tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348938957394812825.post7788489891829342503..comments2023-10-06T07:30:23.558-07:00Comments on The Candid Blogger: Barack Obama's Weekly Address: 12/13/09WIZolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12460459317950637410noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348938957394812825.post-1858103799758989652008-12-18T07:14:00.000-07:002008-12-18T07:14:00.000-07:00Frank,You are desperately fact-challenged. Your E...Frank,<BR/><BR/>You are desperately fact-challenged. Your Enron post is a fantasy. Here are the facts:<BR/><BR/>Shortly after taking office, President Bush waged a battle against the imposition of federal price controls in California that allowed Enron to price-gouge consumers by extending the energy crisis in California, costing the state billions of dollars. Enron reported increased revenues of almost $70 billion from the previous year.<BR/><BR/>Bush also resisted attempts to crack down on Enron's utilization of its 847 offshore subsidiaries in countries with lax banking-regulation laws. The consumer-rights watchdog organization Public Citizen alleges that some of these offshore havens helped Enron defraud its stockholders.<BR/><BR/>Moreover, while Sen. Gramm was working the Congress to pass legislation favorable to Enron (and collecting nearly $260,000 in campaign contributions from the company), his wife Wendy Gramm first was chairperson of a regulatory committee overseeing Enron's business activities and later a paid member of that company's board of directors. Enron paid her between $915,000 and $1.85 million, according Public Citizen. Sen. Gramm has announced his decision not to seek reelection for another term in the senate.<BR/><BR/>Enron, whose stock price plummeted from almost $85 per share to $0.25 per share within one year, forced its employees to invest their retirement plans in the company stock while corporate executives were free to make out like bandits by selling their stock when it was near its peak before anyone caught wind of the company's impending collapse. Jeffrey K. Skilling, who resigned his position as Enron's chief executive in August, sold more than $30 million worth of his stock in the company this year. Lay, who was Skilling's predecessor, was able to unload about $23 million worth of his Enron stock.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, employees, who invested in Enron stock through their company's 401(k) plan, were prohibited in diversifying into other securities. They lost their shirts while 500 of the company's top executives divided up $55 million worth of bonuses.<BR/><BR/>George W. Bush lied when he said that he first got to know Ken Lay in 1994, and that Ken Lay was a supporter of his opponent, Ann Richards. Actually, Lay first started contributing to GW's career<BR/>back in 1978, and in fact gave GW three times as much money in 1994 as he did Ann Richards.<BR/><BR/>Dick Cheney met six times with Enron executives while writing up this nation's energy policy which benefited Enron 17 ways, and then refused to tell Congress anything about those meetings. Cheney also met with Ken Lay during the California energy crisis. <BR/>The day after the meeting, Cheney said the Bush administration would not support price caps on energy in California, a move that cost Californians and made Enron billions.<BR/><BR/>Enron was a large campaign contributor to Texas Senator Phil Gramm. In 1992, his wife, Wendy, was the chair of the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission. She moved to exempt Enron's energy-swap operation from government oversight, then days later resigned and took a job with Enron on its audit committee. <BR/><BR/>Karl Rove, Bush's Political Adviser, held up to $250,000 worth of Enron stock.<BR/><BR/>Frank, stay in school . . .WIZolmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12460459317950637410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348938957394812825.post-86422206594276125972008-12-16T13:07:00.000-07:002008-12-16T13:07:00.000-07:00Actually Mr. Clinton signed in the bill that 'deci...Actually Mr. Clinton signed in the bill that 'decimated' the economy that was backed by him and the Fed chairman. Along with Chase designed the funding scheme that allowed every party involved to go 'wild'. A bill that was finally 'fixed' in June '08.<BR/><BR/>It was also Mr. Clinton that allowed Enron to happen.<BR/><BR/>Which is something I believe was a 'test-run' for energy de-regulation to see if it would work or not on a large scale. It's also interesting that it happened in a heavily Green state as well.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14340751504999417208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348938957394812825.post-54031726783142954522008-12-16T06:23:00.000-07:002008-12-16T06:23:00.000-07:00This post skips the fact that the Bush decimation ...This post skips the fact that the Bush decimation of the economy was intentional and designed to drive this country to become just another third world nation of the rich and the working class -- no middle class. Veiled references to Obama as a Marxist are symptomatic of a man who is frustrated at seeing Obama gain the presidency. Live with it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348938957394812825.post-54523715513142613842008-12-15T13:51:00.000-07:002008-12-15T13:51:00.000-07:00Yeah, but isn't it part of Marx/Lenin/Socialis...Yeah, but isn't it part of Marx/Lenin/Socialist teachings that no one should own property to begin with? What a better way to start then getting many of the lower classes kicked out of those homes to be reclaimed by partially govt owned banks! ;) LOL!<BR/><BR/>That aside I hope he has a plan for the ARM & ARM2 (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) defaults that will be happening within the next 6-8 months. As well as a plan to handle the Credit Card and Auto credit waves after them!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14340751504999417208noreply@blogger.com