A colleague of mine has many views that counter my own. We have had a number of discussions and they have been interesting but are, of course, undocumented. One of the typical things we end up doing is disagreeing on what the fundamental facts indeed are about the topic of discussion. This often limits how far we can go on the topic of choice. Personally, I'm a person that doesn't debate very well "on my feet" and I prefer to give more thought to my words than one can typically do in a passing convensation. So I'm opening a thread here where DC and I can record our discussion in black and white in the hopes of raising their effectiveness beyond the basic he-said-she-said level. Thread is now open. First on the list is
Thomas Frank: What the Matter with Kansas?
Fahrenheit 9/11
4 comments:
God bless Google, the poor man’s Lexis/Nexis.
Judicial Watch has criticized GHW Bush’s association with the Carlyle Group to the point of calling for his resignation. The "conflict of interest could cause problems for America's foreign policy in Middle East and Asia."
"This conflict of interest has now turned into a scandal. The idea of the President's father, an ex-president himself, doing business with a company under investigation by the FBI in the terror attacks of September 11 is horrible. President Bush should not ask, but demand, that his father pull out of the Carlyle Group," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.
I note that GHW Bush left the position in October, 2003.
Carlyle's directorship includes James Baker serves as a senior counselor, and Richard G. Darman, former director of the Office of Management and Budget as a managing director. The board also includes former Defense Secretary Carlucci.
According to William Thomas,
http://www.willthomas.net/Convergence/Newsletter/Bush_Carlyle_Group.htm
"The group found Bush Jr. a job as administrator for Caterair, a Texas company specialized in aerial catering in February 1990, while his father occupied the White House. When GW left Caterair in 1994 to become Governor of Texas, the company – like every enterprise ever run by the younger Bush, was in a flat financial spin."
I think it’s fair to say that the Carlyle Group is a solid Bush family crony, even before the former president joined the board. Therefore the 1.4 billion statement still stands in my mind. George Soros is a mere investor of $100 million and holds no managerial influence in the company that I know of.
Also according to Mr. Thomas in the same article, BDM, the beneficiary of the 1.18 billion Saudi investment, is a big player in the “Star Wars” arena. This is a rather unfortunate dovetail with the administrations focus on NMD. When an administration pushes a controversial defense project that financially benefits its friends, it just looks bad. It seems that either Carlyle needs to get out of the defense business or the people with connections to the administration need to get out of Carlyle.
From the Carlyle Home page:
"Carlyle’s edge is its ability to leverage the local insight of its investment professionals, collaborating across the firms’ investment disciplines from deal sourcing and due diligence through portfolio company development. The result: A broader view of potential investment opportunities and deeper level of expertise, creating value for Carlyle portfolio companies that translates into superior returns for Carlyle investors."
I read this as saying "our people benefit from special knowledge and access". With James Baker and Carlucci on all the advisory boards and no notables on the boards that are outside that political circle, I remain of the opinion that the Carlyle Group is a member of the Bush crony circle.
In regards to Caterair, I wonder if GWB has ever felt the need to achieve some success on his own merits and turned down a "sweetheart" offer on that basis.
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