Terry Jones (the Welsh Python) has a brilliant article in last Sunday’s Observer on the bellicose tendencies of our “President”. It’s a good read…
January 28, 2003
“I’m losing patience with my neighbours, Mr Bush”November 19, 2002
THE QUOTABLE AL
Recognize these quotes?
On “President” Bush:
“A few months after 9/11, he began to make some horrible decisions that are coming back to haunt us.”
On our economic outlook:
“Our Country is headed for very deep trouble. I wish it were not so, but I believe it with all my heart. I think that our economic plan has zero chance of working. I think it is wrong at it’s core.”
On the White House and the environment:
“The President’s determination to do absolutely nothing about global warming … is immoral.”
Who is this courageous national figure that dares to speak his mind, unshackled by the burdens of polls and legions of handlers?
None other than the self-described “man who used to be the next President of the United States”, winner of the 2000 Presidential election, and the person whom 61% of Democrats in a recent TIME/CNN survey said that they would like to see run for President in 2004.
If you would like to read and see more, check out Karen Tumulty’s profile of a newly energized Al Gore on TIME.COM at:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101021125-390894,00.html
November 16, 2002
OF COURSE, YOU REALIZE, THIS MEANS WAR
“These stupid peasants, who, throughout the world, hold potentates on their thrones, make statesmen illustrious, provide generals with lasting victories, all with ignorance, indifference, or half-witted hatred, moving the world with the strength of their arms, and getting their heads knocked together in the name of God, the king, or the stock exchange — immortal, dreaming, hopeless asses, who surrender their reason to the care of a shining puppet, and persuade some toy to carry their lives in his purse.” —Stephen Crane
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE “PRESIDENT” OF THE UNITED STATES
Congratulations. Once again, the chattering heads misunderestimated you. Your rout is complete. The conservative zealots control the White House, both Houses of Congress, the Supreme Court … and, of course, establishment media.
Enjoy this day, for your awakening is already due. Over the next two years, as you carry out your plan to rob the economy, suspend all civil liberties, alienate our allies, and preen upon the world stage like a hooker on ecstasy, your most reliable scapegoat has escaped into the wilderness. As this once great country crumbles in your trembling fist, it will suddenly dawn on you and your kind…
You can no longer blame Bill Clinton.
“When you are right, you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
You cowards. You have spent the past two years scrambling for all the same voters that the Republicans had already scared into voting for them. When “President” Bush stole the White House and immediately set about fulfilling his one and only campaign promise, his massive tax break for the wealthy, you enabled it. As our economy whiplashed from projected surpluses to colossal deficits, you merely clucked your tongues in mock recrimination. And when Bush pressed for Congressional approval of his strategy to invade Iraq and steal its oil, you put up token resistance, then caved in faster than a Pennsylvania mineshaft. Now take a look around you. Where are those Democrats who endorsed Bush’s saber rattling? Most of those that were seeking reelection are looking for new jobs right now.
Where were you when we needed you? What happened to “the good fight” defending civil liberties, open government, the environment, the economy, corporate accountability, separation of church and state, privatization of Social Security, or affordable health care?
“If we just go along with what the Republicans want,” you cry “maybe the voters will like us more.” Well, we don’t. We’re tired of your pandering to the narrow right and deserting your traditional base. You claim to be targeting the political center, but what you define to be the middle ground is so far off center that your leaders appear to the American public to be nothing more than recycled Republicans, reactionaries without the rhetoric.
Echoing the caution that I sent to the “President” above, I hope you recognize that you cannot blame this electoral repudiation on Ralph Nader. You lost this one on your own.
The results of this election have persuaded me to do something that goes against generations of family convention. I am leaving the Democrats and registering with the Green Party. Across the board, the positions that the Greens stand for — environmentalism, sustainability, non-violence, social justice — speak to the progressive principles that your “leaders” have abandoned. The Greens are the fastest growing political party in this country, each year they are getting more candidates elected, and all without corporate sponsorship.
I do not take this step lightly. I am hopeful that if you finally notice that your numbers are languishing, while alternative and progressive political parties like the Greens continue to grow, you will finally step away from trying to compete for the narrow right and return to your liberal roots. We would love to have you back.
“I’m not a member of any organized political party, I’m a Democrat.” — Will Rogers
AN OPEN LETTER TO DICK GEPHARDT, CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE FROM MISSOURI
A few months ago I received an impressive looking letter with the return address “Dick Gephardt, House Democratic Leader“. It certainly caught my attention. “More now than ever,” you wrote “it is important to return the House of Representatives to Democratic control.”
“We must protect Social Security, establish a Medicare prescription drug benefit, and promote fiscal responsibility,” you implored. “Join me in my campaign to Take Back the House!”
“Any amount you can send,” you assured “will be spent on grassroots efforts to get out the vote in important Democratic races.”
I was convinced. I sent your Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) a check and waited to hear more about these grassroots efforts. Thereafter, on a regular basis, I received more mailings and emails, most emblazoned with your ruddy, midwestern features, beseeching me to send more money.
I read all those messages, Dick — may I call you Dick? — hoping to hear more of your ideas on this crusade. Were you going to send me summaries of important Democratic principles with bullet points? “Get out the vote” kits that I could use to galvanize my precinct? Ideas on how to host a “Take Back the House” party in my neighborhood?
No. I received none of those. What I did receive were seemingly endless entreaties for more money, more money, more money…
I sent what I could afford, Dick. I bought into your pleas to restore sanity to our political process, and in return I stared in numb stupor at the November 2002 election results while your party lost nearly every single important race across the nation and helped hand unprecedented power to the conservative oligarchy now ruling all branches of our federal government. I did my best for you Dick, and would have done more, if only you had asked. Well, now I have something to ask of you.
I want my money back.
“A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.” — the immortal Dan Quayle
AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL THOSE WHO COULD HAVE VOTED, AND CHOSE NOT TO
Americans in the 21st century enjoy historic personal freedoms: we can assemble peaceably or loudly, we can write letters to the editor, display provocative bumper stickers, or keep personal weblogs J. We can move freely from state to state, change jobs, and marry across faiths. Our open democratic system is the envy of the world.
We wave our flags, yet we grouse about the responsibilities of citizenship,. We gripe about paying taxes, look for excuses not to serve on jury duty, break traffic laws every time we get behind the wheel, complain about “them politicians up in Washington” … and we don’t vote! I would say that we get the government we deserve, except I’m not sure we deserve any choice of government at all!
The reason why the Jackasses and the Elephants are so hard to tell apart is because both are competing for that same 30% of eligible voters who actually vote. It’s like the rats on a sinking ship all clawing for the same space on the mainmast. We say that we don’t like the influence of moneyed special interests in the election process, but almost inevitably, the candidate with the biggest campaign chest wins. We say we don’t like negative advertising, but it creates exactly the intended effect — those who are enraged by the message hysterically cast their vote, and those who are turned off by the negativity don’t bother to vote at all.
The reactionaries don’t want us to vote. Our apathy is what keeps them in power. I honestly believe that the basic progressive principles — affordable health and child care, early childhood intervention and education, increased access to higher learning, drug interdiction and rehabilitation, common sense gun laws, true equality of justice and opportunity, and a more open government — are ideals shared by a majority of the population. But we will never know until the majority rises up and engages its own leaders.
Vote, yes; take the time, take your children, take your neighbors. Also, vote intelligently. Familiarize yourself with the candidates and the issues, and make informed decisions. Many people are more familiar with sports scores and celebrity marriages than take the time to learn anything about their elected representatives.
Even if you don’t like the choices before you, vote. In this last election, the pantywaist Democrats in my state of Virginia couldn’t even bother to run any candidate against six-term Senator John Warner, senior Republican (and returning Chairman) of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The only opposing candidates were a LaRouchite and a Libertarian, so I used the write-in option (on our new electronic voting machines, thank you very much) to send my own message: “NO WAR IN IRAQ”. The same ballot provided candidates for other offices and issues I believed in, and I was able to use it as a legitimate form of political protest. That’s the American way.
“All politics are based on the indifference of the majority.” — James Reston
A final word: from the time I started this diatribe to the time I felt it was finally ready to post, the House Democrats have selected a new leader, Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, from the very district where I grew up. I like her. She’s smart, she’s liberal, and she’s a consensus builder. This is definitely a step in the correct direction for the Dems (I almost said “in the right direction”, but that might have inadvertently undercut my intended meaning).
I watched Al Gore on Letterman last night; he was funny, thoughtful, inspiring, and seemed very much like a man in control. In two years, I think he and Pelosi would make a wonderful team. I am encouraged, but I am also weary. More than ever before, we need passionate progressives willing to push our leaders to fight the good fight. Let’s all roll up our sleeves and get to work.
All Contents (except the stuff I stole) Copyright © 2002 S.M. McCord.
Redistribution allowed, provided you cite http://www.semitrue.com
July 10, 2002
BUSHENANIGANS; or, The Death of Irony
And so it came to pass…
• While his father was Vice-President to Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush owned an unsuccessful oil and gas exploration company called, apparently with a straight face, Bush Exploration. Although the company is not very successful in its search for oil, government tax breaks for the oil industry make it attractive to investors.
• In 1982, Bush sells 10% of his company to James Baker, later Secretary of State to Bush-the-elected, for $1 million. A contemporary report values the company’s actual worth at under $400,000.
• In 1984, Bush Exploration merged with Spectrum 7 Energy Corp., a modestly successful Midland, Texas oil company and Bush becomes President of the combined business.
• In 1986, Bush and partners sell the now failing Spectrum 7 to Harken Energy Corp for $2 million, despite the fact that Spectrum 7 had posted losses of $400,000 six months before the purchase and carried a debt of $3 million. (In The Buying of the President 2000, Harken?s founder says of the deal “His name was George Bush, that was worth the money they paid him.”) Bush nets more than 200,000 shares of Harken stock and is made a director and consultant to the company. Harken‘s CEO introduces George W. to fellow Texas oilman and entrepreneur David Halbert. Bush becomes an initial investor in Halbert’s fledgling home health-care firm, Allied Home Pharmacy.
• In 1989, Harken sells a subsidiary, Aloha Petroleum, to IMR for $12 million; $11 million of that is in the form of a promissory note by IMR. Harken records the transaction as a $12 million cash sale and declares a profit in its annual earnings.
• A few months later, in early 1990, IMR sells Aloha to Advance Petroleum Marketing for no profit. APM, headed by David Halbert, promises to pay the remaining $11 million back to Harken over three years.
• In June of 1990, Bush sells his Harken stock at $4 a share, mainly to pay off a $600,000 loan that he had acquired to buy a 2% interest in The Texas Rangers baseball team. The loan came from a Midland bank where Bush was once a director. He discloses the sale to the SEC 34 weeks late.
• In August of 1990, Iraq invades Kuwait, causing huge gasoline price increases that drive several small distributors out of business. Harken renegotiates its contract with APM, forgiving $6 million in loans and interest it had made to Aloha and allowing APM to purchase Harken‘s remaining $3 million shares of Aloha stock for $1. In return, APM agrees to pay off the $10 million loan in one year instead of three and to pick up the cost of fixing Aloha‘s leaking underground storage tanks. This write-off helps reduce Harken‘s bottom line.
• Harken files a second-quarter earning statement which reveals that, even before the sudden global decrease in oil distribution, the company had been hemorrhaging money for some time. Harken‘s outside accounting firm investigates the loss and, deciding that no company officer willfully filed fraudulent reports, advises Harken that they will not refer the matter to the SEC’s enforcement division. That outside accounting firm is Arthur Anderson LLP.
• Harken stock plunges to $2.37 a share amid reports of over $23 million in previously unreported losses. The SEC begins an investigation and discovers that IMR was actually an off-the-book partnership of Harken insiders and the purchase was made through a seller-financed loan. In short, Harken sold a portion of its company to itself and claimed an overall cash profit just in time for its 1989 end-of-year report. The SEC directs Harken to revise its 1989 balance sheet and add an additional $9 million to its net loss.
• The SEC investigates George W. Bush to determine if, as a member of Harken‘s Board of Directors, he could have been aware of these off-the-book partnerships and knew of the impending write-offs and loss statements before he sold his stock. In October of 1993, Bush is cleared of any wrongdoing.
• In 1998, while preparing to run for Governor, George W. is forced to sell his interest in The Texas Rangers. During that time, between sales-tax revenue, state tax exemptions and other financial incentives, Texas taxpayers had relinquished more than $200 million in public subsidies to the privately-owned Rangers. Bush’s profit on a $600,000 investment is $15 million.
• Similarly, through a blind trust, Bush must sell his interest in David Halbert’s home pharmacy company, now called AdvancedPCS. Thanks to government subsidization of private home healthcare companies, AdvancedPCS is on its way to becoming a multi-billion dollar business. Although Bush’s initial investment is not known, he declares a capital gain of up to $1 million on the sale of the stock. David Halbert is a leading contributor to Bush’s gubernatorial campaign.
• In February of 1999, after Congressional Republicans spend tens of millions of tax payer dollars investigating a decade-old Arkansas land deal in which the Clinton’s lost money, President Bill Clinton is cleared of all charges in his Senate impeachment hearings and goes on to complete his successful presidency overseeing the most economically prosperous period this country has seen in over a century.
• In 2000, George W. Bush becomes the Republican candidate for President on a platform of cutting taxes and advocating free market capitalism absent government interference. Bush loses the election and is sworn in as President in January of 2001.
• In June of 2002, portions of the 1992 SEC investigation of Harken are leaked to the press. Previously, Bush had blamed the eight-month delay between his actual sale of Harken stock and the disclosure of the transaction on SEC regulators, claiming that they had lost the disclosure statement. Faced with leaked information disproving that claim, the White House recants and shifts blame for the delay to Harken company lawyers. Bush, who holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Business School, admits “I still haven’t figured it out completely.”
• Congressional Democrats call for the release of the full 1992 SEC investigation of Bush and Harken. Bush refuses to release the full report, declaring “You’ve seen the relevant documents.”
• In July of 2002, after a series of commercial scandals reveal a corporate culture that routinely disguises losses as profits and enables top-level executives to cash out on high-flying investments before their value plummets, leaving employees and common stock-holders with virtually worthless stocks, George W. Bush — often referred to as the first “CEO President” of the return-for-your-investment White House — appears before a select crowd in a Wall Street hotel ballroom and vows that his administration would “end the days of cooking the books, shading the truth and breaking our laws,” and asks for “a new ethic of personal responsibility in the business community.”
Irony is now officially dead.
(Details for this timeline were gathered from many media sources, including current and contemporary reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post. However, most of this data was gleaned from The Public i, the website of The Center for Public Integrity, particularly the article Bush’s Insider Connections Preceded Huge Profit On Stock Deal by Knut Royce. Seriously, they did the real work, I just stitched it together. I blame any factual errors on the company lawyers.)