Trickle Up Economy, Mike Coffman, Messin' With Texas

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot in things racial, we have always been, and we, I believe, continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," - Eric Holder

"I ain't afraid of al-Qaeda, but I am afraid of Al Cracker" - Chris Rock

Tidbits from The Trickle Up Economy by Dave Gilson:

George W Bush, whom Time dubbed " the CEO President" now receives $196,700 annual pension.

In 2007, the top 5 firms paid out $39 billion in bonuses, even as their shareholders lost $74 billion... Those firms have since received $60 billion in federal bailouts.

In the first 3 quarters of 2008, finance, insurance, and real estate companies spent $343 million on lobbying.

60% of CEOs surveyed in November said they expected to let workers go in the next 6 months.

In their 2007 benefits package, Wells Fargo executives received as much as $20,000 apiece to put towards "personal financial planning."

In September, the Treasury Department quietly - and unlawfully - nullified Section 382 of the tax code, giving banks a tax windfall of as much as $140 billion. The move may be worth $25 billion to Wells Fargo alone.

Former Secretary of State Mike Coffman is a rising star in the state's GOP, especially since he was recently elected to Congress. The fly in the ointment that he seems desperately trying to pick out and fling in the trash, is a recent complaint for ethics violation during the last election by Colorado Ethics Watch: "Attorneys for former Secretary of State Mike Coffman filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court to halt the Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) hearing, scheduled for March 6. The March 6 hearing would finally determine whether Coffman committed official misconduct and ethics violations when he was Colorado's Secretary of State. Coffman's court filing claims that the IEC does not have jurisdiction over this case and that the case should therefore be dismissed.

Just last week, the IEC rejected this same argument and agreed with Ethics Watch that Amendment 41 requires the commission to enforce the standards of conduct allegedly violated by Coffman, including standards contained in state personnel and elections statutes and misdemeanor criminal statutes."

Since we seem to get many of our attitudes here in Colorado from our larger neighbor, the Great State of Texas, here is a short history of its influence on national politics, taken from the Washington Post  "Texas oil money has been a reliable backbone of the conservative movement... The first George Bush was never conservative enough for most oilmen, but then many considered him a Yankee carpetbagger to begin with, about as much a Texan as Winthrop Rockefeller was an Arkansan. The younger Bush, however, was the real deal, an actual Texan wildcatter who shared the Big Rich's values and views pretty much across the board. Hunt and the others never knew George W., but they would have loved him.

"And now, well, it's over. The Bush administration's bonfire of the inanities has made being a Texan something you don't brag about. None of the East Coast Texans I know want to talk too much about their heritage these days -- surely a first. Nationally, about the only Texas oilman who can still make waves is T. Boone Pickens.

"I'll miss all those Texans around Washington. The big boots, the big belt buckles, the big talk, the vaguely horrified look on the faces of network correspondents forced to do standups amid the cow pies and convenience stores ringing the Crawford White House. You think Joe Biden is gonna wake up one morning and shoot a load of buckshot into a Texan's face anytime soon? Ah, good times."  

To further celebrate Texas, here are some vintage Tom Delay jokes:

"Tom DeLay announced he will not seek re-election and is giving up his seat in Congress. He said that he wants to concentrate now on not having to give up his seat in prison." --Jay Leno

"Tom DeLay will still get to collect over a million dollars in congressional pension money. This is what's so great about Congress. It is the only place in the world where robbers get to keep the money." --Jay Leno

"Tom DeLay announced he will not run for re-election. However, he said he will still continue to serve the people of his state by making them license plates." --Jay Leno

"I'm going to miss him, too. Another classy move from a classy guy. The man who stood tall even as his staffers dropped like laundered nickels from an Indian casino slot machine. ... He's doing it right folks -- going out at the top of his game in the middle of a criminal investigation." --Stephen Colbert, on Tom DeLay

"Indicted Congressman Tom DeLay announced that he will not run for re-election as House Majority Leader but that he will run for re-election to Congress. So apparently he thinks he's too corrupt to be a leader, but not too corrupt to be just an ordinary congressman." --Jay Leno

"The Republicans are in trouble. Bill First, the Senate leader, is under investigation, Karl Rove is about to be indicted, Tom DeLay was indicted twice in one week. You almost feel bad for how screwed this guy is, because usually when someone wants to beat this kind of a rap, the person they bribe is Tom DeLay." --Bill Maher

"We're learning more and more about Tom Delay. ... He was nicknamed, 'Hot Tub Tom,' got kicked out of Baylor for drinking and ... became a wild party animal who drank 10 martinis a night, or as they call it in Washington, a Kennedy." --Jay Leno

"Today a Texas grand jury indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay for conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme. This is the most embarrassing thing to happen to the Republicans since yesterday." --Jay Leno

"Tom DeLay said he had a new priority in life -- outlawing prison rape." --Jay Leno

"Remember when Republicans, like Newt Gingrich and Bob Livingston, when they got in trouble it was for sex scandals? See Tom DeLay is in trouble for money. Or as Republicans would call it -- this is a return to traditional values." --Jay Leno

"Tom DeLay is in a little bit of trouble. He says he didn't know that lobbying groups were illegally funding the trips he took all over the world. Don't you love this? When ever these guys are running for office they always tell us how smart they are, how knowledgeable they are, how they know what's going on. As soon as they get caught doing something wrong 'I'm an idiot. I didn't know what was going on.'" —-Jay Leno