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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'The Last Jeb Killed for Slavery, The Last Bush Killed for Oil'
David Swanson writes this review of Stephen L. Goldstein's new book, Jeb Bush Outed: Who He Really Is and Why He Should Never Be President.His review title stopped me cold.
First, to set the stage for his review of this most valuable book, my own mini-review:
Mr. Goldstein, a widely-read op-ed columnist in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida's Sun-Sentinel, has reported on Jeb Bush since 1999, and makes it his mission to expose the duplicitous nature of Mr. Bush and his actions during his eight tumultuous and damaging years in the Governor's office in Tallahassee.
It is with a great need that we Floridians have, collectively, to show as many people outside of Florida as possible what peril this country will suffer, if this man somehow forces his way into power into the White House.
I say this with no uncertainty, doubt or equivocation, that we will never repair the damage that will be foisted onto us by this same bunch of warring neoconservatives that Jeb Bush surrounds himself with proudly. There will be no turning back for this country if this debacle comes to pass.
Mr. Goldstein's book tells this story from our experiences with Jeb Bush in Florida, and we will not rest until the information is passed to those outside of Florida, who deserve to know the face behind the most assured intent to dismantle our government, education and social protections, medical care delivery, environmental and economic policy and international standing in the world. The destruction will be deliberate and it will be permanent.
For, if this man seizes power, aided by infinite money, voter disenfranchisement and calling in chits from his cronies who are salted throughout positions of influence, America will never recover.
Here are excerpts of David Swanson's review of Jeb Bush Outed: Who He Really Is and Why He Should Never Be President.
People such as Molly Ivins and James Moore gave the U.S. lots of warning, from the wisdom of Texans, before the Supreme Court falsified the 2000 election results in what will always be falsely remembered as the American public electing George W. Bush president. Here comes Goldstein from Florida to warn us about Jeb. I dont see any reason why knowing about Jeb should make us take any interest in the election, as Hillary is just as bad. But I still see a problem with not knowing when its all so easily known.
Im also not sure Jeb wont end up making it all clear on his own. At the moment hes running around praising the U.S. war on Iraq (the last one, not the new one), antagonizing the president of Russia, and proposing public shaming for unwed mothers.
Yet the corporate press is complicit in the baseless idea that Jeb Bush is someone worth paying any attention to at all. It knows it was complicit in Georges stolen election in which Jeb was complicit. It knows of the efforts it has gone to over the decades to uphold the acceptability of all the crimes of the brother, the father, the grandfather, and the great grandfather (Walker). The press has a lot invested in the pretense that Jeb Bush matters.
In case it matters to anyone, Goldstein lays out the record from Florida: giant giveaways to corporations and cronies, a pension fund invested in Enron, average wages plummeting, services for the elderly slashed, a drug plan that failed to reach 97.5% of the population, a high-school graduation rate that fell to the worst in the United States, anti-environmentalists appointed to boards, commissions, and judgeships, a mad power-grab rewriting of the state constitution to allow public funding of religion, welfare for Arthur Anderson while it evaded taxes, the opening of religion-run prisons (I cant think of a better place to reflect on the awesome love of our Lord Jesus, quoth he), a crazed power grab to allow the governor to appoint all judges and the whole state university board of regents, and the repeated, undemocratic, blocking of public decisions expressed through referenda including killing public preschool by underfunding it.
One might think the Florida record was of limited value, as the number one thing the federal government does is make war, and Florida merely harbors terrorists who kill Cubans. But in fact Jeb Bush is not just a proven crony-crapitalist which pretty well guarantees wars ....., but he was also a signer of the June 1997 Statement of Principles of the Project for the New American Century, along with Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Libby, Cheney, and the rest of the same crowd he still keeps with him. Jeb is not clinging to Dubyas warmongering record out of family loyalty. Jeb was pushing for those policies some 20 years ago and was only not part of his brothers disastrous regime because of the Florida gig and perhaps a bit of family disloyalty or political calculation.
But is anyone really ignorant of this? Were dealing with a Bush, and a Jeb for that matter. Were dealing with a system in which the most servile sycophants before corporate power are praised in the press as the most skilled money raisers, but nobody is entirely fooled and a majority of people ignore the single largest ad campaign of the year (and more) and refuse to vote at all.
.....
Man from Pickens
(1,713 posts)His actual name is John Bush.
That a person of his age uses a nickname in a professional context is a warning flag that no one should miss.
TheNutcracker
(2,104 posts)So here comes Jeb. His wife can never be a first lady. She lied to the feds about 20K in purchases she was bringing back into the U.S. from Paris. Jeb's been a big philanderer. Two of his children have been in the news in the past years for arrests linked to drug problems, public intoxication, and sex in public. (don't confuse the W's kids).
Let us not forget that Jeb Bush defaulted on a $4.56 million dollar loan from the Broward Federal Savings in Sunrise, FL. After federal regulators closed the S&L, the office building that Jeb used the $4.56 million to finance was reappraised by the regulators at $500,000.00, which Bush and his partners paid. The taxpayers had to pay back the remaining 4 million plus dollars, as in the past. This family robs banks and created a drug war to run drugs.
Oh, and while Gov of Fla, he opened up Area 181 closer to the shores for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Here it is the Times link from 15 yrs. ago!
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/tampabay/doc/263614013.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+3%2C+2001&author=Adair%2C+Bill%3B+Pittman%2C+Craig&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=&desc=Compromise+limits+new+drilling+off+Fla.
By announcing the scaled-back proposal for the Gulf of Mexico tract known as Area 181, the Bush administration is trying to defuse a powerful issue as the president's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, heads into a re-election campaign. Like most Florida politicians, Gov. Bush has said he opposes drilling off the state's coast - and he has told his brother as much repeatedly.
"Today, both Jeb and George Bush broke their promises to Floridians. Jeb Bush and George W. Bush compromised themselves and they compromised Florida's environment and our economy in a sellout to Big Oil."
And finally, Jeb's Nigerian Pump scandal is winding through our court system recently:
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/jeb-bushs-nigerian-bribery-scandal-is-back-in-court-6558282
"Just in time for the latest round of Jeb for Prez speculation, the juiciest scandal tied to Florida's former governor is headed back to court. The courts are revisiting a two-decades old charge that a company Bush cofounded spent millions bribing Nigerian officials with federally loaned money to secure a lucrative deal selling water pumps in the African nation.
Now the government is trying to get $74 million in damages back from the company.
Tampa Bay Times outlines the complex case this morning, but notes that the new federal trial won't include allegations about Jeb's role in the scandal or any testimony from the politician.
Still, any mention of the case in the press is bad news for Jeb if he indeed has any further political aspirations, considering many questions about his role in the affair linger.
Jeb founded a company called MWI Corp. in 1988 while his dad, George H.W. Bush, was in the Oval Office. Four years later, MWI nabbed $74 million in financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States to sell water pumps in Nigeria.
*************
The Times did this story in 2013. But not a word about any Bushit from Jeb! They give him free campaign ink every day, and built a special 'tab' for him and Rubio, called Jebio! Only what they are up to, nothing on what Jeb has done. Not until after he's the nominee. The Tampa Bay Times M.O.
Ghost in the Machine
(14,912 posts)Page. I am going to have to keep an eye out for more of your posts, too. A much belated "Welcome to DU" to you.
Peace,
Ghost
TheNutcracker
(2,104 posts)TheNutcracker
(2,104 posts)seafan
(9,387 posts)Glad to see your links. This guy has so much baggage dragging behind him--- no wonder he's lost so much weight.
Paleo? Pshaw.
And, you are correct----he needs severe shaming, and a one-way ticket out of politics.
TheNutcracker
(2,104 posts)Ghost in the Machine
(14,912 posts)You are a very valuable asset to the DU Community and have contributed many, MANY excellent posts over the years that I have been here.. I rank you at the top of the required reading list of mine, along with H20 Man, BLM, Octafish, Land Shark, Fly by Night and a few others.
Keep up the good fight!
Peace,
Ghost
seafan
(9,387 posts)Ghost in the Machine
(14,912 posts)I was going to go back and edit, but I think this will suffice. There are several others who I know I am leaving off, but it has been a long, hot day... complete with storms that knocked our power out twice! Time for me to stretch out for a bit.
Take care, my friend...
Ghost
olddots
(10,237 posts)Comes from a crime family going back to his grandfather he should be brought up on RICO charges .