George jumps sinking ship

Enron robbed CA of BILLIONS of dollars and their connections help them avoid detection.

Liberal Goddess wrote:

Enron robbed CA of BILLIONS of dollars and their connections help them avoid detection.

Bullshit. The state of CA deregulated electricity and stripped their own laws of any safeguards. ENRON didn't need any "connectioons" to avoid detection since there wasn't anyone looking over their shoulder to begin with.

It's not clear from this thread whether Bush is being accused of anything. I really have no personal knowledge of whether he knew Ken Lay or not, was associated with him in business or not. However, let's stipulate for the sake of argument that all of that is true. It is not a crime to know or be in business with someone who subsequently violates the law and goes to jail. It's not immoral either. Is anyone saying that Bush did anything specific that was illegal? And please, either be specific or don't bother to answer.

It may not be clear from the "thread" but it's clear in the records that show such a connection. It's not about his dealings with Ken Lay being "illegal" only that they existed for a long period of time...

...even though I believe Bush uttered words to the effect " I did not know that man Ken lay until 1994" which was an outright lie.

Bush also allowed Ken Lay to help appoint the man who would be overseeing him. Again a matter of record which can be confirmed on a google search.

So there is a difference between "illegal" and "unethical" when Bush promised to bring integrity back to the WH was that to include "unethical" business dealings? cause in my book unethical doesn't = integrity.

Liberal Goddess wrote:
Enron robbed CA of BILLIONS of dollars and their connections help them avoid detection.


Bullshit. The state of CA deregulated electricity and stripped their own laws of any safeguards. ENRON didn't need any "connectioons" to avoid detection since there wasn't anyone looking over their shoulder to begin with.

fishin' wrote:

Bullshit. The state of CA deregulated electricity and stripped their own laws of any safeguards. ENRON didn't need any "connectioons" to avoid detection since there wasn't anyone looking over their shoulder to begin with.

Well hello fishin

bullshit? I don't think so. Or did you miss the several reported and aired TAPES OF ENRON EMPLOYEES ADMITTING TO GOUGING THEM.

George W. Bush walks away from a briefing with the media, refusing to answer questions after he was asked about Enron and the reported indictment of former CEO Kenneth Lay, who was a close adviser and fund-raiser for Bush and his father, earning him the presidential nickname of 'Kenny Boy.'

I just want the bastard to go to prison.

Redheat wrote:

...even though I believe Bush uttered words to the effect " I did not know that man Ken lay until 1994" which was an outright lie.

Cite your sources that (a) he said it, (b) it's false.

Then as president, after Enron imploded, Bush falsely claimed he "first got to know Ken [Lay in 1994]."

Lay's relationship with the Bush family dates from at least 1990, when he was co-chairman of former President Bush's economic summit for industrialized nations, which was held in Houston. Lay also was co-chairman of the host committee for the Republican National Convention when it was held in Houston in 1992.

"First of all, Ken Lay is a supporter, and I got to know Ken Lay when he was a head of the -- what they call the Governor's Business Council in Texas. He was a supporter of Ann Richards (former Texas governor) in my run against her in 1994, and she named him head of the Governor's Business Council and I decided to leave him in place, for the sake of continuity. And that's when I first got to know Ken and worked with Ken, and he supported my candidacy . . . "

Brand X wrote:

Everybody wanted a piece of that action....

Ken sure got around! CEO tied to Kerrys, too
By David R. Guarino
Read Guarino's Road to Boston Blog
Friday, July 9, 2004

President Bush may know indicted ex-Enron boss Ken Lay as ``Kenny Boy,'' but Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] and his millionaire wife also have past financial and personal ties to Lay's shamed energy firm, documents show.

Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry reported more than $250,000 in Enron stock ownership before the firm's 2003 collapse. Kerry also was forced to return a campaign contribution from an implicated Enron executive.

wow. Ken Lay gave far more then $250,000 to Bush's campaign and my guess is that Teresa Heinz's portfolio has many large corporations in it. That's what people with money do, they invest in large companies.

Quote:

And Heinz Kerry served on a charity board with Lay, even after he was implicated in the alleged fraud, records show.

OMG she sat next to him! Well that proves she was part of the fraud

Quote:

Kerry has railed against the Bush administration's handling of the Enron scandal on the campaign trail.

The Kerry campaign said the senator's meager ties pale in comparison to Bush's longtime friendship with and financial backing from Lay.

``George Bush and Ken Lay worked together for years, Ken Lay defrauded consumers and collected profits from it and George Bush collected a half-million dollars from Enron,'' Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan said. ``We received one check from an employee that was accused of wrongdoing and we returned the check. That speaks volumes.''

Kerry's campaign took $1,000 from an executive of Enron Wind in November 2001, a check he returned a few months later. He also took $250 from an Enron accountant in May - a check he won't return, Meehan said, because that donor hasn't been implicated in the alleged fraud.

OMG $1,000!!! Now that's but a fraction of what was given to Bush who pocketed a $100,000 check JUST FOR the inaguration.

Quote:

A Heinz family trust bought between $250,000 and $500,000 of stock in December 1995, just days before Heinz Kerry announced Lay would serve as a member of the Heinz Center philanthropy, Kerry's Senate financial disclosure documents show.

What other stock did they buy during that time?

Quote:

The stock brought between $5,000 and $15,000 in dividends in 1996 before it was sold in 1997, the disclosure forms show.

You mean they bought stock to make money? how odd I always thought you invested in the stock market to just have a place for your money to rest and be happy.

Quote:

Lay stayed on the board after Enron's collapse and a Heinz Foundation spokeswoman defended Lay in news reports amid the fraud accusations as having ``a good reputation in the environmental community.''

Well there you go! that proves a connection

I would think the author of this article would be ashamed to refer to themselves as a journalist. Nothing here even begins to show anything close to the ties that Bush had with Ken Lay.

BTW thanks PDiddie appreciate the back up

OK, Brandon, let's go a little farther, since I can see you're already going to try to wiggle out of acknowledging the truth (you have a consistent blind spot when it comes to the duplicitousness of the Bush administration -- and don't think no one's noticed)

Bush, "I did not have financial relations with that man."