The 'Corporate Reform' President?

October 9, 2002 5:17 PM

The 'Corporate Reform' President? Harken Energy, when run by George W. Bush used the practice of shifting troubled assets and large debts on a seperate set of books (like the much beloved Enron). Harvardwatch has memos (1, 2) right from where Bush personally took part in meetings authorizing the deal. Its good to see those Ivy League dollars at work.
posted by owillis (22 comments total)

hee hee. i love the internet.
posted by tgrundke at 5:29 PM on October 9, 2002

Thanks for pointing this out, owillis. This reminds me of why the firm of Arthur Andersen should not have been indicted for the Enron mess -- Enron's board of directors should have, at least first, anyway. Corporate misbehavior, a tanking stock market, an overprivileged and unelected junior-president, and the talk is of... Iraq? Sheesh.
posted by skimble at 5:45 PM on October 9, 2002

owillis, why do you hate America so much?
posted by Wulfgar! at 6:31 PM on October 9, 2002

posted by quonsar at 6:49 PM on October 9, 2002

I, for one, welcome our new Corporate Reform overlords.
posted by RylandDotNet at 7:18 PM on October 9, 2002

Is Bush a Yalie?
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 7:20 PM on October 9, 2002

Excuse me, I was meaning to say Isn't Bush a Yalie?
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 7:21 PM on October 9, 2002

Yes:

posted by RylandDotNet at 7:23 PM on October 9, 2002

I am sorry but does that say "High Commissioner of Stickball" ???


Too Funny
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 7:30 PM on October 9, 2002

Isn't Bush a Yalie

I believe he got his MBA from Harvard.
posted by electro at 7:45 PM on October 9, 2002

There was a Whitewater investigation on a lot less pretext than this; and when that came up with bupkus, the hunt for dirt got increasingly desperate...

Where is that passion for truth and justice now?
posted by George_Spiggott at 7:58 PM on October 9, 2002

That is a damn good point.
posted by RylandDotNet at 8:42 PM on October 9, 2002

There's only passion when it involves a presidential cigar and cum-stained dress.
posted by mckayc at 8:44 PM on October 9, 2002

I'd love to see John Ashcroft appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Dubya... I'd fucking *pay* to see it.
posted by RylandDotNet at 8:52 PM on October 9, 2002

I'd fucking *pay* to see it.

And you would. But, alas, you won't. (This country has a procedure in place for recall elections. Why, oh God, why don't we use it?)
posted by Wulfgar! at 8:56 PM on October 9, 2002

"Unlike many of Enron's deals, Harken disclosed its transactions to investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission and complied with accounting rules. Mr. Bush didn't profit personally from the subsequent boost in Harken's stock because he already had sold most of his shares..."

Yeah, legal and disclosed transactions call for a special prosecutor, especially when they don't profit him.
posted by chris24 at 9:16 PM on October 9, 2002

"No Mr. Ashcroft, I've never heard of this.. Meta-filter you say?"

Yeah, legal and disclosed transactions call for a special prosecutor, especially when they don't profit him.

Whitewater. But hey, it wasn't "about sex" either.
posted by owillis at 10:36 PM on October 9, 2002

If the special prosecutor doesn't like that one, he can move on to this one.

I particularly like the sentence about the "sharp contrast between Bush's personal profiteering and his public stance in defense of property rights. ".
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:44 PM on October 9, 2002

Yeah, but was that before or after he quit drinking?
posted by elwoodwiles at 12:36 AM on October 10, 2002

Thanks, George_Spiggott, for the Austin Chronicle link. I had forgotten all about the $12 million gift Junior was given simply for being Junior. I also liked this sentence in the article you cited: "...the Rangers owners -- and remember that Bush was the managing general partner at the time -- were conspiring to use the city's condemnation powers to obtain the 13-acre tract a full six months before the ASFDA was even created."

There's that word "conspiring" that theorists love so damn much! If only there were less evidence, there'd be fewer conspiracy theorists. And speaking of condemnation powers and obtaining land, when will the national discourse finally turn to Iraq? [sorry, rambling out of control here.]
posted by skimble at 7:34 AM on October 10, 2002

There's only passion when it involves a presidential cigar and cum-stained dress Democrat.
posted by Dirjy at 10:03 AM on October 10, 2002

To quote Tina Fey, "Democratic scandals have words like 'fondle' , 'intern', 'murder'. Republican scandals have words like 'oversight sub-comittee chairman' and 'partially exempted multilateral platforms'."
posted by RylandDotNet at 4:10 PM on October 10, 2002