Sept. 06, 2002 - 10:32 AM PDT

THE WONDERING JEW

What's Happenin'?

Looks like the same old song. Powell is going to oil rich African nations to do the US some good. My question is, "What sort of perverted government will the US allow to exist in another nation order to get a supply of oil ?" Or am I over-cynical ?

In The Eugene, Oregon - Register Guard of September 6, Molly Ivins, a syndicated columnist in Austin, Texas gives a blast to politicians of both parties for the mess we are in now. She starts her column thus: "Corporate Shell Game Isn't Over," "Nothing like a lot of distracting saber-rattling to get you to take your eyes off the shell with the pea under it. Kind of like the prospect of being hanged in the morning, impending war does tend to concentrate the mind wonderfully. But the remaining balance, if any, in your 401(k)is an attention-grabber as well, so while the administration tries to make up its mind whether it agrees with itself on the best way to handle Saddam Hussein, I recommend a swift glance back at the corporate reform agenda."

She mentions many different things that should be up for examination. For instance, Stock Options and how they should be dealt with. She mentions the fallacies in the ways that are in front of us now. My own private opinion is that there should, by law, be no stock options for corporate pooh-bahs. Why give a wild card to an overpaid biggie to play when he can make to most money off it, whether the corporation is on the way to a deep six or not.

Seems like Mr. Bush is trying to take credit for things he opposed until they became an actuality. For instance Sen. Paul Sorbanes', "Accounting Reform and Investment Protection Act." Molly mentions other credit grabbing by Sir Shrubby like his opposition to the Taxas Patient's Bill Of Rights which he now claims he is the parent of same, after the fact. He first vetoed the Bill Of Rights and then refused to sign it after it had passed by a veto-proof majority.

She also mentions the need to forbid corporations to set up, "Phony mailbox offshoree corporations in places like Bermuds and the Cayman Islands." She goes on further to say, "Shutting that tax-loophjole will meet with a thundering approval from the voters. That is a real bone in the throat issue, and not fixing it is definitive proof of how far Congress has been corrupted by campaing contributions."

And then she says, "Is anyone ready to admit yet that permitting banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies to merge was a rancid idea ? We can thank Phil GRamm, the senator from Enron, for that one."

Then Molly goes into something I understand even less, derivatives and the need to regulate them.

Seems to me that the present situation with corporations and government is like looking at an oil slick on water, many different colors which are shown in the attempt to disguise that it is oil floating on the water and not fit to irrigate growing Americans.

Dumb ole me, sittin' here wondering What's Happenin' ? . . . . . . . . . .

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