It certainly was good news that the Houston jury had the good sense to convict Ken Lay on all counts and Jeff Skilling on most counts.
In a fitting irony, the sentencing is set for 9/11/06, exactly five years after you know what, with Lay facing a maximum of 165 years in prison and Skilling looking at a maximum of 185 years.
But I think it's important to point out that the mindset and ethical standards that allow Enron's debacle to occur, and which fed the Global Crossing and WorldCom disasters, is the problem; Lay & Skilling are just the symptoms.
Being a rather snarky cynic at times, socialist and all-around wiseacre, there are times I especially take such perverted delight in four little words..."I told you so!"
Some time back, I got into a pretty heated argument with some associates who attempt to pass themselves off as, ahem, Christians.
Yeahright....
You've undoubtedly heard the White House budget refrain: "We have to tighten our belts on discretionary spending." Or the equally high-minded: "We must eliminate or reduce programs that are ineffective or duplicative."
Well check out this example of a program deemed ineffective, all while extending those wonderful tax cuts for the benefit of everyone....in the top 10% of income, anyway.
How long has it been since you heard someone--personally or in the media--say one of the following:
++private schools outperform public schools
++religious schools outperform public schools
++charter schools outperform public schools
A couple of days? Hours? Minutes?
The religious right--hell, the right, period--is extremely fond of working up a froth over the supposed liberal censorship of competing ideas on America's college campuses. The implication being, of course, that they would never, ever censor ideas, not them, not the keepers of the "founding father flame of liberty."
You've probably already guessed what comes next.
Poor Senator McCain. Did he really think this new-n-improved strategy of his was going to work? At all?........
In order for the White House to keep pushing their "the economy is robust fantasy, people have to keep believing the contrary of what their eyes and experience tell them. That requires the cooperation of both (1) the government agencies responsible for caretaking the economy, and (2) a sizable portion of the business press.
Here's an update to Six's recent bankruptcy posting and my comment on the fact that bankruptcy is soaring in many of the developed economies.
Yesterday, the President gave a little talk at the Republican National Committee Gala held at DAR-Constitution Hall in D.C.
Read and weep, or laugh hysterically, but please..no vomiting on the keyboard.
This should help the Republicans attract black voters, huh?
