• “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” — September 2000, explaining his energy policies at an event in Michigan.

• “Rarely [...]]]> President George W. Bush will leave behind a legacy of Bushisms, the label stamped on the commander in chief’s original speaking style. Some of the president’s more notable malaprops and mangled statements:

• “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” — September 2000, explaining his energy policies at an event in Michigan.

• “Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?” — January 2000, during a campaign event in South Carolina.

• “They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the commander in chief, too.” — Sept. 26, 2001, in Langley, Va. Bush was referring to the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

• “There’s no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail.” — Oct. 4, 2001, in Washington. Bush was remarking on a back-to-work plan after the terrorist attacks.

• “It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber.” — April 10, 2002, at the White House, as Bush urged Senate passage of a broad ban on cloning.

• “I want to thank the dozens of welfare-to-work stories, the actual examples of people who made the firm and solemn commitment to work hard to embetter themselves.” — April 18, 2002, at the White House.

• “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” — Sept. 17, 2002, in Nashville, Tenn.

• “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” — Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.

• “Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.” — Sept. 6, 2004, at a rally in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

• “Our most abundant energy source is coal. We have enough coal to last for 250 years, yet coal also prevents an environmental challenge.” — April 20, 2005, in Washington.

• “We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job.” — Sept. 20, 2005, in Gulfport, Miss.

• “I can’t wait to join you in the joy of welcoming neighbors back into neighborhoods, and small businesses up and running, and cutting those ribbons that somebody is creating new jobs.” — Sept. 5, 2005, when Bush met with residents of Poplarville, Miss., in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

• “It was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close relationship. After all, 60 years we were at war 60 years ago we were at war.” — June 29, 2006, at the White House, where Bush met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

• “Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die.” — Dec. 7, 2006, in a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

• “These are big achievements for this country, and the people of Bulgaria ought to be proud of the achievements that they have achieved.” — June 11, 2007, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

• “Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit.” — September 2007, in Sydney, Australia, where Bush was attending an APEC summit.

• “Thank you, Your Holiness. Awesome speech.” April 16, 2008, at a ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the White House.

• “The fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there’s jobs at the machine-making place.” — May 27, 2008, in Mesa, Ariz.

• “And they have no disregard for human life.” — July 15, 2008, at the White House. Bush was referring to enemy fighters in Afghanistan.

• “I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office.” — June 26, 2008, during a Rose Garden news briefing.

• “Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people.” — July 4, 2008 in Virginia.

• “The people in Louisiana must know that all across our country there’s a lot of prayer — prayer for those whose lives have been turned upside down. And I’m one of them. It’s good to come down here.” — Sept. 3, 2008, at an emergency operations center in Baton Rouge, La., after Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast.

• “This thaw — took a while to thaw, it’s going to take a while to unthaw.” Oct. 20, 2008, in Alexandria, La., as he discussed the economy and frozen credit markets.

I’m surprised I haven’t yet read any mention this year of Thomas Mann’s novel, The Magic Mountain, which was set in Davos. As Timothy Garton Ash wrote at The Guardian in February 2005: it “shows how the economically interdependent pre-1914 Europe, [...]]]> World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 28 January – 1 February 2009.

I’m surprised I haven’t yet read any mention this year of Thomas Mann’s novel, The Magic Mountain, which was set in Davos. As Timothy Garton Ash wrote at The Guardian in February 2005: it “shows how the economically interdependent pre-1914 Europe, knitted together by a sophisticated international elite of aristocrats, [and] businesspeople… was torn apart by national prejudices and ideological arguments…”

While Bono’s Davos Men/fat cats in the snow speak volubly of ‘brain trusts’, Global Agenda ‘trustees’, and the ‘talent commons’, I’m simply glad that after this election we didn’t have to call on our European friends “to invade the US to save the country from Christian theocratic fascism,” as humorously suggested by a respondent to Ash’s screed.

I for one shake in my boots when international venture capitalists speak of reforming the global financial architecture– the IMF and the World Bank having done such a splendid job of fomenting hunger and disease.

I have little faith that the elitists-without-borders will tackle first things first and address the staggering inequalities of wealth between the haves and have-nots among nation-states, much less within developed countries like the US or in developing ones like China, Russia, and India.

As Ash so shrewdly made clear, while the political relationship between the US and Western Europe deteriorated under the ruinous policies of the Bush regime, the economic relationship, through cross-ownership and investment, has become stronger than ever.

And need I say, made each of them more vulnerable to economic turbulence and banking crises in the other.

-Eric Charles Blanke of Parker, Colo. Counterfeiting.

-Steve Doyle Cavender of The Villages, Fla. Conspiring to import, possess, distribute and dispense marijuana.

-Marie Elena Eppens of Lynden, Wash. Conspiracy [...]]]> -William Alvis III, of Flushing, Ohio. Possession of an unregistered firearm and cocaine distribution.
John Allen Aregood of Riviera, Texas. Conspiracy to harbor and transport illegal aliens.

-Eric Charles Blanke of Parker, Colo. Counterfeiting.

-Steve Doyle Cavender of The Villages, Fla. Conspiring to import, possess, distribute and dispense marijuana.

-Marie Elena Eppens of Lynden, Wash. Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

-Lydia Lee Ferguson of Sun City, Ariz. Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

-Eduviges Duvi Gonzalez-Matsumura of Clovis, Calif. Aiding and abetting embezzlement of bank funds.

-George Clarence Greene Jr. of Gray, Ga. Mail fraud.

-James Won Hee Kang of South Barrington, Ill. Trafficking in counterfeit goods.

-Alan Stephen Maiss of Reno, Nev.

-Richard Harold Miller of Tallahassee, Fla. Conspiracy to defraud the United States.

-Delano Abraham Nixon of Neosho Rapids, Kan. Forging the endorsement on a U.S. Treasury check.

-John H. Overholt of Black Hawk, S.D. Concealment of information affecting Social Security benefits.

-Morris Keith Parker of Georgetown, S.C.

-Robert Truman Reece of Redondo Beach, Calif.

-Donald Edward Roessler of Harrison, Ohio. Embezzlement of mail matter.

-Issac Robert Toussie of Brooklyn, N.Y. False statements to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and mail fraud.

-David Lane Woolsey of St. George, Utah. Aiding and abetting violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.

Bush also commuted the prison sentence of Reed Raymond Prior of Des Moines, Iowa.

Prior was convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He was sentenced in 1996 in the Southern District of Iowa to life in prison with 10 years of supervised release. His prison sentence is now set to expire on Feb. 23, 2009, but the terms of the commutation leave intact and in effect the 10 years of supervised release with all its conditions.

The commission said it received credible allegations about the scheme at least nine years ago and will immediately open [...]]]>

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday night that it had missed repeated opportunities to discover what may be the largest financial fraud in history, a Ponzi scheme whose losses could run as high as $50 billion.

The commission said it received credible allegations about the scheme at least nine years ago and will immediately open an internal investigation to examine why it had failed to pursue them aggressively.

Of course the SEC failed to pursue allegations of fraud. When your governing philosophy is that government does not work (which has been the credo of conservatives for decades) and you place anti-regulation advocates in positions where regulation is needed, a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure is bound to occur.

Even more disturbing is this typical piece of Washington cronyism:

One of the commission’s investigative teams that had examined the Madoff firm was headed by a lawyer named Eric Swanson, who served for 10 years as a lawyer at the commission and left in 2006 while he was an assistant director of the office of compliance inspections and examinations in Washington.

In 2007, Mr. Swanson married Shana Madoff, a niece of Bernard L. Madoff and daughter of his brother, Peter Madoff, the firm’s chief compliance officer. Ms. Madoff is the firm’s compliance attorney.

No wonder Madoff was able to get away with it! Why exactly would someone investigate his own family? Why was Mr. Swanson put in the position to do so in the first place? The SEC had absolutely no interest in doing its job and now all Americans from the wealthiest to the most poor are suffering the consequences. While attempting to cater to the wealthy, the Bush Administration has instead led our economy into its worst conditions since the 1930s, thereby reducing the wealth of his most loyal constituents. Instead of screwing over only Democratic Party voters, Bush has given the shaft to all Americans. Talk about a uniter!

The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 was explicitly created to prevent these types of abuses from occuring. Unfortunately, it took another financial calamity to demonstrate how unserious its senior management was about carrying out its essential duties. Chairman Cox and his entire staff should be investigated.

“Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate [...]]]>

President Bush and the Treasury Department signaled on Friday that they would consider dipping into the $700 billion bailout program for financial institutions to aid the Big Three car companies, after Republican senators refused to support a compromise proposal to rescue the automakers.

“Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms,” Dana Perino, Mr. Bush’s spokeswoman, said in a carefully nuanced statement released minutes before the financial markets opened in New York. “However, given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary — including use of the TARP program — to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers.”

The Treasury Department promptly indicated that it would provide short-term relief to the automakers. “Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry,” a Treasury spokeswoman, Brookly McLaughlin, said.

For a moment, try to ignore the fact that this money was originally set aside by Congress to aid financial institutions and not automobile manufacturers, what exactly is the point of having Congress debate this bill if its actions (or lack thereof in this instance) are irrelevant? To President Bush, the fact that the required votes in Congress do not exist (from ironically, his own party) is merely a technicality in getting what he wants. The administration will simply divert money previously approved by Congress for other causes where it sees fit. The very concept of checks and balances has been destroyed with this being only the latest example.