Earlier Congresses laid the groundwork making Jack Abramoff inevitable.
Jack Abramoff. Jack Abramoff. Jack Abramoff. Once the hunt's on, some names sound to the scandal born. Tongsun Park, Charles Keating, Elizabeth Ray, Fannie Fox, Susan McDougal. Now comes Jack, the central figure in what Beltway Democrats are trying to build into a bonfire that will burn down Republican control of Congress. Every time someone tells Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid that he, too, took money from Jack's clients, he starts jumping up and down like Rumpelstiltskin yelling, "This is a Republican scandal!" Harry Reid, Harry Reid. One could get used to that. Poll after poll says the public thinks both parties are equally corrupt. It depends, of course, on what the meaning of corruption is. If by corrupt you mean lobbyist sleaze, quid pro quo, the pork barrel, earmarks to nowhere and grossing out even the public's generally low expectations, then yes, both parties are equally corrupt. But it gets worse. Congress legislated the system that now exists. Congress planted the seeds back in the '70s for what is revolting you now with two enactments--the Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Both were marketed as reforms. The first law turned political Washington into a trillion-dollar industry camouflaged as the federal budget. The second ensured that sitting members of Congress and K Street lobbyists would become the entrenched management of that industry. Compared to this, Enron is a kindergarten game. This is a history worth knowing and retelling. It all came to life amid another famous scandal, Watergate, and the most famous such name of all, Richard Nixon.
Perhaps the moral of the story here is: If it's broken don't fix it.
2005 was Halliburton's best year in their 86 year history, this is music to the ears of a certain celebrity stockholder and Iraq War Profiteer Michael Moore.
I don't own a single share of stock!" filmmaker Michael Moore proudly proclaimed. He's right. He doesn't own a single share. He owns tens of thousands of shares – including nearly 2,000 shares of Boeing, nearly 1,000 of Sonoco, more than 4,000 of Best Foods, more than 3,000 of Eli Lilly, more than 8,000 of Bank One and more than 2,000 of Halliburton, the company most vilified by Moore in "Fahrenheit 9/11."
After three years of losing money, Halliburton reported a hefty profit for 2005 and announced that all six of its divisions posted record results. "The year 2005 was the best in our 86-year history," Dave Lesar, Halliburton's chairman, said Thursday. The company posted a year-end profit of $2.4 billion, or $4.54 per share, on revenue of $21 billion. That compares with a $1 billion loss in 2004 when Halliburton finally settled scores of asbestos and silica lawsuits.For the fourth quarter, Halliburton booked a profit of $1.1 billion on revenue of $5.8 billion.
 
Bush hits 50% job approval rating...
Monday January 30, 2006--Fifty percent (50%) of American adults approve of the way George W. Bush is performing his role as President. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove. The President earns approval from 82% of Republicans, 25% of Democrats, and 41% of those not affiliated with either major political party.
...and promptly beats homelss person with a shopping cart.
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