Politics – Sen. John McCain says he opposes the $307 billion farm bill because it would dole out wasteful subsidies, but his chief economic adviser Phil Gramm also wants to stop its proposed regulation of energy futures trading, a market that was famously abused when Enron Corp. manipulated California's electricity prices in 2001.
The $307 billion PORK bill (AKA farm bill) needs to be REJECTED.
I, like most tax payers, have better things to do with $4,000 per family of four.
Close the Enron loop hole another way.
Let BIG agri-business find an honest way to make a dollar.
Let the lobbyists that are sticking us with this bill find a constructive job.
The Gramms belong in jail and instead they're helping McCain---wonders never cease.
Still blows my mind that more people didn't go to jail over the Enron scandal. But then again, these people were protected from up high, so i guess it shouldnt be too surprising. Heck, the cheney energy meeting, which had Enron execs(lay included) at it, is still 'classified top secret'. The first time in US history, that said meeting was withheld from the public.
This Enron?
"In 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, stocked with Clinton appointees, helped Enron with a series of orders that weakened the monopoly of nuclear and coal-burning utilities. In July of that year, Enron gave $100,000 to the Democratic Party." (Dan Morgan, "Enron Also Courted Democrats," The Washington Post, January 13, 2002)
FTA: Internal Enron documents, which were released in 2002, revealed that the Houston-based company helped write the legislation, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in December 2000.
This is one of the reasons that I don't support Hillary Clinton. They are just as in bed with these people as the Republicans are.
And this Enron:
Enron Lobbyist And Al Gore Advisor Greg Simon Also "Co-Sponsored" The Fundraising Event For Erskine Bowles. "Greg Simon, who spearheaded the cable open-access effort for America Online Inc. after leaving the Clinton White House, has signed up to lobby for Enron Corp., the Houston-based energy trading company with close political ties to the Bush Administration. Simon -- a top media and telecommunications adviser to former Vice President Al Gore and founder of his own lobbying firm, called Simon Strategies -- filed a lobbying-registration form with the clerk of the House of Representatives on June 18. He also registered Simon Strategies assistants Kristan Van Hook and Ann Morton as Enron lobbyists." (Ted Hearn, "Ex-Gore Aide Simon Will Lobby For Enron," Multichannel News, July 02, 2001)
Still blows my mind that more people didn't go to jail over the Enron scandal.
~~~~~~~~~~
What would be the point? IF they had been convicted Bush would have 'commuted' their sentence and probably given them a pardon.
Be thankful that more DIDN'T go to trial because WE would have had to pay for the 'dog and pony show' just to have it thrown away by Bush.
so they get a pass?
uh-huh, I don`t think so. That just makes more people want to repeat the grand theft of taxpayer and consumer money.
No, we need to hold them accountable. We will get back in fines whatever the legal costs are AND prevent others from doing same in the future.
Worse thing we can do is give them a pass.
Hold on, I'm NOT saying it was right.
And as for "We will get back in fines whatever the legal costs are" Not if they file bankruptcy (which Enron did), close their doors and blow in the wind.
And as for "prevent others from doing same in the future." Spending MILLIONS of dollars to prosecute MCI didn't stop Enron from doing the same thing and because MCI filed bankruptcy we got NOTHING from them either. We just spent LOTS of money to do it.
Raats,
Did not mean to be accusatory, sorry if it came off that way. We`re in the same boat, I just think we can get a whole lot stricter on these corporate and crony crooks than we have in the past. They will not stop unless it is in their best interest to stop. Fact of nature.
Just like how the financial companies behind the Subprime Scandal changed the bankruptcy laws to make you and me liable for our personal debts, even AFTER bankruptcy, the government should be able to fine those companies for all legal expenses. If the company has to sell equipment, release new shares just for the govt, I do not care. Leave the details to the IRS.
I ABSOLUTELY agree that Corporate America has gotten a free ride at the expense of the people (and I say that as a Corporate Owner).
And as long as Republican have their way which is to reduce oversight (because it's TOO expensive for Corporations), reduce Corporate taxes (so that the money can be put back into the pockets of the Corp-but NOT the employees), and give tax breaks for out-sourcing nothing will get fixed.
And as long as the PEOPLE running these Corporations can hide BEHIND the Corporation (with no liability) nothing will change either.
McCain is not doing any of his own thinking on the subject; he is relying on the same advice from the same people that brought us the last eight years that have nearly destroyed the middle class. Time to switch to fair trade and not just free trade for those of us who live here in this country.
McCain is ignorant on economics and will conceal the sources of the people who are pulling his strings. Americans better make sure not to put this idiot in office or we will be suffering even worse than we are now.
This is the same John McCain who says that lobbyist have no say in the choices he makes and yet SURROUNDS himself with lobbyist OR people CONNECTED to lobbyists.
Then he expect us to believe that the lobbyist had NO barring on him CHANGING his position.
I don't know which is worse....the fact that he changes his position as much as the direction of the wind or that there is really NO CHANCE of deciding if he SUPPORTS my position or REJECTS my position because it depends on what MINUTE it is. It's one thing to change position from day to day or from group to group, but when he changes position from minute to minute how can ANYONE trust this guy?
Lets just put the freaking thieves in jail.
I know a lady whose brother was sent to prison for stealing a cookie from a restarant. He was a two time loser and they counted that as his third strike.
He is spending 25 to life for it. We the tax payers are paying for it. But of course if you are connected and and a neoloon thief. Well that is a horse of a different color. Because to steal from all of CA is OK right.
Man these clowns never want to run into me. I wouldn't be so pleasant with them. LO
Princess Jenna used fake ID to illegally buy booze. In Texas, Bush changed the law to make that a felony class crime. However, of all the underaged drinkers who were caught under that law, Jenna was the only one who was charged with a lesser offense.
Cindy McCain illegally obtained and used controlled substances and stole from a charity to pay for them. Not that she did not have the $100s of millions to pay for them out of her own pocket, but she is too `important` to use her own money for something so dirty.
If you or I did that, we would be in jail for several years minimum.
Nope, they Republicans are all about creating a Banana Republic where you and I pay a birth tax to the royalty class, and laws only apply to us.
You might want to guess again at the law lurch:
http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/leginfo/UnderageLaw...
UNDERAGE DRINKING LAWS
Minors who purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, or consume alcoholic beverages, as well as minors who are intoxicated in public or misrepresent their age to obtain alcoholic beverages, face the following consequences:
Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500
Alcohol awareness class
8 to 40 hours community service
30 to 180 days loss or denial of driver's license
"Since September 1999 police have usually charged people using fake identification to buy alcohol with a more serious offense - a Class B violation of the Texas Transportation Code. Class B offenses typically result in arrest. Records on file in Austin Municipal Court show that only one person this year has been given a Class C citation for attempting to use a fake identification to buy alcohol. That's Jenna Bush. President Bush, when he was Texas' governor, signed the 1999 law in the Transportation Code that increased the charge for using false identification from a Class C to a Class B misdemeanor. In 1999, 50 people were charged with the Class C offense in Austin. Last year, the number dropped to three. Meanwhile, court records show at least 67 people have been charged with the Class B misdemeanor for trying to buy alcohol with a fake identification since the law took effect on Sept. 1, 1999."" --Austin American-Statesman, 6/8/01
If you do not think that American royalty such as Cindy McCain and the Bush twins are above the law, I have moon property to sell you, while it lasts, so you better hurry.
George Bush`s law doesn`t apply to his daughters.
Jeb Bush`s election law doesn`t apply to this brother.
John McCain`s campaign finance law doesn`t apply to himself.
Felony laws regarding DUI, controlled substance purchasing etc don`t apply to any of them.
It`s the hypocrisy, as much if not more than the crimes above that ****** me off.
Noelle is no doubt a very a fine young lady, and like anyone else, it would be cruel and inhumane to lock her away when she is suffering from a mental or psychological problem that is producing her drug addiction. There is nothing in her conduct or demeanor that morally justifies allowing politicians and prosecutors to destroy her life simply in order to add another statistical notch to their drug-war bragging rights. There is no evidence that she has assaulted, molested, or murdered and no evidence that she poses a threat to the safety of others. There is no evidence that she has an evil intent and thus there is no justification for stripping her of her rights and freedoms.
The problem lies with people such as her father and uncle, people who rose to political power by promising harsh treatment to nonviolent drug offenders. After his daughter got caught the first time, Jeb Bush pulled out his hankie and blubbered in front the audience of a Florida drug-war policy conference.
Yet, as Stephen Heath of the Drug Policy Forum of Florida noted, Bush waged "a vigorous 12-month campaign against a proposed ballot initiative that would allow Floridians the right to drug treatment for first and second nonviolent drug possession offenses" รข;; the same kind of treatment that Noelle received.
Rather than giving favored treatment to the family members of the rich, famous, and politically connected, it would be far more honest to recognize that consuming drugs is not an act of war against fellow citizens and should no longer be a criminal matter. Drug addicts do enough abuse to themselves without politicians coming in to kick them when they are down.
Actually that is if they operating a motor vehicle. From the Texas transportation code:
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/TN/co...
Now you can show it to be a felony as you claimed please provide a link to the actually code.
McLame is a flip-flopper par excellence. He would be just an extension of the same administration we have now. How do we find these bozos that run for President? Where do they come from. And favortism is so obvious. We have long since ceased to have anything that even resembles equal justice under the law. Scooter Libby scoots. Ramos and Campion still sit in jail.
It's too bad Rove and company swiftboated McCain back 8 years ago, I don't think we'd be in Iraq.
Talk about a flip flop, now Rove, paid and edited by the almighty neo-con Rupurt Murdock, owner of News Corp, Wall Street Journal, Fox News....employes Rove, pays him to stir up controversy.
Of course, Murdock does'nt care who's president, as long as the taxes for the mega rich stay cut, and the inheritance tax stays dead.
On behalf of Murdock, and all the mega rich families, like the multi-Billionaire Mars family, I thank all the red state anit-abortion evangelicals who voted to give these foreign mogals the keys to America.
There is so much pork in this bill, it deserves to be buried and never see the light of day:
Turn odorous farm bill into fertilizer
The farm bill carries an overwhelming, bipartisan odor of hypocrisy. Republicans who tout limited government and free markets welcomed the bill's generous crop subsidies. Democrats who decry "welfare for the rich" voted for farm welfare for the rich - subsidy payments to farmers earning up to $750,000/yr.
Consumers can thank Congress for higher prices at the grocery store. Ethanol mandates are helping to drive up food prices by encouraging farmers to devote more acreage to fuel-producing crops.
The farm bill compounds the ethanol folly by creating a "sugar buyback" program - the government will purchase excess sugar from producers and sell it to ethanol refiners at a huge discount. Taxpayers will be subsidizing high fuel & food prices.
http://www.al.com/opinion/press-register/index....
The actual bill is here:
http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/FarmBill.html
$170 million for the salmon fishermen on the West Coast
$250 million for a single entity land buy in Montana
$3 billion for specialty crops, including the turnips, parsnips, leek and rutabaga
$5 billion for direct payments each year to farmers regardless of whether they grow anything.
$93 million in tax breaks for race horses
$4 billion trust fund for disaster payments on top of subsidized crop insurance that is supposed to take care of this
$250 million to Plum Creek Timber Co. in Montana. Plum Creek, according to its Web site, "is the largest and most geographically diverse private land owner in the nation" and paid a healthy dividend to shareholders last quarter.
$209 billion for nutrition programs like food stamps (amazing that they help create the high prices then have to increase food stamps to help the poor)
It passed the Senate & House with veto proof majorities
Actually Nostalgia, I didn't mean to neg you. It should have been a positive You are making a good point. Never the less, the Enron loophole needs to be plugged somewhere, maybe not with this bill. All Pork is a form of pandering to lobbyists. I agree with you. It is still corruption whether it comes from Democrats or Republicans.
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If this is true, anyone voting for McCain should make an appointment with a shrink
I don't know how Mclame didn't think that Enron would bite him in the ass if he picked Phil Gramm as one of his main people. That guy let Enron and his wife fleece this country, ruin lives, and pretty much begin the economic downfall that has been happening ever since.
McClaim probably knows he's got idiot cons like the ones on Propeller who doesn't care what he does, just as long as there is an R after his name. That's the only requirement.
engineer,
I posted a comment several weeks ago that pointed out that McCain's chief economic adviser was Phil Gramm and it was he, in 1999, who presented a bill to not regulate hedge funds which were part of the problem with the mortgage/housing meltdown. This issue doesn't surprise me in the least.
If McCain's anathema of lobbyists influencing legislation is to be taken seriously, he should have dispatched Mr Gramm since the bill he foisted on this nation was written by these people. I doubt very much if Mr. Gramm ever dotted an I or crossed a T in that bill.
For anyone that doesn't know about this specific subject should take a look at this:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?st...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?st...
I wouldn't say that. The wealthiest 1% of Americans have made out like bandits under the RepugniCons from Reagan through Bush2. They went from holding 25% of the nation's wealth when Reagan was elected to 50% now. That's right, 1% own 50% of ALL wealth in America. The other 99% divide up the other 50%. The top 4% have 80% of everything. The other 96% split up the remaining 20%.
This is right back to where the Republicans got the country in 1929, just before the great depression.
So barring another great depression (and the Fed is doing back-flips forward to try to bar that) the top 4% have a perfectly logical reason to keep voting for RepugniCons like McCain. He wants to take the top tax rate way down below the massive tax cut Bush gave the wealthiest Americans.
You could certainly question McCain's integrity and empathy, but not the cold calculating logic. If he blesses the uber rich, they will bless him. Presumably through checks written to Cindy no-financial-disclosure McCain.