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AM Feed - July 6: Rumsfeld Subpoenaed After Stonewalling

Hot Topics

• Is the Bush administration stonewalling again? (Is Washington, DC hot and humid in the summer?) This time, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld failed to respond to a March letter from the House Government Reform Committee demanding documents related to the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Last week, the committee followed up by issuing a subpoena to Rumsfeld, requiring him to turn over the documents by July 14. The scandal at Abu Ghraib prison was a major black eye for US foreign policy efforts. ”[I]f the department won’t even return a call, after three months, and begin that dialogue, we really have no choice but to subpoena the material and compel their attention to our request,” said Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA). [link]
• The federal lobbying corruption probe took another twist when it was revealed that the lobbying firm of Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White underrepresented its income by well over $1 million between 1998 and 2005. The firm, which includes former Rep. Bill Lowery, has been tied to the “earmark” investigation into Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA). Much of the underreported income came from nonprofit groups and government entities. Some experts have already suggested that the lobbying firm might have intentionally downplaying its relationship with groups it secured federal money for. One of the private groups whose donations were underreported by the firm was none other than ADCS Inc., which was owned by Brent Wilkes, one of the co-conspirators in the Cunningham bribery probe. [link]
• Kenneth Lay, founder of Enron and poster boy for corporate corruption scandals, died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 64. Lay was visiting his vacation home in Aspen, CO. At the time of his death, he was facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison, the result of his conviction in his role in the collapse of Enron, which was at the time the largest bankruptcy in American history. Lay’s combative demeanor on the witness stand during his trial helped to seal his conviction. [link]

Quote of the Day

“I don’t know, what do you think would be the appropriate thing to say?” – White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, when asked about the death of President Bush’s friend, Ken Lay.

Morning Snark

• Did some former Enron accountants find work at Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White?

1. I’ve recently found out that one of my Senators, Babs Boxer, supposedly one of the most liberal members of the Senate, is campaigning for Joe Lieberman. What the fuck? She votes to stop the funding for the Iraq War (a good vote) then campaigns to promote the re-election of one of the war’s most ardent supporters. This loyalty to fellow incumbents trumps their loyalty to us, the people who pay their wages – then they vote themselves another pay raise for the seventh year in a row while refusing to increase the minimum wage!!!
   — John    Jul 6, 10:53    #
2. Did Barbara Boxer vote against the minimum wage increase?
   — jen    Jul 6, 10:58    #
3. Humm…I’ll have to get back to you on that one Jen…
   — John    Jul 6, 11:05    #
4. So Kenny Boy is Dead – don’t eveybody start crying all at once!
   — Countess Sofia Belinskaya    Jul 6, 11:11    #
5. Jen, Babs Boxer voted to raise the minimum wage and she votes right more often than not, but that’s not exactly excellence in government service, is it?
   Sofia, I suspect all eyes are dry with respect to Kenny Boy’s demise – probably more likely they are lining up to piss on his grave…
   — John    Jul 6, 11:22    #
6. My only regret about Ken Lay’s demise is for the workers who were cheated out of their pensions and no suit had yet been filed to claim some of his fortune. His rich widow will probably claim it all.
   — Rosalie Stern    Jul 6, 11:39    #
7. Rosalie, I predict there will be class-action suit brought against Lay’s estate. But I’m often mistaken…
   — John    Jul 6, 11:53    #
8. I guess California is especially happy to see Lay gone – I read up on his shenanigans in the California energy crisis and hadn’t realized the extent of his and Enron’s involvement therein. Boy, he/Enron really screwed the California energy consumer by sending the energy out of the state and then ricocheting it back in to circumvent the caps for energy produced and sold within the state. Talk about manipulation.
   — jen    Jul 6, 12:10    #
9. John, I hope you are right about The class action suit. Why has it taken so long?
   You should take lessons from BShito. He is never wrong.
   — Rosalie Stern    Jul 6, 12:41    #
10. Ken Lay and his crowd screwed California big time! People on respirators had to rely on nurses and care givers to hand pump oxygen for hours at a time. Most people don’t consider the hardship this kind of outrage exacts on the sick and elderly. Adding insult to injury is the response by FERC and the Vice President: basically a
    callous disregard for California’s plight.
    — terry    Jul 6, 12:49    #
11. Last month I finally watched ‘Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room.’ You should check it out, if you haven’t already, Terry.
    — brian    Jul 6, 13:25    #
12. Seems Kenny Boy is going to be cremated. I’ll bet he’s not even dead! The general public will not be able to view his body.
    — Jeannine    Jul 10, 09:51    #
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    — qksrork    Apr 27, 07:03    #

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