Wednesday, December 19, 2007 by The American Prospect | The Conservative Origins of the Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis | Everything you ever wanted to know about the mortgage meltdown but were afraid to ask. | by John Atlas and Peter Dreier
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Make no mistake — it is a crisis. Since 1998, more than 7 million borrowers bought homes with sub-prime loans. One million of those homeowners have already defaulted on their loans. The crisis is likely to get worse. Financial analysts predict that at least a quarter of these people — over 2 million families — will default and face the financial pain and psychological grief of losing their homes over the next few years.
Bush, who once touted his administration’s goal as creating an “ownership society,” may now go down in history as the president on whose watch ownership declined. The nation’s homeownership rate has fallen during the last two years and will plummet further next year. Moreover, Bush’s unwillingness to take bold steps to regulate lenders, brokers, and investors will guarantee that the next president will inherit a much bigger mortgage mess.
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Mortgage brokers, the street hustlers of the lending world, often used mail solicitations and ads that shouted, “Bad Credit? No Problem!” “Zero Percent Down Payment!” to find people who were closed out of homeownership, or homeowners who could be talked into refinancing. They seduced millions of people into signing on the dotted line. Although sub-prime lending has been concentrated in minority and low-income urban areas, it has spread to the middle-class suburbs.
The sub-prime lenders didn’t hold on to these loans. Instead, they sold them — and the risk — to investment banks and investors who considered these high interest rate, sub-prime loans a goldmine. By 2007, the sub-prime business had become a $1.5 trillion global market for investors seeking high returns.
The whole scheme worked as long as borrowers made their monthly mortgage payments. When borrowers couldn’t or wouldn’t keep up the payments on these high-interest loans, what looked like a bonanza for everyone turned into a national foreclosure crisis and an international credit crisis. For millions of families, the American Dream of homeownership has become a nightmare.
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The executives and officers of some mortgage finance companies cashed out before the market crashed. The poster boy is Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide Financial, the largest sub-prime lender. He made more than $270 million in profits selling stocks and options from 2004 to the beginning of 2007. And the three founders of New Century Financial, the second largest sub-prime lender, together realized $40 million in stock-sale profits between 2004 and 2006. Paul Krugman reported in The New York Times that last year the chief executives of Merrill-Lynch and Citigroup were paid $48 million and $25.6 million, respectively.
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Predatory loans sometimes involve a conspiracy between loan agents and unscrupulous home-improvement contractors, as well as appraisers who inflate the value of a house so that families will borrow more than the houses are really worth. Predatory mortgages often include last-minute, hidden second mortgages. Using bait-and-switch tactics, predatory lenders tout low interest rates in ads targeting the elderly and residents of low-income, working-class, and minority neighborhoods, without explaining the actual interest rates or that adjustable-rate mortgages mean that the rates will increase.
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And It All Started with Deregulation
There was a time, not too long ago, when Washington did regulate banks. The Depression triggered the creation of government bank regulations and agencies ...
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In 2000, Edward M. Gramlich, a Federal Reserve Board member, repeatedly warned about sub-prime mortgages and predatory lending, which he said “jeopardize the twin American dreams of owning a home and building wealth.” He tried to get chairman Alan Greenspan to crack down on irrational sub-prime lending by increasing oversight, but his warnings fell on deaf ears, including those in Congress.
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Those who profited handsomely from the sub-prime market and predatory lending, the mortgage bankers and brokers, are working overtime to protect their profits by lobbying in state capitals and in Washington, DC to keep government off their backs. The banking industry, of course, has repeatedly warned that any restrictions on their behavior will close needy people out of the home-buying market. Its lobbyists insisted that the Bush plan be completely voluntary.
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And wouldn’t it be nice to hear the next president tell the American people that, “the era of unregulated so-called free-market banking greed and sleaze is over”?
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Former Chief Will Forfeit $418 Million ... first time regulators ... force executives to disgorge ill-gotten gains
Former Chief Will Forfeit $418 Million | By ERIC DASH | Published: December 7, 2007
In one of the largest corporate pay give-backs ever, William W. McGuire, the former chief executive of UnitedHealth Group, has agreed to forfeit at least $418 million to settle claims related to back-dated stock options.
The payback is on top of roughly $198 million that Mr. McGuire, an entrepreneur who built UnitedHealth, had previously agreed to return to his former employer.
The total — $618 million — includes money that Mr. McGuire will return as part of separate settlements reached yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission and UnitedHealth shareholders. The forfeitures are the first time regulators have successfully employed corporate governance rules put in place after the collapse of Enron that force executives to disgorge ill-gotten gains. ...
In one of the largest corporate pay give-backs ever, William W. McGuire, the former chief executive of UnitedHealth Group, has agreed to forfeit at least $418 million to settle claims related to back-dated stock options.
The payback is on top of roughly $198 million that Mr. McGuire, an entrepreneur who built UnitedHealth, had previously agreed to return to his former employer.
The total — $618 million — includes money that Mr. McGuire will return as part of separate settlements reached yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission and UnitedHealth shareholders. The forfeitures are the first time regulators have successfully employed corporate governance rules put in place after the collapse of Enron that force executives to disgorge ill-gotten gains. ...
State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard ...decided to resign ... scrutiny for brother's Blackwater role ...
Official in Blackwater probe quits http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0732452720071207| Fri Dec 7, 2007 2:27pm EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard, under scrutiny for his brother's link to the Blackwater security firm, has decided to resign, U.S. officials said on Friday.
Krongard, the State Department's top investigator, has been accused by current and former subordinates of thwarting probes into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, including alleged arms smuggling by Blackwater.
"We thank him for his dedication to public service and wish him well in the future," State Department spokesman Gonzo Gallegos said. ...
Krongard last month recused himself from Blackwater oversight after saying in a congressional hearing that his brother A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, a former executive director of the CIA, had attended a meeting of Blackwater's advisory board. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard, under scrutiny for his brother's link to the Blackwater security firm, has decided to resign, U.S. officials said on Friday.
Krongard, the State Department's top investigator, has been accused by current and former subordinates of thwarting probes into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, including alleged arms smuggling by Blackwater.
"We thank him for his dedication to public service and wish him well in the future," State Department spokesman Gonzo Gallegos said. ...
Krongard last month recused himself from Blackwater oversight after saying in a congressional hearing that his brother A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, a former executive director of the CIA, had attended a meeting of Blackwater's advisory board. ...
Monday, December 03, 2007
FDA so underfunded, consumers are put at risk
Report: FDA so underfunded, consumers are put at risk | Updated 21h 11m ago | By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
The Food and Drug Administration is so underfunded and understaffed that it's putting U.S. consumers at risk in terms of food and drug safety, an advisory panel to the FDA says in a report to be discussed Monday.
The report — developed in the past year by experts from academia, industry and other government agencies — delivers a scathing review of the state of the FDA, which regulates 80% of the nation's food, its drugs, vaccines and medical devices.
The report details a "plethora of inadequacies" in the agency, including:
•Inadequate inspections of manufacturers, noting that foodmakers, for example, are inspected about once every 10 years.
•A "badly broken" food-import system and food supply "that grows riskier each year." In the past 35 years, FDA inspections of the food supply have dropped 78% due to soaring numbers of products and inadequate FDA funding.
..
William Hubbard, a former FDA associate commissioner who supports the Coalition for a Stronger FDA, says the report stands out because of the "intensity of the feelings" expressed by the subcommittee.
"These people were horrified by what they found," he says. While the subcommittee was supposed to look ahead to where the FDA needs to be, Hubbard says it came away concluding that "it cannot even do its job now."
The Food and Drug Administration is so underfunded and understaffed that it's putting U.S. consumers at risk in terms of food and drug safety, an advisory panel to the FDA says in a report to be discussed Monday.
The report — developed in the past year by experts from academia, industry and other government agencies — delivers a scathing review of the state of the FDA, which regulates 80% of the nation's food, its drugs, vaccines and medical devices.
The report details a "plethora of inadequacies" in the agency, including:
•Inadequate inspections of manufacturers, noting that foodmakers, for example, are inspected about once every 10 years.
•A "badly broken" food-import system and food supply "that grows riskier each year." In the past 35 years, FDA inspections of the food supply have dropped 78% due to soaring numbers of products and inadequate FDA funding.
..
William Hubbard, a former FDA associate commissioner who supports the Coalition for a Stronger FDA, says the report stands out because of the "intensity of the feelings" expressed by the subcommittee.
"These people were horrified by what they found," he says. While the subcommittee was supposed to look ahead to where the FDA needs to be, Hubbard says it came away concluding that "it cannot even do its job now."
Republican Senator Hagel: "This is one of the most arrogant, incompetent administrations I've ever seen personally or ever read about,"
Hagel: Bush administration is 'incompetent' and he would consider joining a Dem ticket | By: Mark Memmott and Jill Lawrence
"This is one of the most arrogant, incompetent administrations I've ever seen personally or ever read about," the always blunt and frequently quotable Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said yesterday during an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
"This administration in my opinion has been as unprepared as any administration I'm aware of," Hagel added, "not only the ones that I have been somehow connected to and that's been every administration -- either I've been in Washington or worked within an administration or Congress or some way dealing with them since the first Nixon administration. I would rate this one the lowest in capacity, in capability, in policy, in consensus -- almost every area, I would give it the lowest grade. ...
"This is one of the most arrogant, incompetent administrations I've ever seen personally or ever read about," the always blunt and frequently quotable Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said yesterday during an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
"This administration in my opinion has been as unprepared as any administration I'm aware of," Hagel added, "not only the ones that I have been somehow connected to and that's been every administration -- either I've been in Washington or worked within an administration or Congress or some way dealing with them since the first Nixon administration. I would rate this one the lowest in capacity, in capability, in policy, in consensus -- almost every area, I would give it the lowest grade. ...
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Bush administration appointee "may have improperly influenced" several rulings: "Julie MacDonald's dubious leadership and waste of taxpayer dollars ..
7 Decisions on Species Revised | Fish and Wildlife Service Cites Possibility of Improper Influence | By Juliet Eilperin | Washington Post Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 28, 2007; Page A03
After concluding that a Bush administration appointee "may have improperly influenced" several rulings on whether to protect imperiled species under the Endangered Species Act, the Fish and Wildlife Service has revised seven decisions on protecting species across the country.
... MacDonald resigned from the department in May after she was criticized in a report by the inspector general and as she was facing congressional scrutiny.
In a letter dated Nov. 23 to House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-W.Va.), acting Director Kenneth Stansell of the Fish and Wildlife Service said that the agency spent four months reviewing eight Endangered Species Act decisions made under MacDonald and is revising seven of them. Those rulings affected 17 species, including 12 species of Hawaiian picture-wing flies.
...
"Julie MacDonald's dubious leadership and waste of taxpayer dollars will now force the agency to divert precious time, attention, and resources to go back and see that the work is done in a reliable and untainted manner," Rahall said. "The agency turned a blind eye to her actions -- the repercussions of which will not only hurt American taxpayers, but could also imperil the future of the very creatures that the endangered species program intends to protect." ...
After concluding that a Bush administration appointee "may have improperly influenced" several rulings on whether to protect imperiled species under the Endangered Species Act, the Fish and Wildlife Service has revised seven decisions on protecting species across the country.
... MacDonald resigned from the department in May after she was criticized in a report by the inspector general and as she was facing congressional scrutiny.
In a letter dated Nov. 23 to House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-W.Va.), acting Director Kenneth Stansell of the Fish and Wildlife Service said that the agency spent four months reviewing eight Endangered Species Act decisions made under MacDonald and is revising seven of them. Those rulings affected 17 species, including 12 species of Hawaiian picture-wing flies.
...
"Julie MacDonald's dubious leadership and waste of taxpayer dollars will now force the agency to divert precious time, attention, and resources to go back and see that the work is done in a reliable and untainted manner," Rahall said. "The agency turned a blind eye to her actions -- the repercussions of which will not only hurt American taxpayers, but could also imperil the future of the very creatures that the endangered species program intends to protect." ...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
'Taxes funded Rudy Giuliani love trysts'
The Times | November 29, 2007 | 'Taxes funded Rudy Giuliani love trysts' | Zahid Hussain
Rudy Giuliani faced fresh questions about his judgment last night amid claims that trysts with his mistress while he was New York’s Mayor cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.
The Republican presidential frontrunner’s record as New York mayor is already facing closer scrutiny after the indictment this month of his close friend Bernard Kerik, whom Mr Giuliani appointed as the city’s police chief. ...
..
Politico reports 11 Long Island trips indicated by credit card receipts. It is not possible to say how many of those visits included official business, but eight of them were not noted on Mr Giuliani’s mayoral schedule. The first trip to Southampton, Long Island, where Ms Nathan had a flat, appear in travel documents running from August 31 to September 1, 1999. Four police officers spent the night in a nearby motel, billing the city $1,016.20. (£485) Mr Giuliani’s schedule listed no events in Long Island that day. ...
Rudy Giuliani faced fresh questions about his judgment last night amid claims that trysts with his mistress while he was New York’s Mayor cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.
The Republican presidential frontrunner’s record as New York mayor is already facing closer scrutiny after the indictment this month of his close friend Bernard Kerik, whom Mr Giuliani appointed as the city’s police chief. ...
..
Politico reports 11 Long Island trips indicated by credit card receipts. It is not possible to say how many of those visits included official business, but eight of them were not noted on Mr Giuliani’s mayoral schedule. The first trip to Southampton, Long Island, where Ms Nathan had a flat, appear in travel documents running from August 31 to September 1, 1999. Four police officers spent the night in a nearby motel, billing the city $1,016.20. (£485) Mr Giuliani’s schedule listed no events in Long Island that day. ...
Giuliani billed obscure agencies for trips
Giuliani billed obscure agencies for trips | By: Ben Smith | Nov 28, 2007 02:47 PM EST
As New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons, according to previously undisclosed government records. ...
As New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons, according to previously undisclosed government records. ...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Corporations that exploit market conditions [price gouging, preditory pricing] to abuse consumers should face huge fines
Policing Corporate Pricing Policies | By Stephen Crockett - Nov 27th, 2007 at 9:06 am EST
Among the top priorities of the current and next Congressional sessions should be new laws to regulate corporate pricing policies. In particular, our nation needs strict new federal laws against price-gouging and predatory pricing.
We all know about price-gouging. We see it everyday when buying gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, prescription drugs and many other products or services. Price-gouging is the result of an “all the market will bare” corporate mentality, as opposed to the more traditional “reasonable rate of return on investment” corporate mentality which prevailed in most corporate boardrooms before the 1980’s Reagan Revolution changed government policies and societal attitudes. This is the truly darkside of the Reagan Era. We are still suffering from the negative impacts as consumers and citizens.
Much of what is wrong with America developed out of the Reagan Era “greed is good doctrine.” It thoroughly corrupted the Republican Party and made serious inroads among elements of the Democratic opposition. It corrupted government policy and negatively influenced many average American citizens.
I believe we should return to the traditional Christian outlook that excessive greed is a serious sin. This is not just a Christian doctrine. Almost every religion and moral code developed around the world agrees that greed is usually an evil thing.
Excessive greed is what price-gouging is all about if you apply even a minimum of common sense to examining the issue. Greed is always present. It is why we have armed robberies, burglaries, piracy and scores of other criminal activities. Economic activities judged by society to be detrimental to most consumers, workers or other businesses are usually outlawed or at least heavily regulated by government. It is clear that price-gouging falls into this category of detrimental economic activity. It should be banned.
Corporations that exploit market conditions to abuse consumers should face huge fines. The fines should be multiples of all profits derived from the price-gouging. Zero profits should be retained by those corporations from the price-gouging activities. There is a legal pattern in much of American government regulation of corporate misbehavior that actually permits the corporations involved to retain large portions of illegally obtained profits. This must be stopped. ...
Among the top priorities of the current and next Congressional sessions should be new laws to regulate corporate pricing policies. In particular, our nation needs strict new federal laws against price-gouging and predatory pricing.
We all know about price-gouging. We see it everyday when buying gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, prescription drugs and many other products or services. Price-gouging is the result of an “all the market will bare” corporate mentality, as opposed to the more traditional “reasonable rate of return on investment” corporate mentality which prevailed in most corporate boardrooms before the 1980’s Reagan Revolution changed government policies and societal attitudes. This is the truly darkside of the Reagan Era. We are still suffering from the negative impacts as consumers and citizens.
Much of what is wrong with America developed out of the Reagan Era “greed is good doctrine.” It thoroughly corrupted the Republican Party and made serious inroads among elements of the Democratic opposition. It corrupted government policy and negatively influenced many average American citizens.
I believe we should return to the traditional Christian outlook that excessive greed is a serious sin. This is not just a Christian doctrine. Almost every religion and moral code developed around the world agrees that greed is usually an evil thing.
Excessive greed is what price-gouging is all about if you apply even a minimum of common sense to examining the issue. Greed is always present. It is why we have armed robberies, burglaries, piracy and scores of other criminal activities. Economic activities judged by society to be detrimental to most consumers, workers or other businesses are usually outlawed or at least heavily regulated by government. It is clear that price-gouging falls into this category of detrimental economic activity. It should be banned.
Corporations that exploit market conditions to abuse consumers should face huge fines. The fines should be multiples of all profits derived from the price-gouging. Zero profits should be retained by those corporations from the price-gouging activities. There is a legal pattern in much of American government regulation of corporate misbehavior that actually permits the corporations involved to retain large portions of illegally obtained profits. This must be stopped. ...
Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott announced retirement ... before new two-year ban on lobbying
Barbour’s Proposed Special Election To Replace Lott May Violate Election Law
Earlier today, Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) announced that he “will be retiring from the Senate by the end of the year.” Soon after the announcement, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) put out a statement declaring that “pursuant to Mississippi law,” he would “call a Special Election for United States Senator to be held on November 4, 2008″: ...
...
If Lott does indeed retire by the end of 2007, as he says he wishes to do, Barbour’s proposed timing for the election might run afoul of state election law. According to the Mississippi secretary of state’s office, Barbour would have to hold the election before Nov. 2008:
While Lott sneaks in under the wire for the extended ban on lobbying Congress by retiring this year, the secretary of state’s office said Monday that state law appears to require a special election within 90 days if he does so.
Conversely, if Lott were to wait and retire in 2008, the law allows for the special election to be held the same day as the general. Of course, he would then be subject to the new two-year ban on lobbying his former colleagues, instead of the current one-year ban. ...
Earlier today, Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) announced that he “will be retiring from the Senate by the end of the year.” Soon after the announcement, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) put out a statement declaring that “pursuant to Mississippi law,” he would “call a Special Election for United States Senator to be held on November 4, 2008″: ...
...
If Lott does indeed retire by the end of 2007, as he says he wishes to do, Barbour’s proposed timing for the election might run afoul of state election law. According to the Mississippi secretary of state’s office, Barbour would have to hold the election before Nov. 2008:
While Lott sneaks in under the wire for the extended ban on lobbying Congress by retiring this year, the secretary of state’s office said Monday that state law appears to require a special election within 90 days if he does so.
Conversely, if Lott were to wait and retire in 2008, the law allows for the special election to be held the same day as the general. Of course, he would then be subject to the new two-year ban on lobbying his former colleagues, instead of the current one-year ban. ...
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert resigns ... [before next year's 2 year waiting period for lobbying?]
November 26, 2007 | Hastert formally resigns from Congress, setting special election in motion | Posted by Rick Pearson at 5:05 p.m.
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is formally resigning from Congress today.
Hastert said he did so on the advice of attorneys with the aim that a special primary election to replace him could be held on Feb. 5---the same day as the state's regular primary election, which will decide nominees for Hastert's long-term replacement as well.
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Hastert, the longest serving GOP House speaker, said he had not explored job opportunities because of the potential for conflicts of interest while still a member of Congress.
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Comments
More double talk from Hastert. He says he has no plans to lobby, but didn't he earlier say he would become a "consultant"? Are we really to believe this isn't a prelude to lobbying?
And isn't it also true that the current waiting period for lobbying after serving in Congress is one year, but that only after Jan. 1st does it go to 2 years?
Are we really expected to believe this change in the law has nothing to do with Hastert rushing out before the end of the year? ...
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is formally resigning from Congress today.
Hastert said he did so on the advice of attorneys with the aim that a special primary election to replace him could be held on Feb. 5---the same day as the state's regular primary election, which will decide nominees for Hastert's long-term replacement as well.
...
Hastert, the longest serving GOP House speaker, said he had not explored job opportunities because of the potential for conflicts of interest while still a member of Congress.
...................................
Comments
More double talk from Hastert. He says he has no plans to lobby, but didn't he earlier say he would become a "consultant"? Are we really to believe this isn't a prelude to lobbying?
And isn't it also true that the current waiting period for lobbying after serving in Congress is one year, but that only after Jan. 1st does it go to 2 years?
Are we really expected to believe this change in the law has nothing to do with Hastert rushing out before the end of the year? ...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Bush's talent for cronyism: foxes guarding the henhouse
Bush's talent for cronyism: foxes guarding the henhouse | Incompetent at best, dangerous at worst
James Baker: Iraq Debt Envoy ... BUSH appoints James Baker as Iraq debt envoy. Baker is senior counselor to the Carlyle Group, a global investment company that has done business with the Saudi royal family. He is also a partner in Baker Botts, a Houston law firm whose client list includes Halliburton and the Saudi Royal family. Mr. Baker's law firm will most likely represent the Saudi Royals in the suit against them filed by the 9-11 victims families ....
John Snow: Secretary of Treasury ... Under Snow's watch, despite raking in close to a billion dollars in pretax profits since 1998, CSX paid no federal income taxes in three of the past four years – magically making all of its profits "pretax." What's more, thanks to a combination of accounting gimmicks and tax shelters, the company was even able to score a hefty $164 million in tax rebates during that time. Tax rebates on taxes that CSX NEVER PAID....
Mike Leavitt: former EPA administrator current Secretary of Health and Human Services ... As Utah governor he allowed US Magnesium to emit over 42 million tons of Chlorine per year-nine times the Chlorine emissions from all other states. ... Kennecott, Utah has one of the world's largest ground water contamination problems as a result of its mining operations and Leavitt's refuals to do anything about it ... Leavitt struck a back room deal with the bush administration to open six million acres of wild lands in Utah to mining, clearcutting, oil and gas drilling, and bulldozing. ...
Linda Fisher: Deputy administrator at EPA ... Former Mocnsanto V.P. Second in ranking only to EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman. Her appointment was opposed by critics of genetically modified (GM) foods who raised concerns about industry's ability to influence Fisher. ...
Gale A. Norton: Secretary of the Interior (retired) ... Appointed Gale A. Norton, former mining industry lobbyist and current secretary of the interior: She is a proponent of "self-audit" laws, which allow industries to decide on their own whether or not they comply with environmental regulations. ...
...
ETC. ETC
...
Rear Admiral Cristina Beato: Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services ...(but the curriculum was developed while Beato was still a medical student). ... (but the clinic existed before she was hired, and there was even another medical director before her)
...
Stan Suboleski: Mine Safety and Health Review Commission ... Suboleski is an executive with the A.C. Massey Coal Company which, according to the United Mineworkers, has one of the worst safety records in the industry. ...
James Baker: Iraq Debt Envoy ... BUSH appoints James Baker as Iraq debt envoy. Baker is senior counselor to the Carlyle Group, a global investment company that has done business with the Saudi royal family. He is also a partner in Baker Botts, a Houston law firm whose client list includes Halliburton and the Saudi Royal family. Mr. Baker's law firm will most likely represent the Saudi Royals in the suit against them filed by the 9-11 victims families ....
John Snow: Secretary of Treasury ... Under Snow's watch, despite raking in close to a billion dollars in pretax profits since 1998, CSX paid no federal income taxes in three of the past four years – magically making all of its profits "pretax." What's more, thanks to a combination of accounting gimmicks and tax shelters, the company was even able to score a hefty $164 million in tax rebates during that time. Tax rebates on taxes that CSX NEVER PAID....
Mike Leavitt: former EPA administrator current Secretary of Health and Human Services ... As Utah governor he allowed US Magnesium to emit over 42 million tons of Chlorine per year-nine times the Chlorine emissions from all other states. ... Kennecott, Utah has one of the world's largest ground water contamination problems as a result of its mining operations and Leavitt's refuals to do anything about it ... Leavitt struck a back room deal with the bush administration to open six million acres of wild lands in Utah to mining, clearcutting, oil and gas drilling, and bulldozing. ...
Linda Fisher: Deputy administrator at EPA ... Former Mocnsanto V.P. Second in ranking only to EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman. Her appointment was opposed by critics of genetically modified (GM) foods who raised concerns about industry's ability to influence Fisher. ...
Gale A. Norton: Secretary of the Interior (retired) ... Appointed Gale A. Norton, former mining industry lobbyist and current secretary of the interior: She is a proponent of "self-audit" laws, which allow industries to decide on their own whether or not they comply with environmental regulations. ...
...
ETC. ETC
...
Rear Admiral Cristina Beato: Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services ...(but the curriculum was developed while Beato was still a medical student). ... (but the clinic existed before she was hired, and there was even another medical director before her)
...
Stan Suboleski: Mine Safety and Health Review Commission ... Suboleski is an executive with the A.C. Massey Coal Company which, according to the United Mineworkers, has one of the worst safety records in the industry. ...
Executives are lavishly rewarded if the companies they run seem successful: $48M, $25M for CEOs ... then collapse ...
Banks Gone Wild | By PAUL KRUGMAN | Published: November 23, 2007
“What were they smoking?” asks the cover of the current issue of Fortune magazine. Underneath the headline are photos of recently deposed Wall Street titans, captioned with the staggering sums they managed to lose.
The answer, of course, is that they were high on the usual drug — greed. And they were encouraged to make socially destructive decisions by a system of executive compensation that should have been reformed after the Enron and WorldCom scandals, but wasn’t.
...
But even as the danger signs multiplied, Wall Street piled into bonds backed by dubious home mortgages. Most of the bad investments now shaking the financial world seem to have been made in the final frenzy of the housing bubble, or even after the bubble began to deflate.
In fact, according to Fortune, Merrill Lynch made its biggest purchases of bad debt in the first half of this year — after the subprime crisis had already become public knowledge.
...
Around 25 years ago, American business — and the American political system — bought into the idea that greed is good. Executives are lavishly rewarded if the companies they run seem successful: last year the chief executives of Merrill and Citigroup were paid $48 million and $25.6 million, respectively.
But if the success turns out to have been an illusion — well, they still get to keep the money. Heads they win, tails we lose.
Not only is this grossly unfair, it encourages bad risk-taking, and sometimes fraud. If an executive can create the appearance of success, even for a couple of years, he will walk away immensely wealthy. Meanwhile, the subsequent revelation that appearances were deceiving is someone else’s problem.
If all this sounds familiar, it should. The huge rewards executives receive if they can fake success are what led to the great corporate scandals of a few years back. ...
“What were they smoking?” asks the cover of the current issue of Fortune magazine. Underneath the headline are photos of recently deposed Wall Street titans, captioned with the staggering sums they managed to lose.
The answer, of course, is that they were high on the usual drug — greed. And they were encouraged to make socially destructive decisions by a system of executive compensation that should have been reformed after the Enron and WorldCom scandals, but wasn’t.
...
But even as the danger signs multiplied, Wall Street piled into bonds backed by dubious home mortgages. Most of the bad investments now shaking the financial world seem to have been made in the final frenzy of the housing bubble, or even after the bubble began to deflate.
In fact, according to Fortune, Merrill Lynch made its biggest purchases of bad debt in the first half of this year — after the subprime crisis had already become public knowledge.
...
Around 25 years ago, American business — and the American political system — bought into the idea that greed is good. Executives are lavishly rewarded if the companies they run seem successful: last year the chief executives of Merrill and Citigroup were paid $48 million and $25.6 million, respectively.
But if the success turns out to have been an illusion — well, they still get to keep the money. Heads they win, tails we lose.
Not only is this grossly unfair, it encourages bad risk-taking, and sometimes fraud. If an executive can create the appearance of success, even for a couple of years, he will walk away immensely wealthy. Meanwhile, the subsequent revelation that appearances were deceiving is someone else’s problem.
If all this sounds familiar, it should. The huge rewards executives receive if they can fake success are what led to the great corporate scandals of a few years back. ...
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The predator’s mission is to home in on the vulnerable. ... one unaffordable loan following another.
A Swarm of Swindlers | By BOB HERBERT | Published: November 20, 2007
Like vultures, the mortgage lenders began circling the single-family house with the tiny front lawn on Merrill Avenue.
They knew that the woman who owned the house was old and sick and that her two aging daughters were struggling with illness and poverty as well. That was all to the good as far as the lenders were concerned. The predator’s mission is to home in on the vulnerable.
“The people that wanted to put through the loan called me about a hundred times,” said Rosa Dailey, who is 65 and going blind and needs an oxygen tank at times to help her breathe. “I kept telling them no, because I didn’t think we could afford it. But they kept saying how it was to our advantage. So I finally said: ‘All right, let’s see what we can do.’ ”
That was the beginning of a tragic spiral, with one unaffordable loan following another. As Ms. Dailey put it: “I feel like they led me down a dark alley.” ...
Like vultures, the mortgage lenders began circling the single-family house with the tiny front lawn on Merrill Avenue.
They knew that the woman who owned the house was old and sick and that her two aging daughters were struggling with illness and poverty as well. That was all to the good as far as the lenders were concerned. The predator’s mission is to home in on the vulnerable.
“The people that wanted to put through the loan called me about a hundred times,” said Rosa Dailey, who is 65 and going blind and needs an oxygen tank at times to help her breathe. “I kept telling them no, because I didn’t think we could afford it. But they kept saying how it was to our advantage. So I finally said: ‘All right, let’s see what we can do.’ ”
That was the beginning of a tragic spiral, with one unaffordable loan following another. As Ms. Dailey put it: “I feel like they led me down a dark alley.” ...
as Edwards says, the fact that "powerful interests, particularly corporate interests, have literally taken over this government."
November 20, 2007 9:35 AM | "Corporate Interests Have Literally Taken Over This Government"
Some folks have asked me why I have written so much about John Edwards in the past few months. The answer can be seen in this short clip. ... or writing a book that's actually called Hostile Takeover: How Big Money & Corruption Conquered Our Government - And How We Take It Back.
...
John Edwards, as shown by this clip, is speaking out on what I believe is the fundamental issue of our time - an issue that my book shows is at the core of every other issue, whether it is Iraq, wages, health care, retirement security, trade, immigration, global warming, you name it. That issue is what my book is all about - the hostile takeover of our government, or, as Edwards says, the fact that "powerful interests, particularly corporate interests, have literally taken over this government." And Edwards hasn't just been talking about it - he has made a crusade against this, the issue of our day, the centerpiece of his campaign. He has, in short, made it the very reason he is running (which also fits with his impressive career as a plaintiffs attorney going after corporate abusers). ...
Some folks have asked me why I have written so much about John Edwards in the past few months. The answer can be seen in this short clip. ... or writing a book that's actually called Hostile Takeover: How Big Money & Corruption Conquered Our Government - And How We Take It Back.
...
John Edwards, as shown by this clip, is speaking out on what I believe is the fundamental issue of our time - an issue that my book shows is at the core of every other issue, whether it is Iraq, wages, health care, retirement security, trade, immigration, global warming, you name it. That issue is what my book is all about - the hostile takeover of our government, or, as Edwards says, the fact that "powerful interests, particularly corporate interests, have literally taken over this government." And Edwards hasn't just been talking about it - he has made a crusade against this, the issue of our day, the centerpiece of his campaign. He has, in short, made it the very reason he is running (which also fits with his impressive career as a plaintiffs attorney going after corporate abusers). ...
Senators who protected Big Pharma received millions of dollars from drug companies
Senators who protected Big Pharma received millions of dollars from drug companies | Monday, November 19, 2007 by: David Gutierrez | (NewsTarget)
Senators who received substantial donations from pharmaceutical companies were instrumental in making a new drug bill more industry-friendly, according to studies by nonprofit groups and remarks by some of the senators themselves
...
While the institute's recommendation to allow the FDA to monitor the safety of products after approval was included in the final bill, it was significantly weakened at the instigation of Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.. Gregg has received $168,500 from the pharmaceutical industry since 2001.
Other recommendations fared even less well. A proposal to allow the importation of less expensive drugs from other countries was defeated 49-40. According to research by the Center for Responsive Politics and PoliticalMoneyLine, these 49 senators (less than 50 percent of the Senate) have received nearly 75 percent of the donations made by the drug industry since 2001, a total of $5 million.
In addition, a proposal to ban advertising of high-risk drugs for two years and another to curb conflicts of interest in the drug approval process were defeated by Senators who have received substantial industry contributions. ...
Senators who received substantial donations from pharmaceutical companies were instrumental in making a new drug bill more industry-friendly, according to studies by nonprofit groups and remarks by some of the senators themselves
...
While the institute's recommendation to allow the FDA to monitor the safety of products after approval was included in the final bill, it was significantly weakened at the instigation of Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.. Gregg has received $168,500 from the pharmaceutical industry since 2001.
Other recommendations fared even less well. A proposal to allow the importation of less expensive drugs from other countries was defeated 49-40. According to research by the Center for Responsive Politics and PoliticalMoneyLine, these 49 senators (less than 50 percent of the Senate) have received nearly 75 percent of the donations made by the drug industry since 2001, a total of $5 million.
In addition, a proposal to ban advertising of high-risk drugs for two years and another to curb conflicts of interest in the drug approval process were defeated by Senators who have received substantial industry contributions. ...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
They were told depleted uranium was not hazardous ... now workers and residents have cancer ... use of such weapons may be a war crime
November 18, 2007 by The Observer (UK) | ‘Safe’ Uranium That Left a Town Contaminated | by David Rose in Colonie, New York
[NOTE: THOUSANDS OF TONS were used in tank shells in IRAQ ... ed.]
They were told depleted uranium was not hazardous. Now, 23 years after a US arms plant closed, workers and residents have cancer - and experts say their suffering shows the use of such weapons may be a war crime.
...
The US federal government and the firm that ran the factory, National Lead (NL) Industries, have been assuring former workers and residents around the 18-acre site for decades that, although it is true that the plant used to produce unacceptable levels of radioactive pollution, it was not a serious health hazard.
Now, in a development with potentially devastating implications not only for Colonie but also for the future use of some of the West’s most powerful weapon systems, that claim is being challenged. In a paper to be published in the next issue of the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment, a team led by Professor Randall Parrish of Leicester University reports the results of a three-year study of Colonie, funded by Britain’s Ministry of Defense.
Parrish’s team has found that DU contamination, which remains radioactive for millions of years, is in effect impossible to eradicate, not only from the environment but also from the bodies of humans. Twenty-three years after production ceased they tested the urine of five former workers. All are still contaminated with DU. So were 20 per cent of people tested who had spent at least 10 years living near the factory when it was still working, including Ciarfello.
The small sample size precludes the drawing of statistical conclusions, the journal paper says. But to find DU at all after so long a period is ’significant, since no previous study has documented evidence of DU exposure more than 20 years prior… [this] indicates that the body burden of uranium must still be significant, whether retained in lungs, lymphatic system, kidneys or bone’. The team is now testing more individuals. ...
...
TV footage shot in Baghdad in 2003 shows children playing in the remains of tanks coated with thick, black DU oxide, while there have long been claims that the DU shells that destroyed Saddam Hussein’s tanks in the 1991 Gulf war were responsible for high rates of cancer in places such as Basra. ...
[NOTE: THOUSANDS OF TONS were used in tank shells in IRAQ ... ed.]
They were told depleted uranium was not hazardous. Now, 23 years after a US arms plant closed, workers and residents have cancer - and experts say their suffering shows the use of such weapons may be a war crime.
...
The US federal government and the firm that ran the factory, National Lead (NL) Industries, have been assuring former workers and residents around the 18-acre site for decades that, although it is true that the plant used to produce unacceptable levels of radioactive pollution, it was not a serious health hazard.
Now, in a development with potentially devastating implications not only for Colonie but also for the future use of some of the West’s most powerful weapon systems, that claim is being challenged. In a paper to be published in the next issue of the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment, a team led by Professor Randall Parrish of Leicester University reports the results of a three-year study of Colonie, funded by Britain’s Ministry of Defense.
Parrish’s team has found that DU contamination, which remains radioactive for millions of years, is in effect impossible to eradicate, not only from the environment but also from the bodies of humans. Twenty-three years after production ceased they tested the urine of five former workers. All are still contaminated with DU. So were 20 per cent of people tested who had spent at least 10 years living near the factory when it was still working, including Ciarfello.
The small sample size precludes the drawing of statistical conclusions, the journal paper says. But to find DU at all after so long a period is ’significant, since no previous study has documented evidence of DU exposure more than 20 years prior… [this] indicates that the body burden of uranium must still be significant, whether retained in lungs, lymphatic system, kidneys or bone’. The team is now testing more individuals. ...
...
TV footage shot in Baghdad in 2003 shows children playing in the remains of tanks coated with thick, black DU oxide, while there have long been claims that the DU shells that destroyed Saddam Hussein’s tanks in the 1991 Gulf war were responsible for high rates of cancer in places such as Basra. ...
Monday, November 19, 2007
allegations by current and former officials in Krongard's office that the inspector general thwarted probes into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq
State Dept official asks to cancel Blackwater hearing | Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:35pm EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lawyer for State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard asked on Saturday that he not be called to testify before Congress on discrepancies between his statements and those of his brother over the brother's ties to the Blackwater security firm.
...
The two brothers had differing recollections about whether Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard told Howard Krongard he was taking an advisory board position with Blackwater, which protects U.S. diplomats and other State Department officials in Iraq. Howard recalled Alvin stating he was not taking the position, and Alvin recalled saying he was taking it, the lawyer wrote.
"Alvin does not claim to have ever made any effort to inform Howard of the Blackwater position despite its obvious relevance to Howard's oversight responsibilities," Van Gelder wrote. The letter asked Waxman not to hold the hearing.
Waxman's committee is examining allegations by current and former officials in Krongard's office that the inspector general thwarted probes into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, including alleged arms smuggling by Blackwater.
Waxman decided to call Howard and Alvin Krongard to the same hearing after they separately gave the committee conflicting accounts about Buzzy's ties with Blackwater. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lawyer for State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard asked on Saturday that he not be called to testify before Congress on discrepancies between his statements and those of his brother over the brother's ties to the Blackwater security firm.
...
The two brothers had differing recollections about whether Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard told Howard Krongard he was taking an advisory board position with Blackwater, which protects U.S. diplomats and other State Department officials in Iraq. Howard recalled Alvin stating he was not taking the position, and Alvin recalled saying he was taking it, the lawyer wrote.
"Alvin does not claim to have ever made any effort to inform Howard of the Blackwater position despite its obvious relevance to Howard's oversight responsibilities," Van Gelder wrote. The letter asked Waxman not to hold the hearing.
Waxman's committee is examining allegations by current and former officials in Krongard's office that the inspector general thwarted probes into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, including alleged arms smuggling by Blackwater.
Waxman decided to call Howard and Alvin Krongard to the same hearing after they separately gave the committee conflicting accounts about Buzzy's ties with Blackwater. ...
massive cash contributions by America’s power companies and [Bush] political arm-twisting in Washington has rarely been put into such sharp relief
November 16, 2007 by The Independent/UK | US Power Company Linked to Bush Is Named in Database As a Top Polluter | by Leonard Doyle
An American power company with close financial links to President George Bush has been named as one of the world’s top producers of global warming pollution.
The first-ever worldwide database of such pollution also reveals the rapid growth in global-warming emissions by power plants in China, South Africa and India. Power plants already produce 40 per cent of US greenhouse gas and 25 per cent of the world’s.
But it is the enormous carbon footprint of Southern Company - among the largest financiers of Republican Party politicians - which has raised eyebrows. Southern’s employees handed George Bush $217,047 to help him get elected, and they and the company have contributed an extraordinary $6.2m to Republican campaigns since 1990.
A single Southern Company plant in Juliette, Georgia already emits more carbon dioxide annually that Brazil’s entire power sector. The company is in the top two of America’s dirtiest utility polluters and sixth worst in the world. ...
...
The link between massive cash contributions by America’s power companies and political arm-twisting in Washington has rarely been put into such sharp relief. Environmentalists have long suspected that President Bush’s dogged refusal to sign up to international agreements to control global warming was linked to campaign contributions.
Yesterday’s report has finally identified the impact these power companies are having on global warming. Southern, which earned $14.4bn in revenues in 2006, is using its influence to block the introduction of wind, solar, biomass and other renewable energy sources on the grounds that it would eat into its profits.
Haley Barbour, one of the main lobbyists for Southern Co when President Bush took office, played a crucial role in persuading him to back away from his original campaign promise to reduce CO2 emissions when he first ran for president in 2000. Mr Barbour is a former chairman of the Republican Party, and was reelected governor of Mississippi last week.
According to FrankO’Donnell of Clean Air Watch, after Mr Bush became president, “he was got at by Haley Barbour, who said, ‘Hey, Mr President we didn’t elect you to have high energy costs’”. ...
An American power company with close financial links to President George Bush has been named as one of the world’s top producers of global warming pollution.
The first-ever worldwide database of such pollution also reveals the rapid growth in global-warming emissions by power plants in China, South Africa and India. Power plants already produce 40 per cent of US greenhouse gas and 25 per cent of the world’s.
But it is the enormous carbon footprint of Southern Company - among the largest financiers of Republican Party politicians - which has raised eyebrows. Southern’s employees handed George Bush $217,047 to help him get elected, and they and the company have contributed an extraordinary $6.2m to Republican campaigns since 1990.
A single Southern Company plant in Juliette, Georgia already emits more carbon dioxide annually that Brazil’s entire power sector. The company is in the top two of America’s dirtiest utility polluters and sixth worst in the world. ...
...
The link between massive cash contributions by America’s power companies and political arm-twisting in Washington has rarely been put into such sharp relief. Environmentalists have long suspected that President Bush’s dogged refusal to sign up to international agreements to control global warming was linked to campaign contributions.
Yesterday’s report has finally identified the impact these power companies are having on global warming. Southern, which earned $14.4bn in revenues in 2006, is using its influence to block the introduction of wind, solar, biomass and other renewable energy sources on the grounds that it would eat into its profits.
Haley Barbour, one of the main lobbyists for Southern Co when President Bush took office, played a crucial role in persuading him to back away from his original campaign promise to reduce CO2 emissions when he first ran for president in 2000. Mr Barbour is a former chairman of the Republican Party, and was reelected governor of Mississippi last week.
According to FrankO’Donnell of Clean Air Watch, after Mr Bush became president, “he was got at by Haley Barbour, who said, ‘Hey, Mr President we didn’t elect you to have high energy costs’”. ...
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Justice Department says it is necessary to make reporting mandatory because "few companies have actually responded" to voluntary disclosure rules.
Federal Contractors Could Be Forced to Self-Report Crimes | By Dana Hedgpeth | Washington Post Staff Writer | Thursday, November 15, 2007; Page D02
The Justice Department has proposed tough new regulations for those who do business with the government, a reflection of the growing number of fraud, bribery and waste cases arising from the multibillion-dollar federal procurement process, say industry experts and regulators.
The new rules would require federal contractors to report themselves if any of their employees -- or subcontractors -- violate a criminal law related to a contract worth more than $5 million while that work is being done. If a contractor is caught not reporting its violations, it could be suspended or barred from doing business with the government for up to three years.
...
Currently, contractors can voluntarily report themselves. But the Justice Department says it is necessary to make reporting mandatory because "few companies have actually responded" to voluntary disclosure rules.
Having companies turn themselves in "hasn't worked" Spivack said, "so now they're saying, 'We're going to force you to turn yourself in, and if you don't and we find out later, we're going to keep you from doing business with the federal government.' That's giving the government the gun and the bullets and asking them not to shoot you." ...
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
So now the critical resource of oil is driven by speculation at ever higher abstract electronic levels of futures trading.
Saturday, November 10, 2007 by CommonDreams.org | The Price of Oil | by Ralph Nader
Question of the day- who and what is determining the price of oil and your gasoline and home heating bills? Don’t ask Uncle Sam, because George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are running a regime marinated in oil that does not issue reports which explain the real determinants of petroleum pricing beyond the conventional supply-demand curves.
...
Today, a third party has moved to the table-the New York Mercantile Exchange, a similar operates in London and a new one in Dubai. There, boisterous traders buy and sell futures contracts on the delivery of oil. But as Ben Mezrich, the author of the new book Rigged said recently, the dollar amounts of these futures contracts are far far larger than the actual oil deliveries they represent as they turn over and over at the Mercantile Exchange.
So now the critical resource of oil is driven by speculation at ever higher abstract electronic levels of futures trading. Increasingly, the distance becomes greater and greater between this abstract trading (fueled by rumors of storms in the Gulf of Mexico, or some possible political turmoil in a region of the world, or some other frightful excuse for bidding up) and the physical supply and demand for oil and its refined products.
These oil gamblers in New York and London try to justify their frenetic daily bidding by saying that these futures markets provide liquidity, and a clear price for oil. Alright, but who benefits when, how and where? ...
...
In recent days, the price of crude oil escalated to over $90 a barrel, fluctuating up to a high of $96 a barrel. Yet the average price of gasoline in the United States-around $3.00 per gallon-is about what it was earlier this year when the price of crude oil was around $60 a barrel. Why the disconnect?
“It’s a big gambling hall,” The Washington Post quotes Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst at Oppenheimer. “This time it’s just speculation,” Peter C. Fusaro, chairman of Global Change Associates, told the Post, adding, “There’s a large bet out there that prices will continue to trend higher. But it’s detached from fundamentals because there’s no shortage of oil.” ...
...
So long as the price of crude oil is set by speculators on trading floors, so long as the oil-indentured politicians are not challenged by new candidates standing tall for people and environments, so long as we do not protest for change and press ourselves to prevent wasteful habits and uses, get ready for higher oil prices.
Question of the day- who and what is determining the price of oil and your gasoline and home heating bills? Don’t ask Uncle Sam, because George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are running a regime marinated in oil that does not issue reports which explain the real determinants of petroleum pricing beyond the conventional supply-demand curves.
...
Today, a third party has moved to the table-the New York Mercantile Exchange, a similar operates in London and a new one in Dubai. There, boisterous traders buy and sell futures contracts on the delivery of oil. But as Ben Mezrich, the author of the new book Rigged said recently, the dollar amounts of these futures contracts are far far larger than the actual oil deliveries they represent as they turn over and over at the Mercantile Exchange.
So now the critical resource of oil is driven by speculation at ever higher abstract electronic levels of futures trading. Increasingly, the distance becomes greater and greater between this abstract trading (fueled by rumors of storms in the Gulf of Mexico, or some possible political turmoil in a region of the world, or some other frightful excuse for bidding up) and the physical supply and demand for oil and its refined products.
These oil gamblers in New York and London try to justify their frenetic daily bidding by saying that these futures markets provide liquidity, and a clear price for oil. Alright, but who benefits when, how and where? ...
...
In recent days, the price of crude oil escalated to over $90 a barrel, fluctuating up to a high of $96 a barrel. Yet the average price of gasoline in the United States-around $3.00 per gallon-is about what it was earlier this year when the price of crude oil was around $60 a barrel. Why the disconnect?
“It’s a big gambling hall,” The Washington Post quotes Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst at Oppenheimer. “This time it’s just speculation,” Peter C. Fusaro, chairman of Global Change Associates, told the Post, adding, “There’s a large bet out there that prices will continue to trend higher. But it’s detached from fundamentals because there’s no shortage of oil.” ...
...
So long as the price of crude oil is set by speculators on trading floors, so long as the oil-indentured politicians are not challenged by new candidates standing tall for people and environments, so long as we do not protest for change and press ourselves to prevent wasteful habits and uses, get ready for higher oil prices.
founder of Help Hospitalized Veterans, pays himself and his wife more than $500,000 a year, ... only 31% of $70M intake went to veterans
ABC investigates veterans charities that mostly enrich their owners | David Edwards and Muriel Kane | Published: Friday November 9, 2007
...
Institute President Daniel Borochoff told ABC, "Under 35% of your budget on actual bona fide charitable programs will get you an F grade." Thirteen out of 27 military and veterans charities reviewed by the Institute did not meet that standard, and one was found to spend as little as 2% of its receipts on program services.
Meanwhile, some of the people running the F-rated charities are getting rich. For example, Roger Chapin, founder of Help Hospitalized Veterans, pays himself and his wife more than $500,000 a year, while only 31% of the $70 million he took in last year actually went to help hospitalized veterans. Chapin, described by Daniel Borochoff as "a charity entrepreneur," has founded more than a dozen such charities over the past three decades. ...
...
Institute President Daniel Borochoff told ABC, "Under 35% of your budget on actual bona fide charitable programs will get you an F grade." Thirteen out of 27 military and veterans charities reviewed by the Institute did not meet that standard, and one was found to spend as little as 2% of its receipts on program services.
Meanwhile, some of the people running the F-rated charities are getting rich. For example, Roger Chapin, founder of Help Hospitalized Veterans, pays himself and his wife more than $500,000 a year, while only 31% of the $70 million he took in last year actually went to help hospitalized veterans. Chapin, described by Daniel Borochoff as "a charity entrepreneur," has founded more than a dozen such charities over the past three decades. ...
Monday, November 12, 2007
Their defense of the industries’ morally indefensible tax breaks is tawdry: private equity contributed $11.8 million to candidates ...
Alternative Tax Showdown | Published: November 8, 2007
...
Under current tax law, 23 million taxpayers will owe the alternative tax for 2007, up from 4 million last year. The tax was originally intended to apply to multimillionaires. But most of this year’s alternative taxpayers make between $100,000 and $500,000 and about a third make less than $100,000. They all have good cause to feel rooked and to expect help from Congress. ...
...
The House tax committee met the challenge, drafting a bill that provides the needed tax relief and plugs the resulting budget gap, mainly by raising taxes on private equity partners and hedge fund managers. The bill is good policy. The tax relief assuages justifiably aggrieved taxpayers. Tax increases on private equity firms and hedge funds rectify outdated rules that have allowed the very wealthiest to enjoy tax rates lower than those paid by middle-income Americans and, in some cases, to defer taxes indefinitely.
...
But key Democratic senators, among them New York’s Charles Schumer, who is the main fund-raiser for Senate Democrats, are balking. They know they must provide alternative tax relief, but they don’t want to tax private equity and hedge funds to pay for it. Their defense of the industries’ morally indefensible tax breaks is tawdry. As The Washington Post reported yesterday, in the first nine months of 2007, as pressure built to dismantle the tax breaks, investment firms and hedge funds contributed $11.8 million to candidates, party committees and leadership political action committees. That’s more than was given in 2005 and 2006 combined. More than two-thirds of that money went to Democrats. ...
...
Under current tax law, 23 million taxpayers will owe the alternative tax for 2007, up from 4 million last year. The tax was originally intended to apply to multimillionaires. But most of this year’s alternative taxpayers make between $100,000 and $500,000 and about a third make less than $100,000. They all have good cause to feel rooked and to expect help from Congress. ...
...
The House tax committee met the challenge, drafting a bill that provides the needed tax relief and plugs the resulting budget gap, mainly by raising taxes on private equity partners and hedge fund managers. The bill is good policy. The tax relief assuages justifiably aggrieved taxpayers. Tax increases on private equity firms and hedge funds rectify outdated rules that have allowed the very wealthiest to enjoy tax rates lower than those paid by middle-income Americans and, in some cases, to defer taxes indefinitely.
...
But key Democratic senators, among them New York’s Charles Schumer, who is the main fund-raiser for Senate Democrats, are balking. They know they must provide alternative tax relief, but they don’t want to tax private equity and hedge funds to pay for it. Their defense of the industries’ morally indefensible tax breaks is tawdry. As The Washington Post reported yesterday, in the first nine months of 2007, as pressure built to dismantle the tax breaks, investment firms and hedge funds contributed $11.8 million to candidates, party committees and leadership political action committees. That’s more than was given in 2005 and 2006 combined. More than two-thirds of that money went to Democrats. ...
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Neil Bush's Firm Under Federal Scrutiny
Neil Bush's Firm Under Federal Scrutiny | November 7, 2007 04:08 PM EST
WASHINGTON — The Education Department's inspector general says he will review whether federal money is inappropriately being spent on programs by a company founded by Neil Bush, the president's brother.
...
The group contends school districts inappropriately are using federal dollars for Ignite! Learning Inc. programs. It says there is no proof the company's products are effective and claims the schools are using the products due to political considerations. ...
WASHINGTON — The Education Department's inspector general says he will review whether federal money is inappropriately being spent on programs by a company founded by Neil Bush, the president's brother.
...
The group contends school districts inappropriately are using federal dollars for Ignite! Learning Inc. programs. It says there is no proof the company's products are effective and claims the schools are using the products due to political considerations. ...
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Traders, Not Political or Supply Concerns, May Be Pushing Fuel [Oil] Toward $100
Oil's Recent Rise Not as Familiar as It Looks | Traders, Not Political or Supply Concerns, May Be Pushing Fuel Toward $100 | By Steven Mufson | Washington Post Staff Writer | Monday, November 5, 2007; Page A01
...
Many veteran oil analysts say this is a bubble. Oil is historically a cyclical business. Modestly higher production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a warm winter, slower U.S. economic growth and a flattening of demand in the United States could puncture these lofty prices.
After a week of new records for crude oil prices, the question is: How high can they go?
In the past 10 weeks, the price of crude oil has shot up $25 a barrel, closing at $95.93 in New York on Friday, near an all-time inflation-adjusted peak. Unlike earlier spikes in oil prices, which came on the heels of war in the Middle East, this latest ascent does not appear to be linked to any one conflict or to any physical shortage.
Instead, traders who treat oil like any other commodity are widely thought to be driving prices upward, bolstered by a weak dollar and money flowing out of stock markets and other investment vehicles....
Many veteran oil analysts say this is a bubble. Oil is historically a cyclical business. Modestly higher production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a warm winter, slower U.S. economic growth and a flattening of demand in the United States could puncture these lofty prices.
"It just seems that the market is spasming here," said Adam Robinson, an oil analyst at Lehman Brothers. If slowly declining petroleum inventories start to build again, he said, "the radical increase we've seen to the upside can repeat on the way down." Oppenheimer & Sons analyst Fadel Gheit says oil is $30 a barrel overpriced. ...
Chief of CPSC and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries ...they regulate
Industries Paid for Top Regulators' Travel | Two Heads of Product Safety Agency Accepted Trips From Manufacturer Groups | By Elizabeth Williamson | Washington Post Staff Writer | Friday, November 2, 2007; Page A01
...
"This is a blatant violation of the ethics code," said Craig Holman, an expert on governmental ethics law for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. The rules allow nonfederal sources to pay for trips, "but not if you're a private party with business pending before the agency," he said.
The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained by The Washington Post. Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards.
The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency's acting chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, that were paid for in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers of products ranging from space heaters to disinfectants. The airfares, hotels and meals totaled nearly $60,000, and the destinations included China, Spain, San Francisco, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C.
...
"This is a blatant violation of the ethics code," said Craig Holman, an expert on governmental ethics law for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. The rules allow nonfederal sources to pay for trips, "but not if you're a private party with business pending before the agency," he said.
The agency's travel patterns during the Bush administration, detailed in internal agency documents, differ from those of the Clinton era. Ann Brown, who served as chairman from 1994 to 2001, traveled only at the expense of the agency or of media organizations that sponsored appearances where she announced product recalls, according to the documents provided. ...
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
“auditors and outside exerts say the results have been vast cost overruns, poor contract performance and, in some cases, [unpunished] violence
Spending on private contractors has quadrupled under Bush | Adam Doster | Published: Tuesday October 23, 2007
...
According to the New York Times, “the amount of money the State Department pays to private security and has soared to nearly $4 billion a year from $1 billion.” At the same time, few new officials have been hired to oversee the contracts, and “auditors and outside exerts say the results have been vast cost overruns, poor contract performance and, in some cases, violence that has so far gone unpunished.”
Compared to the 70 Army officers managing just $900 million in logistics contracts in Kuwait “there are only 17 contract compliance officers at the State Department’s management bureau overseeing spending of the billions of dollars on these programs.” ...
...
According to the New York Times, “the amount of money the State Department pays to private security and has soared to nearly $4 billion a year from $1 billion.” At the same time, few new officials have been hired to oversee the contracts, and “auditors and outside exerts say the results have been vast cost overruns, poor contract performance and, in some cases, violence that has so far gone unpunished.”
Compared to the 70 Army officers managing just $900 million in logistics contracts in Kuwait “there are only 17 contract compliance officers at the State Department’s management bureau overseeing spending of the billions of dollars on these programs.” ...
Wal-Mart's REITs would simply take a hefty tax deduction for paying dividends to another subsidiary,... then not report earnings
Court docs: Wal-Mart plotted strategy in 'Tax Shelter Room' | Jason Rhyne | Published: Tuesday October 23, 2007
...
When the Wal-Mart corporation sent out a 2001 plea to heavy-hitting accounting houses requesting some bright ideas about how the retail giant might be able to pay less in state taxes, Ernst & Young LLP was eager to pitch in. But after being challenged by North Carolina's attorney general, the big-time firm's secret tax-slashing strategies have come to light in an array of revealing materials filed in court.
...
Among the revelations in the documents, according to the Journal, is evidence that Wal-Mart aggressively capitalized on its move a decade ago to transfer ownership of the company's stores to real estate investment trusts (REITs), subsidiaries that are exempt from federal tax provided that 90% of income is paid out in shareholder dividends. In California, Wal-Mart followed the firm's advice to claim tax deductions on shareholder dividends that were technically never paid.
Exploiting a loophole in California law that doesn't require dividend recipients to list that money as taxable income, Wal-Mart's REITs would simply take a hefty tax deduction for paying dividends to another subsidiary, which in turn would opt not to report the earnings. The practice resulted in a dramatic savings on tax bills in the state.
California's Franchise Tax Board, the state's income-tax agency, has since put the strategy on its list of "Abusive Tax Shelters," the paper reports. The current North Carolina case also involves real estate trusts. ...
...
When the Wal-Mart corporation sent out a 2001 plea to heavy-hitting accounting houses requesting some bright ideas about how the retail giant might be able to pay less in state taxes, Ernst & Young LLP was eager to pitch in. But after being challenged by North Carolina's attorney general, the big-time firm's secret tax-slashing strategies have come to light in an array of revealing materials filed in court.
...
Among the revelations in the documents, according to the Journal, is evidence that Wal-Mart aggressively capitalized on its move a decade ago to transfer ownership of the company's stores to real estate investment trusts (REITs), subsidiaries that are exempt from federal tax provided that 90% of income is paid out in shareholder dividends. In California, Wal-Mart followed the firm's advice to claim tax deductions on shareholder dividends that were technically never paid.
Exploiting a loophole in California law that doesn't require dividend recipients to list that money as taxable income, Wal-Mart's REITs would simply take a hefty tax deduction for paying dividends to another subsidiary, which in turn would opt not to report the earnings. The practice resulted in a dramatic savings on tax bills in the state.
California's Franchise Tax Board, the state's income-tax agency, has since put the strategy on its list of "Abusive Tax Shelters," the paper reports. The current North Carolina case also involves real estate trusts. ...
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
consumer product safety Commissioner: opposes increased penalties, protecting whistleblowers, public reports, prosecuting executives ...
October 30, 2007 | Bigger Budget? No, Responds Safety Agency | By STEPHEN LABATON
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 — The nation’s top official for consumer product safety has asked Congress in recent days to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency, which polices thousands of consumer goods, from toys to tools.
On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff.
Ms. Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws.
The measure is an effort to buttress an agency that has been under siege because of a raft of tainted and dangerous products manufactured both domestically and abroad. In the last two months alone, more than 13 million toys have been recalled after tests indicated lead levels that sometimes reached almost 200 times the safety limit.
Ms. Nord’s opposition to important elements of the legislation is consistent with the broadly deregulatory approach of the Bush administration over the last seven years. In a variety of areas, from antitrust to trucking and worker safety, officials appointed by President Bush have sought to reduce the role of regulation and government in the marketplace.
...
Some of Ms. Nord’s complaints were similar to the ones that business groups and manufacturers have raised, including that the legislation would be unnecessarily burdensome. But in other areas, like whistle-blower protection, her complaints went beyond those of industry.
While companies generally have not objected to giving protection to whistle-blowers in the industries regulated by the commission, for example, she said it would “dramatically drain the limited resources of the commission, to the direct detriment of public safety.” ...
...
The agency has suffered from a steady decline in its budget and staffing in recent years. Its staff numbers about 420, about half its size in the 1980s. It has only one full-time employee to test toys. And 15 inspectors are assigned to police all imports of consumer products under the agency’s supervision, a marketplace that last year was valued at $614 billion.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 — The nation’s top official for consumer product safety has asked Congress in recent days to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency, which polices thousands of consumer goods, from toys to tools.
On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff.
Ms. Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws.
The measure is an effort to buttress an agency that has been under siege because of a raft of tainted and dangerous products manufactured both domestically and abroad. In the last two months alone, more than 13 million toys have been recalled after tests indicated lead levels that sometimes reached almost 200 times the safety limit.
Ms. Nord’s opposition to important elements of the legislation is consistent with the broadly deregulatory approach of the Bush administration over the last seven years. In a variety of areas, from antitrust to trucking and worker safety, officials appointed by President Bush have sought to reduce the role of regulation and government in the marketplace.
...
Some of Ms. Nord’s complaints were similar to the ones that business groups and manufacturers have raised, including that the legislation would be unnecessarily burdensome. But in other areas, like whistle-blower protection, her complaints went beyond those of industry.
While companies generally have not objected to giving protection to whistle-blowers in the industries regulated by the commission, for example, she said it would “dramatically drain the limited resources of the commission, to the direct detriment of public safety.” ...
...
The agency has suffered from a steady decline in its budget and staffing in recent years. Its staff numbers about 420, about half its size in the 1980s. It has only one full-time employee to test toys. And 15 inspectors are assigned to police all imports of consumer products under the agency’s supervision, a marketplace that last year was valued at $614 billion.
Monday, October 29, 2007
CEOs act like their corporations exist just to build their own massive fortunes,” says Edwards,
October 26, 2007, 11:25 am | Edwards Gets Tough on Business | Susan Davis reports on the presidential race.
John Edwards s targeting Corporate America and what he argues are its corrupt and greedy practices. In a speech today in Des Moines, Iowa, he is outlining his plan to renew the “social contract” between business and government if elected president. “In corporate America, where a broader sense of social responsibility once held sway, a culture of greed has taken over. Instead of treating their employees fairly, being accountable to their shareholders and contributing to America’s prosperity, CEOs act like their corporations exist just to build their own massive fortunes,” says Edwards, according to speech excerpts provided to Washington Wire by his campaign.
Edwards is proposing, among other things, universal retirement accounts that employers would be required to provide if they don’t offer pension programs. Workers’ contributions would be matched dollar-for-dollar on the first $500 through a proposed “Get Ahead” tax credit. The plan would also allow workers to put their savings into government-sponsored annuities that would be run through the existing federal retirement savings plan or the Social Security Administration.
Edwards is also proposing stronger protections for workers seeking to unionize and increased shareholder rights. And he’s proposing to cap tax-deferred compensation funds for top executives at $1 million annually, and pushing for more disclosure of corporate governance structures, the pay and demographics of top corporate officers, as well as political contributions, government contracts, and taxes paid.
To protect consumers, Edwards wants a new regulator, the Family Savings and Credit Commission, which would oversee credit card and financial services plans marketed to the public. He also proposes tougher Food and Drug Administration inspection standards and safety regulations on products, like kids’ toys, made abroad. ...
John Edwards s targeting Corporate America and what he argues are its corrupt and greedy practices. In a speech today in Des Moines, Iowa, he is outlining his plan to renew the “social contract” between business and government if elected president. “In corporate America, where a broader sense of social responsibility once held sway, a culture of greed has taken over. Instead of treating their employees fairly, being accountable to their shareholders and contributing to America’s prosperity, CEOs act like their corporations exist just to build their own massive fortunes,” says Edwards, according to speech excerpts provided to Washington Wire by his campaign.
Edwards is proposing, among other things, universal retirement accounts that employers would be required to provide if they don’t offer pension programs. Workers’ contributions would be matched dollar-for-dollar on the first $500 through a proposed “Get Ahead” tax credit. The plan would also allow workers to put their savings into government-sponsored annuities that would be run through the existing federal retirement savings plan or the Social Security Administration.
Edwards is also proposing stronger protections for workers seeking to unionize and increased shareholder rights. And he’s proposing to cap tax-deferred compensation funds for top executives at $1 million annually, and pushing for more disclosure of corporate governance structures, the pay and demographics of top corporate officers, as well as political contributions, government contracts, and taxes paid.
To protect consumers, Edwards wants a new regulator, the Family Savings and Credit Commission, which would oversee credit card and financial services plans marketed to the public. He also proposes tougher Food and Drug Administration inspection standards and safety regulations on products, like kids’ toys, made abroad. ...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. has taken at least $53,000 in campaign donations: pushing $25 million in earmarked federal funds ... for British defense
McConnell marks funds for contractor | FIRM UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR BRIBERY | By John Cheves | JCHEVES@HERALD-LEADER.COM | Sat, Oct. 27, 2007
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is pushing $25 million in earmarked federal funds for a British defense contractor that is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and suspected by American diplomats of a "longstanding, widespread pattern of bribery allegations."
McConnell tucked money for three weapons projects for BAE Systems into the defense appropriations bill, which the Senate approved Oct. 3. The Defense Department failed to include the money in its own budget request, which required McConnell to intercede, said BAE spokeswoman Susan Lenover.
BAE is based in Great Britain but has worldwide operations, including a Louisville facility that makes naval guns and employs 322. McConnell has taken at least $53,000 in campaign donations from BAE's political action committees and employees since his 2002 re-election. United Defense Industries, which BAE purchased two years ago, pledged $500,000 to a political-science foundation the senator created, the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. ...
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is pushing $25 million in earmarked federal funds for a British defense contractor that is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and suspected by American diplomats of a "longstanding, widespread pattern of bribery allegations."
McConnell tucked money for three weapons projects for BAE Systems into the defense appropriations bill, which the Senate approved Oct. 3. The Defense Department failed to include the money in its own budget request, which required McConnell to intercede, said BAE spokeswoman Susan Lenover.
BAE is based in Great Britain but has worldwide operations, including a Louisville facility that makes naval guns and employs 322. McConnell has taken at least $53,000 in campaign donations from BAE's political action committees and employees since his 2002 re-election. United Defense Industries, which BAE purchased two years ago, pledged $500,000 to a political-science foundation the senator created, the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. ...
The winning firm had an unfair advantage due to Bush administration links, say companies in complaints to GAO
Defense contract award protested | The winning firm had an unfair advantage due to Bush administration links, say companies in complaints to GAO. | By Walter F. Roche Jr., Los Angeles Times Staff Writer | October 26, 2007
WASHINGTON -- A Defense Department medical services contract worth up to $790 million was awarded last month to a Wisconsin-based company three months after it hired a former Bush administration appointee who had supervised military health programs at the Pentagon for the last six years.
William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs from 2001 until April, joined Logistics Health Inc. as a director and consultant in June. The firm beat out two other bidders with proposals that ranged from $80 million to $100 million less, records show. Under the new contract, Logistics Health will provide immunizations and physical and dental exams for reservists and National Guard members.
Logistics Health of LaCrosse, Wis., is headed by another ex-official of the Bush administration -- former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.
"They stacked the deck," said Fran Lessans, president of Passport Health, one of the losing bidders. Her Baltimore-based firm lost despite a bid projected over five years to cost nearly $100 million less than Logistics Health's winning proposal.
"It was wired. There is no doubt in my mind," Lessans said of the Defense procurement process.
Two other firms involved in the bidding have filed formal protests with the Government Accountability Office. A draft copy of one protest letter, reviewed by The Times, cited Winkenwerder's role and complained that the winning bidder may have "gained unequal access to information not available to other competitors" by hiring the former Pentagon official.
"This creates an organizational conflict of interest and potentially constitutes prohibited contact," the draft letter said.
WASHINGTON -- A Defense Department medical services contract worth up to $790 million was awarded last month to a Wisconsin-based company three months after it hired a former Bush administration appointee who had supervised military health programs at the Pentagon for the last six years.
William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs from 2001 until April, joined Logistics Health Inc. as a director and consultant in June. The firm beat out two other bidders with proposals that ranged from $80 million to $100 million less, records show. Under the new contract, Logistics Health will provide immunizations and physical and dental exams for reservists and National Guard members.
Logistics Health of LaCrosse, Wis., is headed by another ex-official of the Bush administration -- former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.
"They stacked the deck," said Fran Lessans, president of Passport Health, one of the losing bidders. Her Baltimore-based firm lost despite a bid projected over five years to cost nearly $100 million less than Logistics Health's winning proposal.
"It was wired. There is no doubt in my mind," Lessans said of the Defense procurement process.
Two other firms involved in the bidding have filed formal protests with the Government Accountability Office. A draft copy of one protest letter, reviewed by The Times, cited Winkenwerder's role and complained that the winning bidder may have "gained unequal access to information not available to other competitors" by hiring the former Pentagon official.
"This creates an organizational conflict of interest and potentially constitutes prohibited contact," the draft letter said.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
he cannot even reveal how many fraud whistle-blowers he represents, but there are dozens
The People vs. the Profiteers | by David Rose November 2007
Americans working in Iraq for Halliburton spin-off KBR have been outraged by the massive fraud they saw there. Dozens are suing the giant military contractor, on the taxpayers' behalf. Whose side is the Justice Department on?
...
Over the past 16 years, Grayson has litigated dozens of cases of contractor fraud. In many of these, he has found the Justice Department to be an ally in exposing wrongdoing. But in cases that involve the Iraq war, the D.O.J. has taken extraordinary steps to stand in his way. Behind its machinations, he believes, is a scandal of epic proportions—one that may come to haunt the legacy of the Bush administration long after it is gone.
Consider the case of Grayson's client Bud Conyers, a big, bearded 43-year-old who lives with his ex-wife and her nine children, four of them his, in Enid, Oklahoma. Conyers worked in Iraq as a driver for Kellogg, Brown & Root. Spun off by Halliburton as an independent concern in April, KBR is the world's fifth-largest construction company. Before the war started, the Pentagon awarded it two huge contracts: one, now terminated, to restore the Iraqi oil industry, and another, still in effect, to provide a wide array of logistical-support services to the U.S. military.
...
So far, Alan Grayson estimates, his efforts to pursue qui tam cases against contractors in Iraq have cost him about $10 million. The severe terms of the False Claims Act mean that he cannot even reveal how many fraud whistle-blowers he represents, but there are dozens. Stuart Bowen is the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction (sigir), a unique watchdog whose office reports to both the Pentagon and State Department. He reported last year that his office knew of 79 suppressed qui tam cases, some of which have multiple plaintiffs. As of August, 66 are still under seal. There may be many more. (KBR refuses to say how many qui tam cases have been filed against it.) ...
Americans working in Iraq for Halliburton spin-off KBR have been outraged by the massive fraud they saw there. Dozens are suing the giant military contractor, on the taxpayers' behalf. Whose side is the Justice Department on?
...
Over the past 16 years, Grayson has litigated dozens of cases of contractor fraud. In many of these, he has found the Justice Department to be an ally in exposing wrongdoing. But in cases that involve the Iraq war, the D.O.J. has taken extraordinary steps to stand in his way. Behind its machinations, he believes, is a scandal of epic proportions—one that may come to haunt the legacy of the Bush administration long after it is gone.
Consider the case of Grayson's client Bud Conyers, a big, bearded 43-year-old who lives with his ex-wife and her nine children, four of them his, in Enid, Oklahoma. Conyers worked in Iraq as a driver for Kellogg, Brown & Root. Spun off by Halliburton as an independent concern in April, KBR is the world's fifth-largest construction company. Before the war started, the Pentagon awarded it two huge contracts: one, now terminated, to restore the Iraqi oil industry, and another, still in effect, to provide a wide array of logistical-support services to the U.S. military.
...
So far, Alan Grayson estimates, his efforts to pursue qui tam cases against contractors in Iraq have cost him about $10 million. The severe terms of the False Claims Act mean that he cannot even reveal how many fraud whistle-blowers he represents, but there are dozens. Stuart Bowen is the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction (sigir), a unique watchdog whose office reports to both the Pentagon and State Department. He reported last year that his office knew of 79 suppressed qui tam cases, some of which have multiple plaintiffs. As of August, 66 are still under seal. There may be many more. (KBR refuses to say how many qui tam cases have been filed against it.) ...
BP $373M for conspiring to manipulate propane price ... violating the Clean Air Act ... criminal fines and restitution for pipeline leaks
BP to Pay $373 Million in Federal Probe | Thursday October 25, 1:02 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil and gas giant BP PLC agreed Thursday to pay $373 million in fines and restitution to end investigations into whether it manipulated energy markets and violated environmental laws, the Justice Department said.
Additionally, four former BP employees were indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago on 20 counts of mail and wire fraud charges connected to the price-fixing scheme.
BP, Europe's second-largest energy company, will pay an estimated $50 million as part of an agreement to plead guilty for violating the Clean Air Act as a result of a 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 employees and injured more than 170 others.
Additionally, it will pay $20 million in criminal fines and restitution to the state of Alaska and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for pipeline leaks ofcrude oil that polluted tundra and a frozen lake in Alaska.
The rest of the fines aim to punish BP for conspiring to manipulate propane prices. ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil and gas giant BP PLC agreed Thursday to pay $373 million in fines and restitution to end investigations into whether it manipulated energy markets and violated environmental laws, the Justice Department said.
Additionally, four former BP employees were indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago on 20 counts of mail and wire fraud charges connected to the price-fixing scheme.
BP, Europe's second-largest energy company, will pay an estimated $50 million as part of an agreement to plead guilty for violating the Clean Air Act as a result of a 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 employees and injured more than 170 others.
Additionally, it will pay $20 million in criminal fines and restitution to the state of Alaska and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for pipeline leaks ofcrude oil that polluted tundra and a frozen lake in Alaska.
The rest of the fines aim to punish BP for conspiring to manipulate propane prices. ...
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Without enough fire-prevention money, they say, it is only a matter of time before the county faces another massive wildfire.
Alliance fears cuts in wildfire prevention | Proposal to reduce funding alarms backcounty residents | By Mike Lee | STAFF WRITER | April 2, 2007
Across San Diego County's fire country, an alliance of agencies has spent about $50 million to clear dead trees and overgrown brush after blazes charred much of the region in 2003.
But now, the federal fire-prevention money for their work is drying up. Priorities in Washington, D.C., have shifted to paying for national defense, cleanups after Hurricane Katrina and other needs, forestry experts say.
...
As memories of the 2003 blazes fade, some local leaders worry that federal officials are forgetting the lessons learned that fall. Without enough fire-prevention money, they say, it is only a matter of time before the county faces another massive wildfire.
...
Forest Service officials say spending on vegetation removal in San Diego County is $1 million to $2 million a year. In 2004, the agency issued about $10 million in grants for the region.
...
“Somebody is responsible for removing these dead trees, and it isn't happening,” he said. “You want to avoid another fire – that should be clear to everyone by now.”
Across San Diego County's fire country, an alliance of agencies has spent about $50 million to clear dead trees and overgrown brush after blazes charred much of the region in 2003.
But now, the federal fire-prevention money for their work is drying up. Priorities in Washington, D.C., have shifted to paying for national defense, cleanups after Hurricane Katrina and other needs, forestry experts say.
...
As memories of the 2003 blazes fade, some local leaders worry that federal officials are forgetting the lessons learned that fall. Without enough fire-prevention money, they say, it is only a matter of time before the county faces another massive wildfire.
...
Forest Service officials say spending on vegetation removal in San Diego County is $1 million to $2 million a year. In 2004, the agency issued about $10 million in grants for the region.
...
“Somebody is responsible for removing these dead trees, and it isn't happening,” he said. “You want to avoid another fire – that should be clear to everyone by now.”
Gov't Auditors Warned Bush Administration About Poor Firefighting Plans ... evidence is growing that the Bush administration is not adequately prepare
Gov't Auditors Warned Bush Administration About Poor Firefighting Plans | October 24, 2007 02:10 PM
As firefighters continue to risk their lives battling the inferno in southern California, evidence is growing that the Bush administration is not adequately prepared to support them.
The Government Accountability Office, Congress's nonpartisan auditor, issued stark warnings earlier this year on shortcomings in the administration's plans to fight fires.
In a June report, the GAO report faulted the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, and other agencies for failing to accomplish the "fundamental step" of planning out what assets and resources were needed to prepare for approaching fire seasons. Meanwhile, disaster response problems that have become all too familiar in recent years were also identified: administration officials placing resources where they were politically expedient, and using poorly performing contractors to accomplish critical national tasks.
...
The report shows that the Bush administration was warned that the approximately $3 billion spent each year on fire prevention and suppression was not being used appropriately.
"Agencies have not yet improved their systems for determining the appropriate type and quantity of firefighting assets needed for the fire season or for effectively and efficiently procuring them," the GAO states.
...
Other problems, the GAO notes, involve private contractors, a common malady in the Bush administration. The Forest Service has turned to national contractors that can deploy firefighting crews and aviation resources anywhere in the nation, but a failure to ensure accountability has resulted in poor performance.
"[R]equirements varied from contract to contract and did not ensure that the agencies obtained the most cost-effective assets," it reported. "Further, inadequate administration and oversight of the agreements by the agencies resulted in poor contractor performance and high rental rates." ...
As firefighters continue to risk their lives battling the inferno in southern California, evidence is growing that the Bush administration is not adequately prepared to support them.
The Government Accountability Office, Congress's nonpartisan auditor, issued stark warnings earlier this year on shortcomings in the administration's plans to fight fires.
In a June report, the GAO report faulted the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, and other agencies for failing to accomplish the "fundamental step" of planning out what assets and resources were needed to prepare for approaching fire seasons. Meanwhile, disaster response problems that have become all too familiar in recent years were also identified: administration officials placing resources where they were politically expedient, and using poorly performing contractors to accomplish critical national tasks.
...
The report shows that the Bush administration was warned that the approximately $3 billion spent each year on fire prevention and suppression was not being used appropriately.
"Agencies have not yet improved their systems for determining the appropriate type and quantity of firefighting assets needed for the fire season or for effectively and efficiently procuring them," the GAO states.
...
Other problems, the GAO notes, involve private contractors, a common malady in the Bush administration. The Forest Service has turned to national contractors that can deploy firefighting crews and aviation resources anywhere in the nation, but a failure to ensure accountability has resulted in poor performance.
"[R]equirements varied from contract to contract and did not ensure that the agencies obtained the most cost-effective assets," it reported. "Further, inadequate administration and oversight of the agreements by the agencies resulted in poor contractor performance and high rental rates." ...
Saturday, October 20, 2007
about the same time [Senator] "telecom Jay" received $48,500 in contributions ... use his 'influence' to give "retro-active" immunity?
Friday, October 19, 2007 | Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Verizon and AT&T's dirty "retro active immunity" threesome
Senator Jay Rockefeller loves those telecom lobbyists. Well at least since March 2007 he has. In the last 5 years Rockefeller received a pathetic amount of funds from AT & T and Verizon. Nothing that could cause a controversy. That all changed in March when the wiretapping telecoms discovered the power of the chairman of the Senate Select Commitee on Intelligence.
Hmmm. Right about the same time "telecom Jay" received $48,500 in campaign contributions from the two companies, the government was intensifying their cases against them. Is Sen. Rockefeller trying to derail the investigations? Did "telecom Jay" use his 'influence' to give these complicit companies 'retro active' immunity?
According to Ryan Singel of Wired's, Threat Level, it appears so..and I must say, I agree.
Senator Jay Rockefeller loves those telecom lobbyists. Well at least since March 2007 he has. In the last 5 years Rockefeller received a pathetic amount of funds from AT & T and Verizon. Nothing that could cause a controversy. That all changed in March when the wiretapping telecoms discovered the power of the chairman of the Senate Select Commitee on Intelligence.
Hmmm. Right about the same time "telecom Jay" received $48,500 in campaign contributions from the two companies, the government was intensifying their cases against them. Is Sen. Rockefeller trying to derail the investigations? Did "telecom Jay" use his 'influence' to give these complicit companies 'retro active' immunity?
According to Ryan Singel of Wired's, Threat Level, it appears so..and I must say, I agree.
The Spring '07 checks represent 86 percent of money donated to Rockefeller by Verizon employees since at least 2001.View his donor list. Shame on you "telecom Jay". Who do you represent....US or them?
AT&T executives discovered a fondness for Rockefeller just a month after Verizon execs did and over a three-month span, collectively made donations totaling $19,350.
AT&T Vice President Fred McCallum began the giving spree in May with a $500 donation. 22 other AT&T high fliers soon followed with their own checks.
Monday, October 15, 2007
he unloaded $138 million worth of Countrywide’s stock ... in the months before the sub-prime crisis ...
Enron’s Second Coming? | By PAUL KRUGMAN | Published: October 1, 2007
In May 2005 NYSE Magazine featured an article titled “American Dream Builder” — a glowing profile of Angelo Mozilo, the chairman and C.E.O. of Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage lender. The article portrayed Mr. Mozilo as a heckuva guy — a man from a humble background determined to help other people, especially members of minority groups, achieve the American dream of homeownership.
The article didn’t mention one of Mr. Mozilo’s other distinguishing characteristics: the extraordinary size of his paychecks. Last year Mr. Mozilo was paid $142 million, making him the seventh-highest-paid chief executive in America.
These days, of course, Mr. Mozilo doesn’t look like such a wonderful guy, after all. Instead, he’s starting to bring back memories of other people who used to be praised not just as great businessmen but as great human beings — people like Enron’s Ken Lay and WorldCom’s Bernie Ebbers.
...
Last but not least, since it may be the key to the whole story, is the victimization of Countrywide’s own stockholders.
Last year Mr. Mozilo’s huge compensation drew a protest from a group of shareholders including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Pension Plan. But the worst was yet to come.
In late 2006, even as Countrywide began using shareholders’ money to buy back its own stock at more than $40 a share — it’s now worth only $19 — Mr. Mozilo was selling. Between November 2006 and August 2007 — that is, during the months before investors fully realized the extent to which his company would be hurt by the subprime mortgage crisis — he unloaded $138 million worth of Countrywide’s stock.
Again, unless the stock sales lead to insider-trading charges, there’s nothing in this story that involves illegality. ...
...
Sure enough, C.E.O. paychecks, which came partway back to earth in 2002, more than doubled between 2003 and 2006. And with those huge paychecks came renewed incentives for malfeasance. Once again, executives could become richer than Croesus by creating the illusion of success, even for a little while. ...
In May 2005 NYSE Magazine featured an article titled “American Dream Builder” — a glowing profile of Angelo Mozilo, the chairman and C.E.O. of Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage lender. The article portrayed Mr. Mozilo as a heckuva guy — a man from a humble background determined to help other people, especially members of minority groups, achieve the American dream of homeownership.
The article didn’t mention one of Mr. Mozilo’s other distinguishing characteristics: the extraordinary size of his paychecks. Last year Mr. Mozilo was paid $142 million, making him the seventh-highest-paid chief executive in America.
These days, of course, Mr. Mozilo doesn’t look like such a wonderful guy, after all. Instead, he’s starting to bring back memories of other people who used to be praised not just as great businessmen but as great human beings — people like Enron’s Ken Lay and WorldCom’s Bernie Ebbers.
...
Last but not least, since it may be the key to the whole story, is the victimization of Countrywide’s own stockholders.
Last year Mr. Mozilo’s huge compensation drew a protest from a group of shareholders including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Pension Plan. But the worst was yet to come.
In late 2006, even as Countrywide began using shareholders’ money to buy back its own stock at more than $40 a share — it’s now worth only $19 — Mr. Mozilo was selling. Between November 2006 and August 2007 — that is, during the months before investors fully realized the extent to which his company would be hurt by the subprime mortgage crisis — he unloaded $138 million worth of Countrywide’s stock.
Again, unless the stock sales lead to insider-trading charges, there’s nothing in this story that involves illegality. ...
...
Sure enough, C.E.O. paychecks, which came partway back to earth in 2002, more than doubled between 2003 and 2006. And with those huge paychecks came renewed incentives for malfeasance. Once again, executives could become richer than Croesus by creating the illusion of success, even for a little while. ...
Sunday, October 14, 2007
CIA: How can you do that and have the director turn around and investigate the Inspector.General.?
Watchdog of C.I.A. Is Subject of C.I.A. Inquiry | By MARK MAZZETTI and SCOTT SHANE | Published: October 11, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 — The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Gen. Michael V. Hayden, has ordered an unusual internal inquiry into the work of the agency’s inspector general, whose aggressive investigations of the C.I.A.’s detention and interrogation programs and other matters have created resentment among agency operatives.
A small team working for General Hayden is looking into the conduct of the agency’s watchdog office, which is led by Inspector General John L. Helgerson. Current and former government officials said the review had caused anxiety and anger in Mr. Helgerson’s office and aroused concern on Capitol Hill that it posed a conflict of interest.
...
Any move by the agency’s director to examine the work of the inspector general would be unusual, if not unprecedented, and would threaten to undermine the independence of the office, some current and former officials say.
...
“I think it’s a terrible idea,” said Mr. Hitz, who now teaches at the University of Virginia. “Under the statute, the inspector general has the right to investigate the director. How can you do that and have the director turn around and investigate the I.G.?” ...
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 — The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Gen. Michael V. Hayden, has ordered an unusual internal inquiry into the work of the agency’s inspector general, whose aggressive investigations of the C.I.A.’s detention and interrogation programs and other matters have created resentment among agency operatives.
A small team working for General Hayden is looking into the conduct of the agency’s watchdog office, which is led by Inspector General John L. Helgerson. Current and former government officials said the review had caused anxiety and anger in Mr. Helgerson’s office and aroused concern on Capitol Hill that it posed a conflict of interest.
...
Any move by the agency’s director to examine the work of the inspector general would be unusual, if not unprecedented, and would threaten to undermine the independence of the office, some current and former officials say.
...
“I think it’s a terrible idea,” said Mr. Hitz, who now teaches at the University of Virginia. “Under the statute, the inspector general has the right to investigate the director. How can you do that and have the director turn around and investigate the I.G.?” ...
If the Supreme Court is going to allow the business community to run virtually unchecked with these kinds of schemes, ...
Friend Of Defrauders Court | Submitted by Isaiah J. Poole on October 11, 2007 - 2:36pm.
If you are a Wall Street investment banker, there's new evidence that you've got the best Supreme Court money can buy.
Conservative Supreme Court justices did little to hide their disdain for the need to protect the interests of investors earlier this week as they heard the case of a group of stockholders seeking to recover damages from a corporation engaged in a fraud scheme designed to illicitly pump up their stock price.
...
The case involves two cable box makers who entered into an agreement with Charter Communications, a cable company, in which Charter would pay a $17 million cost increase for boxes from the companies. The companies agreed to use the windfall to buy an equivalent amount of advertising. That enabled Charter to claim it had an addition $17 million in revenue as it treated the equivalent increased expense as capital spending. The effect was a balance sheet that looked better than it actually was, and hence a stock price that was artificially inflated, à la Enron.
This should be a no-brainer: If you cook up a fraud scheme that ends up inflating a company's stock price, you should be liable for the fraud. But, as we've noted before, the Bush administration is using the right-wing ideological playbook, not common sense law, to encourage the Supreme Court—as if recent Bush appointees John Roberts and Samual Alito needed persuading—to shield so-called secondary actors from liability in stock fraud cases.
...
Roberts, the chief justice, made clear his stand when he said that Congress—that would be the Republican, Chamber-of-Congress-controlled Congress just reduced to minority status last year, to be precise—has already set the bounds for shareholder rights in these cases and, as he was quoted in The Washington Post, "my suggestion is that we should get out of the business of expanding it."
(The would be the same Justice Roberts who, along with Justiice Stephen Breyer, initially recused himself from hearing this case because both he and Breyer owned stock in Cisco Systems, the parent company of one of the cable box makers. But Roberts chose to sell the stock so he could weigh in. Breyer chose to continue refrain from participating.)
If the Supreme Court is going to allow the business community to run virtually unchecked with these kinds of schemes, with victims having no recourse, then Congress needs to step up now with a law that makes it clear that structuring Enron-style, cooking-the-books schemes is not merely sordid, but is the kind of criminal behavior that gets you sued.
If you are a Wall Street investment banker, there's new evidence that you've got the best Supreme Court money can buy.
Conservative Supreme Court justices did little to hide their disdain for the need to protect the interests of investors earlier this week as they heard the case of a group of stockholders seeking to recover damages from a corporation engaged in a fraud scheme designed to illicitly pump up their stock price.
...
The case involves two cable box makers who entered into an agreement with Charter Communications, a cable company, in which Charter would pay a $17 million cost increase for boxes from the companies. The companies agreed to use the windfall to buy an equivalent amount of advertising. That enabled Charter to claim it had an addition $17 million in revenue as it treated the equivalent increased expense as capital spending. The effect was a balance sheet that looked better than it actually was, and hence a stock price that was artificially inflated, à la Enron.
This should be a no-brainer: If you cook up a fraud scheme that ends up inflating a company's stock price, you should be liable for the fraud. But, as we've noted before, the Bush administration is using the right-wing ideological playbook, not common sense law, to encourage the Supreme Court—as if recent Bush appointees John Roberts and Samual Alito needed persuading—to shield so-called secondary actors from liability in stock fraud cases.
...
Roberts, the chief justice, made clear his stand when he said that Congress—that would be the Republican, Chamber-of-Congress-controlled Congress just reduced to minority status last year, to be precise—has already set the bounds for shareholder rights in these cases and, as he was quoted in The Washington Post, "my suggestion is that we should get out of the business of expanding it."
(The would be the same Justice Roberts who, along with Justiice Stephen Breyer, initially recused himself from hearing this case because both he and Breyer owned stock in Cisco Systems, the parent company of one of the cable box makers. But Roberts chose to sell the stock so he could weigh in. Breyer chose to continue refrain from participating.)
If the Supreme Court is going to allow the business community to run virtually unchecked with these kinds of schemes, with victims having no recourse, then Congress needs to step up now with a law that makes it clear that structuring Enron-style, cooking-the-books schemes is not merely sordid, but is the kind of criminal behavior that gets you sued.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
one day short of the number needed to be eligible for expanded educational benefits under the GI Bill ...
CNN: 'Day short' troops now 'fighting the Army they served' | David Edwards and Muriel Kane | Published: Tuesday October 9, 2007
The 2600 members of a Minnesota National Guard unit that returned from Iraq in July after serving there longer than any other ground combat unit were shocked to be told that their total time overseas of 729 days was one day short of the number needed to be eligible for expanded educational benefits under the GI Bill. Many of the soldiers wondered if this was done deliberately and they and Minnesota's senators asked the Secretary of the Army to look into it.
1st Lieut. John Hobot, a spokesman for the unit, told CNN on Monday that he believes it was simply a bureaucratic mixup, saying, "There's people that got off the same plane from Iraq ... and their orders read 730 days, whereas 1162 soldiers' orders say 729. These guys did the same exact tour." Hobot just wants the Army to fix the orders so that the soldiers, some of whom are already back in school, can receive the additional $500 to $800 a month.
...
CNN then asked Lieut. Col. Darryl Darden at the Pentagon what was taking so long. Darden praised Hobot for looking out for his men and said, "We know there has been an injustice and we have put together a process ... to seek redress for this bureaucratic mixup. ... We believe that by January 8 they should be able to receive their benefits." ....
The 2600 members of a Minnesota National Guard unit that returned from Iraq in July after serving there longer than any other ground combat unit were shocked to be told that their total time overseas of 729 days was one day short of the number needed to be eligible for expanded educational benefits under the GI Bill. Many of the soldiers wondered if this was done deliberately and they and Minnesota's senators asked the Secretary of the Army to look into it.
1st Lieut. John Hobot, a spokesman for the unit, told CNN on Monday that he believes it was simply a bureaucratic mixup, saying, "There's people that got off the same plane from Iraq ... and their orders read 730 days, whereas 1162 soldiers' orders say 729. These guys did the same exact tour." Hobot just wants the Army to fix the orders so that the soldiers, some of whom are already back in school, can receive the additional $500 to $800 a month.
...
CNN then asked Lieut. Col. Darryl Darden at the Pentagon what was taking so long. Darden praised Hobot for looking out for his men and said, "We know there has been an injustice and we have put together a process ... to seek redress for this bureaucratic mixup. ... We believe that by January 8 they should be able to receive their benefits." ....
Monday, October 08, 2007
Blackwater contracts 'awarded for political reasons' ... $500M in contracts were awarded without proper competition
Webb: Blackwater contracts 'awarded for political reasons' | Greg Wasserstrom and Mike Aivaz | Published: Monday October 8, 2007 | By Mike Aivaz
The security contracts awarded to Blackwater USA in Iraq were done so for primarily political reasons, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia told Joe Scarborogh today on MSNBC's Morning Joe. In an extensive discussion about US foreign policy, Webb brought up the controversy over Blackwater's actions in Iraq and the attempt by congress to bring them under US law. "With respect to Blackwater, we've allowed mercenaries to actually conduct combat operations, and we've never done this before," Webb said. "And they're doing this with no legal structure over them."
... Webb added. "That's something like half a billion out of their nearly billion dollar contracts were awarded without proper competition, according to the house committee report last year."
The security contracts awarded to Blackwater USA in Iraq were done so for primarily political reasons, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia told Joe Scarborogh today on MSNBC's Morning Joe. In an extensive discussion about US foreign policy, Webb brought up the controversy over Blackwater's actions in Iraq and the attempt by congress to bring them under US law. "With respect to Blackwater, we've allowed mercenaries to actually conduct combat operations, and we've never done this before," Webb said. "And they're doing this with no legal structure over them."
... Webb added. "That's something like half a billion out of their nearly billion dollar contracts were awarded without proper competition, according to the house committee report last year."
Iraq Demands $136M Blackwater Payout ... for Iraqi deaths ... and Sever all Contracts ...
Iraq Demands $136M Blackwater Payout | Authorities Also Call On U.S. To Sever All Contracts With Security Firm In Iraq | BAGHDAD, Oct. 8, 2007
(CBS/AP) Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months and pay $8 million in compensation to each of the families of 17 people killed when the firm's guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy machine gun fire last month.
The demands, part of an Iraqi government report examined by The Associated Press, also called on U.S. authorities to hand over the Blackwater security agents involved in the Sept. 16 shootings to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.
CBS News has found the Iraqi witness accounts of the shootings are remarkably consistent.
They say a four-vehicle Blackwater convoy drove into a traffic circle but was blocked by barriers protecting a maintenance crew, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.
The Blackwater guards threw water bottles, warning the cars to stop, but as one car continued to inch forward, Blackwater started shooting, instantly killing the driver.
The tone of the Iraqi report appears to signal further strains between the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the White House over the deaths in Nisoor Square, which have prompted a series of U.S. and Iraqi probes and raised questions over the use of private security contractors to guard U.S. diplomats and other officials.
Al-Maliki ordered the investigation by his defense minister and other top security and police officials on Sept. 22. The findings mark the most definitive Iraqi positions and contentions about the shootings last month. ...
...
The report found that Blackwater guards also had killed 21 Iraqi civilians and wounded 27 in previous shootings since it took over security for U.S. diplomats in Baghdad after the U.S. invasion. The Iraqi government did not say whether it would try to prosecute in those cases.
The State Department has counted 56 shooting incidents involving Blackwater guards in Iraq this year. All were being reviewed as part of the comprehensive inquiry ordered by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
(CBS/AP) Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months and pay $8 million in compensation to each of the families of 17 people killed when the firm's guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy machine gun fire last month.
The demands, part of an Iraqi government report examined by The Associated Press, also called on U.S. authorities to hand over the Blackwater security agents involved in the Sept. 16 shootings to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.
CBS News has found the Iraqi witness accounts of the shootings are remarkably consistent.
They say a four-vehicle Blackwater convoy drove into a traffic circle but was blocked by barriers protecting a maintenance crew, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.
The Blackwater guards threw water bottles, warning the cars to stop, but as one car continued to inch forward, Blackwater started shooting, instantly killing the driver.
The tone of the Iraqi report appears to signal further strains between the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the White House over the deaths in Nisoor Square, which have prompted a series of U.S. and Iraqi probes and raised questions over the use of private security contractors to guard U.S. diplomats and other officials.
Al-Maliki ordered the investigation by his defense minister and other top security and police officials on Sept. 22. The findings mark the most definitive Iraqi positions and contentions about the shootings last month. ...
...
The report found that Blackwater guards also had killed 21 Iraqi civilians and wounded 27 in previous shootings since it took over security for U.S. diplomats in Baghdad after the U.S. invasion. The Iraqi government did not say whether it would try to prosecute in those cases.
The State Department has counted 56 shooting incidents involving Blackwater guards in Iraq this year. All were being reviewed as part of the comprehensive inquiry ordered by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
State Dept Ignored 'Repeated Warnings' Blackwater Endangered Iraqi Civilians
State Dept Ignored 'Repeated Warnings' Blackwater Endangered Iraqi Civilians | LA Times | Paul Richter | October 7, 2007 03:29 PM
The State Department, which is facing growing criticism of its policy on private security contractors, overlooked repeated warnings from U.S. diplomats in the field that guards were endangering Iraqi civilians and undermining U.S. efforts to win support from the population, according to current and former U.S. officials.
Ever since the contractors were granted immunity from Iraqi courts in June 2004 by the U.S.-led occupation authority, diplomats have cautioned that the decision to do so was "a bomb that could go off at any time," said one former U.S. official.
Read full story here.
The State Department, which is facing growing criticism of its policy on private security contractors, overlooked repeated warnings from U.S. diplomats in the field that guards were endangering Iraqi civilians and undermining U.S. efforts to win support from the population, according to current and former U.S. officials.
Ever since the contractors were granted immunity from Iraqi courts in June 2004 by the U.S.-led occupation authority, diplomats have cautioned that the decision to do so was "a bomb that could go off at any time," said one former U.S. official.
Read full story here.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Many soldiers get boot for 'pre-existing' mental illness ... Defense Department ... saving the expense of caring for them
Many soldiers get boot for 'pre-existing' mental illness | By Philip Dine | POST-DISPATCH WASHINGTON BUREAU | 09/30/2007
WASHINGTON — Thousands of U.S. soldiers in Iraq — as many as 10 a day — are being discharged by the military for mental health reasons. But the Pentagon isn't blaming the war. It says the soldiers had "pre-existing" conditions that disqualify them for treatment by the government.
Many soldiers and Marines being discharged on this basis actually suffer from combat-related problems, experts say. But by classifying them as having a condition unrelated to the war, the Defense Department is able to quickly get rid of troops having trouble doing their work while also saving the expense of caring for them.
The result appears to be that many actually suffering from combat-related problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries don't get the help they need. ...
WASHINGTON — Thousands of U.S. soldiers in Iraq — as many as 10 a day — are being discharged by the military for mental health reasons. But the Pentagon isn't blaming the war. It says the soldiers had "pre-existing" conditions that disqualify them for treatment by the government.
Many soldiers and Marines being discharged on this basis actually suffer from combat-related problems, experts say. But by classifying them as having a condition unrelated to the war, the Defense Department is able to quickly get rid of troops having trouble doing their work while also saving the expense of caring for them.
The result appears to be that many actually suffering from combat-related problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries don't get the help they need. ...
"I think it was a scheme to save money, personally." ... 729 days active duty, [1 short of paying for education benefits]
National Guard Troops Denied Benefits After Longest Deployment Of Iraq War | Rhonda Erskine, Online Content Producer | Updated: 10/3/2007 5:32:02 PM
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (NBC) -- When they came home from Iraq, 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard had been deployed longer than any other ground combat unit. The tour lasted 22 months and had been extended as part of President Bush's surge.
1st Lt. Jon Anderson said he never expected to come home to this: A government refusing to pay education benefits he says he should have earned under the GI bill.
"It's pretty much a slap in the face," Anderson said. "I think it was a scheme to save money, personally. I think it was a leadership failure by the senior Washington leadership... once again failing the soldiers."
Anderson's orders, and the orders of 1,161 other Minnesota guard members, were written for 729 days.
Had they been written for 730 days, just one day more, the soldiers would receive those benefits to pay for school.
"Which would be allowing the soldiers an extra $500 to $800 a month," Anderson said.
That money would help him pay for his master's degree in public administration. It would help Anderson's fellow platoon leader, John Hobot, pay for a degree in law enforcement. ....
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (NBC) -- When they came home from Iraq, 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard had been deployed longer than any other ground combat unit. The tour lasted 22 months and had been extended as part of President Bush's surge.
1st Lt. Jon Anderson said he never expected to come home to this: A government refusing to pay education benefits he says he should have earned under the GI bill.
"It's pretty much a slap in the face," Anderson said. "I think it was a scheme to save money, personally. I think it was a leadership failure by the senior Washington leadership... once again failing the soldiers."
Anderson's orders, and the orders of 1,161 other Minnesota guard members, were written for 729 days.
Had they been written for 730 days, just one day more, the soldiers would receive those benefits to pay for school.
"Which would be allowing the soldiers an extra $500 to $800 a month," Anderson said.
That money would help him pay for his master's degree in public administration. It would help Anderson's fellow platoon leader, John Hobot, pay for a degree in law enforcement. ....
Oral Roberts University: $39,000 in stores, Lexus SUV, red Mercedes, university jet trips, underage males ....
Scandal Brewing at Oral Roberts U. | Oct 5, 4:35 PM (ET) | By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS
...
Now, his son, Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts, says God is speaking again, telling him to deny lurid allegations in a lawsuit that threatens to engulf this 44-year-old Bible Belt college in scandal.
Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.
She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."
...
Richard Roberts, according to the suit, asked a professor in 2005 to use his students and university resources to aid a county commissioner's bid for Tulsa mayor. Such involvement would violate state and federal law because of the university's nonprofit status. Up to 50 students are alleged to have worked on the campaign.
The professors also said their dismissals came after they turned over to the board of regents a copy of a report documenting moral and ethical lapses on the part of Roberts and his family. The internal document was prepared by Stephanie Cantese, Richard Roberts' sister-in-law, according to the lawsuit.
An ORU student repairing Cantese's laptop discovered the document and later provided a copy to one of the professors.
It details dozens of alleged instances of misconduct. Among them:
- A longtime maintenance employee was fired so that an underage male friend of Mrs. Roberts could have his position.
- Mrs. Roberts - who is a member of the board of regents and is referred to as ORU's "first lady" on the university's Web site - frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."
- The university jet was used to take one daughter and several friends on a senior trip to Orlando, Fla., and the Bahamas. The $29,411 trip was billed to the ministry as an "evangelistic function of the president."
- Mrs. Roberts spent more than $39,000 at one Chico's clothing store alone in less than a year, and had other accounts in Texas and California. She also repeatedly said, "As long as I wear it once on TV, we can charge it off." The document cites inconsistencies in clothing purchases and actual usage on TV.
- Mrs. Roberts was given a white Lexus SUV and a red Mercedes convertible by ministry donors. ....
...
Now, his son, Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts, says God is speaking again, telling him to deny lurid allegations in a lawsuit that threatens to engulf this 44-year-old Bible Belt college in scandal.
Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.
She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."
...
Richard Roberts, according to the suit, asked a professor in 2005 to use his students and university resources to aid a county commissioner's bid for Tulsa mayor. Such involvement would violate state and federal law because of the university's nonprofit status. Up to 50 students are alleged to have worked on the campaign.
The professors also said their dismissals came after they turned over to the board of regents a copy of a report documenting moral and ethical lapses on the part of Roberts and his family. The internal document was prepared by Stephanie Cantese, Richard Roberts' sister-in-law, according to the lawsuit.
An ORU student repairing Cantese's laptop discovered the document and later provided a copy to one of the professors.
It details dozens of alleged instances of misconduct. Among them:
- A longtime maintenance employee was fired so that an underage male friend of Mrs. Roberts could have his position.
- Mrs. Roberts - who is a member of the board of regents and is referred to as ORU's "first lady" on the university's Web site - frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."
- The university jet was used to take one daughter and several friends on a senior trip to Orlando, Fla., and the Bahamas. The $29,411 trip was billed to the ministry as an "evangelistic function of the president."
- Mrs. Roberts spent more than $39,000 at one Chico's clothing store alone in less than a year, and had other accounts in Texas and California. She also repeatedly said, "As long as I wear it once on TV, we can charge it off." The document cites inconsistencies in clothing purchases and actual usage on TV.
- Mrs. Roberts was given a white Lexus SUV and a red Mercedes convertible by ministry donors. ....
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
November 2004, a BLM inspector noted that pillars of coal, which were holding up the mine's roof, were failing [...missed in 2005 due diligence??]
Agency Inspectors Knew of Mine Problems | JENNIFER TALHELM | October 2, 2007 05:05 PM EST
WASHINGTON — At least three years before the deadly August accident at Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine, Bureau of Land Management inspectors noted serious structural problems that they feared could cause the mine's roof to collapse, Congress was told Tuesday.
Yet the government's mine safety office didn't know of the bureau's concerns until after the accident, Kevin Stricklin, a coal mine safety administrator for the department, testified during a Senate hearing.
The Labor Department oversees the mine safety office and approved the Crandall Canyon mining plan. The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees how much coal is mined from public land, is governed by the Interior Department, a separate agency.
...
Lawmakers have said they are skeptical that the government did everything it could to prevent the accident. They also have questioned why the Bureau of Land Management noticed the problems at Crandall Canyon _ but not the mine safety department.
Documents released by the committee showed that in November 2004, a BLM inspector noted that pillars of coal, which were holding up the mine's roof, were failing.
The inspector, Stephen Falk, said that further mining by pulling out the pillars would be "untenable" and "wishful thinking" in hopes of extending the mine's life.
"Mining any of the coal in the pillars will result in hazardous mining conditions such as pillar bursts and roof falls," Falk wrote. ...
WASHINGTON — At least three years before the deadly August accident at Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine, Bureau of Land Management inspectors noted serious structural problems that they feared could cause the mine's roof to collapse, Congress was told Tuesday.
Yet the government's mine safety office didn't know of the bureau's concerns until after the accident, Kevin Stricklin, a coal mine safety administrator for the department, testified during a Senate hearing.
The Labor Department oversees the mine safety office and approved the Crandall Canyon mining plan. The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees how much coal is mined from public land, is governed by the Interior Department, a separate agency.
...
Lawmakers have said they are skeptical that the government did everything it could to prevent the accident. They also have questioned why the Bureau of Land Management noticed the problems at Crandall Canyon _ but not the mine safety department.
Documents released by the committee showed that in November 2004, a BLM inspector noted that pillars of coal, which were holding up the mine's roof, were failing.
The inspector, Stephen Falk, said that further mining by pulling out the pillars would be "untenable" and "wishful thinking" in hopes of extending the mine's life.
"Mining any of the coal in the pillars will result in hazardous mining conditions such as pillar bursts and roof falls," Falk wrote. ...
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Joseph Schmitz, COO of Prince Group, Blackwater's company married to Jeb Bush's sister-in-law
Friday, September 28, 2007 | One More Interesting Blackwater Fact
Turns out Joseph Schmitz, COO & general counsel of the Prince Group, Blackwater's parent company, is married to one Lucila Garnica Gallo, Colomba Bush's sister (Jeb Bush's wife). Next on the list: What sort of family are the Garnica Gallos? Well, not the (literally) criminal lawyers George W. likes to help. Señor Garnica appears to have been a migrant worker. ...
Turns out Joseph Schmitz, COO & general counsel of the Prince Group, Blackwater's parent company, is married to one Lucila Garnica Gallo, Colomba Bush's sister (Jeb Bush's wife). Next on the list: What sort of family are the Garnica Gallos? Well, not the (literally) criminal lawyers George W. likes to help. Señor Garnica appears to have been a migrant worker. ...
Bush appointee --> oversee Pentagon contracts -->$$ --> inquiry into blocked criminal investigations --> COO of Blackwater [Iraq security
Man Bush chose to lead Pentagon contracting probes left under fire to become Blackwater COO | Jason Rhyne and Nick Juliano | Published: Tuesday October 2, 2007
The private security firm Blackwater USA, ... has numerous links to the White House as well as many current and former Republicans.
The connections include the firm's chief operating officer Joseph Schmitz, who was tapped by President Bush in 2002 to "oversee and police the Pentagon's military contracts as the Defense Department's Inspector General."
The relevation was first reported by Ben Van Heuvelen in Salon.
Serving until 2005, Schmitz went on to preside over "the largest increase of military-contracting spending in history" and joined Blackwater just a month after his departure from the Pentagon, according to Van Heuvelen.
"The resignation comes after Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent Schmitz several letters this summer informing him that he was the focus of a congressional inquiry into whether he had blocked two criminal investigations last year," according to a 2005 article in the LA Times. ...
The private security firm Blackwater USA, ... has numerous links to the White House as well as many current and former Republicans.
The connections include the firm's chief operating officer Joseph Schmitz, who was tapped by President Bush in 2002 to "oversee and police the Pentagon's military contracts as the Defense Department's Inspector General."
The relevation was first reported by Ben Van Heuvelen in Salon.
Serving until 2005, Schmitz went on to preside over "the largest increase of military-contracting spending in history" and joined Blackwater just a month after his departure from the Pentagon, according to Van Heuvelen.
"The resignation comes after Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent Schmitz several letters this summer informing him that he was the focus of a congressional inquiry into whether he had blocked two criminal investigations last year," according to a 2005 article in the LA Times. ...
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Bush's EPA Is Pursuing Fewer Polluters ... down nearly 70 percent ... prosecutions, cases, convictions drop
Bush's EPA Is Pursuing Fewer Polluters | Probes and Prosecutions Have Declined Sharply | By John Solomon and Juliet Eilperin | Washington Post Staff Writers | Sunday, September 30, 2007; Page A01
The Environmental Protection Agency's pursuit of criminal cases against polluters has dropped off sharply during the Bush administration, with the number of prosecutions, new investigations and total convictions all down by more than a third, according to Justice Department and EPA data.
The number of civil lawsuits filed against defendants who refuse to settle environmental cases was down nearly 70 percent between fiscal years 2002 and 2006, compared with a four-year period in the late 1990s, according to those same statistics.
...
The slower pace of enforcement mirrors a decline in resources for pursuing environmental wrongdoing. The EPA now employs 172 investigators in its Criminal Investigation Division, below the minimum of 200 agents required by the 1990 Pollution Prosecution Act, signed by President George H.W. Bush.
...
The Massachusetts case is emblematic of the steep decline in criminal cases initiated by the EPA. The number of environmental prosecutions plummeted from 919 in 2001 to 584 last year, a 36 percent decline, according to Justice Department statistics collected by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
...
Those same Justice Department data also show that the number of people convicted for environmental crimes dropped from 738 in 2001 to 470 last year.
Similarly, the number of cases opened by EPA investigators fell 37 percent, from 482 in 2001 to 305 last year, according to data the EPA provided congressional investigators. ...
The Environmental Protection Agency's pursuit of criminal cases against polluters has dropped off sharply during the Bush administration, with the number of prosecutions, new investigations and total convictions all down by more than a third, according to Justice Department and EPA data.
The number of civil lawsuits filed against defendants who refuse to settle environmental cases was down nearly 70 percent between fiscal years 2002 and 2006, compared with a four-year period in the late 1990s, according to those same statistics.
...
The slower pace of enforcement mirrors a decline in resources for pursuing environmental wrongdoing. The EPA now employs 172 investigators in its Criminal Investigation Division, below the minimum of 200 agents required by the 1990 Pollution Prosecution Act, signed by President George H.W. Bush.
...
The Massachusetts case is emblematic of the steep decline in criminal cases initiated by the EPA. The number of environmental prosecutions plummeted from 919 in 2001 to 584 last year, a 36 percent decline, according to Justice Department statistics collected by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
...
Those same Justice Department data also show that the number of people convicted for environmental crimes dropped from 738 in 2001 to 470 last year.
Similarly, the number of cases opened by EPA investigators fell 37 percent, from 482 in 2001 to 305 last year, according to data the EPA provided congressional investigators. ...
Countrywide CEO Cashed Out ... $138 million in stock options over the last year ... as the mortgage company went into a tailspin
Report: Countrywide CEO Cashed Out | LA Times: Angelo Mozilo Cashed In $138 Million In Options Before Crash | LOS ANGELES, Sept. 29, 2007
(AP) Countrywide Financial Corp. Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo cashed in $138 million in stock options over the last year, switching his trading plans as the mortgage company went into a tailspin, it was reported Saturday.
...
Hundreds of executives use similar trading plans, approved by federal regulators in 2000 as a way to defend against insider trading allegations. While not illegal, it is highly unusual for the plans to be changed so often in a short period, experts said.
"If a guy is changing his plan around, I would think that would send up a red flag. I wouldn't allow my clients to do it," said Thom F. Carroll, a financial planner with the Baltimore wealth management firm Carroll, Frank & Plotkin.
Mozilo adopted a new trading plan, added a second one and then revised it while the housing and mortgage industry slumped, the Times reported, citing regulatory findings.
The changes allowed him to sell hundreds of thousands of additional shares before Countrywide stock plunged. ...
...
Calabasas-based Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender in terms of volume, faces a lawsuit claiming it failed to warn employees about the depth of its financial troubles, resulting in heavy stock losses in their 401k retirement accounts. ...
(AP) Countrywide Financial Corp. Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo cashed in $138 million in stock options over the last year, switching his trading plans as the mortgage company went into a tailspin, it was reported Saturday.
...
Hundreds of executives use similar trading plans, approved by federal regulators in 2000 as a way to defend against insider trading allegations. While not illegal, it is highly unusual for the plans to be changed so often in a short period, experts said.
"If a guy is changing his plan around, I would think that would send up a red flag. I wouldn't allow my clients to do it," said Thom F. Carroll, a financial planner with the Baltimore wealth management firm Carroll, Frank & Plotkin.
Mozilo adopted a new trading plan, added a second one and then revised it while the housing and mortgage industry slumped, the Times reported, citing regulatory findings.
The changes allowed him to sell hundreds of thousands of additional shares before Countrywide stock plunged. ...
...
Calabasas-based Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender in terms of volume, faces a lawsuit claiming it failed to warn employees about the depth of its financial troubles, resulting in heavy stock losses in their 401k retirement accounts. ...
Congressional scandal figures ...and the yachts they live on
Congressional scandal figures ...and the yachts they live onRon Brynaert | Published: Friday September 28, 2007
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"When he is not at the Capitol, Senator Larry E. Craig spends much of his time aboard the Suz II, the 42-foot yacht that serves as his Washington home," Marilyn W. Thompson writes for the paper. "Further down D Dock at the Capital Yacht Club, his friend Senator Ted Stevens occasionally escapes the pressures of a federal investigation aboard his pleasure boat."
The article continues, "Former Representative Randy Cunningham, Republican of California, used to reside a few slips over on the Duke Stir before federal investigators built a bribery case against him. And at the Gangplank Marina next door, the disgraced congressmen Bob Ney, a Republican, and James A. Traficant Jr., a Democrat, both from Ohio, traded coveted slips for federal prison cells in bribery cases." ...
...
"When he is not at the Capitol, Senator Larry E. Craig spends much of his time aboard the Suz II, the 42-foot yacht that serves as his Washington home," Marilyn W. Thompson writes for the paper. "Further down D Dock at the Capital Yacht Club, his friend Senator Ted Stevens occasionally escapes the pressures of a federal investigation aboard his pleasure boat."
The article continues, "Former Representative Randy Cunningham, Republican of California, used to reside a few slips over on the Duke Stir before federal investigators built a bribery case against him. And at the Gangplank Marina next door, the disgraced congressmen Bob Ney, a Republican, and James A. Traficant Jr., a Democrat, both from Ohio, traded coveted slips for federal prison cells in bribery cases." ...
The Bush administration organized a stealth lobbying campaign, with the auto industry’s help, to oppose California’s ... fuel economy standards ....
Bush administration pushed states to lobby against California fuel rules | House Democratic chairman will hold hearings | September 24, 2007 | By JUSTIN HYDE | FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration organized a stealth lobbying campaign, with the auto industry’s help, to oppose California’s effort to set fuel economy standards, the chairman of the House Oversight committee said Monday.
In a letter to the top White House environmental official, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., asked the administration to repudiate the lobbying, saying it should have made its objections public rather than leaning on members of Congress and state governors to oppose California’s rules. Waxman has scheduled a committee hearing on the issue for Tuesday.
...
Waxman said Peters and other officials should have made their opposition public rather than trying to work behind the scenes. Waxman also said the campaign could raise legal questions, noting that Republicans have said in the past that federal officials were barred from lobbying lawmakers.
“It is not an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars to organize a lobbying campaign to politicize this vital regulatory decision,” Waxman said in a letter to James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Waxman said the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade group that includes General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler and Toyota, gave a list of plants to Transportation department officials to help them target lawmakers and governors.
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration organized a stealth lobbying campaign, with the auto industry’s help, to oppose California’s effort to set fuel economy standards, the chairman of the House Oversight committee said Monday.
In a letter to the top White House environmental official, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., asked the administration to repudiate the lobbying, saying it should have made its objections public rather than leaning on members of Congress and state governors to oppose California’s rules. Waxman has scheduled a committee hearing on the issue for Tuesday.
...
Waxman said Peters and other officials should have made their opposition public rather than trying to work behind the scenes. Waxman also said the campaign could raise legal questions, noting that Republicans have said in the past that federal officials were barred from lobbying lawmakers.
“It is not an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars to organize a lobbying campaign to politicize this vital regulatory decision,” Waxman said in a letter to James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Waxman said the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade group that includes General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler and Toyota, gave a list of plants to Transportation department officials to help them target lawmakers and governors.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Ex-Veco Corp. CEO Bill Allen ... company employees worked on Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK) home
Allen says Veco staff worked on Ted Stevens home remodel | By DAN JOLING | The Associated Press | Last Modified: September 14, 2007 at 02:30 PM
Ex-Veco Corp. CEO Bill Allen admitted in court Friday that he had company employees work several months on a remodeling project at the Girdwood home of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.
The former head of the oil field services company made the admission Friday while testifying in the federal corruption trial of a former state lawmaker.
Allen and former Veco vice president Rick Smith in May pleaded guilty to extortion, conspiracy and bribery of legislators.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney James Wendt, representing former state Rep. Pete Kott, Allen acknowledged that the more than $400,000 he admitted spending in the bribery charge was for other legislators - and for work done at the Girdwood home of Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate. ...
Ex-Veco Corp. CEO Bill Allen admitted in court Friday that he had company employees work several months on a remodeling project at the Girdwood home of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.
The former head of the oil field services company made the admission Friday while testifying in the federal corruption trial of a former state lawmaker.
Allen and former Veco vice president Rick Smith in May pleaded guilty to extortion, conspiracy and bribery of legislators.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney James Wendt, representing former state Rep. Pete Kott, Allen acknowledged that the more than $400,000 he admitted spending in the bribery charge was for other legislators - and for work done at the Girdwood home of Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate. ...
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