Cunningscam: Much More Than Meets The Eye
Cunningscam: Much More Than Meets The Eye
Abramoff isn’t the only mega-scandal that could rock Washington this year. Two powerful committee chairmen in the House could soon find themselves ensarled in the scandal that has already taken down former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham.
Cunningham pled guilty “to taking more than $2 million in bribes in a criminal conspiracy involving at least three defense contractors.” Cunningham resigned from Congress but this mess is far from over.
Cunningham received $630,000 from a military contractor named Brent Wilkes, who is referred to as “co-conspirator No. 1″ in Justice Department documents. Wilkes worked for Audre Inc., a job he took in 1992 when the company was near bankruptcy and desperate for federal contracts. That’s where Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, comes in. The San Diego Union Tribune is on the case:
Cunningham and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, worked closely with two local companies – ADCS Inc. of Poway and Audre Inc. of Rancho Bernardo – to make the Pentagon pay for converting printed documents to computer files. They and a few other lawmakers got Congress to allocate $190 million for “automated data conversion” projects from 1993 to 2001.
Did the Pentagon want this “help”? No. As a 1994 General Accounting Office report noted, it already had the tools for such work.
But Cunningham, Hunter and their House allies didn’t care. Audre and ADCS were generous with contributions – and ADCS executive Brent Wilkes allegedly was bribing Cunningham…This led to such absurdities as a $9.7 million contract for ADCS to digitize historical documents from the Panama Canal Zone that the Pentagon considered insignificant. This isn’t governance. This is looting.
But Hunter isn’t the only committee chairman with problems. Wilkes employed a lobbyist named Bill Lowery who is unusually close with House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Lewis. Copley News Service conducted a three month investigation of their relationship:
From powerful positions on the House Appropriations Committee, California Rep. Jerry Lewis has greenlighted hundreds of millions of dollars in federal projects for clients of one of his closest friends, lobbyist and former state Congressman Bill Lowery.
Meanwhile, Lowery, the partners at his firm and their clients have donated 37 percent of the $1.3 million that Lewis’ political action committee received in the past six years…
The Lewis-Lowery relationship, however, is remarkable for the closeness and mutual dependence…They’ve even exchanged two key staff members, making their offices so intermingled that they seem to be extensions of each other.
Remember, the Department of Justice made a plea deal with Jack Abramoff to get incriminating information on members of Congress. Why did they make a deal with a member of Congress, Duke Cunningham? It’s likely that there are bigger fish to fry.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Kinda makes those legendary overpriced hammers and toilet seats look like a kid stuffing a candy bar in their pocket. These guys make street-walkers look like puritans.
January 5th, 2006 at 6:49 pmA REAL AMERICAN IS BACK. Respect, people. As all this “scandal” crap comes to light, it will be obvious to the American people that the Democrat Congressmen and Senators are just as corrupt as the Republicans. This crap has been going on in Washington since the beginning of our government. All you hippocrite liberals seem to be forgetting the old saying, “Those who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw rocks”.
January 5th, 2006 at 6:55 pm“As all this “scandal†crap comes to light, it will be obvious to the American people that the Democrat Congressmen and Senators are just as corrupt as the Republicans. A REAL AMERICAN”
You guys have set a very high bar of corruption, I doubt you’ll be topped within this generation. And it’s funny you mention the glass houses, because the ‘Gingrich Revolution’ that put you guys into Congress was based on you throwing rocks at a tiny handful of corrupt democrats. What are we up to with Abramoff now – 60+ Republicans?
Clearly you should have thought of the Glass House quote before using it as a lynchpin for why you were more worthy of government service. Just like your ‘ministers’ shouldn’t be homophobic if they’re gonna solicit male prostitutes.
So why again didn’t you know that you were in the glass house? Perhaps because it was so dirty from a lack of house cleaning?
January 5th, 2006 at 7:00 pmDEAR A “REAL” AMERICAN,
Since the Dems have not had even a bit of power in Washington for years, just what influence to think they could have peddled?
Stupid a$$ conservatives… they’re all either dumb as a brick or if not, diabolical.
January 5th, 2006 at 7:01 pmCunningham and Hunter took their lessons from Dick Cheney on how to embezzle tax payer money.
January 5th, 2006 at 7:13 pmThey should be made to pay it back ten-fold, sell the shirts off their backs. Drive ‘em into a camp trailer in the desert.
Cunningham and Nye took lessons from Harry Reid, Patrick Kennedy, Rostenkowski, et al. (FYI – TP Report ALL of the scoundrels – not just the repubs – then you might be non-partisan.)
January 5th, 2006 at 7:29 pmBut let’s face it, Mighty — the REALLY juicy stuff is Abramoff’s connections to Norquist, Rove and Bush’s Interior Department…and the $25,000 admission fee Abramoff and Norquist charged for a personal meeting with the President.
Lots of guilt to go around…but this time, the tail’s not on the donkey.
January 5th, 2006 at 7:38 pmI live in Hunter’s district — notice I didn’t say he was my Congressman — and finding him involved in the corruption is only surprising because I remember him crying on TV, pleading for another chance from the constituents, when he was caught up in the House banking scandal a decade ago.
But I guess a scoundrel is always a scoundrel.
Good fucking riddance.
January 5th, 2006 at 7:40 pmAs a San Diego resident, I continue to be amazed by the phrase, “The San Diego Union Tribune is on the case.” This Republican rag ignored every scandal in San Diego for years. I have no idea what’s going on, but I like it.
January 5th, 2006 at 7:41 pm“Cunningham and Nye took lessons from Harry Reid, Patrick Kennedy, Rostenkowski, et al. (FYI – TP Report ALL of the scoundrels – not just the repubs – then you might be non-partisan.) mighty aphrodite”
Do you have proof of this democratic trading of votes, or is this just more of the baseless accusations that seem all to common among republican partisans. You know, the ‘we hate swimmer kennedy’ crowd? You guys are soooo tired.
And yet, once again we have both proof and a witness that Cunningham, Nye, Hastert and Delay traded votes for money, and here you are making wild unsubstantiated allegations against Democrats. Were you always this irrational, and falsely accusatory, or are you just having a bad day today?
January 5th, 2006 at 7:44 pm“Cunningham and Nye took lessons from Harry Reid” mighty aphrodite
You do realize that Reid is from Nevada, and that he has fought all indian gambling because it competes with his state’s gambling business – right? Not only was Reid’s vote on this matter the same both before and after anyone contributed to his PAC (not him as I understand it). In order to ‘buy’ a vote, it must first be for sale, and clearly his vote was not ‘bought’, as it is consistent with his voting record on the subject.
Perhaps a better mentor would be Hastert, who changes his vote miraculously after receiving Abramoff money. He clearly shows that money talks when republicans are selling votes!
January 5th, 2006 at 7:54 pmAs all this “scandal” crap comes to light, it will be obvious to the American people that the Democrat Congressmen and Senators are just as corrupt as the Republicans.
Comment by A REAL AMERICAN — January 5, 2006 @ 6:55 pm
I am glad to see you admitting Republicans are corrupt and capable plenty of misdeeds. Also, I find it interesting you should put the word scandal between quotation marks -being as it is that Abramoff has plead guilty to three counts of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. Bribing public officials, i.e., members of Congress and the Senate. Sounds like a real scandal to me.
This crap has been going on in Washington since the beginning of our government.
So what’s your point? That we should close our eyes, ignore it, and let it happen?
Rapes and robberies have also been happening since the dawn of times -should we let them go unpunished?
All you hippocrite liberals seem to be forgetting the old saying, “Those who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw rocks”.
And what you are hypocritically and shamelessly doing here is trying to excuse inexcusable behaviour, deflect guilt, and change the subject.
January 5th, 2006 at 8:06 pm(…)it will be obvious to the American people that the Democrat Congressmen and Senators are just as corrupt as the Republicans.
Comment by A REAL AMERICAN — January 5, 2006 @ 6:55 pm
By the way, in wording your comment thus, you just established Republicans as the benchmark for measuring corruption.
January 5th, 2006 at 8:13 pm#2, ARA
January 5th, 2006 at 8:20 pmWhile I won’t claim that Democrats are guilt-free, I will say that the Democrats have no influence in Congress for the past 5 years. It is entirely Republican controlled, so what kind of influence would bribery purchase?
Some Democrats accepted $$ from their Indian constituencies, as that is whom they represent. This Abramoff scandal, while the Republicans and their toadies are claiming is “bipartisan,” is quite heavily weighted on the Republican side — It’s part of having all the power and the influence that attracts bribery.
All I know is…never in my life has there been so many criminals in our government.
This is the most corrupt govt. in history. The majority of this corrupt govt. is an elected Republican or an appointed Republican.
It’s getting hard to keep up with all of the crimes committed against the Citizens of the United States.
January 5th, 2006 at 8:35 pmLets impeach Bushie and Cheney, un-appoint some pugs, elect new leaders and fix this broken democracy.
“But you guys did it too.”
Does that make it right? Why don’t you right wing trolls go talk about the evil democrats on your right wing site, while we stay here and talk about evil republicans on TP? You won’t ever get us to change or minds, see it from your angle or give a crap. So, buzz off.
January 5th, 2006 at 8:55 pmSpudge, they are doing what they get paid to do. Of course their intention is to change minds, but when has Bubble boy appointed anyone that could accomplish an assigned task?
Failure breeds failure.
January 5th, 2006 at 9:03 pmSusan,
You are correct. I can’t think of a damn thing these guys have done right. Nothing. Nada. Ziltch.
January 5th, 2006 at 9:26 pmMost DC Republicans are CORRUPT, so nobody should be surprised that they are willing to sell their mothers into slavery for cold hard cash!
GOP Senators are the worst and most should resign in shame!
January 5th, 2006 at 9:28 pmFrame it: The Republican Syndicate. Organized Crime has found a new home.
January 5th, 2006 at 10:10 pmThe difference between americans and the rest of the world, is that the rest of the world KNOW that politicians are untrustworthy, especially ones that say trust me‘, and ‘I’m religious‘. That’s why the whole domestic spy issue should scare the crap out of people. The just trust me phrase of the executive branch is the best way to collapse a democracy that one can find.
January 5th, 2006 at 10:18 pmhttp://www.insider-magazine.com/inside_the_dixie_mafia.htm
January 5th, 2006 at 10:56 pmI wonder where does James Sensenbrenner fits in all of this?
January 5th, 2006 at 11:36 pm[...] Oh and Ed, if you finish with that here are just a few more for you to check out. [...]
January 6th, 2006 at 12:51 am…it will be obvious to the American people that the Democrat Congressmen and Senators are just as corrupt as the Republicans. This crap has been going on in Washington since the beginning of our government. All you hippocrite liberals seem to be forgetting the old saying, “Those who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw rocksâ€.
Comment by A REAL AMERICAN
T”REA”sonous “AMERI”scum #2,
You won, Dems are not in power, and Bill Clinton is no longer president…get over it and take your a**whipping like a good inbred.
“Bringin’ in th’ thieves,
Bringin’ in th’ thieves,
We shall all rejoice in
Bringin’ in th’ thieves”
The curse is working!
January 6th, 2006 at 8:36 amDuncan Hunter is now, and has always been, one of the biggest crooks in congress.
He has enjoyed defense contractor kickbacks for years now. How else, do you think, a man on a congressmans wages can become a billionaire in 10 years?
January 6th, 2006 at 10:01 amI’m looking forward to the shake out.
It’ll be fun.
January 6th, 2006 at 10:15 amThis is a perfect example of why I’m not a Christian — besides for the total absurdity of the underlying myth, of course.
Individual Chrisitians are pretty decent people, I’ve found. But put them in power, and in groups, and they metastasize. History repeats this pathology over and over.
And over and over.
January 6th, 2006 at 10:44 ami reiterate: booooooosh is a sack of shit…the repubs in congress dumb as a brick w/tunnelvision.
January 6th, 2006 at 11:19 am#2 – stones, dude.
January 6th, 2006 at 11:26 am#6 – Grasping at straws are you? Good, we will see where the money went. Like I said on another thread – do you wonder why the repubs are giving money back fast and furious and others aren’t? Can you not draw the obvious conclusions? Or do you need to see what Fox tells you to say. You guys are funny, or as Delay calls you, wacko.
See, lobbying is not illegal, but what Ney, et al did was. Reid can show where the money went and he can prove he is not “dirty.” BTW, what a stupid word, it makes one sound childlike.
Anyway, when you aren’t corrupt, you have nothing to worry about. When you are, and boy are they, you will scurry like cockroaches. Even if they weren’t guilty (which they are), they sure are moving around like they are. Greed is the republican undoing. Just watch.
January 6th, 2006 at 11:31 am27- Indeed. Every last crooked one, don’t care about party, they need to go, and if appropriate be prosecuted. I won’t hold my breath, but maybe this will help demonstrate just how corrupt the current pay-to-play system of government is.
28- I seem to recall something about good intentions and where they will get you.
January 6th, 2006 at 11:37 amhow does dana rohrbacher fit into into this slimy southern california cesspool? and how many servicemen and women in iraq don’t have body armour because these guys (cunningham, hunter and rohrbacher) were stuffing their republicon buddies pockets? sickening.
January 6th, 2006 at 11:38 amCunningham and Nye took lessons from Harry Reid, Patrick Kennedy, Rostenkowski, et al. (FYI – TP Report ALL of the scoundrels – not just the repubs – then you might be non-partisan.)
Hey, I have no problem getting rid of ALL of the corruption, including some Dems that are also sucked into the institutionalized bribery that has been protected by the GOP for years called “campaign financing” and “free speech”. And you likely will find that those guilty of bribery on the Dems side (which we have yet to see substantive charges being filed yet) were more a part of the pseudo-moderate but actually corporate DLC members of the Democratic Party. The DLC has been a cancer that has basicaly bought off some members of the Democrats to let the GOP infested status quo where corporate and other special interest bribery and influence peddling continue.
You still haven’t seen nothing yet. Wait until the real secrets are brought forth about what motivated the outing of Valerie Plame which was more about stopping planting of WMDs in Iraq than it was political revenge, and what other “hidden” whistleblowers’ truths are like Sibel Edmonds when we have a changing of the guard.
Katherine Harris is also going down with Cuningham as one of the three most highly benefitting from MZM’s contributions. GOP has already been trying to “ditch” her in her FL senate race.
January 6th, 2006 at 1:00 pmAs a San Diegan, I cannot say how thrilled I am that Hunter and Cunningham are under investigation and that Abramoff is getting his due. And while we’re at it, Karen Hughes should go down, period, for idiotic behavior and comments in the Middle East. MZM is just icing on the cake. Take a look at Opensecrets.org to see who else MZM has funded. Andfor the rest of the country- take a GOOD look at the defense industry in San Diego and thank god you’re not in our shoes. This war is brought to you in part by the military money whores of San Diego county. In an economy that thrives on military spending- you need military spening for the area to thrive- hence this and the conflicts waiting in the wings.
January 6th, 2006 at 2:17 pm[...] As we noted on ThinkProgress yesterday, before this story broke: “The Department of Justice made a plea deal with Jack Abramoff to get incriminating information on members of Congress. Why did they make a deal with a member of Congress, Duke Cunningham? It’s likely that there are bigger fish to fry.” [...]
January 6th, 2006 at 2:50 pmI think they did make a deal with Cunningham. And they may make one with Hunter as well. The level of public performance from Cunningham suggests two things: a) he was thrown under the bus and b) there has to be a level of public blubbering to create a diversion from teh fact he is probably singing his heart out. My feeling is that they could have thrown a library of books at him but found him useful. Issa’s deal is already done and services have been rendered. He may or may not survove the next election round depending on what happens with Damascus and he will not be getting the average Arab-American vote around here because he has been conspicuously silent on civil rights issues, etc. in the San Diego region. I dougt the ADC will endorse him.
The race for Cunningham’s seat will be particularly interesting with Francine Busby in the running- and it will be interesting to see how the Republican spin machine handles her presence since another Republican vet has thrown his hat into the ring.
January 6th, 2006 at 2:57 pmPP, as you well know from your masterful comment “lobbying isn’t illegal” bribery is very hard to prove – conspiracy is much easier and generally casts a wider net. Love the excuses you guys are churning out for Dems!!! But your schtick is a re-tread and hardly original….I expected nothing less!!
January 6th, 2006 at 3:04 pmLet see–Collin Powell in 2000, reported his worth $21 million. Just imagine what a congrees/senator can make over a low lifer as Powell. How many of you DORKS, know that after 1 1/2 terms most politicians are millionairs.
***************Rummmsfield-now there is a multi crook-here is a insight on his other money making deals.
If anyone ever had any question as to why Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been such a major figure inside the Bush administration advancing the interests of the neo-conservative pro-Israel network, the answer to the mystery may have finally been resolved. It’s actually been quite profitable for the U.S. defense secretary.
It turns out that Rumsfeld—along with former Vice President Dan Quayle—has intimate ties to Cerberus Global Investments, a New York-based holding company which, just last month, purchased the Israeli government’s interest in Bank Leumi, the second largest bank in Israel.
The revelation came in the November 15 issue of the influential Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz, which reported that, at least as far back as 2001, Rumsfeld was an investor in the company, citing a report that appeared in the October 3, 2005 issue of Business Week, based on financial disclosure forms that Rumsfeld was required to file under federal ethics laws.
That Business Week report went so far as to describe Cerberus as being “bigger†than even such well-known business giants as as McDonald’s, 3M, Coca-Cola and Cisco Systems, pointing out that Cerberus controls some 226 Berger King restaurants, the National and Alamo car-rental chains, the building products maker, Formica Corp. and the old Warner Hollywood Studios.
What is of particular interest regarding Rumsfeld’s Cerberus investments (vis a vis his insistent demand that the United States invade Iraq and occupy the country, as it does today) is that Business Week also asserted that Cerberus has also “set up military base camps in Iraq.â€
As far as former Vice President Quayle is concerned, while Quayle is now ensconced as essentially the “front man†for Cerberus, serving as chairman of the board of Cerberus, the real power at Cerberus is the 45-year-old chief executive officer, Stephen Feinberg, described by Ha’aretz as “a New York Jew with a golden touchâ€â€”a “shy wunderkind†who “makes himself scarce around photographers and sends underlings like Cerberus chair Dan Quayle to sign his deals.â€
So although Quayle’s liberal Democratic critics often made fun of the former vice president, questioning his capacities, it’s pretty clear that Quayle, after leaving the second highest office in the land, has finally found his niche.
Another major player in Feinberg’s operations is Michael Steinhardt, who—according to Avenue magazine—is an “avowed atheist†yet still “one of America’s biggest supporters of Jewish and Israeli causes,†and a financial backer of such influential American Jewish journals as the New York-based weekly, Forward, and the daily New York Sun, a neo-conservative daily.
Critics point out that current U.S. ethics laws do not prohibit past or present U.S. federal officials—such as the defense secretary of the ex-Vice President—from having financial interests in companies that are owned by foreign interests or otherwise benefit foreign governments, there are those who might find a conflict of interest, particularly in the case of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.
After all, critics note, the Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz, reported that the Israeli government’s finance ministry has said that the proceeds of the Cerberus purchase of a controlling interest in Bank Leumi will go toward “paying off Israel’s high national debt.â€
This is particularly ironic, of course, in that precisely because of Rumsfeld’s key role in helping orchestrate the war against Iraq—which was a major aim of the Israeli lobby in America—the U.S. engagement against the Arab republic has done much to increase America’s national debt, a debt that keeps on growing, even as Rumsfeld’s friends at Cerberus are directly involved in establishing the U.S. military presence in the beleaguered country.
January 6th, 2006 at 3:42 pmSpeaking of corruption reform measures that make sense, I heard someone recommending that all pending legislation must be publically posted on the Internet at least 72 hours before coming to a vote, giving Congress, staffers, bloggers and other interested parties, an opportunity to actually read all the provisions before they’re passed.
This may just make too much sense to be passed. Will sunlight actually make the cockroaches scurry for cover?
It’s a low cost, common sense measure as far as I can see. Any thoughts?
January 6th, 2006 at 3:57 pm” A REAL AMERICAN IS BACK.” back from performing cunnilingus on his grandmother. Yes, he’s got a big list of ALL the democrats ambrahamoff gave money to, and hes checking it twice. My prediction is that there will be EXPONENTIALLY more republicans caught up in this scandal than democrats. If I’m wrong, I’ll perform oral sex on a Real American’s mother, which would be a nightmare considering all the VD’s she must have to have had such low standards as to breed with whoever a real amerikkkans dad is. Whoever his dad is, ill bet he dresses up like adolf hitler and wears Real American’s diapers for a hat. Such an upbringing is a guaranteed way to produce your typical sexually repressed, control freak conservative whose utterly convinced his opinions are facts.
You know, actually, maybe real american is right! think about all the money those democrats get from those high rolling enviromentalist groups. and the abortionists. thats right… sure they don’t kill as many children as the defense contractors but the overhead is cheaper so they have more money to bribe those filthy democrats with.
Old Republican Defense: “They are criminalizing policts. Why should you blame us?”
New Republican Defense (when the old one fails miserably because politicians start pleasing guilty): “Everyone does it, why should you blame us?”
wrong douchebag. keep blowing hot air all you want.
your empire is on fire.
January 6th, 2006 at 4:27 pm“All you hippocrite liberals seem to be forgetting the old saying, “Those who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw rocksâ€.
Comment by A REAL AMERICAN #2
I’m trying to visualize this Troglodyte inbred T’REA’sonous AMERIscum hunched over a computer with his/her sloping forehead and eyes positioned too close together. He/she is sweating profusely and his/her stubby, unevolved fingers peck at the keyboard slowly and methodically. His/her tongue is protruding from his/her swollen red lips as spittle drips in syrupy, viscous strands onto the keyboard, as he/she struggles to recall insulting and excoriating labels to hurl at liberals; labels like “hippocrite” (some form of jungle animal I suspect).
Then in a fit of triumphant pique T’REA’sonous AMERIscum harkens back to his/her days as a valedictorian ‘gradiate’ of the Minimalist School of Aphorisms, he/she chooses the famous quote : “Those who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw rocks,†to punctuate his/her diatribe.
“rocks” did he/she say?
“rocks”…
This simple mistake would not have been quite so monumental had he coupled the “rocks” with the action verb “chunk”…
That’s right:
“Those who live in glass houses, shouldn’t CHUNK rocks,”
moron!
January 6th, 2006 at 4:32 pmJust read that Justice is so busy trying to keep up with all the republican scandels that a very very big scandel concerning the capital athilics charity scam and many other charitys that are responsible for paying people to write favorable pieces, you know bribes about and for republicans, will not even be investigated…They hope it will go away because so many people are in on this..I dont think so…
January 6th, 2006 at 7:03 pmI dont care who does it..CLEAN UP THE CORRUPTION…Just in case your wondering, no dems took money from abramoff, they took donations from tribes just like you and I would give..Pugs insisted on graft from tribes to pass bills and other favors. Just so you know…
January 6th, 2006 at 7:08 pmThere should me no comparison made of Rep.Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) with Cunningham, Hastert, Nye, and all these Republicans. Dan’s “BIG” scandal involved $7,000 worth of postage stamps converted to cash and then used for expenses. Some vicious Republicans in Illinois and Washington resented his power and knocked him out. He served his time in prison with dignity, and was,according to every newspaper story written while he was inside, very well liked by fellow prisoners and staff. The House was a much more reasonable body when he ran it. Now it is controlled by greedy, nasty, horrible Republicans whom Eisenhower would have despised.
January 6th, 2006 at 11:06 pmThe American people aren’t focused on economic growth; they’re concerned about economic insecurity. Call it the “Insecurity Index.”
For the full story, see:
“The Bush League Economy.”
January 6th, 2006 at 11:08 pmLet’s start with almost all the Republicans and then get rid of most of the Democrats. Then we can elect Greens, Libertarians, and independents with fresh ideas and a commitment to clean up the mess that our country has become. Conservative, liberal, progressive, moderate – it doesn’t matter. What matters is that they have clean hands and an honest desire to contribute to the well-being of the country and the world.The two major parties have become dependent on corporate cash, and as long as Americans place their bets on the them, we will have corruption in one form or another. Also, as long as congress can legally be influenced by lobbyists, we will have a congress that doesn’t represent the people. How dare we allow other countries to influence our politics! (i.e., Israel, Britain) How dare we allow major corporations and other vested interests to literally determine the future of our country and humanity!The resources exist to solve every major problem facing us, yet ego, greed, domination, fanaticism, and superstition get in the way of taking clear, effective, fair and peaceful action. And yes, Republicans, you must accept responsibility for setting the agenda and the tone of political discourse. It was Republicans that 25 years ago decided to abandon energy conservation and encourage the imprudent waste of oil and other forms of energy. It was Republicans that drove our country into a fiscal abyss with endless debt through deficit spending (all the while they claimed to be for fiscal responsibility). And Democrats must accept responsibility for being spineless, and for allowing themselves to become “Republican Light” instead of standing for something better.
January 7th, 2006 at 7:29 amWe and our children will cleaning up elephant dung for many years to come.
January 7th, 2006 at 5:16 pm