It is the business owner's profit that he...sm

• Thar she blows...like fingernails across a chaulkboard - Trying to wrap a bag of poop in....sm
  • FYI - sm
    • FYI. Joe the unlicensed required to be licensed in Ohio. - Wow. A plumber pursuing his Masters? sm
      • Yes s/m - gourdpainter
        • is that $250,000 gross or net? - dnh
          • It is the business owner's profit that he...sm - oldtimer
          • I haven't researched but - gourdpainter
    • Good question.-and it ISNT fair. Notice how Obama - supporters dont even answer? nm
      • Well, I'll say this......... - gourdpainter
      • Despite the fact that this has been answered over and over, - It has been addressed yet again. nm
  • Speaking of whales...Palin does not want them protected either! - Palintology
  • Palin supports aerial hunting of wildlife - Dee
    • Some of us like to eat meat. - sm
      • Hunting - This is true
      • Defenders of Wildlife - Dee
    • Offers $150 bounty for their severed foreleg. See link inside: - Warning: Video tnot for faint-at-heart. sm
      • You talk about not for the faint-at-heart, - Warning!, see link
    • Also enjoys one-on-one ground-level - moose slaying and decapitation...sm
      • Enjoying hunting as a sport - sm
        • Grizzly and barbaric, but - legal. nm
          • How do you think ancient people - sm
            • Not just ancient people - sm
        • Noo one said it was. If she slaughters defenseless animials for sport, - no telling what else....sm
          • I suppose you are anti-gun as well. - nm

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

I may be an idjit myself and I am certainly the most cynical of the cynical.  While I'm about it, I think Obama's mom was a bit of an idjit for making the decisions she made in life but I guess that was her business. 

As for GWB, he certainly does deserve some discussion.  Like why did he not straight away pardon those 2 border patrol agents who were the target of the worst miscarriage of justice I have personally ever seen?  Could there be something synister there?  I think so.

I am most certainly NOT a liberal and by the heart of conservatives, I am NOT a conservative either.  I do agree with them (if they really believe it) that abortion and gay marriage are wrong.  HOWEVER, my opinion being stated, I believe those are moral issues and as such belong to God and not the government.  I also do not believe God requires my assistance in passing judgement on them.

Soooo....with all the problems we were facing, t here are many more important issues than Obama's birth certificate.  I drug my feet in voting for Obama but I do  have a glimmer of hope that he is working to at least get some plan in place for the day he is inaugerated.  Everyone deserves a chance.  The American people have spoken so it's time to put this b/c nonissue to rest and get to the business of importance...like millions of people projected to be unemployed and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, which if something isn't done and soon we are headed for the worst times most of you have ever seen and you'll have enough to worry about just wondering how you're going to put food on the table.

Two articles below:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-bucky23mar23,1,7624344.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

From the Los Angeles Times

Bush's Uncle Earned Millions in War Firm Sale

An SEC filing shows William H.T. Bush collected about $1.9 million in cash, plus stock valued at $800,000, from the deal.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Times Staff Writer

March 23, 2006

WASHINGTON — As President Bush embarks on a new effort to shore up public support for the war in Iraq, an uncle of the commander in chief is collecting $2.7 million in cash and stock from the recent sale of a company that profited from the war.

A report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that William H.T. Bush collected just under $1.9 million in cash plus stock valued at more than $800,000 from the sale of Engineered Support Systems Inc. to DRS Technologies of New Jersey.

The $1.7-billion deal closed Jan. 31. Both firms have extensive military contracts.

William Bush was a director of Engineered Support Systems. Recent SEC filings show he was paid cash and DRS stock in exchange for shares and options he obtained as a director.

Before DRS purchased it, Missouri-based ESSI experienced record growth as a result of expanded U.S. military contracts — many to supply U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The contracts, some awarded on a no-bid basis, include a $77-million deal to refit military vehicles with armor for use in Iraq.

Other ESSI products used in the war include radar and detection services, field medical stations and field electrical generator units.

SEC filings show that two federal investigations of ESSI are underway. One inquiry involves a stop order from the government on the field generators. The order was issued because the units didn't operate properly.

The generator contract was a major source of revenue. SEC files show that ESSI did not tell stockholders about the stop order until last June, about seven months after it was issued.

During the interim, several ESSI executives, including Bush's uncle, cashed in stock and stock options worth millions of dollars, the filings show.

According to one recent filing, the SEC and the U.S. attorney in St. Louis are investigating the delayed disclosure and other matters.

Unnamed members of the ESSI board and corporate officers have been subpoenaed in the inquiry, according to documents.

SEC filings show that William Bush, 67, exercised options on 8,348 shares of ESSI stock on Jan. 18, 2005, about two months after the stop order was issued and six months before it was disclosed. He collected about $450,000 in cash.

Bush, known as Uncle Bucky in the president's family, joined ESSI's board in 2000, several months before his nephew became president.

He heads a St. Louis investment firm and is the youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush.

He declined to comment Wednesday. However, in an interview last year, he said he played no role in ESSI's winning federal contracts.

I don't make any calls to the 202 [Washington, D.C.] area code, he said.

Patricia Williamson, a spokeswoman for DRS, would not comment on the status of the federal investigations.

The company has said it is cooperating in the probes, which also involve an ESSI insurance contract.
_________________________________________________________________

March 22, 2006, 11:58PM

Former first lady's donation aids son

Katrina funds earmarked to pay for Neil Bush's software program

By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Former first lady Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil.

Since then, the Ignite Learning program has been given to eight area schools that took in substantial numbers of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Mrs. Bush wanted to do something specifically for education and specifically for the thousands of students flooding into the Houston schools, said Jean Becker, former President Bush's chief of staff. She knew that HISD was using this software program, and she's very excited about this program, so she wanted to make it possible for them to expand the use of this program.

The former first lady plans to visit a Houston Independent School District campus using the Ignite program today to call on local business leaders to support schools and education.

The trip to Fleming Middle School is intended to showcase Bush's commitment to education for both Houston-area and New Orleans evacuee students, according to a press release issued Wednesday by Ignite.

Fleming, which has more than 170 New Orleans students, was one of eight area schools chosen by the Harris County Department of Education to receive a donated COW, or Curriculum on Wheels, multimedia program after Hurricane Katrina.

Neil Bush founded Austin-based Ignite Learning, which produces the COW program, in 1999.

Becker said she wasn't at liberty to divulge how much money the Bush family gave to the hurricane funds, but said the rest of their donation was not earmarked for anything.

Nationally, some other donors also specified how they wanted their donations spent, Becker said.

For example, one man wanted his money to go to Habitat for Humanity but via the former presidents' fund. Nearly $1 million has been raised for the local fund and more than $120 million for the national.

Regarding the fact that Bush's earmarked donation also benefited her son's company, Becker said, Mrs. Bush is obviously an enthusiastic supporter of her son. She is genuinely supportive of his program, and has received many letters from educators who support it. Bush honestly felt this would be a great way to help the (evacuee) students.

Barbara and Neil Bush presented the donated programs to Houston-area schools this winter.

Districts that received the free curriculum include Houston, Alvin, Katy, Pearland and Spring and the New Orleans West charter school.

There are 40 Ignite programs being used in the Houston area, and 15 in the Houston school district, said Ken Leonard, president of Ignite.

Information about the effectiveness of the program, through district-generated reports, was not readily available Wednesday, according to an HISD spokeswoman.

Two years ago, the school district raised eyebrows when it expanded the program by relying heavily on private donations.

In February 2004, the Houston school board unanimously agreed to accept $115,000 in charitable donations from businesses and individuals who insisted the money be spent on Ignite. The money covered half the bill for the software, which cost $10,000 per school.

The deal raised conflict of interest concerns because Neil Bush and company officials helped solicit the donations for the HISD Foundation, a philanthropic group that raises money for the district.

HISD school principals decide for themselves whether to spend their budgeted money on Ignite.

Leonard said that in the past six to eight months, the company has hired national sales representatives across the country — in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada — in hopes of expanding beyond Texas. Currently, about 80 percent of the company's customers are from Texas.

Last year, Neil Bush reportedly toured former Soviet Union countries promoting Ignite with Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky.

According to the Times of London, Berezovsky, a former Kremlin insider now living in Britain, is wanted on criminal charges in Moscow accusing him of seeking to stage a coup against President Vladimir Putin.

The purpose of today's event is to showcase everyone's efforts in helping the hurricane evacuee students who ended up in Houston, Leonard said.

We have a role, but we're not the leader in this, Leonard said. He also acknowledged that his company will benefit from the former first lady's visit.

Barbara Bush is expected to observe both teachers and students using the Ignite Learning program while touring classrooms, according to the Ignite press release.

During a short reception, teachers and students will give testimonials about the program and Bush will encourage community business leaders to have a stronger presence in supporting schools and education, the press release said.

The free-standing instructional tools that are not dependent on the Internet. They include a built-in computer, projector and speakers and come pre-loaded with science and social studies courses.

cynthia.garza@chron.com

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Houston & Texas
This article is: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3742329.html

vaccines I'll be right behind you cheering you on.  If it's such an urgent matter then why don't you do it?  Like I said, the government will give you a grant for doing it, but it won't even cover the costs of making the vaccines.  Yeah, I'm sure you're ready to fill out that grant request first thing Monday morning.

I worded the vaccine statement wrong.  I heard yesterday on the radio, when all the ADD and autism with flu shots was being discussed, the majority of vaccines are now being made overseas, because companies have to take a hit just to make them.  THEY SAID that no smallpox vaccines were being made in the U.S.  The government does not make it feasible NOR do they protect these companies from litigation.

Do you think the government needs to strong arm drug companies into making vaccines for little or no profit?  If you do then you've shifted into a whole other political view.

You nailed it when you said business.  However, if a conservative had said the same thing you and Lurker just stated you would have disputed that.  Liberals swear up and down Murdoch is a conservative Republican, but the truth is Murdoch is all about Murdoch and what sells.  His politics is business.

This way it keeps everyone happy.  Being a dem myself and being raised by republican parents, I tend to be on the fence sometimes, but I still consider myself a dem voter.  I'm no expert.  Otherwise, I'd being doing something other than MT and posting on this board. 

Your friends should appreciate the fact that it is a personal decision on your part.