Scipio wrote:
> [Bush is apparently going in for mexican-style corruption now (the
> Lite version). "...hotels and casinos seeking an influx of immigrant
> labor are among the 44 interests that have each given $250,000 and
the
> 66 that have donated $100,000 to $225,000. And the money keeps
pouring
> in."]
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5058-2005Jan12.html
>
> Big-Money Contributors Line Up for Inauguration
>
> By Thomas B. Edsall and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
> Washington Post Staff Writers
> Thursday, January 13, 2005; Page A01
>
> President Bush wants to lower barriers to building nuclear power
> plants, and the lobby that promotes nuclear energy could not be
> happier. To show its thanks, the group has given $100,000 to help pay
> for his inauguration.
>
> "He's a big supporter," said John E. Kane, chief lobbyist for the
> Nuclear Energy Institute. "Our donation is just a small way of
> supporting him."
>
> The nuclear energy industry's contribution is part of a
> record-breaking outpouring of corporate cash to next week's inaugural
> festivities. At least 88 companies and trade associations, along with
> 39 CEOs and top executives -- all with huge stakes in administration
> policies -- already have donated $18 million toward a $40 million
goal
> for the country's 55th inaugural celebration.
>
> Wall Street investment firms seeking to profit from private Social
> Security accounts; oil, gas and mining companies pushing the White
> House to revive a stalled energy-subsidy bill; and hotels and casinos
> seeking an influx of immigrant labor are among the 44 interests that
> have each given $250,000 and the 66 that have donated $100,000 to
> $225,000. And the money keeps pouring in.
>
> Practically all the major donors have benefited from Bush
> administration policies, especially from corporate and individual tax
> cuts, deregulation and the new prescription drug benefit that is part
> of Medicare. Most also stand to boost profits further because of
> Bush's second-term proposals, which include limiting medical
> malpractice suits, creating private investment accounts as part of
> Social Security and making a tax-code revision that is expected to
> reduce taxes on investments.
>
> Many donors are corporations and executives that are regulated by the
> federal government, dependent on government tax and spending
policies,
> or both. At least 16 donors are from the finance industry, 14 are
from
> the energy sector, six are real estate developers, and at least five
> are from both the health and telecommunications industries. The
> Washington Post Co. has pledged $100,000.
>
> In the era of campaign finance reform, such largesse is all but
> forbidden. Federal law limits individual donations to $2,000 per
> election and corporations cannot give from their own treasuries
> directly to candidates or parties. But for the inauguration, the law
> does not apply, and the administration has decided that private
> interests may contribute as much as $250,000 each. That is a 150
> percent increase over the $100,000 maximum accepted during Bush's
> first inauguration four years ago.
>
> An Inaugural Committee spokeswoman said the higher ceiling was needed
> to meet its fundraising goal. The committee plans to raise $35
million
> to $40 million to help defray the costs of the four-day celebration,
> including fireworks, the swearing-in, a parade and nine balls. In
> 2001, the committee raised $40 million.
>
> In 1993, President Clinton's inaugural committee spent $33 million,
> raised primarily from souvenir and ticket sales, although there were
> 13 donors who gave $100,000 apiece and one who gave $250,000.
>
> Critics see the high contribution limit as a vehicle for groups with
> business before government to buy more access to the people who make
> big-dollar federal decisions.
>
> "Donors are going to say it's civic participation that motivates
them,
> but they also use their contributions to buy access to lawmakers and
> the administration," said Sheila Krumholz, research director of the
> Center for Responsive Politics. "The advantage is enormous."
>
> "The donations give executives another chance to rub up to
> politicians," agreed Bill Allison, managing editor at the Center for
> Public Integrity, a nonpartisan watchdog group.
>
> For corporations in particular, the benefit is almost unique. With
the
> exception of the presidential nominating conventions, companies do
not
> have legal ways to give significant amounts of cash to assist
> politicians. Even the now-ubiquitous independent groups, called 527s,
> that bought millions of dollars of advertisements during the
> presidential campaign have proved to be ill-suited to company
> contributions.
>
> As a result, Krumholz said, "The Inaugural Committee provides
> opportunities to corporations that are hampered by the 'soft money'
> ban." Three years ago, Congress passed the McCain-Feingold law
barring
> companies from donating unlimited amounts of money -- also called
soft
> money -- to the political parties.
>
> The only restraint on giving is the voluntary $250,000 limit, but
that
> has been circumvented. In a few instances, both the parent company
and
> its subsidiaries have donated. Marriott International Inc. delivered
> $250,000 to the committee, as did each of two units: Marriott
Vacation
> Club International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC.
>
> In addition, Ameriquest, a mortgage company specializing in financing
> housing purchases in heavily minority neighborhoods, gave $250,000,
> along with $500,000 from two subsidiaries, for a total of $750,000.
>
> Marriott and other hoteliers are pushing hard for the type of
> liberalized immigration laws favored by the president to gain a
larger
> labor pool. Ameriquest and others in what is known as the sub-prime
> mortgage industry are seeking legislation that would set national
> standards preempting tougher laws in a number of states.
>
> Roland and Dawn Arnall of Los Angeles, the chairman and co-chairman,
> respectively, of Ameriquest, and their companies are more than
> contributors to the inauguration. They are also the single biggest
> source of financial support for Bush since 2002. Over the period,
they
> gave and raised at least $12.25 million.
>
> Dawn Arnall gave $1 million to the Republican National Committee in
> 2002 and $5 million to the pro-Bush 527 group called Progress for
> America Voter Fund. She served as a co-chairman of the New York
> Republican Convention Host Committee, with an obligation to raise at
> least $5 million.
>
> Roland and Dawn Arnall were major fundraisers in 2004, earning the
> title of "Ranger" for collecting at least $200,000 for the
Bush-Cheney
> ticket and "Super Ranger" for collecting at least $300,000 for the
> RNC. Roland Arnall hosted a Bush-Cheney fundraiser at his home in
> August 2004 that produced more than $1 million. Shortly after winning
> reelection, Bush announced the appointment of the Arnalls as honorary
> co-chairmen of the inaugural fundraising committee.
>
> A spokeswoman said that "the Arnalls do not grant interviews."
>
> Another $250,000 donor to the inauguration who played a major role in
> the 2004 election is T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman and corporate
> raider. He gave $2.5 million to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,
> which attacked John F. Kerry's record in Vietnam, and $2.5 million to
> the pro-GOP 527 organization Progress for America.
>
> Similarly, the $250,000 inaugural contribution of Alexander G.
Spanos,
> a real estate developer and owner of the National Football League's
> San Diego Chargers, was a small fraction of the $5 million he gave to
> Progress for America and the $1 million he gave to the New York City
> Convention Host Committee, which helped to fund the Republicans'
> presidential nominating convention last summer.
>
> Many of the inauguration's benefactors are veteran Republican and
Bush
> backers. Thirty-nine of the individual donors were in 2004
substantial
> fundraisers for the Bush reelection campaign, the Republican National
> Committee or both. Twenty-one entities or individuals also helped
> underwrite the Republican National Convention. Nine inaugural
> contributors funded one or more pro-Bush 527 organization.
>
> Donors offer a range of reasons for participating in the
inauguration.
> One is simply to get good, guaranteed seats and tickets. All donors
of
> $100,000 or more receive benefits keyed to the four-day tribute.
These
> include 38 tickets to 10 balls, receptions, galas and the swearing-in
> ceremony. Givers of $250,000 get 80 tickets to the 10 events. In
> addition, big donors' names, or the names of their corporations, will
> appear on official printed materials.
>
> Edward L. Yingling, incoming president of the American Bankers
> Association, which gave $25,000, said: "We gave enough to get the
sets
> of tickets we need for bankers, some of our staff and some friends of
> the industry who want to go to certain events."
>
> Patrick Butler, vice president of The Washington Post Co., said the
> company, which is the parent of this newspaper, agreed to donate to
be
> sure that it had enough tickets to the Inaugural Ball to cover its
> major corporate advertisers, which The Post fetes at the event every
> four years.
>
> A spokesman for the Boeing Co., which gave $100,000, said the money
is
> "to help in celebrating the defining event in the American democratic
> process." Boeing is dealing with federal probes into the tactics it
> used to win a contract to lease and sell to the Air Force 100
> refueling tankers for $23.5 billion.
>
> A few groups are forthright about their desire to see and be seen.
"We
> want our presence to be known here in Washington and at the
> inauguration," said Lucien Salvant, spokesman for the National
> Association of Realtors, which contributed $50,000. "We consider
> ourselves the chief spokesman for real estate issues and property
> rights, and we want people to recognize that."
>
> ----------------
Is anyone surprised? Bush is just the latest in a procession of
scumbags.
Jay

http://www.vdare.com/   V-Dare

http://www.deportaliens.com/
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