There are people who say that the current administration has "restored dignity to the White House." By that, they mean "morality."
That would be amusing if it weren't so frightening. Let's start with the president, whose career record indicates he was a failure as a businessman, but that didn't stop him from making money. According to the SEC, Bush failed on four occasions to file share sales declarations to the SEC during a period when Harken Oil's shares hit bottom. During one 8-month lapse, he made $1,000,000. He claims he filed the report, but the SEC has never found it.
The SEC "investigated" what--to the rest of us, was obviously insider trading--but somehow never got around to interviewing any of Harken's directors. Oh, and the "investigator" just happened to be the same man who did Bush's legal work when he acquired the Texas Rangers. And Bush's father just happened to be president of the United States at the time of the investigation.
Then there's the matter of Bush's "military service." During a period of approximately one year, he failed to appear for National Guard duty. By military standards, an absence of more than 30 days is not considered AWOL, but desertion. It was no surprise that--during the 2000 election--the Bush campaign refused to release Bush's military records.
I'm going to let the alcohol and cocaine go, because Bush's substance indiscretions occurred in the past and there is no evidence that he still commits them, but how odd that the public immediately overlooked the DWI and the possession of illegal drugs. Just imagine--if it had been a non-Republican. (For the record, however, Bush refers to his substance abuse as being part of his "youth," but he was 30 when he received the DWI.)
There is also the matter of the innumberable lies Bush has told since he was elected. The Iraq war lies should be obvious to everyone by now. It would take me several paragraphs to review the other major lies of his administration, but here is a good summary.
On to Dick Cheney. As late as 6 weeks ago, the vice president swore-yet again--that he had severed all his ties with Halliburton. His exact words were: "I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years." However, Cheney receives deferred compensation from Halliburton under an arrangement he made in 1998, and also retains stock options. Obviously, the vice president's office is definition-challenged in a major way.
Let's look at the Iraq oil field cleanup and other post-war tasks. Who just happened to get the no-bid contracts for cleaning up the very large mess? If you guessed Halliburton (via its subsidieary, Kellogg Brown & Root), give yourself a gold star. Whose contract was recently extended, then extended again? Right again! The companies who were heavy donors to Bush's campaign have made billions of dollars already. And no one is monitoring the cost or quality control of any of the jobs.
Now let's move on to former Secretary of the Army Thomas White, who was accused of lying under oath to a Senate committee. White, a former vice-chairman of that other Dick-Cheney-loves-us corporation, Enron Energy Services, didn't do too badly when Enron went under, either: His salary was $5.5 million, and he received severance pay of $1 million. Oh, and just before Enron went under, he just happened to have the wisdom to sell $3 million worth of Enron stock.
That brings us to John Poindexter. Surely everyone remembers him. Though he is no longer the head of the terrifying Information Awareness Office, his reputation preceded him to that post. Poindexter, along with Oliver North, was behind the Iran-Contra affair that occurred during the Reagan administration. Poindexter was charged and found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and the destruction of evidence. Poindexter's conviction was eventually overturned, but even if did not commit the crimes for which he was charged (which is doubtful to most observers), he was still the admitted architect of a reprehensible scheme.
How are you liking the dignity and morality so far?
That would be amusing if it weren't so frightening. Let's start with the president, whose career record indicates he was a failure as a businessman, but that didn't stop him from making money. According to the SEC, Bush failed on four occasions to file share sales declarations to the SEC during a period when Harken Oil's shares hit bottom. During one 8-month lapse, he made $1,000,000. He claims he filed the report, but the SEC has never found it.
The SEC "investigated" what--to the rest of us, was obviously insider trading--but somehow never got around to interviewing any of Harken's directors. Oh, and the "investigator" just happened to be the same man who did Bush's legal work when he acquired the Texas Rangers. And Bush's father just happened to be president of the United States at the time of the investigation.
Then there's the matter of Bush's "military service." During a period of approximately one year, he failed to appear for National Guard duty. By military standards, an absence of more than 30 days is not considered AWOL, but desertion. It was no surprise that--during the 2000 election--the Bush campaign refused to release Bush's military records.
I'm going to let the alcohol and cocaine go, because Bush's substance indiscretions occurred in the past and there is no evidence that he still commits them, but how odd that the public immediately overlooked the DWI and the possession of illegal drugs. Just imagine--if it had been a non-Republican. (For the record, however, Bush refers to his substance abuse as being part of his "youth," but he was 30 when he received the DWI.)
There is also the matter of the innumberable lies Bush has told since he was elected. The Iraq war lies should be obvious to everyone by now. It would take me several paragraphs to review the other major lies of his administration, but here is a good summary.
On to Dick Cheney. As late as 6 weeks ago, the vice president swore-yet again--that he had severed all his ties with Halliburton. His exact words were: "I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years." However, Cheney receives deferred compensation from Halliburton under an arrangement he made in 1998, and also retains stock options. Obviously, the vice president's office is definition-challenged in a major way.
Let's look at the Iraq oil field cleanup and other post-war tasks. Who just happened to get the no-bid contracts for cleaning up the very large mess? If you guessed Halliburton (via its subsidieary, Kellogg Brown & Root), give yourself a gold star. Whose contract was recently extended, then extended again? Right again! The companies who were heavy donors to Bush's campaign have made billions of dollars already. And no one is monitoring the cost or quality control of any of the jobs.
Now let's move on to former Secretary of the Army Thomas White, who was accused of lying under oath to a Senate committee. White, a former vice-chairman of that other Dick-Cheney-loves-us corporation, Enron Energy Services, didn't do too badly when Enron went under, either: His salary was $5.5 million, and he received severance pay of $1 million. Oh, and just before Enron went under, he just happened to have the wisdom to sell $3 million worth of Enron stock.
That brings us to John Poindexter. Surely everyone remembers him. Though he is no longer the head of the terrifying Information Awareness Office, his reputation preceded him to that post. Poindexter, along with Oliver North, was behind the Iran-Contra affair that occurred during the Reagan administration. Poindexter was charged and found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and the destruction of evidence. Poindexter's conviction was eventually overturned, but even if did not commit the crimes for which he was charged (which is doubtful to most observers), he was still the admitted architect of a reprehensible scheme.
How are you liking the dignity and morality so far?
posted by Diane at 8:07 PM
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