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Pastimes : THE SLIGHTLY MODERATED BOXING RING -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E who wrote (17832)	7/18/2002 11:22:56 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21057

Oh. Well. One of your comrades in crime commented what a fine Senator Mr. Kennedy is. Do you feel the same? What were those guys in Argentina on?

To: E who wrote (17832)	7/19/2002 3:09:00 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Respond to of 21057

Pssst.... It's the 33rd anniversary of Chappaquoiddick. Plus one day. :-)

To: E who wrote (17832)	7/19/2002 3:12:48 PM
From: jlallen	Respond to of 21057

Excellent piece..... Let the Investigations Begin Lynn Woolley Friday, July 19, 2002 The twin flaps over President Bush’s stock dealings with Harken Energy Corp. in the '80s and Vice President Cheney’s accounting practices while CEO of Halliburton raise a fundamental question: Didn’t we establish during the last administration that sitting presidents and vice presidents can get away with anything? Of course we did, but Republicans now control the White House and so the rules have changed. But that’s all right. Since the Democrats have suddenly gotten religion over the issue of ethics – in both the White House and corporate America – we should all take this once-in-a-lifetime chance to implement some major reforms and do some housecleaning. Let’s start with government accounting practices, because no one – not even Enron and WorldCom – knows how to manipulate numbers like the Congress and governmental agencies. Only the U.S. government could get away with the constant "borrowing” from the fictional Social Security Trust Fund to pay for programs that the country can’t afford. Only the government could watch the country sliding back into deficit spending, then pass a bloated farm bill that will make the situation much worse. Only the government can get away with "losing” billions of dollars in the system – money that’s supposed to be there, but can’t be found. If the government were a company, the politicians would be talking about shutting it down. So let’s take advantage of the new mood on the Hill – and whatever new accounting reforms are passed, let’s make the government abide by them too. The Democrats are demanding full disclosure from President Bush regarding Harken – a situation that was fully investigated by the SEC – and they’re also hoping that a current investigation will turn up dirt on Vice President Cheney. Fine! Let’s disclose everything that’s been investigated, and investigate everything that hasn’t been disclosed. Since we’re going back several years, there are a few more situations we should check into. After all, we do want honest people in government. Don’t we? So let’s go for full investigations or full disclosure of these little scandals that many of us may have forgotten: In 1996, there were allegations that (now) House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt made contradictory claims about a $900,000 beach house to avoid capital gains taxes and to obtain favorable financing. Tell us all about it, Mr. Gephardt! In the wake of 9/11, Linda Hall Daschle was hired to lobby on behalf of a company called Intelli-Check and its identification technology. She says she doesn’t lobby the Senate. Perhaps we could obtain full disclosure of what Mrs. Daschle discusses with her husband – the man who controls the legislation that makes it to the Senate floor. Terry McAuliffe, now chairman of the Democratic National Committee, invested $100,000 in Global Crossing and cashed out for $18 million before the company filed for bankruptcy. How did he do that? John McCain, a Republican in the same manner that Jesse Jackson is a reverend, was one of the "Keating Five” senators accused of improper favors to the Lincoln Savings & Loan. The Senate Select Committee on Ethics took no action against McCain – but let’s investigate some more. We might find something actionable this time. And Sen. Clinton! What can we say about a woman who can make a quick $100,000 in cattle futures with little more than some inside help from a buddy at Tyson Foods? Okay, the statute of limitations may have run out, but that doesn’t preclude full disclosure. And while he’s not an officeholder, would someone please investigate Jesse Jackson? There he was last week on "Hannity and Colmes" being interviewed by Alan Colmes about accounting irregularities. That’s right – the Rev. Jackson, whose sham organizations have been used for years to enrich Jesse and his friends, was actually complaining that someone else’s books were not accurate. While we're at it, let’s re-open investigations into Jim McDermott and the illegally taped Newt Gingrich phone call, Congressman Barney Frank’s sexcapades and Sen. Kennedy’s driving record. Some of us still want to know exactly what happened with that woman on that bridge. With the current clamor for accounting reform and ethics investigations, we Americans find ourselves in the midst of a unique opportunity. Let’s hold the government ledgers to the exact same standards that corporate America is going to have to live up to. And let’s force the heads of all the government agencies to sign a sworn affidavit attesting to the accuracy of their bookkeeping. And let’s investigate anybody who’s ever had any hint of scandal or Clintonian ethics. Maybe we can’t throw out ALL the bums – but we can at least expose the hypocrites. newsmax.com