Dude, Where's My Country_ - Michael Moore [104]
Enron and Andersen’s political donations and the conflicts of interest they ultimately caused in the government’s “investigations” are discussed in Don Van Natta Jr., “Enron or Andersen made donations to almost all their congressional investigators,” Don Van Natta Jr., The New York Times, January 25, 2002. Information on Enron’s attempts to hide its law breaking, and the Bush administration’s decision to do nothing about the impending collapse can be found in: “Shredded papers key in Enron case,” Kurt Eichenwald, The New York Times, January 28, 2002; “Ken who?” Bennet Roth, et al., Houston Chronicle, January 11, 2002; “Bush aide was told of Enron’s plea,” Dana Milbank, The Washington Post, January 14, 2002; “Number of contacts grows,” H. Josef Herbert, Associated Press, January 12, 2002.
“President” Bush’s attempt to deny his close friendship with Ken Lay are documented, first and foremost, in the transcript of a question-and-answer session with reporters on January 10, 2002. This can be found at www.whitehouse.gov. Also see “Ken who?” Bennet Roth, et al., Houston Chronicle, January 11, 2002, “Enron spread contributions on both sides of the aisle,” Don van Natta Jr., The New York Times, January 21, 2002 and “Despite President’s Denials, Enron & Lay Were Early Backers of Bush,” Texans for Public Justice (www.tpj.org), January 11, 2002.
8. Woo Hoo! I Got Me a Tax Cut!
For more information on the real effects of the Bush 2003 “Mike Moore Tax Cut,” check out the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ report, “New tax cut law uses gimmicks to mask cost; ultimate price tag likely to be $800 billion to $1 trillion.” The Center can be found online at www.cbpp.org.
Bush and Cheney’s projected tax-cut windfall was reported by James Toedtman in Newsday, “Tiebreaker’s Tax Break,” May 20, 2003.
As this is written, the Texas Rangers are in the cellar of the American League West, 19.5 games out of first place. (Okay, I know, they don’t suck as bad as the Detroit Tigers.)
If you’d like to know more about the forty-seven people President Clinton had “killed,” simply check your favorite Internet search engine and type in the words, “Clinton Body Count.” Or, tune in to AM talk radio any day of the week. This urban legend is a favorite among the right.
In the summer of 2003, the Congressional Budget Office (www.cbo.gov) projected that the 2003 federal deficit would reach $401 billion. For more on that announcement, see Alan Fram’s June 10 article, “CBO Expects Deficit to Shatter Record,” from the Associated Press. You can read more about Bush’s attempts to hide the Treasury Department’s deficit projections until after Congress had approved his tax cut in “Bush Shelved Report on $44,200 Billion Deficit Fears,” Peronet Despeignes, Financial Times, May 29, 2003.
Bush made his claim that every taxpayer would benefit from his tax cut in an April 26, 2003, radio address. You can find the transcript at www.whitehouse.gov. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities revealed the truth in its June 1, 2003, report, “Tax cut law leaves out 8 million filers who pay income taxes.” The Center also reported on the effect the federal tax cut would have on the states on June 5, 2003, “Federal tax changes likely to cost states billions of dollars in coming years.” More information can be found through the Citizens for Tax Justice (www.ctj.org), specifically the May 30, 2003, report, “Most taxpayers get little help from the latest Bush tax plan.”
For an excellent look at the inventive ways states are finding to save money, including the unscrewing of light bulbs and the shutting down of schools, see “Drip, Drip Drip,” Matt Bai, The New York Times, June 8, 2003, and “States Facing Budget Shortfalls, Cut the Major and the Mundane,” Timothy Egan, The New York Times, April 21, 2003.
If you are expecting a refund of $1 million or more from the IRS (and who isn’t?), you can download the direct-deposit form from this IRS Web site: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8302.pdf.
Bush’s comments on how the