Duty to Warn

Don't kid yourself. If you think the conviction of Ken Lay means that George Bush is serious about going after corporate bad guys, think again.

First, Lay got away with murder -- or at least grand larceny. Like Al Capone convicted of failing to file his taxes, Ken Lay, though found guilty of stock fraud, is totally off the hook for his BIG crime: taking down California and Texas consumers for billions through fraud on the power markets.

Lay, co-convict Jeff Skilling and Enron did not act alone. They connived with half a dozen other power companies and a dozen investment banks to manipulate both the stock market and the electricity market. And though their co-conspirators have now paid $3 billion to settle civil claims, the executives of these other corporations and banks get a walk on criminal charges.

"We fought the good fight," Jeff Skilling said, standing strong after he and "Kenny Boy" Lay were convicted of defrauding Enron stockholders. But what an odd choice of words. I suppose Joachim von Ribbentrop and Attila the Hun could say the same thing, but fighting to stay out of jail is a small imperial dream. Skilling and Lay did authorize blitzkrieg-worthy raids on West Coast utilities, where Enron traders bragged about stealing from "grandma Millie," and jamming their $250 a megawatt hour power "right up her ass." And Enron did conquer the venerable Portland General utility, then leave it a hollow shell-I met a woman who'd lost her entire retirement. So maybe those were the fights Skilling referred to. But these opponents barely put up a struggle.

Excerpt from Armed Madhouse - Greg Palast's new book to be released June 6.

Peninsula Hotel, Beverly Hills. May 17, 2001. The Financial Criminal of the twentieth century, not long out of prison, meets with the Financial Criminal of the twenty-first century who feared he may also have to do hard time. These two, bond-market manipulator Mike Millikin and Ken Lay, not-yet-indicted Chairman of Enron Corporation, were joined by a selected group of movers and shakers -- and one movie star.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had been to such private parties before. As a young immigrant without a nickel to his name, he put on private displays of his musculature for guests of his promoter. As with those early closed gatherings, I don't know all that went on at the Peninsula Hotel meet, though I understand Ahnold, this time, did not have to strip down to his Speedos. Nevertheless, the moral undressing was just as lascivious, if you read through the 34 page fax that arrived at our office.

Since Congress won't seriously entertain the impeachment of George Bush, fed-up segments of the American public are taking matters into their own hands and "impeaching" him symbolically. It's part of the phenomenon of the Bush administration's unraveling.

Historians recently joined the fun, with more than half the participants in a recent poll conducted by History News Network ranking Bush on a par with such washouts as James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and Herbert Hoover, and fully 12 percent - a large number for such a wait-and-see bunch - declaring him flat-out the worst president in American history. A cover story in Rolling Stone last month by Princeton's Sean Wilentz, a leading U.S. historian, announced the ignominious verdict.

The Al Gore-inspired documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" opened across America Wednesday to a battery of highly-charged reviews. But whether or not the film gets its props or pans unfortunately depends on which side of the political aisle you're on. You'd think that the concern over the rise in natural disasters, the warming of the planet, and the raping of the environment would be a non-partisan one. Guess again.

Glenn Greenwald's new book "How Would a PATRIOT ACT? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok," lays out a powerful, concise, and well-researched argument that President Bush is a threat to our government's system of checks and balances and to our individual liberties. 

Greenwald makes a point of saying that he used to be a supporter of Bush and trusted him as long as he was able.  The voices Greenwald quotes are those of conservatives, the group to which he is clearly trying to appeal.  He focuses very heavily on Bush's illegal unwarranted spying, but also addresses the use of detention without charge and torture, and touches on Bush's habit of adding signing statements to bills indicating his unwillingness to obey the acts he is signing into law.

Dave Lindorff has argued that a focus on this blatant refusal to obey new laws (and the threat of having a Democratic president behave the same way) is the most effective way to help Bush supporters recognize the threat their leader is to representative democracy.  On the other hand, many conservative Americans don't seem to care about the spying. 

AUSTIN, Texas -- Looking at the wreckage of the Bush administration leaves one with the depressed query, "Now what?" The only help to the country that can come from this ugly and spectacular crack-up is, in theory, things can't get worse. This administration is so discredited it cannot talk the country into an unnecessary war with Iran as it did with Iraq. In theory, spending is so out of control it cannot cut taxes for the rich again; the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bushies is already among its lasting legacies.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Last week, Bush visited Yuma, Ariz., to tour a portion of the U.S.-Mexico Border by Border Patrol buggy. Maybe Jorge was doing a little measuring for the $3.2-million-a-mile fence the Senate recently approved, which I guarantee will be really helpful.

Are they insane? As Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano observes, "Show me a 50-foot wall, and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder."

Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate have constructively declared English the national language. That'll fix everything. Every foreigner at our borders will stop and say: "Gosh, ma foi! English is the national language here. Good thing to know. I'll begin speaking it immediately."

Yes sir, you want a solution, call a Republican.

Of course, I am enchanted to discover that the entire project will be turned over to Raytheon, General Dynamics and other military contractors -- think Halliburton with noncompetitive bids, anyone? Because this outsourcing stuff is just working like a charm. Another Republican solution.

"What if 'the greatest story ever told' is a lie?"

Given the immense reactionary power of today's Church, and the violent intolerance of its fundamentalist minions, what more radical question could be asked?

No film has ever been in position to give a more penetrating answer than THE DAVINCI CODE. And…praise the Goddess!…it largely delivers.

It will be easy to fault this flick, and many will, for all sorts of reasons, including its often ponderous tone and mournful pace.

But whatever their pitfalls, this movie is a strong companion to a book that embodies a healing challenge to the virulent virus of reactionary "Christian" fundamentalism.

With a staggering 45 million copies in print, Dan Brown's DAVINCI is a force of nature. It's a solid murder thriller, full of twists and gadgetry, hidden riddles and secret codas.

But that alone cannot begin to explain the story's huge appeal. As they say in New Age circles, "there must be a reason."