Tom DeLay's Defense Fund Growing: The Texas Republican's defense fund to help him fight prosecution for undermining democracy in Bush's adopted state has grown to over a reported $250,000. To date no charges have been filed. The investigation into his coharts' activities continues. The likelihood of a prosecution against DeLay seems, at least in Delay's mind, to be highly likely. Who'da thunk it?
Faith: It's what makes the world go 'round. Various folks on the left of our dearly beloved president are fond of mocking his notion of "faith," but without faith our world would collapse. Of course faith is a factor in many areas, perhaps all, of our lives other than a faith in a personal relationship with a supreme being.
Without faith our economic system would collapse quicker than a Neo Con can switch the topic of conversation when "no WMDs in Iraq" comes up. Since the Enron (read major Bush backers) scandel, ethics has been introduced into the business studies classroom. Students often respond by saying, "Oh, yeah, we have to talk about that because of Enron," but ethicical behavior is the gold standard in business.
Without trust, nothing would get done. It is part of every aspect of economics. Workers must trust that employers will pay them an agreed upon wage. Capitalists trust that the banks will function in their advertised manner. And the list goes on. It is no accident that almost all of the top business stories in the past two years have been about the failure of eithical standards in American business.
At times it seems we've entered an era when the ethical standard has become that of a used car salesman: talk really fast, smile a lot, and get away with what ever you are capable of.
Is there a connection between the increased lack of ethical behavior and the twenty-year practice of hiring super star, charismatic CEOs? The resent trend has been to dismiss these sorts.
Definition: "Shill": a former news reporter who participates in spreading "covert propaganda" for the government. Congress's own Government Accountability Office has labeled the Bush administration's stream of faus news segments as inappropriate (unethical). Interesting behavior for a group that came into office as a result of a backlash against inappropriate behavior on the part of leaders in the previous administration.
For Those Too Young to Remember: Richard Nixon ran for president in 1968 on a platform of his having a plan to extricate America from the Vietnam War. Tricky Dick resigned in 1974 without the war having ended. Afterward his resignation, we proclaimed victory and left. Perhaps that was the secret Brother Dick was talking about in the '68 campaign.
Acts of Desperation: In Chicago, a man breaks into a judge's home and kills her mother and husband. In Atlanta, a prisoner in a courtroom shoots his guard, kills a judge and a court reporter, then a second guard. He car jacks a number of autos, shoots two more people, killing one, and kidnaps a woman, before surrendering to police. The next day a third man opens fire at a church service and kills seven innocent persons before killing himself.
It's as if the first person has granted permission to the others to commit these terrible acts of desperation, acts that result only in death and misery for all concerned.
This isn't new. These violent behavior seems to come in bunches. Let's hope that the current rash of such incidents has run it's course.
Congress, Baseball, and Steroids: Tell all Jose Conseco is asking for imunity from prosecution when he testifies before congress on the steroids issue. Congress, it is theorized, is likely to give it to him, possibly because he's promised to show members how to safely administer them? Sure, you think that's just a bad joke!
Pundits have asked the question, "Why just baseball players, why not football and basketball players?" Well, there's a new team in Washington, and the congressmen want to get in on the excitement. Politicians have no interest in "cleaning up the game." They're after the press, folks. This is photo op time supremo. Now they can get on the sports news, and there is always an election coming up. Think what Tom DeLay can do with hardcore Bush supporter Curt Schilling. Better than a New York fireman anytime, but especially in the spring. Oh, yes, the millionaire boys of summer are coming to town, providing lots of distraction—it's circus time in D.C.
The other two major sports: Basketball just ain't the same without MJ., even with a winning team in the capitol; and football is about the furthest thing from our minds now that the Superbowl lacked a culturally rich bit of costume malfunction. Let's face it: you remember Boston's heroic World Series drive better than the Superbowl game, even though the winning team was from the same state.
Taxes and the Federal Budget: Those of you who have been worried about the federal government going bankrupt should stop worrying. You'll be pleased to know that middle-income Americans will be replinishing government coffers with record deposits of tax money soon enough.
The Stealth Tax (Alternative Minimum Tax) is about to take a major bite out of your income. Increasing millions of American tax payers (people too poor to hide their money in offshore tax shelters and the like) will be kicking in lots more money. The Bush administration has been keeping quiet on this one. Why not? They and their ilk, the super rich, will remain virtually unaffected. Only about 35 percent of millionaires will be affected at all by the Stealth Tax.
Faith: It's what makes the world go 'round. Various folks on the left of our dearly beloved president are fond of mocking his notion of "faith," but without faith our world would collapse. Of course faith is a factor in many areas, perhaps all, of our lives other than a faith in a personal relationship with a supreme being.
Without faith our economic system would collapse quicker than a Neo Con can switch the topic of conversation when "no WMDs in Iraq" comes up. Since the Enron (read major Bush backers) scandel, ethics has been introduced into the business studies classroom. Students often respond by saying, "Oh, yeah, we have to talk about that because of Enron," but ethicical behavior is the gold standard in business.
Without trust, nothing would get done. It is part of every aspect of economics. Workers must trust that employers will pay them an agreed upon wage. Capitalists trust that the banks will function in their advertised manner. And the list goes on. It is no accident that almost all of the top business stories in the past two years have been about the failure of eithical standards in American business.
At times it seems we've entered an era when the ethical standard has become that of a used car salesman: talk really fast, smile a lot, and get away with what ever you are capable of.
Is there a connection between the increased lack of ethical behavior and the twenty-year practice of hiring super star, charismatic CEOs? The resent trend has been to dismiss these sorts.
Definition: "Shill": a former news reporter who participates in spreading "covert propaganda" for the government. Congress's own Government Accountability Office has labeled the Bush administration's stream of faus news segments as inappropriate (unethical). Interesting behavior for a group that came into office as a result of a backlash against inappropriate behavior on the part of leaders in the previous administration.
For Those Too Young to Remember: Richard Nixon ran for president in 1968 on a platform of his having a plan to extricate America from the Vietnam War. Tricky Dick resigned in 1974 without the war having ended. Afterward his resignation, we proclaimed victory and left. Perhaps that was the secret Brother Dick was talking about in the '68 campaign.
Acts of Desperation: In Chicago, a man breaks into a judge's home and kills her mother and husband. In Atlanta, a prisoner in a courtroom shoots his guard, kills a judge and a court reporter, then a second guard. He car jacks a number of autos, shoots two more people, killing one, and kidnaps a woman, before surrendering to police. The next day a third man opens fire at a church service and kills seven innocent persons before killing himself.
It's as if the first person has granted permission to the others to commit these terrible acts of desperation, acts that result only in death and misery for all concerned.
This isn't new. These violent behavior seems to come in bunches. Let's hope that the current rash of such incidents has run it's course.
Congress, Baseball, and Steroids: Tell all Jose Conseco is asking for imunity from prosecution when he testifies before congress on the steroids issue. Congress, it is theorized, is likely to give it to him, possibly because he's promised to show members how to safely administer them? Sure, you think that's just a bad joke!
Pundits have asked the question, "Why just baseball players, why not football and basketball players?" Well, there's a new team in Washington, and the congressmen want to get in on the excitement. Politicians have no interest in "cleaning up the game." They're after the press, folks. This is photo op time supremo. Now they can get on the sports news, and there is always an election coming up. Think what Tom DeLay can do with hardcore Bush supporter Curt Schilling. Better than a New York fireman anytime, but especially in the spring. Oh, yes, the millionaire boys of summer are coming to town, providing lots of distraction—it's circus time in D.C.
The other two major sports: Basketball just ain't the same without MJ., even with a winning team in the capitol; and football is about the furthest thing from our minds now that the Superbowl lacked a culturally rich bit of costume malfunction. Let's face it: you remember Boston's heroic World Series drive better than the Superbowl game, even though the winning team was from the same state.
Taxes and the Federal Budget: Those of you who have been worried about the federal government going bankrupt should stop worrying. You'll be pleased to know that middle-income Americans will be replinishing government coffers with record deposits of tax money soon enough.
The Stealth Tax (Alternative Minimum Tax) is about to take a major bite out of your income. Increasing millions of American tax payers (people too poor to hide their money in offshore tax shelters and the like) will be kicking in lots more money. The Bush administration has been keeping quiet on this one. Why not? They and their ilk, the super rich, will remain virtually unaffected. Only about 35 percent of millionaires will be affected at all by the Stealth Tax.
posted by Jim | 8:24 AM
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