 sj |
||
|
||
BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???....
|
|
|
Subject: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Bobert Date: 14 Jun 06 - 08:23 AM Wel, gol danged... What next??? Apparently the latest way to pay for the Bush taxcuts is to sell off national assests... Yep, looks as if one onf Bush's buddies who is now Indiana's governor, is going to lease out the Indiana Toll Road to foriegn investors... (But, Bobert... He's only leasing it... Not atcually selling it..) Hey, it's a 75 year lease, gol danged it... As far as anyone alive today who is of driving age is concerned he might as well have sold it... What isn't in question is the Bush administration's willingness to let American assests be pawned to cover the fat tax cuts that went to the wealthiest folks... Bush's Transportation Secretary, Norman Y. Mineta, when asked about the idea of letting foriegn ivestors tie up the nation's assests said, "We are inviting more more people to the table and saying 'Bring money when you come'". Oh, these wacky Bushits... Bobert |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST Date: 14 Jun 06 - 08:29 AM bobert, ya' gotta' start keepin' up with stuff. A foreign govenmint' has been running things like airports (Indy) since WJC's time. And the Lincoln Memorial is not for sale - I have been leasing it for 7 years now. I do all the upkeep, keeping it in good shape from the funds I collect from visitors. Not a dime comes from the taxpayer's pockets. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Rapparee Date: 14 Jun 06 - 08:40 AM I thought he was selling it off because one night he stood there and said, "Abe, my ratings are SO low -- what can I do to improve them?" and Abe replied, "Go to the theater." |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Don(Wyziwyg)T Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:00 AM Does the Indiana Toll Road have any turtle post along its length? [While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year-old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually, the topic got around to former Texas Governor George W. Bush, and his elevation to the White House. The old Texan said, "Well, ya know, Bush is a "post turtle". Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a "post turtle" was. The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a "post turtle". The old man saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain, "You know he didn't get there by himself, he doesn't belong there, he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just want to help the dumb shit get down."] If so you might be able to lease out ole Geedub to Iran, along with the road.............Job done! Don T. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:16 AM Little Johnny recently tried to flog off the Snowy River Hydro Project - needs a fortune spent (which hasn't been done up to now!) to upgrade/maintain it you see.... Boy oh Boy! Did the shit hit the fan with that idea! All those Govt members in Country seats got a severe attack of the Election Collywobbles.... dropped the idea like a hot potato... Incidentally, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel (anyone wanna buy a second hand bridge, cheap?) has caused a ruckus - built by private contractors, with an enormous fee, the Govt closed off lots of bypass roads and the traffic ground to a standstill as people protested by refusing to use it. Got so bad, that not only did the owners try a 'free period' (great success while it lasted), but the Aussie Accountants Society did a TV ad, with a shot of almost no cars entering the tunnel and the words "never underestimate the importance of numbers". |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:16 AM The first time I heard the turtle story was during Lyndon Johnsons' reign. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Habeeb Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:19 AM It was announced yesterday that Bin Ladin is in custody and being held in a secert prison somewhere in Europe. It is believed that the Bush adminstration will announce his capture just before the November 2006 elections for political reasons. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Bobert Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:20 AM I remember havin' this discussion about privatization back in college with a Goldwater Republican... Even back then he was in favor of turning over many of the things that the government provides to private companies so this is nuthin' new... But the bottom line is that it makes some things, such as roads, inacsessable to those who don't have the income to use them... Not to mention that it it is terribly regressive in nature... Case in point: Laborer uses the Greeway to get to his job in NoVa... Two way trip = $6.00 Laborers daily income @ $12.00 per hour = $96.00 per day % of gross income to use road = 6.25% Lobbiest uses same road to get to his job in NoVa... Two way trip = $6.00 Lobbiest daily income @ $100.00 per hour = $800.00 per day % of gross income to use road = .075% And this regressive nature is going to be found where ever government services are turned over to private companies... This is nuthin' more than yet another reshifting or wealth away from the poor and working class to the rich... Bobert |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:27 AM .........or how about getting a better paying job? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:27 AM In the 1930s, it became desirable to give people 'unemployment benefits' to stop the fear of blood in the streets. The famous uproar over the US servicemen who wanted their 'bonus' to live on after WWI, instead of sometime in the future, and which was brutally crushed by certain gung ho young generals who later became famous in WWII, laid the seeds for that. Squeeze the poor enough, and eventually things happen. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Randy Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:37 AM Go back to Mehico. Wait your turn. Enter the US legally with a green card. Get paid a fair wage. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Donuel Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:43 AM outsource, privatize, take over, lease, sell, sieze... Be it our ports, social security, public works, prisons, Airwaves, Public TV & radio, Government agencies, emminent domain of your home, air, water, wetlands, national parks, yes and even some of our courts, there is becoming little left to steal. The Kato Institute and other think tanks would be grateful if you can suggest anything still left, that they have forgotten to recommend for acquisition. I would like to show you my outsource and privitazation cartoons but my website is still locked by the Lycos corporation. bless thier little hearts. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Rufus Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:44 AM Sumpin stinks aroun here. Did bobert light anudder one and skeedaddle? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:44 AM Ah yes, the wanker anonymous GUEST displaying his usual Bushie fatuous ignorant arrogance again... Little Johnny has pushed thru "Worker's Rights" which allow him to boast that a 2 cents and hour increase (which is given for losing all penalty rates and being forced to work weekends and public holidays without penalty rates - thus losing thousands a year!) has made people better off financially! Also that being sacked from your Permanent job without explanation, then being asked to reapply for your old job as a now Temporary with a massive wage cut and loss of all other benefits has 'improved Workers Conditions'. The Parliament Broadcast the other day was surreal, Little Johnny berating the Labour Opposition (the traditional worker's friend) that his IR policies have now made HIM the worker's friend... Johnny has fudged the unemployment stats - now you only need an hour 'employment' a fortnight to be classified as 'not unemployed', and part time and temporary jobs are starting to outnumber full time and permanent ones. By refusing to fund training for young people (it is now on a 'user pays' basis), Johnny now has to import foreign workers to fill jobs that employers will not give to local kids because they have had no training - and Johnny is bringing in foreigners for FREE TRAINING ... So, on a practical basis, jobs are unobtainable for many people here now... Rant on Bushie! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: MaineDog Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:44 AM Oh, Wow, So if Bobert were in charge of the super market I could go in and get food for 75% off because I retired from my job? Sounds too good to be true. MD |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Peace Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:46 AM How's about Mt Rushmore? Faces of your choice inserted by photoshop for a nominal fee. The bridge over the Golden Gate. (Talk about watchin' paint dry. Charge by the hour.) The Grand Canyon: Allow the dumping of garbage by private contractors. They have to promise to clean up the river every year. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Peace Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:48 AM Bocce on the White House lawn. Guided tours of Groom Lake (Area 51). Each visitor allowed to take ONE picture. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:51 AM Effectively - if you lived within walking distance... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Dufus Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:53 AM Right. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Randy Date: 14 Jun 06 - 10:11 AM Is intelligent arrogance better than ignorant arrogance? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 14 Jun 06 - 10:13 AM Hmmmm, good one... Still thnking... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Rasener Date: 14 Jun 06 - 11:53 AM Aaah and theer was me thinking we could nick the Lincoln Memorial and place it in the center of Lincoln, Lincolnshire Great britain :-) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Peace Date: 14 Jun 06 - 12:00 PM We COULD get something going here. We'll trade you Mt Robson for Hadrian's Wall. You guys trade Big Ben for the Lincoln Memorial. Kinda like that. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Corp. Inc. Date: 14 Jun 06 - 12:11 PM The Lincoln Memorial should have an entrance fee just like Cooperstown's Baseball Hall of Fame. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Dufus Date: 14 Jun 06 - 12:43 PM Right |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Randy Date: 14 Jun 06 - 12:52 PM Suppose he rents out the Lincoln bedroom in exchange for campaign contributions. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Rasener Date: 14 Jun 06 - 12:53 PM Good idea Peace. We will sell USA all our ASBO's and Tony Blair & John Prescott & Jimmy Browne in exchange for Disneyland |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST Date: 14 Jun 06 - 01:01 PM Foolstroupe, lowest unemployment, jobs going waiting (education required) word just out that more households have a million dollars net worth than ever before. (credit card debt not withstanding), All time high (per capita) of homes owned, eyec., etc., etc. Is your attitude (pathetic at best) based on your losing out on the positive things happening in this Country. Ignore what short comings may have been involved. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST Date: 14 Jun 06 - 01:13 PM All the real estate in America has already been sold. The federal govt has used every square inch of America as collateral for unecessary loans. They put up the Grand Canyon or the Great Lakes as collateral, and the World Bank / International Monetary Fund loans the U.S. money. This has been going on for some time. All major infrastructure, too, is owned by the World Bank and foreign investors. For a glimpse at how it works, read the interview with former head of the IMF and Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. I think this was the biggest story in the past hundred years, when he went public with how things really work: http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=78&row=1 And it's not Bush doing it. Clinton did more in this area than Bush has. Where do you think all Clinton's money for 'new business startup' came from? These reps for the IMF come into a country and offer the Secretary of something or other a billion in a Swiss bank acct if he'll just sign over land or power supplies or waterworks for a 'loan.' And they always say yes. And the legislators on Capitol Hill in the US always say yes. If you're really interested in how this works, do a search engine search on Argentina. The IMF allowed the country to 're-finance' its debt 2-3 times, then the interest on the debt was more than the GNP of the country, so the country 'defaulted' and the World Bank seized all major infrastructure. Destroyed the middle class. Dentists being reduced to eating dogs. And it's coming to America because we only have one ruling party. Bush and Clinton both work for it. Where I live, in Texas, the 'Hill Country Biosphere' has been signed over as collateral for some loan. When the US defaults on it's debt to the IMF, UN troops will be here trying to take possession of my property. The king of Spain owns CINTRA, the toll road giant trying to set up a tax-per-mile system in the state, so we have to deal with that, too. This is why the privately-owned Federal Reserve is printing out more and more money...to devalue the dollar on world markets. And when the dollar collapses, our leaders will explain to us the foreigners have a right to their 'property.' |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Woody Date: 14 Jun 06 - 01:25 PM http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/afx/2006/06/12/afx2809913.html France targets deficit of 2.5-2.6 pct in 2007 budget; debt at 64.6 pct of GDP AFX News Limited 06.12.2006, 03:13 PM PARIS (AFX) - The French Government is to target a public-sector deficit of between 2.5-2.6 pct in its 2007 budget, helped by plans for a below-inflation increase in spending the Prime Minister's office said. The government said earlier this year it is targeting a 2006 deficit of 2.8 pct of GDP. Last year, the French deficit fell below the EU stability and growth pact's limit of 3 pct to 2.9 pct after coming in at 3.7 pct in 2004. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Woody Date: 14 Jun 06 - 01:29 PM Italy's 2006 public deficit is worsening - Padoa-Schioppa AFX News Limited 06.14.2006, 07:21 AM ROME (AFX) - Italy's 2006 public deficit is worsening, said finance minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa during a parliamentary hearing. Earlier this month, the government said that a due diligence on the public accounts indicates a 2006 deficit of 4.1 pct of GDP, with the risk that this could rise to 4.6 pct. Padoa-Schioppa is expected to present corrective budgetary measures at a meeting of EU finance ministers scheduled July 10. Italy has pledged to limit the public deficit to 3.8 pct of GDP. During the hearing, Padoa-Schioppa said that the country is enjoying a slight economic upturn, but 'growth is not yet sustainable.' He added that government action has to aim at improving public accounts but above all to spur economic growth by boosting competitiveness. The country, whose economy was flat last year, has to aim at a stable annual growth of 2 pct, he added. philip.webster@afxnews.com |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Woody Date: 14 Jun 06 - 01:33 PM http://english.people.com.cn/200606/14/eng20060614_273830.html June 14, 2006 EU's current account deficit widens in 1st quarter font size ZoomIn ZoomOut The European Union's current account deficit surged 91 percent year-on-year to 34.3 billion euros (43.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter this year, according to estimates released by the EU's statistical office Eurostat on Tuesday. This is the fifth straight rise in the 25-nation bloc's quarterly deficit. The current account deficit stood at 17.9 billion euros (22.6 billion dollars) in the opening quarter of last year and grew to 32.0 billion euros (40.3 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter of 2006, the EU's services account recorded a surplus of 11.2 billion euros (14.1 billion dollars), a 27 percent rise from the same period last year, but the figure fell below the level of the previous quarter when it stood at 14.4 billion euros (18.1 billion dollars). According to the estimates, the EU's current account deficit represented 1.3 percent of the bloc's GDP in the first quarter, up from 1.1 percent the previous quarter. Source: Xinhua |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Peace Date: 14 Jun 06 - 01:52 PM If it wasn't for deficits, banks would go broke. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 14 Jun 06 - 07:50 PM Anonymous Wanker GUEST of 14 Jun 06 I live in Australia. Johnny is trying on that bullshit here too, but even the media is starting to crack and not follow 'the party line' - even some Govt backbenchers are making noises about not believing 'the party line' on that too - as some of them are involved with Charities, who are saying that the opposite is true, and since the Govt is trying to push Welfare on to the Churches here, they are not taking it quietly as they see things getting WORSE, not better, as the Govt BS line claims. I even heard Joe Hockey (relevant Federal Minister) the other day, SAY on the radio that since the Churches claim that they have a duty from God to help the poor, they should just shut up and get on with it and stop pestering the Govt for money for that! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 14 Jun 06 - 08:01 PM Anonymous Wanker GUEST of 14 Jun 06 Little Johnny, has fudged the unemployment stats over the last 10 years - they USED to reflect people looking for full time employment - i.e. a full week is 40 hours. Now is comparing apples with oranges, because if you have ONE hour work a fortnight, you are now counted as 'employed'. The Benefit (paid fortnightly) is then reduced by a percentage of what you earn (before tax and any 'necessary expenses to obtain work!')... Depending on the rates of pay (AUD$2-3 an hour for some 'casuals'), you can actually end up WORSE off if you don't get 'full time' employment. And since you then drop 'side benefits' like medical, rate rebates, etc, you CAN end up worse off, unless you can get the FULL minimum wage - which is getting harder now since he brought in his IR reforms. I don't give a shit what 'wondrous things' the USA claims, except as how it inspires Little Johnny to drag things down further! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST Date: 14 Jun 06 - 08:39 PM Okay, Foolstroupe, I really thought you were a Yank talking about the US. I am not up on the situation in Australia as I have difficulty keeping up here. Not keeping up if truth be known. So, somewhat of an apology is tendered towards you. I will not know for sure if GWB mucked things up until another decade has past. I am of the opinion that things for most are very good here. I know we have our poor and downtrodden. Had those 50 years ago and will still have them 50 years from now. Same catagories, different inhabitants. I have worked some with them and am convinced, under present conditions, that it will never change. This country has created a group of people who no longer know how to care for themselves and, in many cases, have no desire to due to the welfare society we have created. The dole is here and it no longer represents the "leg up" or an extended period of help as was originally intended. The present scandal involving the help given to the Katrina victims and their misuse of same is a prime example. Just too many people in a mindset that their benefits are to come directly from the government. Later. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:02 PM 'welfare society' - in the USA? HAHAHAHA! Oh sorry forgot - the USA is a Far Right Wing Fascist Political Entity (compared with Australia!), so ANY help to those who are not Rich (and thought be coming from their pockets) is seen as unforgiveable and against God's Word that only the Greedy Strong Rich will enter the Kingdom of Heaven! "Just too many people in a mindset that their benefits are to come directly from the government." Just too many people in a mindset that their benefits are to come directly from the government - by getting refunds of all their taxes... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Bobert Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:55 PM No, GUEST, things for just a few are "very good" here... Talk about home ownership, are you aware that the roeclousure rates are higher than anytime in the history of the United States??? Hmmmmm??? LIke I siad, not all that rosey for "most" of the folks but, hey, the rich ain't never had it so good... Especially those who own stocks in the companies that pay the most bribery money to the Republican led Congress.... Bobert |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: GUEST,Woody Date: 15 Jun 06 - 09:11 AM Gore's lobbyist contributors reap access http://graphics.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/Gore_s_lobbyist_contributors_reap_access+.shtml WASHINGTON - What's wrong with the government? It's in the vise-like grip of monied special interests and their influential lobbyists who corrupt decision-making, to hear some presidential candidates tell it. Vice President Al Gore, however, has largely abstained from joining that chorus. A closer look at Gore's political and personal retinue may help explain why: Many of the vice president's close friends, former aides, and senior campaign advisers work as lobbyists and strategists for corporate clients who often get access to the White House and Gore's office - and sometimes get profitable results from regulators who operate under Gore's oversight. Gore raised $28 million for his presidential campaign last year. That's less than half the $67 million that Texas Governor George W. Bush raised. But Gore, not Bush, is the favorite of Washington lobbyists. They gave Gore more than $600,000 in 1999, and their clients donated millions more to his campaign and the Democratic Party. To be sure, Washington lobbyists curry favor with both parties, more often to the benefit of Republicans. But Democrats close to Gore have carved out a special, growing niche: representing new-tech and high-tech firms whose prospects often depend on regulatory decisions. And on technology issues, Gore is the administration's gatekeeper. In two cases, major contributors, with help from lobbyists with close ties to Gore, walked off with windfall decisions from regulators. In 1997, Teligent Inc. was awarded additional microwave bandwidth that by some estimates was worth close to $1 billion. In 1998 and 1999, Teligent contributed more than $200,000 to Democratic Party committees, and officials of the company have raised tens of thousands of dollars for Gore's campaign. And then there's Network Solutions Inc., which had exclusive rights from the government to award Internet domain names. When other companies demanded that the monopoly be ended, the firm hired Gore's former domestic policy adviser, Greg Simon, as its lobbyist. In a decision worth untold millions to NSI, regulators initially opted for the status quo, leaving NSI in control of domain names. Even a decision last year to open the domain business to competition was shaped to preserve NSI's preeminence. There is no evidence that Gore himself was involved in either decision. But it is clear that the web of relationships among lobbyists, their clients, the White House and the Gore campaign is mutually beneficial: Friends of Gore are earning millions in fees to represent clients who want access to the White House, or to agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission, where Gore has a hand in appointments and policy. And critical to Gore's political success, these friends and their clients have raised millions of dollars for Gore's presidential campaign and Democratic Party committees. A spokesman for Gore, Chris Lehane, asserted yesterday that the vice president has never made a decision that was not based on the country's best interests. Sometimes, Lehane noted, Gore's decisions work against the interests represented by his friends. As for the substantial contributions from both Teligent and Network Solutions, Lehane said, ''Al Gore has more than 120,000 contributors, who are proud to support him because of his leadership.'' Gore's official actions and decisions do, as Lehane suggests, sometimes disappoint lobbyists who know him. But that would seem inevitable. On many telecommunications and technology issues nowadays, lobbyists who trace their political lineage to Gore's office can be found representing opposing sides. Lower-tech industries, some considered untouchable by some lobbyists, have also steered business to Gore's friends. Masterminding Gore's campaign strategy are a longtime friend, Carter Eskew, and a pollster, Harrison Hickman, who had pivotal roles crafting the tobacco industry's $40 million ad campaign against antitobacco legislation. Among Gore's largest campaign donors are Washington lobbying firms that earn millions representing tobacco interests and companies that have pollution issues before the Environmental Protection Agency. Lehane deflected questions about Eskew's tobacco industry work. ''Carter Eskew is now helping to promote the vice president's antitobacco agenda,'' he said, adding that Eskew is not unlike someone who played for the New York Yankees and then was traded to the Red Sox. ''Now, he's playing for the Red Sox,'' the spokesman said. Eskew and Hickman did not return telephone calls. The fact that money buys ''access'' in Washington is nothing new, though the system is now so awash in corporate donations that some candidates, and even some corporate leaders, are crying for change. Bush, for example, has raised millions of dollars from the industrial, professional, and corporate interests that are regulated by the Texas state government. Senator John McCain, who has elevated the campaign finance reform issue to first-rank status, seeks donations from industries he oversees as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and in one recent case interceded with regulators in a way that benefited a major contributor. And Gore himself has attacked former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley for acting in the Senate on behalf of home state pharmaceutical companies. ''Money follows power. When a company needs someone in a position of power to help them out, it's a very good time for them to take out the checkbook and make a political donation. That's the way Washington works,'' said Larry Makinson, executive director of the Committee for Responsive Politics, which maintains a Web site (www.opensecrets.org), where donations and lobbying revenues can be tracked and compared. The evident intersection between Gore's fund-raising, lobbying, and the companies queuing up to hire his friends is all the more surprising after the buffeting he took in the 1996 campaign fund-raising scandal. Back then, Gore was known as the ''solicitor in chief'' for his zealous pursuit of donations from special interest groups targeted by the Clinton-Gore reelection campaign. Along with Clinton, Gore hosted White House coffees that were followed by substantial contributions. He used his own office to solicit campaign donations. And for months, he maintained that he didn't know that an event he attended at a Buddhist temple in California was a fundraiser. Investigators later discovered that the event was used to move cash from Asia into the campaign. This time around, Gore's contributions are carefully vetted. Nonetheless, much of the money he has raised come from officers of companies whose interests coincide with Gore's areas of official responsibility. What's more, lobbying reports examined by the Globe show that Gore's office is often listed as a lobbying stop for Gore's friends, on issues that include telecommunications, computer technology, tax credits, biotechnology, drug company concerns, and environmental quality disputes. Since 1996, the television networks alone have spent several million dollars on lobbyists on issues like the ''V'' chip, which limits access to violent TV programming, with Gore's office getting much of the lobbying attention. Of the 19 companies whose executives have donated the most in individual contributions to Gore's campaign, seven are Washington lobbying firms. Moreover, lobbying and campaign finance records show that 15 of the 19 firms have also made unrestricted ''soft money'' contributions to Democratic Party committees during Clinton's second term of office. The total: $3,376,690. One highly successful lobbyist, Tony Podesta, even has a Web site that invites readers to conclude that he wields considerable influence at the White House - which friends say he does, sometimes aggressively and often effectively. On the site, Podesta's firm boasts how he ''gained the ear'' of the White House on a key tax issue and arranged meetings with Clinton for broadcast executives and sessions with ''key policy makers.'' The site also includes a trade publication news article describing Podesta's late-night role helping the White House plot anti-impeachment strategy. Podesta's brother, John, has been White House chief of staff since November 1998. Podesta.com, the company where John and Tony once toiled together, has 53 lobbying clients, and revenues of about $8 million last year, up from about $6 million in 1998. In an interview, Tony Podesta said he sometimes does not go near the White House for weeks at a time. But there have been times, he said, when he spends every day in a given week at the White House. But, he said, ''I've gotten no client into the White House who the White House didn't want there.'' And Podesta said he never contacts his brother on behalf of any client. ''It's not like we helped elect Bill Clinton and Al Gore and then hung out a shingle,'' Tony Podesta said. ''We started this business when George Bush was president, and we'll still be here if his son becomes president.'' Gore did not invent the Internet, as he once claimed. But the industries driving the new economy often treat him as if he had. And with good reason: No one in government, arguably not even President Clinton, has more influence than Gore over the direction of the technology revolution. And some of Gore's friends have his ear on those issues, even as they earn millions for advising companies eager to affect those decisions. For example, Roy Neel, a close friend and former chief of staff to Gore, is president of the US Telephone Association, which represents the interests of the Bell operating companies in Washington. In 1998, Neel was paid $1.2 million by USTA, according to a survey by the National Journal. USTA, in turn, retains another former chief of staff to Gore, Peter Knight, as its lobbyist, for $200,000 a year. Knight, who has long been Gore's most prodigious - and controversial - fund-raiser, is also Bell Atlantic's chief lobbyist, at another $280,000 a year. Two months ago, Knight took a leave from his lobbying firm as a way to mute criticism of his multiple roles. One member of a lobbying firm, speaking on condition that neither she nor her firm be identified, said she was troubled by overtures to potential high-technology clients. Often, she said, some of those with Gore connections present themselves as advisers to the president and vice president, note that they frequently attend White House meetings, and even say that they can get Gore to appear at client company events. Even if they cannot affect the outcome, she said, Gore's friends can claim access to inside information from the White House staff. ''That in itself is very valuable to clients,'' she said. Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project, a public interest law firm that specializes in technology issues, said he is troubled by what he calls the ''monetarization of politics,'' but said he sees no evidence that the outcome is tipped in cases involving Gore's friends. Part of the reason: Both sides in any major telecommunications dispute are often represented by lobbyists with ties to the vice president. ''They nullify each other,'' Schwartzman said. Gore, Schwartzman concluded, ''makes his own decisions. But the vice president wants to see his friends be successful and wealthy. And he wants them to contribute to his campaign.'' Two recent issues, perhaps more than any others, illustrate how easily political money fuels the perception that special interests exert undue influence on policy. The first involved the recent Clinton administration decision to reverse course and permit the export of high-end encryption technology. Initially, the White House had agreed with the Justice and Defense departments that US national security interests could be damaged by such exports. Jack Quinn, a former Gore chief of staff and Clinton legal counsel, was paid at least $680,000 by Americans for Computer Privacy, cobbled together to get the ban lifted. John Podesta, Clinton's chief of staff, said yesterday that Quinn's lobbying did not affect the decision. What turned the administration around, Podesta said, was a realization that technological breakthroughs had eclipsed longstanding policy. One industry official with intimate knowledge of the decision supported Podesta's explanation. But the official, who declined to be quoted by name but is sympathetic to Gore, said presidential campaign fund-raising loomed over the discussions of the case. The computer industry, the official explained, was united on the issue, at a time when Gore was competing mightily with Bush for Silicon Valley political contributions. To have the administration at odds with the industry on the issue, he said, could have transformed more of the high-tech world into Bush supporters. The other issue involved lobbyist Tom Downey, a onetime Democratic House colleague who is sometimes described as Gore's closest friend - and the only lobbyist who Lehane acknowledged has lobbied Gore personally on issues. Downey clients include the Merck drug company, which according to lobbying records gave Downey an unspecified number of stock options in 1993, the year that Gore took office as vice president. Starting late in 1996, Merck led a drug industry offensive designed to prevent South Africa from implementing legislation to acquire patented AIDS drugs at below-market cost for the 3.2 million South Africans who are HIV-positive. A day's dosage of the drug cocktail often costs more than a worker there makes in a week. Records show that Downey lobbied Gore's office and Podesta's firm lobbied the White House, State Department, and the US trade representative for the drug industry. The Clinton administration, where Gore heads a US-South Africa relations group, backed the drug companies, even imposing trade sanctions on the country, freezing any action for more than two years. A State Department memorandum, although noting that the United States understood the need for the medicine, declared: ''The US government nonetheless made clear that it will defend the legitimate interests and rights of US pharmaceutical firms.'' The drug firms have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into national Democratic campaign coffers since Clinton became president, noted James Love, the director of the Consumer Project on Technology, which has pressed the administration to take a humanitarian approach to the issue. Last fall, after US AIDS activists had embarrassed Gore several times by disrupting his campaign events over the issue, the White House altered course, negotiating a settlement that will allow South Africa to acquire the drugs at low cost. Yesterday, Gore spokesman Lehane cited the issue as one on which Gore took a position counter to the interests of a friend's corporate client. But Love said the lengthy delays prompted by the administration's support for the drug industry have had tragic consequences. ''It's morally repugnant to help campaign contributors in a situation like this,'' Love said. ''How else can you explain why the US would impede access to cheap medicine in Africa, which is in the midst of a health crisis of historic proportions? This is not something that makes you proud to be an American.'' Kathleen Hennrikus of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Walter Robinson's email address is w_robinson@globe.com. John Aloysius Farrell's email address is j_farrell@globe.com. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Donuel Date: 15 Jun 06 - 09:49 AM Hey does anyone have the picture I did of the Bush Memorial? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: Ebbie Date: 15 Jun 06 - 05:12 PM They say that before Bush's recent quick trip to Bagdhad, the only clue anyone was given that something unusual was up was that Bush said he was going to bed early so he could read. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Bush to Sell Lincoln Memorial???.... From: beardedbruce Date: 15 Jun 06 - 05:22 PM http://www.mac-sothis.com/scottish_laird/laird_lord_scotland.htm?gclid=CKHS_vedyYUCFRMnHgod2gYZrQ For those of us IN the US... |
