Tuesday, November 30, 2004
The Moral Values of Half the U.S. on Display to the World
International Committee of the Red Cross Accuses U.S. Military of Abuse at Guantanamo Prison0 comments
They needed a farm system for Abu Ghraib.
This story itself, obviously, is ugly enough.
That it is being piped out to the rest of the known world on
Voice of America—America's radio face to the world—is just the icing on this rancid cake.
Remember, 50 million Americans voted for this.
But then, of course, 50 million didn't.
posted by Gotham 10:35 AM
Coming to a Gulag Near You...
Red Cross Finds Detainee Torture in Guantanamo0 comments
More of your Moral Value Dollars in Action!
Again, this is what this country voted for.
So, this is who we are for the next four years.
posted by Gotham 1:37 AM
The N.Y. Haters Will Hate This One...
Bush to Change Economic Team0 comments
"One senior administration official said Treasury Secretary John W. Snow can stay as long as he wants, provided it is not very long. He might stay as long as six months into the term, officials said. Friends say Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. is one possibility to replace him. Bolten also could move over.
But Republican officials said Bush is also considering well-known officials from outside, including New York Gov. George E. Pataki (R). Conservatives are pushing for former senator Phil Gramm, a Republican from Texas."
Ahhhhh, Pataki, the Coat Holder-in-Chief.
He'd be perfect.
I believe he'd truly thrive by working in a No "No!" Zone.
posted by Gotham 1:07 AM
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Setting Up the "Next Big Thing..."
Doing a lot of catching-up after the Thanksgiving weekend.0 comments
Here's a good one I missed until spotting it in an Eschaton post:
Hawks push deep cuts in forces in Iraq
This is just great.
Just great.
1,200 dead Americans kind of "just great."
As I've written before, the Neo-cons are bored with their broken Iraq toy.
Now, they are openly calling for U.S. troop pullouts from Iraq—something that John Kerry was ripped mercilessly about for even hinting at.
On the surface this seems odd.
Why in heaven's name would Neo-cons turn their backs on the prospect of Nation-building in Iraq?
Simple.
They're going to need all available troops later—FOR IRAN!!!
You don't want to get your rolling stock all shot up by a bunch of crazies and terrorists when you're gonna need them later for what you REALLY want.
So the Neo-con Media Machine is out in full force, lying and spinning its way into your frontal lobe, getting you to believe, once again, that what you see with your own eyes and know as fact isn't real; that what you hear from them is really real. At least, until they get caught and have to change what's really real. Then THAT'll be really real.
Keep an eye out for the following names—and BELIEVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THEY SAY—these are The Sirens, the current crop of surrogates the administration is hiding behind to float out this new concept to see how big a hue and cry it causes [and, yes, this is your cue to hue and cry!], and whether they can successfully get the press's Conventional Wisdom to morph to their liking (as if they haven't always...):
Michael Vickers, a conservative-leaning Pentagon consultant and longtime senior CIA official who supported the war.
Retired Army Major General William Nash, the former NATO commander in Bosnia.
Yonadam Kanna, secretary general of the Assyrian Democratic Movement and a member of Iraq's interim National Assembly, also backed the US-led removal of Hussein.
Robert Pfaltzgraff, president of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis in Cambridge and a vocal supporter of Bush's Iraq policy to this point.
Christopher A. Preble, the conservative-leaning Cato Institute's director of foreign policy studies, author of "Exiting Iraq," published by Cato.
Edward Luttwak, a longtime Pentagon consultant.
John Hamre, president of the center for Strategic and International Studies and former deputy secretary of defense in the Clinton administration who remains in close contact with senior Pentagon officials.
Ken Adelman, a member of the Defense Policy Board who predicted the Iraq war would be a "cakewalk."
But Max Boot, a leading war supporter, and an influential neoconservative thinker who has believed the United States must stick it out for an undetermined amount of time, even if the U.S. presence is beginning to threaten long-term goals, states a new-found kinship with the liberal Left with this goofy quote:
"This is turning out to be a lot harder than anyone expected—and harder than it needed to be," Boot said last week.
"I'm not one of those calling for a quick pullout," he added. "I agree there is some downside to the US troops' presence; it definitely fuels some nationalist resentment."
No shit, Sherlock. See? Scratch a Neo-con and there's a progressive liberal under there somewhere.
You just have to wait for their frustration level to get high enough.
These people are truly insane, indeed.
P.S. And let it not be stated by any moron later on that, "Gee, no one knew it would be this bad in Iran."
Today, on Sunday, November 28, we're saying it would be that bad.
posted by Gotham 3:53 PM
Misreading the President
9/11 Chairman Thomas Kean: Bush Should Apply Pressure On Intelligence Bill0 comments
Now, really...
George W. Bush showed no particular interest in avoiding the last terror attack.
What makes anyone think he would particularly care about dodging any future ones?
posted by Gotham 1:49 PM
"14th Amendment?
...We don' need no stinkin' 14th Amendment!"
Alabama Vote Opens Old Racial Wounds
Quick. Someone send Osama Bin Laden a map of Mobile.
You see here Your American Moral Values in Action.
Disgusting.
BTW, you'll recall that this is the same state that gushed over the Ten Commandments statue in the Rotunda of the State Supreme Court.
Nice.
posted by Gotham 1:29 PM
0 comments
What We Stand For...
This is what we support.0 comments
This is what we stand for as a country and as a people.
A Girl's Chilling Death in Gaza
This is what American Moral Values mean in the 21st Century.
It has to. We just voted for this.
posted by Gotham 1:16 PM
A "No Confidence" Vote?
White House Delays Rice Confirmation0 comments
It appears obvious that the White House doesn't see Condileeza Rice as being particularly up to the task of handling this month's foreign policy woes in Iran, Iraq and the Ukraine.
Sort of a "Let's get the crises out of the way, first, THEN we can give her the corner office."
Remember, this is the same woman who didn't necessarily see the need to shove a memo about Osama Determined to Strike Within U.S. in front of her boss's face, and who has been "in charge" of running the Iraq occupation.
Stellar jobs, those.
posted by Gotham 1:06 PM
If They Can Sew,
You Can Sew...
Youth Movement Underlies the Opposition in Ukraine0 comments
There is a challenge here—both for the Democratic Party, which again displayed a spine of warm gruel this month, and for the youth of America, which seems content to form crowds only to yell at corporate rock stars outside of the MTV studios in Times Square.
posted by Gotham 1:04 PM
Bush the Fram Man to the Youth of America:
"Pay Me Now, or Pay Me Later!"
To paraphrase P.T. Barnum, "There's a Young Republican Sucker graduating college every minute."0 comments
Here's a candidate for one of the stupid-er statements (among many) to come out of the Bush White House in the last four years:
"The president does support personal accounts, which need not add overall to the cost of the program, but could in the short run require additional borrowing to finance the transition. I believe there's a strong case that this approach not only makes sense as a matter of savings policy, but is also fiscally prudent."—Joshua B. Bolten, the director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget about overhauling the system.
How exactly did "savings policy" and "borrowing" end up in the same quote?
If you buy that crap, you'll deserve everything you get.
Bush's Social Security Plan Is Said to Require Vast Borrowing
OK, let's see if I have this right...
Young adults would now avoid putting their current, hard-earned $$ into a Social Security Fund and paying for those geezers living high on the hog.
They would turn their $$ over to economists who engineered or, worse, were helplessly overrun by the financial disaster of 2001 to 2003, which wiped out 40% - 70% of people's stock and mutual fund holdings—most of which ironically were also earmarked for people's retirement.
Then unfortunately, as these now-Young Adults attain retirement age, the crushing burden of paying off the debt that was incurred in the years following the Turn of the Century will have destroyed Wall Street's ability to generate growth or income—with a dollar that is a mere shadow of what it was a generation before.
Plus at that point, while their individual retirement account barely coasts on fumes, there'd no longer be a viable safety net from the federal government, along the lines of what the old Social Security program used to provide.
So, in all likelihood when they retire, it's certain today's twentysomethings will not be constrained to eating the cat's food, something their parents and older siblings were reduced to.
They'll be eating the cat.
posted by Gotham 11:38 AM
Friday, November 26, 2004
From a Jets Fan: NO to the Jets' New Stadium...
WP: New Jets Stadium0 comments
As disclosure, I admit to having been a New York Jets fan since they formed the franchise in 1960 as the old New York Titans.
I have suffered accordingly, through some of the worst football this side of your Pop Warner or PeeWee kid leagues.
Luckily, I've never had to endure a Jets game in person. I was too young to see a Titans game, and have not been able to afford Jets tickets for most of my adult life.
But, though I may be a loyal Jets fan, I am also a loyal Manhattanite.
My Manhattan has been ravaged by financial excess and its drugs from the mid-'80s to today, just as badly as it was ravaged by bankruptcy and its drugs in the '70s.
Woody Johnson has been a fine owner, in purely football terms. He has given the management of the team the material to compete on even footing with the rest of the league.
This is all any fan can ask.
But, Johnson has proven a less stellar New Yorker.
Having their own stadium will not make the Jets a more appealing team to me. For the majority of fans who watch on TV, it really makes no difference where they play. On the moon would be OK, too. I'm never going to see the inside of that stadium. Only those who already have season tickets or are on the impossibly long waiting list will ever see the joint.
That also shoots any argument the Jets would have of doing this to better their financial footing. They already sell out every game. There's no gain to be had there. What they have is what they get.
But I will be living around the stadium and the Olympic Park they're suggesting now, and I and all other New Yorkers will be stuck with the upheaval of the construction of this boondoggle for years -- a mess that will make the infamous Boston Dig seem like a dirt pile.
Plus we'll be asked by billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pay $600 million just for a base floor and a retractable roof for this monstrosity.
On top of having to pay for the subway extensions and the gentrification of the area west of Times Square.
On top of the ongoing decay of the city's infrastructure.
This all would be tolerable if this construction were intended for real New Yorkers, who have loved this city through famine, pestilence, floods, fires and Rudy Giuliani.
Along the lines of the projects of Robert Moses forty to fifty years ago. For all of their immense downsides, they were all meant for the betterment of all NYers.
But not this one. There will be nothing in this whole eventual redesigned zone that any NYer will be able to afford if they don't make a six figure income. Not an apartment; not a bagel.
The idea is to finish the job of turning New York City into another Nantucket playground for the financially privleged.
But, New Yorkers will begin fighting back. It hasn't gained its reputation as a political hotspot for no reason.
Support for this project will be made to be a political hand grenade.
The city is close to being financially unlivable as it stands now. This project will make it all the more a bauble for the white well-to-do.
At that point, Bin Laden can have it. Let him blow the whole frickin' place up.
Decent folk will have been priced out long before.
posted by Gotham 1:32 PM
Monday, November 22, 2004
A Plan for a Democratic Future
I posted this on Daily Kos earlier this morning. I thought I'd place it here as well.0 comments
I've watched the Repub resurgence since they were a few lost voices in the desert after Goldwater.
What we've done in roughly 11/2 - 2 years is astonishing when compared to their 40-yr. trek.
However, we need to learn from their decades-long hard work and to steal what elements would work best for us.
The greatest fruit of all our labors this cycle is this new series of institutions and mechanisms that allow and encourage a newly awakened progressive electorate -- hundreds of thousands of average "just folks" -- to now play an active and aggresive physical, emotional and financial role in our political process. We're building an army, here. That is the key seed that has to be nurtured and grown over the next cycles.
The key wil be to organize, then to specialize. Then, cross-link EVERYTHING!
1. Create an organized umbrella alliance of ALL the 527s and the non-527 groups, hopefully under the direction of a revamped DNC.
Scrutinize what the key strengths of each group are (and its limitations!) and then divide the labor. 527s will do what they're designed for and are best at. Non-527 groups can handle all the direct, advocacy duties. (This will all adjust as the campaign laws morph, of course.)
While the DNC should be best at going after sustained money from the big $$ set, one of these groups should focus solely on being the main donation conduit for Internet and direct-mail fund-raising for all aspects of this larger organization.
Another would create the national precinct-based bottom-up base Susan talked of, IN ALL 50 states (nothing is ceded ever again) in order to create a nationwide web of progressives who can influence every election in every district, all the way down to dog-catcher.
A group will take the auto-petition role on a daily, weekly, monthly basis -- to give Americans a way to maintain their high level of activism and interest. One will take the True Majority path to e-mail / fax Congress on any issue of note. Another would maintain the newspaper database and could direct massive letter-to-the-Editor campaigns on a local, state or national basis.
One would focus on local elections. One would focus squarely on state elections.
One would handle advertising: focusing on attracting the best film makers, talent and best ad buys. Etc., etc.
One could be laison with blogs (right and left) -- to learn what info they find and to supply them with info they can utilize.
All would report to (hopefully) a non-dysfunctional, creative DNC.
2. Begin now to create a national Farm Team: a series of atttractive candidates who can be groomed for local, state and national office -- especially those of limited means. We need the best candidates at all levels -- not the best candidates who can afford to want to run.
Plus, the strength of the Repub revolution is the sheer numbers of their people that they could place in every gov't agency -- where their policies can be implemented on a daily basis by Regulation. We need to have in place a similar number of people to take over for them when we retake the White House.
3. Create a National Scour Team -- whose sole duty it is to comb EVERY phrase in bills proposed by this incoming Republican Congress. Never again can we allow Democratic Reps. and Sens. to be forced to read all 600 pages of a bill overnight, before a critical vote. But if 100 people can parse 60 pages of it each, we can create clean abstracts of every important point and issue contained in them for those having to vote on them.
There's the added advantage in this of spotting key future campaign issues buried in any given bill before a vote is even taken. If we strongly want to kill the bill, we can also warn Repubs. that we've spotted the XXX provision, and THAT IT WILL BE a campaign issue, and then watch them scurry. This weekend's tax provision debacle is a perfect case in point.
4. Lobby all of the major, big-money Democratic and 527 contributors to invest heavily in media companies of all types -- TV Broadcast and Cable, Radio and Newspapers -- whether they buy them outright, or just infuence their approach to the news. There are great profits to be made from catering to this newly awakened progressive population, starving for trustworthy news reports as they are.
This is an outline for how we can proceed.
And prosper.
posted by Gotham 4:36 AM
Friday, November 19, 2004
Hubris Alert
House Ethics Panel Rebukes DeLay Accuser0 comments
The balls of some people.
The House ethics committee Thursday night turned the tables on Majority Leader Tom DeLay's accuser, rebuking Rep. Chris Bell for exaggerating misconduct allegations against the GOP leader.
While the complaint by Bell, D-Texas, led to an ethics report that admonished DeLay, Bell nonetheless violated a rule barring "innuendo, speculative assertions or conclusory statements," a committee letter said.
The committee's Republican chairman and senior Democrat used the four-page letter to Bell to warn lawmakers that making exaggerated allegations of wrongdoing could result in disciplinary action against the accuser.
Bell was not disciplined. He lost in a primary earlier this year because of a DeLay-engineered redistricting plan, and will leave Congress when the session adjourns.
In the future, exaggerations and misstatements also could lead to dismissal of a complaint, said the letter from Chairman Joel Hefley, R-Colo., and senior Democrat Alan Mollohan of West Virginia. The panel they lead is formally called the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
They can't get Bell, but they (including a Democrat) can send a chilling dictate to the entire incoming Congress:
"This is DeLay's House.
Don't Fuck with us!"
Question #1:
However can you have an "innuendo, speculative assertions or conclusory statements" infraction when your allegations result in an official admonishment of a member on the exact infractions mentioned in your charges, and when your charges aligned with an on-going criminal investigation in the member's home city???
Question #2:
Who the hell is this DeLay buttboy, Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, and when do we set up a war chest to dump him in the primary in 2006?
The letter said the most serious exaggeration was Bell's contention that DeLay violated a bribery law "by soliciting campaign contributions" from a Kansas corporation, Westar Energy, in return for legislative assistance on an energy bill.
Funny. I was just writing about DeLay and Westar today. See earlier post.
"There can hardly be a more serious charge against a public official than that he or she solicited a bribe," the committee letter said. It added that DeLay's actions "did not come even close to supporting this extremely serious claim."
The committee found in October that DeLay "created an appearance" of favoritism when he mingled at a 2003 golf outing with Westar executives just days after they contributed to a political organization associated with DeLay.
Bell's complaint also asserted:
*The majority leader "engaged in a concerted and relentless effort to use the official resources of office" for "blatantly partisan political activities."
The Hefley-Mollohan letter said this broad allegation was not supported by the facts. [Which is why there's a criminal investigation under way. I see.]
*DeLay dispensed special favors to Westar.
The committee said the Bell complaint cited no action taken by DeLay for Westar. The committee findings in the DeLay case did say that Westar was seeking help with legislation at the time of the golf outing. [Again, see earlier post.]
*DeLay was solely responsible for federal aviation authorities tracking down an airplane in an effort to locate Democratic lawmakers fleeing the state. The legislators left Texas in an effort to thwart state Republican legislators from passing DeLay's redistricting plan.
The letter said it was a misstatement to attribute actions of federal officials solely to DeLay, when the Texas Department of Public Safety also contacted federal aviation authorities. [Now, are you really going to try to tell us that the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety would simply piss away their jurisdiction over this, especially when they dragged their heels at even being forced by the Governor to get involved in this nuttiness? And that they weren't directed by DeLay himself to call Washington? Well...Good morning, Sunshine!]
*DeLay contacted the FBI in the effort to locate the Texas lawmakers.
The letter said there is no indication that DeLay called the FBI. [Yes, the letter says that. But that doesn't mean that every gossip in Washington wasn't abuzz with DeLay's yelling at everyone in town who he thought would help drag the Texas Dems back to Austin.]
These guys are mobsters, simply hiding in plain sight.
posted by Gotham 7:38 PM
Nothing new to report on the Linda Schrenko Republican Corruption case. No update on the possible whereabouts of the unaccounted-for $354,700 in federal education funds.0 comments
posted by Gotham 4:57 PM
From the Republican Corruption Beat
A month-old part of the story which I just came upon:0 comments
Westar role in scandal small, crucial
The DeLay Gerrymander America PAC scandal, that is.
This is the same illegal contributions scandal that prompted the Houston grand jury investigation that, in turn, prompted this week's House Republican Caucus vote to support crime and corruption among its leadership that, in turn, prompted many Americans to start thinking about Congressional turnover in 2006.
Just so you know, the names of Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Billy Tausin (R-LA), and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) all figure prominently in this investigation.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay started this Gerrymander America PAC to get the Texas legislature to rework its congressional districts in order to unseat Democratic incumbents, which you know. And it worked, although DeLay had to abuse his political power and federal position to dupe federal agencies into illegally getting involved in a intrastate squabble to pull it all off.
In the meantime, former Westar Energy CEO David Wittig gave large (and, yes, illegal it turns out) contributions to DeLay's Gerrymander America PAC
in return for favorable treatment—"to get a seat at the table"—before a powerful congressional conference committee working on an overhaul of the nation's energy laws.
Aahhhh... There's that pesky Republican / Energy thing again.
Oh, and in yet another of those amazing Executive / Politician Corruption inter-connections, it appears the above-mentioned Representatives and Senator had their reasons for denying any involvement with Westar's Wittig. It seems Mr. Wittig has his own sizeable problems with the legal system, quite separate and apart from his making illegal contributions to Majority Leader DeLay.
posted by Gotham 4:36 PM
No Spammin' Sympathy
I just spent 31/2 hours weeding out two weeks' worth of spam. Mixed in with the crap was e-mail from non-hackers who simply wanted to sell me something, rather than simply steal from me.0 comments
However, legit mass marketers need to know they are just as tossable in my e-mail as they are from my postal mailbox.
Crap is crap, no matter who is putting their hand in my pocket, or what medium is used to get my attention. I guess it'll take another 31/2 hours to shred all the identity theft-able paper crap!
This came across the wires.
Spammers Sabotage Email Marketing Efforts
October 2004 (Newstream) -- Spammers' antics are ruining brands' reputations on the web, according to a recent roundtable of leading industry experts and anti-spam campaigners hosted by e-security specialists Clearswift. The results of this month's spam index also support this, with healthcare suppliers' brands continuing to be hardest hit by spam peddling illicit medicinal offers.
Spammers are confusing consumers by intentionally blurring the boundaries between legitimate email and unsolicited communications selling counterfeit goods. This has infuriated the direct marketing industries, who are relied upon to maintain brands' online presence, yet find themselves tarred with the same brush as unscrupulous cybercriminals.
Clearswift's latest spam index reveals that healthcare spam has risen to account for 57.6% of all spam. In fact Pfizer, who manufacture the male impotency drug Viagra, have vowed to take legal action against spammers, after recently finding that 25% of men believed Pfizer themselves were responsible for sending Viagra spam. However spam is not only damaging to the health of consumers and pharmaceutical brands - scams related to other online retailers have also seen a dramatic increase.
posted by Gotham 3:36 PM
How to Tell When Legislation Works
A sure sign it works is when the people most directly affected by it whine, bitch and yowl loudly that it's too costly compared with the benefits (i.e., the government is forcing us to spend money to prove we're not stealing anymore).0 comments
Sarbanes-Oxley (officially, the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002) is one of those.
So, your basic Enron or Tyco types are now complaining about having to fly under the theft radar again. Which as we all know is just not fun or creative.
Here's a J.D. Powers survey of CFOs and corporate audit committee chairs, talking about the audit firms they use (and too often misuse and abuse) in a Sarbanes-Oxley world.
You'll be SHOCKED ("SHOCKED!" says Wolf) to learn that the very people it was created to hobble and shackle are complaining bitterly about the costs of being hobbled and shackled. Gosh!
The very corporate executives, positions and transactions that desperately needed oversight are now upset at the limits of their very own oversight bill.
"Such bad food—and such small portions! Where's my lawyer?! No, forget my lawyer! Where's my lobbyist?!!"
Assume the move to kill this bill will move to the campaign-contributor front burner within the next couple of months. They spent just too much money on this Bush campaign to have any shareholder protection or consumer fraud protection bills clogging up the ability of executives to skim much needed funds off the top of their bottom lines.
The Jesus Freaks think they were the hammer in this election. Come January, the major D.C. lobbying firms will quickly disabuse them of that notion.
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Sarbanes-Oxley Takes Toll on Industry Confidence and Client Ratings of Accounting Firm Performance
Deloitte Ranks Highest among Firms Managing Clients with $1 Billion or More in Revenue
Grant Thornton Ranks Highest among Firms Managing Clients with Less Than $1 Billion in Revenue
November 2004 (Newstream) -- The stress of meeting the requirements for corporate financial accountability is taking a toll on confidence and client ratings within the accounting industry, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Audit Firm Performance StudySM released on November the 9th.
The study, which measures audit firm performance in the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, is based on interviews with 1,007 audit committee chairs and 944 chief financial officers.
The study finds a significant amount of angst among audit committee chairs and CFOs in the industry. Top management is concerned about the costs of implementing the extensive requirements associated with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Some auditors feel they are being stretched too thin because of additional audit requirements, which are impacting service levels. Also, audit committee chairs are feeling the pressure of increased accountability of the required financial reporting process. The results of this are low accounting firm performance levels compared to other business-to-business studies, and a decline in the confidence level of the accounting profession.
Furthermore, almost 9 out of 10 CFOs say the costs of implementing the new rules and procedural requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley are greater than the benefits of those changes. Confidence is also particularly low among CFOs, with just 44 percent expressing high levels of confidence in the accounting industry.
"In this period of tumultuous change in the accounting industry, Sarbanes-Oxley is heavily taxing the financial audit process," said Ron Conlin, partner at J.D. Power and Associates. "Many parties-from internal management to the board of directors to the auditors themselves-are struggling. The result has been, at least in the short term, relatively low ratings of the financial audit process and an erosion in confidence of the accounting profession."
Among the study's two audit firm performance segment rankings, Deloitte ranks highest among firms managing clients with more than $1 billion in revenue. Deloitte's strengths are in understanding the client's operations and its industry, the consideration of time and priorities, and handling difficult discussions.
Grant Thornton ranks highest among firms managing clients with less than $1 billion in revenue. Grant Thornton performs particularly well in understanding the client's operations and industry, in responding to requests and questions, and in trustworthiness. Another "second-tier" national firm, BDO Seidman, follows Grant Thornton in the rankings.
"It is clear that the Big Four puts most of its emphasis on its larger clients," said Conlin. "As a result, ratings of their performance, particularly among smaller clients, are lower. This represents a major opportunity for second-tier national firms such as Grant Thornton and BDO to gain clients looking for more personal attention, particularly among those currently utilizing a Big Four firm."
The study finds that audit firms receiving the highest ratings from clients are those that build strong relationships with audit committee members by emphasizing communication. Audit firms that are candid, able to explain difficult issues in a clear manner, and are willing to ask the tough questions about all aspects of business operations enjoy performance index scores that are more than 200 points higher than audit firms lacking in these areas.
posted by Gotham 2:38 PM
Thursday, November 18, 2004
"I Want NEW Bombs, Daddy! These Are OLD Bombs!"
From Daily Kos: Should We Worry About Iran?0 comments
It seems that the neo-cons have gotten bored with their broken Iraq toy.
They've left it behind and have started pointing to the new hobby horse in the window.
posted by Gotham 11:36 PM
Welcome to Tucson!
Everybody Clap!
Tucson Citizen Weekly Web Poll0 comments
Down below the fold of today's Tucson (AZ) Citizen web site front page, there's quite the interesting little viewer poll question.
In a nationwide poll of the top 10 ideas and innovations of the past 75 years, air conditioning was voted number one. Which one would you have picked?
Here are the results:
Air conditioning 12%
Penicillin 31%
Personal computer 15%
Global positioning satellites 1%
Cell phones 4%
Broadcast television 6%
Social Security Act 5%
Internet 15%
Frozen food 2%
Polio vaccine 9%
Total Votes: 534
Penicillin 31%!!!?
What exactly is this saying about the Nightlife and the thankful citizens in swinging ol' Tucson?
posted by Gotham 1:52 PM
What Goes Around, Goes Around...
Groundhog Day0 comments
Atrios is right. I saw a CNN report tonight on Iran, and it happily began making a case for invading Iran.
Of course, that case was being made by Iranian exiles.
"At tonight's performance, the part of Ahmad Chalabi will be played by..."
NOTE TO ALL MEDIA:
It's now time to peruse your publication's archives. Everything you're about to be handed in the next year will be found in there. You'll soon notice that the White House, yes, is indeed plagerizing itself.
So, just rerun your old dispatches. Just change the town and exile names. Happily, "a senior administration official" never becomes obsolete!
posted by Gotham 3:01 AM
The Political Fallout Begins...
Gwinnett Daily Post: Schrenko indicted on theft charges0 comments
Current schools Superintendent Kathy Cox, a fellow Republican, was aware of the investigation and her office has worked with the grand jury and authorities, said Cox spokesman Kirk Englehardt.
‘‘We’re going to continue to work with them and assist in any manner in which they need us,’’ he said.
Dan McLagan, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue, said: ‘‘It’s always troubling when public officials are accused of wrongdoing. This is part of a nonpartisan process which will ultimately lead to a decision by the courts.’’
Democratic Party Chairman Bobby Kahn said the Schrenko indictment is part of a pattern of Republican abuses in state government, citing an ethics complaint pending against the governor over his campaign finances and a $14,000 ethics fine levied against State Senate Majority Leader Bill Stephens of Canton for sloppy accounting of campaign funds.
‘‘It looks to me like the new Georgia is a lot like the old Louisiana,’’ Kahn said.
posted by Gotham 1:46 AM
"And On the Ninth Day, He..."
WP/ National Academies Study: Fill Gov't Science Posts Faster0 comments
They would, but they just can't find that many Creationists that quickly.
posted by Gotham 1:42 AM
Afghan Cultural Items Recovered
For once, a happy Afghanistan story.0 comments
WP: Treasure Trove of Culture Recovered
posted by Gotham 1:32 AM
More Republican Corruption
These allegations were just waiting for the election to pass before heating up. But heating up they are.0 comments
We've written about this one before. Specifically, about Ralph Reed's involvement.
WP: Papers Show Tribe Paid to Influence Bill
Many top Republican heavyweights involved here:
Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio)
Ralph Reed, former Christian Coalition head and Southeast Campaign Manager for Bush-Cheney '04
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff
Public relations executive Michael Scanlon, a former aide to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas)
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas)
Scanlon, 34, was subpoenaed to appear before the committee. Like Abramoff, who appeared at a hearing in September, he declined to answer questions on the grounds that they could incriminate him.
Yesterday's hearing was the first time that details emerged of how Abramoff and Scanlon planned to carry out their promise to help a tribal client win favors on Capitol Hill. The documents and testimony provided an unusually stark look at the way Indian gambling riches have become part of Washington lobbying and fundraising.
The Washington Post previously reported that Abramoff and Scanlon quietly worked with conservative religious activist Ralph Reed to help persuade the state of Texas to shut down the Tigua casino in 2002, then persuaded the tribe to pay the $4.2 million to try to get Congress to reopen it.
It's just possible that by the time they're through, Republican corruption monies may pass even the staggering deficit they've saddled us with.
posted by Gotham 1:26 AM
Here's Something to Help Keep the Facts Straight...
AJC: Linda Schrenko timeline0 comments
This is to help keep the particulars clear for all of us.
posted by Gotham 1:24 AM
More Schrenko
It's heartening to see that all of Georgia is rallying behind Our Miss Schrenko.0 comments
AJC: More than Schrenko's fur is fake
She came onto the statewide stage as a strait-laced Southern school marm, just trying to cut back a top-heavy bureaucracy, restore "local control" to schools and purge classrooms of such crazy ideas as homosexuality being "an acceptable lifestyle."
She left office eight years later maligned as a cheat and a fraud, having created the distinct impression that any craziness in state education emanated from her office
[Snip]
She didn't even like the PTA, once sending out a memo that she would speak to "teacher/parent organizations except . . . PTA." When confronted about the memo, she said she couldn't remember why she wrote it. Was it because they had too many frumpy, middle-aged mothers running their local chapters? Would she have liked them better if they had used the money from school fund-raisers to get manicures and buy Prada purses?
She lost a battle over proposed public school Bible classes that supposedly would have taught the religious text as history and literature, but which actually pushed a decidedly antediluvian agenda. The curriculum materials carried suggested exam questions, including this one: "What was woman's purpose?" The possible answers are a) to care for the man; b) to bear children; c) to help the man; d) to tell the man what to do since he was so inferior. The answer, according to the study guide, was "c."
If [Linda] Schrenko were really interested in Bible study, she might have spent more time mulling those verses about lying, stealing and exploiting the disadvantaged. Some of the money she is accused of stealing was supposed to buy computer equipment for deaf students.
As you can see, it's good to have friends nearby.
posted by Gotham 1:13 AM
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
What Shall We Teach the Children? How About:
"Where's The Money?"
AJC: Schrenko cited heavy debts0 comments
OK, a couple of clarifications since yesterday in the case of Our Miss Schrenko.
And a couple of jaw-droppers.
About a year after authorities say Linda Schrenko helped steal $614,000 in federal education funds, she filed for bankruptcy, claiming almost $70,000 in credit card debt and thousands more in unpaid medical bills.
Court records show Schrenko, the former Republican state school superintendent, and her then-husband, Frank, filed for bankruptcy Oct. 27, 2003, listing little in the way of assets except their Grovetown home. Frank and Linda Schrenko have since divorced, and she now lives in nearby Martinez, an Augusta suburb.
In total, the couple listed $232,644 in liabilities and $172,615 in assets, of which their home accounted for $150,000. Schrenko, who was a longtime teacher and served as state superintendent from 1995 to 2003, listed a state pension of about $48,000 a year.
It's just Deficit Spending, is all. This is your New Republican Party in action, following their president's lead.
And it turns out to be the state schools for the deaf and the governor's honor's program that she and her former chief deputy, Merle Temple of Evans, and Alpharetta computer consultant A. Stephan Botes were stealing from. Earlier reports said "handicapped." Now, it's deaf and smart kids.
But, it turns out it's the three of them who may be too smart for their own good.
About $250,000 was diverted to Schrenko's failed campaign for governor in 2002, according to federal authorities.
Federal authorities say Schrenko filed false campaign disclosure reports to cover up the scheme. Campaign finance records indicate she repaid a $250,000 campaign loan to Regions Bank about three weeks after authorities say more than $500,000 in federal education funds were signed over to companies controlled by Botes.
Whoa...
I'd like to take a gander at the indictment, just to see what charges are being brought against Our Miss Schrenko and her two eraser clappers.
For the above makes it sound as if they're facing federal election fraud charges on top of simple embezzlement. "False campaign disclosure reports" is never a good thing to see in your list of charges.
What I'm struck by, while reading this, is just how absurdly wretched Schrenko's finances really are.
This is my favorite graph:
Her lawyer, Pete Theodocion of Augusta, said Schrenko suffers from physical problems from an auto accident, and her bankruptcy shows several debts to doctors and hospitals. Among them is a $10,000 to a "Dr. Cooper." Her daughter, Katherine Cooper, is a dentist whose practice is located at the address listed on the filing.
Classic. She stiffed her own daughter over that pretty smile.
OK. So, she stole $614,000 from the feds. Then, laundered $500,000 of it through Bote's company. Only $9,300 of that total went for the face lift. $250,000 of it went to repay a campaign loan to a bank.
Let's see...
That's $250,000 + 9,300 = $259,300 spent out of the $500,000 = $240,700 unaccounted for out of the laundry money.
She didn't use it to pay any of the scores of outstanding debts, since she never PAID any of the scores of outstanding debts. So, the cash didn't disappear there.
Then add in the $114,000 not laundered through Bote. That's $354,700.
Which brings us to the question:
"Who's got the $354K?"
More from the math lesson plan of Our Miss Schrenko later.
posted by Gotham 11:26 PM
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
GA. Repubs Really ARE Two-Faced!
Literally.0 comments
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Schrenko surrenders
Here's an update on an earlier Gotham Notes... post.
This story just gets better—and more astonishing!
Linda Schrenko, the fashion-conscious former Republican Georgia school superintendent, smiled for the television cameras while wearing a dramatic camel-colored coat with fur-looking collar and cuffs when she showed up Monday morning to surrender to authorities [and answer an 18-count federal indictment alleging she stole education funds].
Two hours later, Schrenko appeared somber as she was led before a judge in handcuffs to face charges of stealing $614,000 in federal education funds, much of it allegedly diverted to her failed campaign for governor—and $9,300 for a face-lift.
During her 8 years as state school superintendent, not only was she pushing Creationism as an officially sanctioned course approach, it seems Our Miss Schrenko may well have been skimming federal special education funds ear-marked for the education of Georgia's handicapped students, and laundering them through the business of a friend until they ended up back in Our Miss Schrenko's Republican gubernatorial campaign war chest.
"...And on the Eighth Day, she stole."
Sweet.
And since one has to look good while running for office these days, even some of THAT loot was siphoned off for a face lift—no doubt smartly expensed as a campaign necessity.
Plus, it seems Our Miss Schrenko has quite the nasty little drug habit, there—all the vogue in smart Republican circles these days.
There's this:
Schrenko pleaded innocent and was released on $40,000 bond. She was also ordered to submit to drug tests after she disclosed that she takes a variety of prescription medications for neck and back pain from an auto accident more than a decade ago.
And...then there's this:
Schrenko, who lives in the Augusta suburb of Martinez, was driven to Monday's court hearing by a family friend. [Schrenko's attorney, Pete] Theodocion said Schrenko lost her driver's license after twice losing consciousness while driving earlier this year. No one was injured in the incidents, the lawyer said, adding they were caused by a blood condition that requires prescription medication. [GN emphasis added]
Oh, OK.
So, let's see, now...
That's one bad back from a ten-year-old "car accident." It needs "a variety of prescription medications."
Added to that, there's a "blood condition that requires prescription medication."
Hmmm..., it seems Our Miss Schrenko may have more prescription drugs sloshing around inside her system than do the labs at Merck and Pfizer. Or inside even Republican drug darling, Rush Limbaugh, for that matter.
Plus, while she's stealing any chance at an education for handicapped kids in order to be Georgia's first drug-addled Republican Governor, she's driving around higher than a kite and blacking out on the highway god knows HOW MANY times, getting caught at least TWICE THAT WE KNOW OF, and—only through the love of a merciful god—avoiding careening head-on into the cars of innocent families, thereby creating MORE handicapped kids she could steal from.
OK.
Sweet.
I am fairly perplexed personally though, as she shares my age, and so comes from that same generation that was going to change the world, make it more humane for all and lead us all to our full potential and possibilities.
So, it's painful to see even the Republican wing of this generation be as greedy, unheeding and vainglorious as those we protested against and rebelled against in our youth.
It seems that the only thing Our Miss Schrenko remembered from that time was the drugs.
On another front, it appears that Mr. Theodocion has his work cut out for him.
First, he stupidly forgot the "All Womanhood Is a Shy, Retiring, Innocent Flower," courtroom demeanor rule.
... Theodocion said after the hearing Monday that he regrets so much attention has been paid to "a face-lift," which Schrenko had around the time of the 2002 elections.
As for Schrenko's wardrobe for her court appearance, Theodocion said the cloth coat probably cost no more than $150 and that his client "didn't come here wearing gold or diamonds and is not a person who's rolling around in money." The collar and cuffs were not fur, he said.
Don't they teach watching Larry King Live! in law school, these days? Geeeez!
Also unfortunately for Mr. Theodocion, the Republican court-stacking process doesn't seem to have reached the Southern Circuit quite yet. This is where U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Feldman sits.
Feldman asked Schrenko to describe her level of education. She replied that she had completed a six-year postgraduate program and had obtained a "leadership certificate," which allows her to be a school administrator.
Upon hearing that, the judge said there should be no question about Schrenko's ability to read, write and understand the English language, a common question defendants are asked to make sure they understand the charges against them.
"Hope not," replied Schrenko, who championed phonics-based reading programs as state school superintendent.
Ouch!
It doesn't seem Feldman is going to buy the flower-child defense either.
Feldman ordered Schrenko to submit to drug tests after he was handed a list of the prescription medications she is taking. "You're taking some strong medication, as you well know," the judge said.
He also ordered Schrenko to turn over a firearm she owns to her daughter, who lives in Evans.
A FIREARM???
She's crooked! She's high! She's GOT A GUN??!
But, in all honesty, in polite Republican circles, all that really matters for a Southern damsel in distress, who's on trial for her political life, is that she look really good!
It's hard to see in the picture on the news page story, but blown up here, you can see that the caption of this photo is really all about the guy behind her: "I wonder if they're real?" Whether that references the fur cuffs and collar or her tits is up to you.
I hope for her sake, that that's not Theodocion.
This is now the story to watch.
More later.
posted by Gotham 1:42 PM
A Very Bad Day for the U.S. Military
First, your former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is forced by cutthroats to walk the plank:0 comments
Colin Powell Resigns as Secretary of State
Then, you have the military caught lying about there being no civilian casualties in Fallujah:
AP Photographer Flees Fallujah
Then, you have the 1st Infantry updating the horror or the atrocities of war, right out of Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam classic, Platoon (a special shoutout goes to all you Swift Boaters for Truth out there, who insist OUR side never commits atrocities):
U.S. Military Probes Shooting of Iraqi in Falluja
With Video:
U.S. Marines apparently shoot an enemy combatant who's pretending to be dead.
And this, via Daily Kos, on our military at home:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Army's long arm
So, if you hold the mistaken notion that there won't be a draft, hold on to your hats, it's going to be a bloody ride.
A draft in a just war would be a hard enough sell. But these kids see very clearly that this is a Republican War. Period. And they'll consider going right after Laura and the drunken twins go.
Expect riots in the streets that will make the Vietnam protests seem tame.
posted by Gotham 4:01 AM
Refugee Republicans Help Rebalance the Senate?
itaffectsyou.org: Conservatives tell moderates: Go over to the Democrats0 comments
Fine. If the radical clerics on the right don't want them, we'll happily take any U.S. Senator who thinks they no longer have a place in today's rabidly Republican Party.
So, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Lincoln Chaffe, Arlen Spector, John McCain, Chuck Hagel and any other disaffected non-fanatical christian taliban who wishes to still have a voice in the upcoming congress, come on over to the Democratic Party.
You'll need every friend you can find this term.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and any Republican governor who feels the same way about trying to govern while the jackels are howling, come on over!
Rudolph Giuliani remains unwelcome in New York City, as well as in the Democratic Party. And soon, we can add, in the Republican Party.
Pop Quiz:
When's the last time that your representative in Congress,
or your Senator represented YOUR interests?
Get Angry! Have your say.
Write your elected officials now!
Here's the Realtime Iraq Invasion Cost Clock!
posted by Gotham 3:02 AM
It Begins...
Eschaton: Purging the CIA0 comments
We're now seeing the beginning of the White House's plan to create a secret police force.
posted by Gotham 1:56 AM
Rice Moves to Soggy Bottom...
You think the world hates us now?0 comments
Wait until they spend time dealing with a Secretary of State who has proven herself fully useless and incapable of doing her job, and who is thoroughly untrustworthy.
Rice 9/11 Commission Testimony
Anyone notice her wearing a Blue Dress lately? Or taking one to the dry cleaners?
posted by Gotham 1:44 AM
A Fucking-Over to Fund a Make Over
Simply an amazing Red World story.0 comments
Roger Ailes: Grand Old Police Blotter
Creationist Republican Linda Schrenko, former Georgia School Superintendent, stole from the children of Georgia to have her face lifted.
And then to run for governor.
Linda's face may be less ugly, but her heart is as black as sin.
It's a safe bet that, more and more, we'll see Republican operatives of high and low position indicted, as their stranglehold on government and their feelings of superiority and safety expand, leading them into serious moral and ethical decay.
They'll continue adhering to the Rudy Giuliani/slimy morals model until there's simply no moral fibre left.
But they should know: as they profit from petty or grand embezzlement, they're heading towards the hard, gray cells of jail. And as they continue to steal from handicapped children with the full backing and endorsement of the evangelical christian mob, they're heading towards the eternal damnation of hell.
posted by Gotham 1:21 AM
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Cheney Death Watch
Adviser: Cheney has nothing more than a cold0 comments
Umm, Dick....That's what they said about Arafat.
posted by Gotham 6:42 PM
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Some 300+ Casulties from "A Mostly Empty Fallujah"
E&R: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, in Iraq0 comments
For months, the U.S. military has said it worked to avoid "body counts," so as to dispel any similarities with Vietnam.
So, now that the shrapnel has met the torso, as it were, and we're sending waves of bombers raining god-knows-how-many-tons of bombs for no clear military purpose on a Fallujah that has been mostly deserted, while the rest of Iraq is in flames, here come the self-aggrandizing "1,000,000 Served"-type reports of "600 insurgents killed."
Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said Thursday there have been "hardly any, if any, civilian casualties so far."
And God didn't make Whoppers with fries.
One can only assume that these reports are as bogus as the ones Gen. William Westmoreland was so good at conjuring during the Sixties and Seventies.
posted by Gotham 1:17 AM
Reports from the Ground in Ohio
The Scene of Cleveland: Better Dead Than Red / The story Ken Blackwell didn't want you to read0 comments
posted by Gotham 1:14 AM
Friday, November 12, 2004
Sy's on the Prowl Again...
E&P: Iraq's Allawi Is a 'Straw Man' and a 'Criminal,' Says Sy Hersh at NYU0 comments
Sy is God.
When most news people yearn to be Wolf Blitzer, Sy Hersh works at becoming another Edward R. Murrow.
Again, Sy draws the Vietnam comparisons. This time with the secret bombing of Iraq. Just when did we declare war on the people of Iraq? Are we trying to free the population of Iraq by killing them?
Are we back to the old "Fucking for Virginity" days?
posted by Gotham 11:46 PM
Internationalizing the Red States
First, we support them with financial aid.0 comments
Then, International Election Monitors watch our elections in the South.
Now this:
CNET News: Outsourcing to Arkansas
Proving once again that the line between the Red States and the Third World blurs further every day.
What's next? A Save the Starving Babies in Biloxi campaign?
posted by Gotham 10:33 PM
21st Century America
Pretty much like 19th Century America, actually.0 comments
Sorry about not posting since before the Election of '04.
There has been much to mourn; much to digest.
I'll be talking about it more in the coming days.
posted by Gotham 10:00 PM
