May 27
History shows that massacres like Haditha happen in every war. You're possibly thinking that's a trite statement to excuse it. Actually, I believe it makes it worse. Anybody who starts a war knows helpless people will be murdered, but they start them anyway. If you think this is leading to another attack on the chickenhawks who started the war, you're right, and if you're thinking this is piling on, tough. They people who made the war are as responsible as the marines who fired the shots, because they created the situation that made Haditha inevitable.
In case my mentions the last couple days of the relationship between Ken Lay and George Bush was new, I direct you to Democracy Now, which went in depth in the relationship in a recent program.
May 26
Remember when a better George refused to become king? This will remind you (the video is about one minute).
I wish it weren't so late last night or I'd have taken time to show how these scandals are connected, why it's a culture of corruption and not a few isolated incidents. Yesterday, Lay and Skilling were convicted for accounting fraud, meaning they lied about the money coming in and going out so investors would be deceived about Enron's real condition. The acting president waited too long to implement his new rule. BusinessWeek found buried in the Federal Register a little line where Bush gave Negroponte the authority to let corporations doing classified business with the government hide financial results. The article says it's based on changes to the securities laws of 1934, and it's authority every president has had since Carter. They know of no instances where this authority was either delegated or used. Think about this. If it's legal, why was it done so quietly? Why didn't Bush say he just made the schemes Enron pulled legal? We've seen a pattern where Bush gets caught doing something illegal --- torture, surveillance, detention without charge or trial --- and then claims it was perfectly legal. Apparently not legal enough to admit to before getting caught. So here they go again. My guess is that when we know more about the law under which Bush claims this authority, it will turn out he's breaking it. Thus are the corporate scandals now connected to abuse of power scandals.
May 25
What's the right word here? Hmmm. How about "Yow!" Or "Whoopee!" Just pick one, because the good guys won one today. The acting president's moneybag and culture of corruption posterboy, Ken Lay, was convicted on all six counts by the jury, and the judge found him guilty in a trial on separate charges. Jeffrey Skilling was convicted on 19 of 28 charges. Both could be in jail for decades. Like some people interviewed by the Houston Chronicle, though it was obvious they were two of the biggest crooks in the history of corporations, I feared the rich and powerful would again would escape justice. Though I haven't trusted Bush's Attorneys General (yes, I have the plural in the right place --- "general" means in general, not a rank) there are employees at the Justice Department doing their best, and I have to respect the prosecutors who went after someone so close to the acting president as the executives of Enron.
Though it won't break my heart if they spend life in prison, from a purely strategic point of view I hope their sentences are short enough to give them hope of getting out of jail. That's because I suspect they know plenty more. Lay especially was close to Bush. The better read among you may recall the charge that Lay was allowed to interview candidates for the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). I don't know if those charges were ever confirmed, but I'd sure like to see Lay asked under oath about that. Enron was behind the electrical fraud in California (at least we've heard precious little about electricity deregulation since then). Sure would be nice to see charges from that. Was there any understanding when Alberto Gonzales worked for Enron before getting a seat on the Texas Supreme Court and then ruled in cases involving his former employer? Basically, these guys must know where a bunch of the bodies are buried, and if they have realistic hope of getting out of jail for cooperating, maybe they'll spill. Or maybe they'll feel the pangs of conscience for all the people they've robbed and.... sorry, had a moment of silliness there. I just hope they get and take an offer of a short sentence in exchange for telling all they know about California, Gonzales, and of course Bush.
May 22
The Dead Polar Bear Award goes to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), or at least to anyone who believes their new commercials defending the victim of an environmentalist smear campaign, carbon dioxide. No, I'm not kidding. That's why I provided the link. If you believe this astroturf group (fake grassroots), global warming isn't real, but just an attempt to denigrate the reputation of that victim of a molecule. Carbon dioxide is our friend. Regardless of the quantity. So I guess go breathe deep of pure carbon CO2. What, that wouldn't be healthy? You mean you can have too much of a good thing? Yes, in excess man-made quantities, even a naturally occurring substance can be a pollutant. There might be a more scientific way to put that but common sense should suffice to make the point. For everyone who prefers to ignore almost every scientist on the planet because someone runs a commercial saying CO2 is life, here's your Dead Polar Bear Award. Put it on a high enough shelf that the water of melting ice caps can't reach it.




