from the fossil fuel fortune being the Charles G. Koch Foundation.
Back to Jay Lehr. This little leak allows us to see exactly what a disgraced ex-hydrologist gets paid for doing industry PR. And it isn’t much.
As an “Independent Contractor” Lehr tops out at $42 thousand dollars a year (before taxes: thank you very much nanny state!). Being independent also means he has no health insurance or pension. I wouldn’t count on paid vacations either. Compare this to the DC office director, who makes $150k, or their Google Adwords budget of $40k. Even their budget for 2012 Chicago public events rivals Lehr’s entire take home ($12,700 to put on an event with John Stossel for 150 people? Do they have to pay the audience?)
This just points to an old truth about capitalism. Capital (and those who have it) rule. You can suck up all you want, but none of us are indispensable to the rich. We produce, they get paid. They can always buy a few folks for cheap, to break a strike, fight a war, or ever cover up destruction of the planet. But just don’t come round once you’re no longer useful, or sick, or old. Or irradiated.
Related articles
- Heartland Institute takes money from Kochs, gives it to deniers (grist.org)
- Heartland Institute Exposed: Internal Documents Unmask Heart of Climate Denial Machine (desmogblog.com)
- Howler: Heartland Institute bad – DeSmogBlog says so! (junkscience.com)
- Japan Crisis Show Bookers: Heartland Institute Science Director an Expert on Nuclear Power, Geology (says prweb.com)
The Update on Jay Lehr: His price is pretty low. by T. Miles, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
With the miserable news from Japan taking a turn towards a science-fiction level of horror, I’m afraid I can’t get Mr. Burns of the Simpsons out of my head. In one episode, as his nuclear plant goes critical, Mr Burns is giving a phone interview to a local newscaster Kent Brockman, and happily lying [...]
Saturday the 12th of March will see second round voting in Niger’s Presidential elections, marking a return to civilian rule and the beginning of the Seventh Republic. It seems certain that front runner and PNDS-Tarayya candidate Mahamadou Issoufou will become the first President of the new republic on 8 April when the military junta that [...]
Here’s a fascinating new article on the history of Harlem activists A. Philip Randolph and Frank R. Crosswaith, and their involvement with the Socialist Party (riven by right and left factionalism) in the 1920s. It places them in contrast to Black Nationalism, but highlights the abuse they were willing to put up with at the [...]
As I write this, Saif Gaddafi is speaking to a Libyan people who have seemed to have already moved past his father’s regime. His late and desperate attempt to scare his countrymen into rejecting a revolution which has engulfed his nation touched one element with which, seemingly, those opposing him might agree. He blamed “crimes” [...]
The 31st of January saw Niger’s Legislative elections, combined with the first round of the Presidential elections. Results are not yet known, and the top two in the Presidential race will re-run on 14 March. Here’s some tools to follow it. The best immediate updates on the polls and count can be found at the [...]
As I’ll be spending most of this month tied to a TV or radio, I’ve so far noted one shocking fact: The South African World Cup is not riven by crime, corruption, shoddy workmanship, or terrorism. In fact, things are going swimmingly, the stadiums operations and infrastructure are beautiful, and the only deaths among the [...]
Hopefully by now everyone knows that parts of West Africa, especially pockets of Chad and Niger, are struggling with the worst food shortages since 2005. Alex Thurston reports that international humanitarian agencies, as well as increasingly concerned governments, are now worried that this crisis is more generalized than first reported (last September), striking areas of [...]
Jeune Afrique editor François Soudan has a biting new piece on the recent Togolese election. Noting defeated opposition candidate Jean-Pierre Fabre’s neologism “Africaneries” (for “African Inherited rule”, presumably) Soudan turns the tables of blame deftly. “For African oppositions, some of whom, in Guinea and Niger, have been reduced to military coups to break political deadlocks [...]
As I noted on the 10th of March, the CSRD junta in Niger has replaced all the civilian Region Governors with military men to administer local affairs during the transition. We now have the full list, and while I for one hate to see any military governing, a careful look at the men (all men) coming and going in Niger's Regions gives us an opportunity to examine what's going on behind the scenes, and what it augurs for the future.
More ...
The headlines from Lome, Togo are tension inducing. For Togolese or those with family there, it must be excruciating. It appears that President and dictator's son Fauré Gnassingbé has been elected, while the main opposition leader vowed struggle: “We will launch a popular uprising until victory is ours.”
More ...
Nigeriens were - are - undoubtedly pleased that the army stepped in to end a newly installed dictatorship. But criticisms of this so called "good coup" are beginning to appear even amongst its strongest supporters. With many months of transitional rule ahead, these whispers give us some idea of the problems the junta will soon face. 
One doesn't see much film, let alone color film, of colonial era African football. So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled across clips of a French colonial propaganda newsreel featuring the my favorite African club side wining a colonial cup final from 1956. 