Finally heard back from the BLS on John Crudele's claims on how "intervention analysis" - stripping out extraordinary movements in prices before computing seasonal adjustment factors - were a sinister attempt to maniuplate the CPI downwards. The BLS person in charge, Claire Gallagher, confirmed my interpretation - that the point of the adjustment is not to repress reports of big price movements but merely to prevent their being incorporated into future seasonal adjustment factors. Bottom line: Crudele is full of it.
Doug