"Everything we had mostly was in the one stock. Other than the home we live in, [the cars we drive, the secret 'off-shore' accounts we have] everything else is for sale... We are fighting for liquidity. We don't want to go bankrupt."

- Linda Lay, in tears, whining to the interviewer on NBC's Today program

From the stimulus fine print to Enron input on top Bush jobs, the story's only getting hotter.

By: Jonathan Alter  

Much has been made of the fact that the Bush administration was not corrupted by Enron. No one tried to bail out the company. Of course, if anyone had intervened, a true political scandal would have detonated, and the Bush folks knew this. But the absence so far of high-level White House malfeasance hardly exhausts the political angles on either side of the aisle.

Why did Vice President Cheney refuse to see elected representatives of the people - like the state attorneys general - but open the door to corporate America in the secret formulation of the Bush energy plan? Why did 11 senators, including Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman, crudely strong-arm Levitt on behalf of the accounting firms? Why did Enron (with the help of Ed Gillespie, a key Bush operative and company lobbyist) get to help write Tom DeLay's stimulus bill?

"Nobody even knows what the truth is yet. The only thing I know, 100% for sure, is that my husband is an honest, decent, moral human being who would do absolutely nothing wrong."

- Linda Lay, in an interview with NBC's Today program

The president wants to make the U.S. safer for the Republican party.

By: Matthew Engel  

Airport check-ins are like the old Soviet bread queues, but without the shared black humour. Complaining is considered unAmerican, even though the security procedures are ludicrous, with solemn searches of elderly ladies' flat heels and kids' baseball caps - while luggage, despite a tightening of the law last week, can still be loaded on to planes with nothing to stop them having enough explosive to blow up Rhode Island. It's not a political issue here, just as the treatment of the detainees in Guantanamo - which so troubles the bleeding-heart pinkos of the Mail on Sunday - is not an issue. If they weren't bad guys, they wouldn't be there. End of subject.

There are fewer flags around than there were a couple of months back, but the post-September spirit has not diminished. Americans want to do their bit, but aren't sure how to. So it comes out mainly as an acceptance of their rulers' good intentions and competence. Sure, there is a hardcore who share the widespread European view that the president is a dangerous chump incapable of simultaneously chewing a pretzel and watching TV. In that sense, the analogy with the Reagan administration is a close one, because, now as then, it is the view of a small minority.

By: Michael Gabriel  

The question must be asked: In light of the political damage a Baxter testimony may have wrought, did George W. Bush have Baxter killed? The circumstances of his death certainly prompts more questions than they answer.

Does the proposition above sound totally ridiculous to you? If you're a Republican't, it no doubt sounds like blasphemy. But it sure sounded good to right-wing Republican'ts when Bill Clinton was president and Vincent Foster committed suicide. didn't it?

You remember that, don't you? Foster was a White House deputy counsel, and on July 20, 1993, he killed himself, as reported, because he was depressed over what the Wall Street Journal had written about him.But it was only a matter of time until the right-wing spin machine started obsessing on the idea that Foster hadn't committed suicide, that he had in fact been killed by the Clinton Administration because he knew too much about an alleged money laundering operation.

By: Ruth Rosen  

So is the Rise and Fall of the Enron Empire likely to remain a secret? Quite probably. In the name of national security, the Bush administration has stripped us of our right to scrutinize the public records that could unravel this sordid story.

First, the administration scuttled the Freedom of Information Act. On Oct. 12, Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a memo to all federal agencies urging them to resist new FOIA requests. When investigative journalists and watchdog groups request public records that might implicate government officials, they may discover that their applications are indefinitely stonewalled.

Then the administration tried to overturn the Presidential Records Act, which allows public access to all presidential papers. On Nov. 1, 2001, President Bush issued an executive order that gave himself the power to seal all presidential records since 1980. Although historians and journalists are fighting Bush's order in federal court, it may take years before the judiciary strikes down this executive violation of congressional legislation.

By: Robert Novak  

Enron from the start wanted Wood for the FERC chairmanship so vital to the company, but had not abandoned the possibility that Hebert might be retained. So, in a now-infamous telephone conversation with Lay a year ago, Hebert was given the impression he might get Enron's support if he changed his position on electrical regulation to benefit the company. When he refused, according to Hebert, Lay said he could not support him.

Wood at FERC has not disappointed Enron, most recently issuing new rules for wholesale power transactions on Nov. 20. FERC is dividing the country into a few regional transmission organizations, attempting to coordinate electric power through government regulation rather than the open market.

Will throwing money at the U.S. military budget really make the world safe from terrorism?

By: Sarah Left  

At a recent conference in Tokyo on Afghan reconstruction, the U.S. pledged only $296m in aid this year, out of a global pledge of $1.8bn. The UN reckons that Afghanistan needs $15bn over the next decade to rebuild; in other words, Mr. Bush could buy himself a stable Afghanistan for less than a third of his defence budget.

The president's offence-as-the-best-defence strategy will also prove costly both to U.S. taxpayers and other domestic programmes fighting for funds. The increase would take America back to Reagan-style deficit spending, and put off the goal of repaying the national debt within a decade.

By: James G. Wilson  

Bill Clinton, though charismatic, intelligent and fully engaged in the issues of the day, spent his entire eight years as president hounded by one unsubstantiated rumor or scandal after another. Although all the other rumors bore no fruit whatsoever, Clinton was eventually impeached over not being completely forthright about a tryst with an intern of all things. And, it only cost the taxpayers $55 million to do it! The constant dogging by the conservative media and a Republican Congress hampered his ability to govern to the best of his abilities. Yet, he led this country through the single greatest era of peace and prosperity America has ever known.

Today, George W. Bush, a man as unintelligent as his words indicate, is in charge. How did he get there? The conservative media (with the help of Bush's own cousin working at FOXNews, no less) tried to call the election for him when it was still too close to make that decision. Then, that same media worked intensely during the thirty-five-day standoff over the recount process spinning in favor of Bush and demonizing Gore in every conceivable way. Needless to say, they had a great impact on public opinion. Of course, it didn't hurt that in the end the Supreme Court, in its own wholly biased decision, installed Bush into the highest office in the land anyway. The conservative media spun and spun on that one, as well, to minimize the fallout.

Why Bush deserves his share of the 9/11 blame.

By: Aaron Marr Page  

In the final analysis, it appears that whatever his flaws, Clinton responded in kind to the Al Qaeda threat as it existed in his time. Yet Bush - who presided through the summer of 2001 when U.S. embassies across the world were buzzing with word of an impending attack - did not. It's all there in the Times and the Post, if you're willing to see it.

By: John Stephen Cowden  

The economic sabotage that Enron et al committed ranks up there with any threat to our national security because what are we without our economic base on solid ground and thus should qualify the perpetrators, both business and political, for summary trial before the military tribunals set up for the Taliban and company. The impact of their wrong doing will have a far deeper impact on American lives than any single act of terrorist sabotage and should at the very least be treated as treason.

From:  

President Bush flatly refused today to identify the business executives who met with him, Vice President Dick Cheney and his aides to discuss energy policy, saying to do so would encroach on his ability to do his job.

Appearing in the Rose Garden with the interim leader of Afghanistan, Bush told reporters that his administration should be allowed to hold private consultations in order to "get good, sound opinions" while developing policies.

"This is part of how you make decisions", Bush said. "We're not going to let the ability for us to discuss matters between ourselves to become eroded. It's not only important for this administration, it's an important principle for future administrations."

By: William Neikirk  

Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday rejected demands that the Bush administration provide lawmakers investigating Enron Corp. with the names of people he consulted, and the advice they gave, when he headed an energy task force last spring.

Cheney told television interviewers that disclosing the task force's deliberations would weaken the presidency and merely respond to Democrats in Congress who he said are seeking the documents for political purposes.

"Enron did not get any special deals", he said.

By: Paul Corrigan  

Have you noticed recently how often our leaders are making speeches that the system works? These speeches inevitably come on the heels of disclosures made available to the public that we are in truth a nation of rich and powerful men, not laws. The larger the abuse the bigger the lie. The problem is written off as an aberration or the act of some isolated individuals. Our leaders disavow any knowledge of the wrongdoing or any material connection to the wrongdoer. Victims are responsible for their plight. There is even a term for such a strategy in corporations and politics: "plausible deniability". The leaders deny the systemic causes and avoid any systemic change as a viable solution.

By: J. G. Schwam  

Whoever you think is responsible for the current state of the Enron bankruptcy debacle one fact is now blatantly obvious. That fact is that our elected officials on every level, federal, state and municipal are awash in large amounts of corporate campaign funding. The larger the federal district, state or municipality the larger the dollar ampount the officials get. While there is yet no proof of quid pro quo in the unfolding Enron scandal or anywhere else but consider that these corporations are not by and large run by idiots that would dole out millions without any expectation of return or legislation beneficial to their industry or corporation specifically. To assert that they support candidates solely because it is patriotic to do so simply insults our intelligence.

Subs Aren't the Only Things Dubya's Donors and Oil Buddies Are Mishandling

By: Tamara Baker  

Well, it sure took 'em long enough.

The Navy reports that after a "lengthy non-public investigation" the names of the 16 civilian VIP's aboard the USS Greeneville when it destroyed the Ehime Maru are finally being released.

Thanks to the work of several amateur 'Net Sleuths', including the worthy "Delta Dart" of Salon's Table Talk message boards, a picture is beginning to emerge of these 16 VIP's.

By: Jim Hightower  

Andy Young, former mayor of Atlanta, once observed: "Nothing is illegal if a hundred businessmen decide to do it."

This is what strikes me as true about the ongoing Enron scandal. The significant thing about Enron's escapades is not what the top executives did that was illegal... but what they did that is considered to be perfectly legal. The politicians and media have quickly narrowed the focus of their inquiries to legalistic violations of securities law and conflict-of-interest violations between Enron execs and the Bush White House. But this completely ignores - indeed, hides - the Big Crime: Allowing a single, avaricious corporation to amass such power in our democracy that it can rig the game to suit itself, then, when its empire begins to collapse, get direct access to the highest officials in the land.

By: Dick Meyer  

"I think we are slowly Enronizing the economy, Enronizing the budget."

- Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle

The verb, "Enron" has two definitions in contemporary usage:

1. to conceal or disguise financial and accounting facts;
2. to allow or cause retirement funds to be diminished, mishandled or swiped.

There is no doubt that Sen. Daschle is correct that the budget is being Enronized according to the first definition. What else can you conclude when $4 trillion of surplus budget dollars disappear? That's right, trillion, with a t and an r.

Last January, the Congressional Budget Office projected that from 2002 to 2011, the government would rack up $5.6 trillion in surpluses. This January, CBO made a slight revision and now predicts the surpluses will total just $1.6 trillion. Oops - off by $4 trillion. And the feds don't even use Arthur Andersen for their audits.

The Scandal That Has Left the Credibility of American Politics in Shreds

By: Andrew Gumbel  

What could prove most damaging to Mr Bush is the fact that all these companies were part of a close-knit corporate culture whose dominance in Houston, Texas's business capital, went unquestioned for years. Andersen successfully lobbied to lift the ban on audit firms acting as consultants for their clients, and promptly went to work for Enron. V&E, meanwhile, serviced them both and joined in their various lobbying efforts to lift all kinds of government regulations on business. Crucially, all three companies were massive donors to Mr Bush's various campaigns. Enron has given more than $500,000 since Mr Bush's first run at Texas governor in 1994. V&E gave $335,000, and Anderson another $230,000. No fewer than five individuals from the three companies, including Mr Lay and a managing partner from Andersen laid off last week for his role in the document-shredding debacle, were named as "Pioneers" by the 2000 presidential campaign team because they each raised more than $100,000 for the Bush coffers.

For a long time, it all seemed so cosy. The lawyers, accountants, corporate lobbyists and political operatives all lived in the same swanky Houston neighbourhoods. They all played golf together, sat on the boards of the same charities, went to the Enron-sponsored Houston opera, had their cancer treated at the Enron Clinic and watched ball games at the city's proudly named baseball stadium, Enron Field. They enjoyed power lunches at Tony's (house speciality: truffle-scented baby hen) and took frequent lobbying trips to Austin and Washington. After all, the politicians seemed so willing to do their bidding: for a few hundred thousand dollars in campaign contributions, tax breaks and business opportunities opened up like Ali Baba's cave of treasures in the Arabian Nights. When Mr Bush took office a year ago, their prospects only looked sweeter. After all, the whole direction of the Republican Party had shifted markedly towards the energy industry (both Bush and Cheney are former oilmen) and towards Texas (thanks partly to the President, but also to such influential Texan figures as Senator Gramm, the House Majority Leader, Dick Armey, and the House Chief Whip, Tom DeLay).

Clearly, the companies overreached, and the system they exploited so effectively is now turning to bite them on the backside. The Enron meltdown may be having a traumatic effect on those who chose to get caught up in the headiness in the first place, but it also feels like a long-anticipated vindication to the few watchdogs brave enough to have kept an eye on the orgy of political spending over the years and to denounce the effective sale of American democracy to the highest bidder.

By: Paul Krugman  

After all that effort to discredit concerns about the gap between haves and have-nots as obsolete "class warfare", along comes a real-life story that reads like a leftist morality play: wealthy executives make off with millions while ordinary workers lose their jobs and their life savings. After all that effort to convince people that the private sector can police itself, the most admired company in America turns out to have been a giant Ponzi scheme - and the most respected accounting firm turns out to have been an accomplice.

You might think that the shock of the Enron scandal - and it is shocking, even to us hardened cynics - would make some conservatives reconsider their beliefs. But the die-hards prefer to sling muck at liberals, hoping it will stick.

From:  

Bush has proposed spending $38 billion more on defense next year, plus a $10 billion "war reserve" fund to be tapped for active military operations overseas. That would increase the Defense Department's budget to $379 billion for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

By comparison, Britain spent $34.8 billion on its military in 2001, according to the London-based International Institute for Security Studies. Britain had the second-largest military budget in the world last year, the institute said in an October 2001 report.

From:  

A former Enron Corp. executive who resigned after reportedly challenging the firm's accounting practices was found shot to death in his car in an apparent suicide.

The body of J. Clifford Baxter, 43, was found around 2:30 a.m. Friday by a police officer checking on a car parked near Baxter's affluent neighborhood in Sugar Land, just southwest of Houston. He was in the driver's seat with a .38-caliber revolver at his side.

Police found a suicide note. Its contents were not disclosed by authorities.

By: John Henderson  

As he champions his energy policy it is clear that as the "energy president" he has a fatally biased and narrow vision. His father, President George H.W. Bush, was an oilman in his time. George Sr. started as an oilfield supply salesman and eventually founded or co-founded three oil companies: Bush-Overby Oil Development, Zapata Petroleum, and Zapata Off-Shore. Likewise, George, Jr. has oil industry experience. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1973 he began business researching mineral rights for larger oil companies. He founded the appropriately, if ill named, Arbusto Energy, which before it could go bust changed its name and was merged into another oil company, Spectrum 7. Two years later, Harken Energy bought Spectrum 7, and George, Jr. was out of the oil business before he could do any serious harm.

One biography attributes his lack of success in oil to the falling prices of the times, which raises questions about our President's strategic vision regarding the oil industry. The time to get into oil is when prices were rising, not falling. But George Jr., one step behind the times, went for it anyway. He does not understand the word "energy" the way most of us do; when he says "energy" he really means "oil". It has been reported on CNN that Enron, the Texas energy company ("Houston, we have a problem...") was consulted with the Bush administration at least six times in the formulation of the President's "energy" policy. George W. Bush has correctly identified energy resources as an issue of importance, but his judgment on energy strategy is at best suspect, particularly when it comes to oil.

By: Lisa Sanders  

Enron employees are citing alleged violations of racketeering laws in a new lawsuit that blames company officers and fired auditor Andersen for employees losing some $1.3 billion in retirement savings.

The litigation marks the first Enron-related class-action lawsuit, among dozens, to cite the Racketeering Influences and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Hagens Berman, a Seattle-based law firm, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Houston on Tuesday.

An Andersen spokesperson did not immediately have a comment. Enron declined to comment.

From:  

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), holds President Bush accountable for his words as well as his actions with a grade of D-(minus) in our 2001 Presidential Report Card. The report card grades the Bush administration on every important facet of its environmental record in its first year, from administration appointments to environment and energy proposals. The report card, similar to one released after the first year of the Clinton administration, strips away the administration's pro-environment claims to reveal a pattern of activity that has undermined the very environmental policies Americans want strengthened.

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