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Republicans, Media Whores, Idiots, and those who listen to them like to say that the Clinton Administration was the most corrupt in American History.

In fact, it was one of the least corrupt - especially compared to the Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II Administrations. And here is irrefutable evidence.

Be sure to download and print this handy guide, then carry it around with you. Whenever a Republican or anyone else hands you their usual garbage on Clinton, reach for the guide - and let 'em have it!

"Terrorism is now being used and has been used pretty much the same way Communism was used. If you want to press some agenda, you play the terrorism card. If you don't follow me on this, you're supporting terrorism. That is absolutely infantile, especially when you consider that much of the history of the drug trade trails right behind the CIA and other U.S. intervention programs. Going back to the end of the Second World War, you see - and this is not controversial, it is well-documented - the U.S. allying itself with the French Mafia, resulting in the French Connection, which dominated the heroin trade through the 1960's. The same thing took place with opium in the Golden Triangle during the Vietnam War, and again in Afghanistan during the war against the Russians."

- Noam Chomsky, in an interview with Philip Smith, DRCNet

By: Damon Chappie  

Rep. Steve LaTourette's (R-OH) frustration over the Bush administration's refusal to hand over documents about FBI malfeasance boiled down to a blunt message: "The conclusion reached by the Justice Department is crap."

Call it LaTourette unplugged: Last week the four-term Republican launched a sprawling tirade during a full Government Reform Committee hearing called to examine why the White House has invoked executive privilege in refusing to turn over internal Justice Department documents that may shed light on FBI corruption in Boston.

"I wish I could be more artful, but I'm pissed off by the posture you put this committee in", LaTourette told the mid-level Justice Department officials testifying before the panel.

Bush's black-and-white rhetoric fails to grasp the complexity of the world. It doesn't even reveal the truth about the darkness of Iraq.

By: David Talbot  

Bush utters the world "evil" the way a child does when it first dawns on him that there is darkness and danger in the world, and only his goodness and courage stands in its way. His axis-of-evil war cry, of course, was an attempt at Rooseveltian grandeur - but because it mangles geopolitical reality (unlike the enemies FDR faced, there is no alliance between Iraq, Iran and North Korea), it simply confuses the American public and underlines what a dismal imitation of a great president our current leader is. It reminds us that this is a man who entered the 2000 presidential race in midlife with the barest, most homespun grasp of the world beyond America's borders, and after a year of Condi Rice tutorials and on-the-job training, is just a step away from calling Greeks "Grecians".

The fact that Bush and Frum - a conservative intellectual who should know better - were not widely ridiculed for this addled terminology is one more depressing comment on our slack-jawed media and political opposition. One of the strangest responses to Bush's rhetoric came in Wednesday's New York Times, from the normally sound-minded columnist Thomas Friedman, who while thoroughly rejecting the intellectual merits of the axis-of-evil worldview, nonetheless embraced its wacky spirit because it's necessary to be "as crazy as some of our enemies". And Al Gore, suddenly back from the Land of Nod, typically played it both ways in a New York speech on Tuesday, praising Bush for zeroing in on the odd trio of evil, but then covering his liberal base by deploring that other dark triangle: poverty, disease, and oppression. It's time to stop all this dancing around and call Bush's speech what it is: a flight of idiocy.

Did the President miss the briefing on the history of Iraq-Iran relations, the one that pointed out that the two countries are mortal enemies, one a Shiite theocracy riven by democratic yearnings, the other a Sunni-led and thoroughly secular Stalinist dictatorship, and that they bled each other nearly dry in one of the goriest wars of the 20^th century? And how did starving and benighted North Korea get in there anyway? Former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke offered the most likely explanation, telling CNN's Jeff Greenfield that Bush probably threw in 'Beloved Leader' Kim Chong-il's bizarre dictatorship just to show the U.S. wasn't going after only Islamic countries.

By: Bernard Weiner  

...My advice would be to focus not on the things that divide us but on the goal: a defeat of Republicans in the upcoming Congressional elections - which might just slow down the Bush death-and-threat machine abroad - and a defeat of Bush in 2004, assuming he's not in jail or impeached or has resigned by then. (If Bush can thank bin Laden's atrocities for his political surge, the left can thank Enron for the scandal that may bring him down.)

Find conservative Republicans who are vulnerable in the upcoming races, pump in money and volunteers into their districts, and make this a referendum on Bush's domestic policies. Want to stop the raiding of Social Security/Medicare funds for the war effort? Won't happen unless the Democratic candidate wins. Want prescription drug coverage for seniors through Medicare? Won't get it unless the Democrats take back the House and hold the Senate. Want to stop this amazing deficit spending, projected to run for the next ten years? Want to have money left over for social programs, education, infrastructure repairs, job-retraining, etc.? Got to get rid of the Republican and elect the Democrat.

Now, this isn't going to be a walk in the park. Bush's "war on terrorism" is popular and so Bush is popular, and those associated with Bush get some of that positive ruboff as well. But poll after poll shows that while the country is firmly in support of Bush on the war (although even here, cracks are starting to show up), when specific domestic issues are addressed, support for the Resident is much thinner.

By: J. G. Schwam  

In short, I highly doubt there was much going on other than perhaps the annual budget for Dixie cups at Enron's water coolers that Kenny Boy did not know about. He would like us to think he was a dupe, a poor victim of a company gone wild under his watch. Even if that argument held water it is no excuse. Not even a poor one.

An altruistic attempt at the exoneration of Ken Lay on the grounds that he believed that "if you just simply freed and allowed men and women unfettered in the marketplace they would do good things for everyone" resounds weakly through the shattered 401(k)'s, mutual fund losses and bedraggled consumer confidence Kenny Boy's vision has left in its wake.

If Ken Lay's Enron is what an "unfettered" marketplace gives America we don't need it...

From:  

Even though we're in the middle of another DU fund drive, we're still giving away a ten-pack of Conservative Idiots ABSOLUTELY FREE! In the number one slot, Ann Coulter (who can't possibly believe the stuff that comes out of her own mouth) turns up the hateful conservative rhetoric. Paul O'Neill (2) gets weepy. Enron (3) is caught in yet another lie. Meanwhile, Charles Pickering (6) gives us a lesson in compassionate conservative bigotry, and Antonin Scalia (8) shows a little compassionate conservative megalomania. Bringing up the rear, Rush (10) takes on the liberal New England Patriots.

Enron and the Bush family have boosted each other up the ladder of success. But have their ties created a Teapot Dome?

By: Kevin Phillips  

Enron's spectacular collapse has put scores of politicians on the defensive because of their pro-Enron voting records and their war chests full of Enron dollars. Even some Cabinet officials are squirming over their past relationships with the energy company. It's all an unsettling echo of Teapot Dome, the government-oil-reserve-loan scandal of the Harding presidency, which became a symbol of the financial and political abuses of the 1920's.

In 1921, the U.S. Interior Department rigged the leasing of California's Elk Hills and Wyoming's Teapot Dome naval oil reserves after Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall received "loans" from oilmen Edward L. Doheny and Harry Sinclair. The loans of cash and stock were in the $400,000 range, with a "gift" of $100,000 from Doheny.

Both Teapot and Enron involved energy policy, privatization and corruption...

By: Gene Lyons  

As I was saying, journalists seem to heed opinion polls more than politicians. Take the Washington Post's February 9^th editorial rejecting Sen. Fritz Hollings' (D-SC) call for an Enron independent counsel. "The coziness between the administration and Enron means that the scandal could conceivably implicate political figures in ways that demand an independent prosecutor", the Post concedes. "But that hasn't happened yet; nobody has credibly alleged a crime by a member of the administration. And as long as the focus of the inquiry remains on crimes by the corporation and its accountants, the Justice Department can handle the matter."

Compare the same newspaper's January 5^th, 1994 argument that Whitewater "represents precisely the kind of case in which an independent counsel ought to be appointed. We say that even though - and and this should be stressed - there has been no credible charge in this case that either the President or Mrs. Clinton did anything wrong. Nevertheless, it is in the public interest - and in the President's as well - to put the inquiry in independent hands... Nor is it protection enough to say that the investigation is in the hands of career [Justice Department] attorneys. To whom do they report?"

By: David Lazarus  

The connection in this case is a bit more indirect, and it goes back to Tokyo in early 1998.

That's when the other George Bush, the President's father, was appearing on Global Crossing's behalf at an event in the Japanese capital. His normal fee for such gigs was $100,000.

But Bush was intrigued by Global Crossing's prospects. During a breakfast with the company's co-chairmen, Lodwrick Cook (an old Bush chum and former head of Atlantic Richfield Co.) and Gary Winnick, Bush agreed to take his compensation in Global Crossing stock.

According to reports of the meeting, he was so impressed, he even accepted a cut in pay, taking $80,000 worth of shares instead of the full $100,000 he was owed.

This was six months before the company went public. Once Global Crossing, a provider of fiber-optic networks for high-speed data transmission, hit the market, the company's shares predictably soared in value.

And in short order, Bush's $80,000 stake was worth more than $14 million.

By: Mark Z. Barabak  

While the Bush administration was drafting its national energy policy, a leading lobbyist for Enron Corp. was plotting strategy to turn the plan into a political weapon against Democrats, according to a newly obtained memo.

Edward Gillespie, who parlayed his close ties to the Bush White House into a lucrative contract representing the energy giant, warned that the administration faced "a classic liberal-conservative... dynamic", which cast Republicans as the party of big business and enemies of the environment.

"Instead of picking the fight that has been picked for us, we should pick a new fight", said the confidential April 2001 memo, presented to energy companies and industry groups. The memo suggested the industry "change the dynamic by 'Carterizing' the Democrats" - an allusion to the dour ex-president. "We need to make them the 'eat your peas' party." Gillespie's simultaneous lobbying and campaign strategizing underscore Enron's influence in Washington before its collapse last year, as well as the way politics and policy often blur under the loophole-filled laws governing their combination.

By: E.J. Dionne Jr.  

There was a large underground explosion in American politics last week. Its effects will not be felt immediately or seen in the opinion polls right away, but that does not minimize its importance.

The big bang was a surge of rage and a rising sense of betrayal among Democrats. It was detonated by President Bush's budget and the administration's open strategy of using the President's war popularity to push a starkly conservative agenda on domestic issues.

By: Bob Port  

Yet another White House official has a long history with Enron.

White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, who has been mentioned as a possible Bush nominee for the Supreme Court, received more than $100,000 in political contributions from the energy industry in recent years as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court.

Enron and Enron's law firm were Gonzales' biggest contributors in his 2000 judicial election, giving $35,450. Gonzales also worked for Enron's law firm from 1982 through 1992.

"Not since Richard Nixon stiffed the Congress during Watergate has a White House so openly and arrogantly defied Congress' investigative authority. Nor has any activity by the Bush administration more strongly suggested they are hiding incriminating information about their relationship with the now-moribund Enron, or other heavy-hitting campaign contributors from the energy business."

- John Dean, former Nixon White House counsel, telling it like it is

"When contemplating college liberals, you really regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death penalty. We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed too. Otherwise they will turn out to be outright traitors."

- Anorexic Coulter, insane right-wingnut, at the CPAC convention

By: Arianna Huffington  

Chapter 11 is all the rage right now. And many of the biggest, the best and the brightest corporations are doing it. But while the multibillion-dollar bankruptcies of Enron and Global Crossing are grabbing all the headlines, there is another Chapter 11, one you most likely haven't heard of, that poses an equally great danger to our democracy.

The "other" Chapter 11 is an obscure clause buried within the 555-page NAFTA document. It's being used by multinational corporations "to challenge the powers of government to protect its citizens, to undermine environmental and health laws, even to attack our system of justice".

"Listen, I feel bad for these people, but the fact is if they are in financial hardship they are there by choice. There are a million people coming to town and only 17,500 rooms. It's a question of supply and demand, and I don't feel guilty about taking advantage. That is what capitalism in America is all about." (emphasis added)

- John Purdue, sleasebag motel owner in Salt Lake City, commenting on his increase in rates from $185 to $735 per week, during the Games

By: David Cay Johnston  

For those with million-dollar incomes, the share of their income that went to taxes fell to 27.9% in 1999, from 31.4% in 1995.

For those Americans who did not make a million dollars, the portion of their income going to taxes edged up in those years, to 12.8% from 12.5%.

About 205,000 taxpayers made $1 million or more in 1999, up from less than 87,000 in 1995. The average income of those who made $1 million or more rose by $568,000 to $3.2 million.

As Utah's billionaires make a killing on the Winter Games, less privileged citizens are being sidelined.

By: Lawrence Donegan  

Guests will stay in a windowless room without running water, central heating or television. They will (try to) drift off to sleep to the sound of the city's busiest freeway on one side and the main freight railway line on the other. And all for the bargain price of $2,800 (£1,978).

It's a bad deal by any standards but nothing compared with the one offered to the hostel's permanent residents, who normally pay $110 a week for their accommodation: meet the inflated rent or get out on the street, or renovate the hostel's derelict attic (for no pay) and crash there. Faced with the prospect of 14 nights in sub-zero temperatures, it's hardly surprising most regulars have stayed on. They have spent the past week wielding paint brushes and hammers to pitifully amateurish effect.

In all, an estimated $1.5bn in federal money has been spent on the Games. According to Sports Illustrated magazine, this is a 996% increase on what the U.S. government spent on the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. By the end of the two-week festival U.S. taxpayers will have spent $625,000 for each of the 2,400 athletes in attendance. (If the minimum wage had gone up at the same rate of inflation, a McDonald's worker would be earning $190 an hour.)

Small wonder that Senator John McCain, one of America's most respected politicians, called for a congressional inquiry into how the Games have been financed. "It has got to do with wealthy developers. It's got to do with the enrichment of billionaires", he told Congress...

The relationship between the White House and Enron, the doomed energy company, focuses attention on the very ways in which the U.S. is run.

By: Julian Borger  

It does not take a seer to predict that the Enron hearings will become emblems of the Bush administration. The themes explored in the cut and thrust of the multi-pronged enquiries go to the very heart of how the U.S. is being run: the function and dysfunction of twenty-first century capitalism, the interplay between big business and government, and the executive's prerogative to conduct its dealings in secret.

All those issues intersect in the Bush-Cheney White House. In drawing up its flagship energy plan, a task force run by Dick Cheney, the vice-president, consulted an array of experts and interested parties. Enron executives are believed to have played a significant role in drafting the plan which favoured the energy trader in general. The plan emphasised production over conservation and deregulation over control. In particular, the final version included language which boosted an Enron project in India.

Furthermore, it has emerged that Enron was allowed to suggest candidates for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the government body that was supposed to police companies like Enron, and two of those candidates, including the chairman, were ultimately selected by the Bush administration.

"[Bush is] ...a shallow, arrogant, gun-loving, abortion-hating, Christian-fundamentalist, Texan buffoon."

- unnamed Bush administration official, unwittingly telling the unvarnished truth

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