posted on January 2, 2002 10:03:19 PM new
We can only hope.
I am interested to see how this plays out. Especially in this climate where Bush can do no wrong. Should make Clintons little "escapade" look minor by comparison. Looks to me like the Bush family has been involved in one way or another with ripping off the American public, financialy, for some time. Can you say Savings and Loan?
posted on January 3, 2002 08:36:35 PM new
Appointee: Thomas E. White
Title: Secretary of the Army
Department: Defense
Relationship: Former
Vice-Chairman of Enron Energy
Service; Enron Corp-common stock
worth $25,000,001-50,000,000
that paid over $5,000,000 in
dividends and capital gains; Enron
Corp-stock options worth
$25,000,001-50,000,000 that
paid $100,001-1,000,000 in
capital gains; Enron Corp Cash
Balance Retirement Acct (Enron
Stock will rollover into permissible
property) worth
$100,001-250,000 that paid less
than $201 in dividends; Enron
Corp-DLJ Private Equity Partners
Fund II that paid $5,516,131.08 in
salary; Enron Employee Stock
Ownership Plan, Defined
Contribution Plan Managed by
Enron worth
$1,000,001-5,000,000 that paid
less than $201 dividends; Enron
Phantom Stock Award worth
$5,000,000-25,000,000 that paid
less than $201 dividends; Enron
Retirement Account (Enron Stock)
worth less than $1,001 that paid
less than $201 dividends;
Agreements: Pursuant to
provisions of employment
agreement and routine practice of
Enron Corp, given $1,000,000 in
severance pay; The Phantom Stock
Award in Enron (approximately
240,000 shares) were accelerated
and paid out when he left Enron
Appointee: Vicky A. Bailey
Title: Assistant Secretary,
International Affairs & Domestic
Policy
Department: State
Relationship: Enron stock
$1,001-$15,000
Appointee: Alexander Vershbow
Title: Ambassador to Russia
Department: State
Relationship: Enron stock
$50,001-$100,000 value,
$201-1,000 dividends
Appointee: Marcelle M. Wahba
Title: Ambassador to the UAE
Department: State
Relationship: Enron stock
$1,001-$15,000
Appointee: Steven M. Colloton
Title: US Attorney (S.D. Iowa)
Department: Justice
Relationship: Enron stock
$1,001-$15,000
Appointee: Richard J. Egan
Title: Ambassador to Ireland
Department: State
Relationship: Enron Partial Sale
Value: $250,000-500,000
Dividends: $5,001-15,000
Capital Gains:
$100,001-1,000,000
Enron Corporation (SOLD)
Value: Less than $1,001
Dividends: $201-1,000
Egan's spouse: The following is
owned through his wife's Lawhill
Capital fund for the year 2000:
Enron Gas & Oil
15,679 US G/L
Enron Corp.
Lost 12,429 US G/L
Appointee: Donald W.
Washington
Title: US Attorney (W.D. Louisiana)
Department: Justice
Relationship: Enron stock
$1,001-$15,000
Appointee: John Prince
Title: Ambassador to Mauritius,
Comoros, Seychelles
Department: State
Relationship: Enron stock through
four direct/indirect sources: (1)
less than $1,000; (2)
$15,001-$50,000; (3)
$1,001-$15,000; (4)
$15,001-$50,000.
Appointee: William Schubert
Title: Administrator, Maritime
Administration
Department: Transportation
Relationship: Project Consulting
Services for Enron, paid over
$5,000
Appointee: Bruce Carnes
Title: CFO
Department: US Dept of Energy
Relationship: Enron Stock $1,000 -
$15,000
Appointee: John S. Wolf
Title: Assistant Secretary for
Nonproliferation
Department: Dept of State
Relationship: Enron Stock $50,000
- $100,000
Appointee: Linnet Deily
Title: Deputy
Department: Office of the Trade
Representative
Relationship: Enron Stock $15,000
- $50,000
Appointee: Nils J. Diaz
Title: Commissioner
Department: US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
Relationship: Enron Stock $1,000 -
$15,000
Appointee: George L. Argyros
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the United
States of America to Spain and
Andorra
Department: State
Relationship: Enron Stock
$100,000 - $250,000; $1,000 -
$15,000
Appointee: Charlotte L. Beers
(Beadleston - married name)
Title: Under Secretary of State for
Public Diplomacy
Department: State
Relationship: Enron Stock
$100,000 - $250,000
Appointee: Stephen F. Brauer
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the United
States of America to Belgium
Department: State
Relationship: Enron Common Stock
$50,000 - $100,000
Maybe reporters covering the relevant
departments should ask some questions.
posted on January 3, 2002 09:38:07 PM new
Oh, Hell! CLINTON got a B-L-O-W J-O-B and that's unforgiveable because its so immoral! But Bush and his administration stealing BILLIONS UPON BILLIONS of TAXPAYER DOLLARS $$$ is OK!! with the American People! You can put American Workers out of work AND IT'S THE WORKER'S FAULT!!! They get paid too damned much and have the nerve to have had BENEFITS which STOLE MONEY from the coorporate owners! Just because Bill Gates got such a good deal on the last Justice Department offer that it not only was better than the previous offer, but it acutallly gave NEW POWERS to Monopolize! But THAT's NOTHING compared to a B-L-O-W J-O-B!
Stupid Americans!!!
What we need is a real D-Day, everyday, kinda war where the bodybags pile up and the eyeless, legless, armless become the majority population. Only THEN will Americans get their head out of their collective rears and PAY ATTENTION to what really goes on in Washington and DO something about it!
posted on January 3, 2002 10:11:27 PM new
op-ed 12-12-2001;
WASHINGTON (Tribune Media Services) -- Something smells rotten in
Houston. Energy giant Enron, which used to brag about becoming the world's
biggest company, now holds the record for the country's biggest ever
bankruptcy filing.
The human impact is staggering. Some 4500 employees are out of work. Tens of
thousands of investors watched their Enron stock sink suddenly from $83 per
share to 26 cents, wiping out $60 billion of stockholder value. And those 11,000
employees whose 401K funds were invested exclusively in Enron -- and who were
forbidden by Enron's own rules from diversifying -- today have no retirement plan
at all.
But Enron may be more than the world's biggest corporate disaster. It could also be
the world's biggest case of corporate criminality.
Enron's demise wasn't due to business factors like strong competition, a shrinking
market or a lagging economy. It was due to deceitful, and perhaps illegal, games
played by corporate executives: diverting funds into secret partnerships, cooking
the books to keep those deals secret, lying to investors and employees about the
financial health of the company, while selling their own stock to make sure they
wouldn't be hurt when the whole house of cards collapsed.
Unlike thousands of employees, for example, Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay isn't
crying the blues. He cashed out on $123 million worth of stock options in 2000
alone, and this year pocketed another $25 million.
Even as the company started falling apart, other executives were rewarded. Just
days before filing for bankruptcy, Enron handed $55 million out to some 500 senior
officials: an average $110,000 bonus for screwing up.
Yes, something smells rotten in Houston. But something smells rotten in
Washington, too -- because both the rise and fall of Enron are closely linked to the
political fortunes of George W. Bush.
For years, Ken Lay and George Bush have been joined at the hip, two free-wheeling
Texas buddies. On e helped the other succeed in "bidness;" the other helped his pal
make it big in politics.
Consider the Bush-Enron connections. Enron could never have happened anywhere
but Texas. It was only able to grow so big, so fast, because of the deregulation of
energy companies instituted by then-Gov. George W. Bush.
And Ken Lay rewarded his friend. He and Enron together were Bush's biggest
contributor, giving $2 million to his campaigns for governor and president. Lay also
loaned Bush his corporate jet. In 2000, Lay sent a memo to company employees,
suggesting that they contribute personal funds to Bush through the company's
political action committee: $500 for low-level managers; $5000 for senior
executives.
Once in the White House, Bush responded generously.
Ken Lay was the only energy executive to meet privately with Vice President Dick
Cheney to help shape the administration's new energy policy -- which included a
recommendation to break up monopoly control of electricity transmission
networks, a longtime Enron goal.
For a while, Bush even considered naming Lay his Commerce Secretary.
Fortuitously, that appointment never happened. But he did surround himself with
Enron partisans. Lawrence B. Lindsey, Bush's top economic adviser, was an Enron
consultant.
Robert Zoellick, U.S. Trade Representative, served on Enron's advisory council. I.
Lewis Libby, Cheney's Chief of Staff, was a major Enron stockholder. Thomas
White, Secretary of the Army, was an Enron executive for over 10 years and held
millions of dollars in stocks and options when appointed.
Karl Rove, chief White House political adviser, owned between $100,000 and
$250,000 worth of Enron stock when he met with Ken Lay in the White House to
discuss Enron's problems with federal regulators. And, until he was named
Republican National Chairman last week, Marc Racicot was Enron's Washington
lobbyist.
No wonder the Bush White House refused to help California solve its energy crisis
last Spring. California's problems were caused by Enron's suddenly inflating the
price of electricity, forcing blackouts throughout the state. But Bush refused to
intervene to help consumers. He wouldn't do anything to hurt his pal's big business.
[b]Indeed, the Bush-Enron connections are so close, it's hard to tell whether Enron is the house that Bush built or Bush is the house that Enron built. We know George Bush and friends were major players in Enron's corporate success. Were they also
major facilitators of Enron's corporate wrongdoing?[/b]
Either way -- and war or no war -- the whole mess demands a congressional
investigation.
If Congress and Ken Starr could spend two years investigating a 20-year old
$100,000 real estate investment in Arkansas, they can and must examine a
multi-billion dollar energy scam in Texas, where millions lost their shirts.
posted on January 9, 2002 02:16:54 AM new
"Texas Sen. Phil Gramm announced his retirement earlier this year and everybody said nice things, especially about the
fact that he was walking away from his Senate seat while still in his prime. Now congressional committees investigating
Enron’s collapse are wondering whether his decision to leave the Senate had anything to do with potential conflicts of
interest. Gramm’s wife, Wendy, was on Enron’s board of directors while her husband chaired the Senate Banking
Committee, whose oversight responsibilities should have caught Enron’s troubles."
posted on January 9, 2002 01:10:30 PM new
It was on the front of my paper about Cheney meeting with enron days before they went bankrupt. It said henry waxman is investigating the matter. It was also on the news, and on yahoo's front page under news. Could this be Enrongate?
posted on January 9, 2002 02:10:00 PM new
Now, now, Cheney swears they didn't talk about Enron's financial status in that meeting. Of course, he refuses to say what they did talk about.
posted on January 9, 2002 06:33:14 PM new
Is it just me, or is the mainstream media hardly covering this debacle? I watch plenty of news, but all I get are small blurbs, here and there...since way back before Enron filed for bankruptcy. All those investigative "journalists" who spent hours upon hours reporting on Clinton's blow jobs and Monica's blue Gap dress...where'd they go?
Thousands of people unemployed, their savings and hard work wiped out, while Lay and his cronies, including Bush, slither off. All I get are carefully worded reports and meek democrats who appear afraid to step on anyone's toes. Where the f*ck is the outrage?
posted on January 9, 2002 06:52:10 PM new
That's exactly what I can't understand...Where is the outrage?
I just read a news story asking the same question...
"A few journalists - admittedly, very few - are asking why their colleagues are giving George W. Bush a "free ride" on the Enron Corp. scandal.
If this were Bill Clinton, after all, there would be front-page stories, nasty editorials, ranting columnists and a congressional investigation or two. There'd even be a couple of "outraged" congressmen suggesting impeachment's not far off. "
posted on January 9, 2002 07:25:22 PM new
Most of the info I've seen on Enron has been limited to the business pages. Beats me why it isn't front page news.
posted on January 9, 2002 08:02:42 PM new
Well, I know my Congresswoman is getting tired of getting letters and emails from me. I hope you are all writing to your representatives too.
Yes, war as a diversion. Today it's the militarty plane that crashed. There always seems to be some war news that saves Bushs' butt from being the evil doer.
posted on January 9, 2002 08:45:01 PM new
The 'administration' has cowed the media from day one by threatening to deny access to any who publish either against administration wishes and casting a bad light on the bush machine or by publishing information that is highly critical odf the aministration. Early on they kicked selected media out of press meetings and even deny them copies of the official line. They actually had some press credentialed reporters physically removed from press conferences. This has a devastating financial effect on those who's direct lines are cut. They can't get news, or even approved releases firsthand and so can't publish competitively with those who do get such feeds. By axeing a few, they effectively shut up the rest by the clear threat of being axed. It has to be a planned end run around the rights of the press, and it's worked for them.
posted on January 10, 2002 07:14:20 AM new
"And legions of U.S. stock analysts were only too happy to tout Enron. They must have been solidly asleep all along. It should
have been a warning to U.S. mutual fund owners that, in some cases, the analysts pushing Enron's stocks were the same
guys who had promoted Russian energy companies just before the Russian stock market bubble burst in August 1998.
[b]But the potentially most corrosive aspect of the Enron scandal lies in the political realm. Russian energy companies have been
able to fool investors largely because they were protected by powerful political connections[/b].
(Viktor Chernomyrdin, the long-serving Prime Minister in Boris Yelstin's government, had previously been the head of Gazprom. He is rumored to have become Russia's first
billionaire as a result of that connection.)
Political protection for the worst offenders
Hence, it proved very difficult to sue any of the Russian investors in court. Even if investors win a decision, it's pretty much impossible to enforce it. Indeed, Russian
regulators are too weak to go after them.
Enron seemed to have banked on a similar formula for success. Its Chairman and CEO, Kenneth Lay, has close personal and business
ties to the Bush family. As one of the largest and earliest contributors to George W. Bush's presidential campaign, he "earned"
the title of a "pioneer" — as one of those contributors whose contribution to the President's campaign war chest exceeded
$100,000.
While Mr. Lay himself was considered a candidate for Energy Secretary, other former Enron executives figure prominently in the Bush administration. At the Pentagon,
Thomas E. White serves as the Secretary of the Army. Previously, he was Vice Chairman of Enron Energy Services."
posted on January 10, 2002 10:36:01 AM new
We all are aware of why there is little negative coverage of Bush, Republicans, the government in general, or any scandals that could affect the GOP's chance of Winning Big again in the next elextion: the media is all bought out! You know it, I know it, and the rest of America knows it. The problem is that most people are too ignorant of their rights and civic responsibilities to do anything about it. Charging up against the Corporate Fascism that is currently running our governement is no more of a challenge than revolutionaries going up against the British or the impoverished in France going up against the all-powerful monarchy. What it took was being ARMED. No revolution gets anywhere without secret chaches of arms and munnitions - just having bodies isn't nearly enough. And now that the American Secret Police: the OHS has announced their plan to put a state-of-the-art ID tracking chip in everyone's Driver's Licene or ID card, it won't be long before George Orwell will be seen as the Oracle of the Twentith Century.
posted on January 10, 2002 11:41:23 AM new
Borillar, when you say that the media is all bought out, I assume you're talking about the corporations that own news networks and not the reporters themselves. Having recently spent an evening with people who work with a variety of news organizations, I'd say my acquaintances were too liberal to be bought by Bush & co. Some of these people had worked on Clinton's campaign.
I've had stories killed in the past. It happens all the time.
posted on January 10, 2002 01:37:40 PM new
There are some other reasons that some outlets aren't reporting it.
CNBC has given the story little air time. Why ? Because the economy can only handle so much bad news at a time.
Our political system was one of the last pillars holding, besides consumer spending. One Nobel prize winning economist has said we are in for the worst recession since WWII.
It seems that the business outlets are looking for any positive news they can find and somewhat ignoring anything that might lead to an independent investigator and its problems for the Bush administration.
What is to come may very well require a very strong executive branch.
Pay close attention to the mid-terms. A shift to the Dems will mean an in-depth investigation.
However, international events, such as India and Pakistan brinking on war, the rumor that Iran is now allowing al Qaeda leaders to hide in their country, and Palestinian groups announcing today that they will no longer honor Arafat's order to cease attacks on Israel, will make a difference on what happens politically and economically here in the U.S.. Underlying these challenges, we have the possibility of Argentina's instability spreading through South America. It was reported that there are Argentinians lining up at Consulates for paperwork to leave the country.
Add to this domestic economic and political tribulations and you have a very volitile mixture for some earth shaking events.
How all these things are managed, and by whom, will make a great difference in outcomes.
Whoever is in the Whitehouse must have the support of the American people in carrying out the right decisions. The present occupant is seeing an erosion of that support.
Finally, a reporter had the temerity to question Bush on Friday regarding the ignominious collapse of Enron Corp. run by Kenneth L. Lay, a Bush family intimate and top campaign contributor. Bush expressed concern "for the citizens of Houston who worked for Enron who lost life savings" and added: "It's very important for us to fully understand the 'whys' of Enron."
posted on January 10, 2002 02:20:02 PM new
Isn't this interesting...
Ashcroft Recuses Himself From Enron Case
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department, which is investigating Enron Corp., said Thursday that Attorney General John Ashcroft has removed himself from the case after receiving campaign contributions from the fallen energy giant.
Enron and its employees contributed $57,499 to campaign committees for Ashcroft, previously a Republican senator from Missouri, in 1999-2000, according to Holly Bailey, researcher for the Center for Responsive Politics.
This included a $25,000 donation from Enron chief Kenneth Lay, she said. Most of the rest of the money came from the corporation, although there were small amounts from other employees.
Ashcroft took the action the same day U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat from California, sent him a letter saying Enron had been one of Ashcroft's largest contributors.
``The amount of Lay's contribution was many times greater than the maximum allowable contribution by individuals to federal candidates, which is just $2,000, and it appears to have been given in a manner that many campaign finance experts believe thwarted the intent of election laws,'' Waxman said.
The Justice Department said in a three-sentence statement, ''The attorney general has not been involved in any aspect of initiating or conducting any investigation involving Enron.'' The Justice Department, which confirmed the Enron investigation late Wednesday, said ``any and all responsibilities'' that would be handled by Ashcroft in the case would be handled instead by Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson.
Once the world's largest energy trader, Enron slid in mere weeks last year from Wall Street stardom to the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history on Dec. 2.
Enron was a major contributor to the election campaign of President Bush, as well as many other lawmakers, including Ashcroft. The once politically powerful company also advised the Bush administration on energy policy.
The Houston, Texas-based company, once ranked No. 7 on the Fortune 500 list of large corporations, is also being investigated by five congressional committees, the market-regulating Securities and Exchange Commission and the Labor Department.
ASHCROFT ACTED FOR 'SAKE OF APPEARANCE'
A Justice Department official said Ashcroft removed himself from the case ``for the sake of appearance.'' The official said government career ethics officers had ``looked at'' Ashcroft's situation.
Also removing himself from the case was Ashcroft's chief of staff, David Ayers. He previously worked with Ashcroft in Congress.
``After review of the relevant facts and law, the attorney general and his chief of staff, David Ayres, have recused themselves in all matters arising out of allegations of misconduct by Enron Corp. due to the totality of the circumstances of the relationship between Enron and the attorney general,'' the department said.
The official said Ashcroft and Ayres were the only Justice Department officials to remove themselves so far, but that the U.S. attorney's office in Houston was expected to issue a statement later Thursday.
The Justice Department is setting up a task force to handle the Enron investigation. It is expected to include federal prosecutors from Houston, New York and San Francisco, and members of the Justice Department's fraud section.
Robert Bennett, a lawyer representing Enron, has said, ``To my knowledge there's no evidence of wrongdoing yet. You have a business failure and you have a lot of allegations. But allegations are not the same as evidence.''
posted on January 10, 2002 06:00:29 PM new
"WASHINGTON (AP) - The firm that audited the books of collapsed Enron Corp., Arthur Andersen LLP, disclosed Thursday that its employees had destroyed a ``significant'' number of documents related to Enron. Andersen said it didn't know whether its directive to preserve documents demanded by government investigators was violated."
posted on January 10, 2002 08:35:40 PM new
Saabsister: What reporters? The few reporters left on any network or mass media outlet that have any left leanings are mere tokens. The rest no longeer are employed and even CNN makes the occasional anti-Bush comment only because they are trying to look like they are not a governemnt mouthpiece. Where is FoxNews-like network that instead rants 24 hours a day against the Republicans and George Bush? Where are the calls for Impeachment in the press? $$$$ is the answer and those lefties who are still around had beeter hold onto their jobs, because it's gonna get a *LOT* more far to the right before it comes back towards the center again!
posted on January 11, 2002 06:12:12 AM new
``It is now clear the White House had knowledge that Enron was likely to collapse but did nothing to try to protect innocent employees and shareholders who ultimately lost their life savings,'' said Rep. Henry
Waxman (news), D-Calif.
Firing back, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) urged Democrats to avoid ``partisan witch hunts, endless investigations or fishing expeditions.'' Democrats hope to make a political issue out of the administration's many ties to Enron.
(errrr, did I hear that right, Ari?)
The bankruptcy has forced White House officials to face questions once posed to the scandal-tainted Clinton White House.
posted on January 11, 2002 06:30:16 AM new
Borillar, at my age (50s) most of my friends and acquaintances in the news biz are in management. Note that I did not say they are owners. Some of these folks work for the large commercial stations and some for public broadcasting. Generally, everyone is comfortable financially but still leans to the left. However, they're not naive. I don't think you were posting around 9-11, but you can see the type of reception that those of us who don't follow Bush's line received. These responses to our posts came from fellow posters. Now assume that stations and their advertisers got the same responses if they said anything negative about Bush. You can see where commercial stations are thinking of the bottom line. As soon as Enron investigations take off (and I think they will - too much has been brought out to ignore) these same stations will probably jump on the bandwagon.
I know how you feel about Fox. I only watch it for "The Simpsons". I don't bother to get my news from the top commercial stations either. I'm afraid that a lot of the blame rests squarely with the American public - for not demanding more information, for willingly going along whether out of fear, conservatism,patriotism(?), etc. I have a few states I admire for their politics - Oregon and Washington being two of them. Unfortunately, my husband can't stand overcast,rainy weather and the coastal areas are what I prefer. Hats off to you guys - keep up the good work.
"If Bush keeps it up he will be remembered as another Herbert Hoover, a president who let the unemployment lines grow while the government went broke catering to the wealthy."
posted on January 13, 2002 11:32:44 PM new
President Bush (news - web sites) has received more money from Enron, its employees and their relatives over his political career than from any
other source. The contributions supported Bush's unsuccessful House campaign in 1978, his two campaigns for Texas governor, renovation of his
governor's office, last year's presidential race, his inaugurations and his presidential recount fund.
Among the contributions:
- Texas governor's races: at least $312,500, including $122,500 from Enron CEO Kenneth Lay and his wife, Linda Lay; at least $160,000 from
other Enron employees and their relatives; at least $30,000 from Enron political action committee.
- 2000 presidential campaign: at least $113,800 from Enron's PAC, its employees and their relatives, including $2,000 each from Kenneth and
Linda Lay.
Kenneth Lay also raised at least $100,000 for the campaign as a member of the Bush ``Pioneers.''
- Presidential inaugural gala: $100,000 from Enron; $100,000 from Kenneth and Linda Lay; $100,000 from then-Enron President Jeffrey Skilling.
- Bush presidential recount: $5,000 each from Kenneth and Linda Lay; $500 from Enron employee Hal Elrod.
Sources: Center for Public Integrity; Center for Responsive Politics; Texans for Public Justice.
posted on January 14, 2002 05:49:48 AM new
I live in an area that is pretty thick with ex Enron employees. One couple in our circle of friends both worked for them. They lost a bundle and are having to sell just about everything. There are tons of homes on the market right now which is very odd for January. They are way below market value just because the people need out. Most of these homes are owned by ex Enron employees. This whole thing just reeks. When you have friends and neighbors being affected it really makes your eyes open.
