March 22, 2006, 11:58PM
Former first lady's donation aids son
Katrina funds earmarked to pay for Neil Bush's software program

By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Former first lady Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil.

Since then, the Ignite Learning program has been given to eight area schools that took in substantial numbers of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

"Mrs. Bush wanted to do something specifically for education and specifically for the thousands of students flooding into the Houston schools," said Jean Becker, former President Bush's chief of staff. "She knew that HISD was using this software program, and she's very excited about this program, so she wanted to make it possible for them to expand the use of this program."
....
Regarding the fact that Bush's earmarked donation also benefited her son's company, Becker said, "Mrs. Bush is obviously an enthusiastic supporter of her son. She is genuinely supportive of his program," and has received many letters from educators who support it. Bush "honestly felt this would be a great way to help the (evacuee) students."

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3742329.html

These people are INCREDIBLE :grr:
(via TPM)

Greedy fucking assholes!

that they can get away with anything, and I mean anything...

Wafia it is!

in fact the BFEE makes Organized Crime look like the Campfire Girls. This is the most despicable family in the nation, the poster children for legalized abortion and their parents, dysfunction personified. I loathe that family. :mad:

Wafia it is!

Greedy fuckin' assholes

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

:puke: They are so f'ing vile

Way back when, their web site included sample lessons for grade school students. In particular I remember a little rap tune: "Manifest Destiny".

Oh, man, it cracked us all up! Of course, that was before the invasion -before we were an occupying force involved in a bloody guerrilla war.

Manifest Destiny....a catchy little ditty :(

Thanks for the "donation," Babs. Asshole.

is like a "BONE-US"

Gee, Babs, why didn't ya bail out the S & L fiasco he was involved in? Could have saved he tax payers a bundle!

:grr: indeed!

:grr:

We need a really good S&L thread. I've got virtually NO information on that and I'd like to get educated. Care to start one, if you've got some info or would be interested in accumulating some?

and so many of those scandals involved with the S & L scandal build on each other (Iran-Contra, Keating Five, CIA money laundering). I honestly wouldn't know where to begin.

Based on some personal experience over a series of years, I have a very "micro" view of the goings-on at that time. To explain, my husband is a Chartered Bank Auditor, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Internal Auditor, and a CPA. He actually worked in the banking industry in Midland, Texas during these years, working with both the banking and oil industries just before the serious shit hit the fan, during all the disclosures and cleaning up the messes afterwards. The spectrum of his experience went from auditing banks that were flying in lobster daily to the rooftops of their banks to feed their oilmen customers, to literally being the last one to close down the SAME financial institutions after selling off it's assets via the RTC and handing the keys to the government.

I must also mention that I was a Texas corporate banking accountant in the aftermath of this disaster, but not anywhere near ground zero of the Texas Oil & Banking scams of Midland, Texas.

It's kind of hard for me to step back from all that and give a good "macro" account of all that happened over so many years.

If you simply google "Savings and Loan Scandal", you could keep reading for yrs. It was a freaking mess. And it still remains the largest financial scandal in United States history - paid for DIRECTLY by the American taxpayers, for what will amount to all of our working lives. Paying for what these thieves stole from us is an actual line item in the federal budget.

It touched all those other scandals mentioned above in that it funded almost all of them and made some already rich people INDESCRIBABLY, CONCRETELY, INSANELY WEALTHY - and that was afterwards, during the "cleanup"! All with the blessing of the government. Damn, it starts to hurt my head all over again just remembering it.

Here's the rub - a lot of it, despite being the biggest scam in history, is really dry, governmental / accounting reading - much like Enron, which made the ingeniousness of it a masterstroke. No sensational blowjobs to get the layman's attention. But, boy, a good old Gulf War I made sure to divert national attention away from what would be some really embarrassing information as it regarded the gov't back home, which was just starting to break wide open.

Anyway, check out some of the links folks have provided and know that whatever bit you start reading is only one tiny ripple in an ocean of crime and thievery.

Paying for what these thieves stole from us is an actual line item in the federal budget?


'Scuse me while I puke in the corner. :puke:


How do you not wake up screaming, still to this day? I'm of the age to remember S&L and Operation Desert Farce well enough, but I was too busy feeding a baby, working two jobs and going back to school to keep up with Neil's escapades. I'm embarrassed to admit I've not looked into it more now.

others will (usually) jump in with links and stuff -- what you've posted there is pretty good, but I'd also like to see a little more info about this teaser:

It touched all those other scandals mentioned above in that it funded almost all of them and made some already rich people INDESCRIBABLY, CONCRETELY, INSANELY WEALTHY - and that was afterwards, during the "cleanup"!

That cost taxpayers a billion, peanuts for a bush gang looting, probably just a training exercise.

The Price Tag of the S&L Bailout Scandal: At Least $341 Billion
The savings and loan (S&L) industry began incurring huge losses during the 1980s because
financial institutions made risky real estate investments that relied on continued inflation for
profits; government regulators eased financial reporting standards; and the heads of some
“thrifts” raided assets while the government stalled plans to close insolvent S&Ls.
This left a multi-billion dollar mess that the public was forced to pay to clean up. The final cost
to taxpayers for bailing out failed S&Ls: $341 billion over 30 years, according to the General
Accounting Office (GAO).
7
The first wave of public monies used to bailout the failed S&Ls came in 1987 when Congress
created the Financing Corporation to help out the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance
Corporation (FSLIC) by floating bonds totaling $7.5 billion. But that was not nearly enough. So
Congress passed the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act in 1989 that
abolished the FSLIC and transferred its assets to the newly created Resolution Fund. The
Resolution Trust Corporation, created to help manage the assets of failed S&Ls, received $50
billion but, again, not enough. Congress came to the rescue again and made another $105 billion
available.
The total costs of bailing out failed S&Ls includes $132 billion appropriated by Congress that
was funded directly by taxpayers and interest payments on 30-year bonds that the GAO estimates
will reach $209 billion.
8
Others have estimated that interest payments will put the total cost
between $500 billion and more than $1 trillion, based on changing interest rates, and require $32
billion from taxpayers every year

We are still paying

Thank you for the correction!

edit: I feel like Dr. Evil. One Billlion Dollars. Thanks for throwing me a fricken bone.:)

He got a Small Bus Administration guarateed loan for about $2 million for some venture. Within 18 months he defaulted on it. Cost the gov't again.

Unreal

history.

And the BFEE, and some folks hero, McCain, right in the thick of it:

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Corporate_Welfare/S&L_Bailout.html

I still think it was a training exercise for the baby bushes.

Edit: that is an excellent link.

of the largest financial scandal in US history, and who all the relevant players were.

I LOVE IT when someone brings up the S & L scandal, it shows at least some people remember the not so distant past and how we pay for it over and over.

Our gov't is being run by the same bunch of crooks who are now using war to loot the treasury, after they dried up the federal insurance program for S & Ls.

They are the worst bunch of freaking criminals I have ever seen in my life.

Thanks for the opportunity to drag them through the mud yet again ;)

UNDERESTIMATING a Bush crime. And by so much, now that is heinous! :spank:

Remind folks whenever we can ;)

As if oil and all those eastcoast frat boys wasn't bad enough, much of the real estate bubble was in Texas. They got a big economic boost which helped catapult these boys into Washington.

Mess with Texass.

them OFTEN about how the BFEE has always exploited and abused the working class in America. Makes it more likely people will start to make some connections with the evil shit going down today.

People need to be reminded of the past crimes of this clan so they will understand their true character and get mad enough to take them out of power.

Even people like Scott Ritter and Larry Johnson who had better resources than most.
The power of propaganda is awesome but not absolute, Thank God!

Sure, now he's a bigshot as the WPE.

However, back then he was clearly the WPNE (worst presidential nominee ever).

Smearing Gore and propping up that little banty rooster. And everyone forgot all the prior Bush crimes, Poppy's and Neils and Jebs, and especially Lil Boots crimes in Texas. And Prescott's.

Only the conspiracy theorists were on to him back then, now everybody is climbing on board.

Indeed.

It's like writing a check to the software company itself, if she tells the fund to spend it on this particular company.

I know, when I give to the United Way, I can designate what agency gets my $$ and I get to claim the donation. If it is a legitimate, tax exempt charity, you can claim the donation. Many charities allow for designation.

Without knowing the P&L of Ignite, I'd guess that a substantial percentage of this "donation" will end up as increased equity for the owner, since development of software is sunk cost.

On edit: the point being that clearly Barbara will be exceeding the $1 or $2 MM lifetime exemption for gift & estate taxes.

while whining about how good the poor have it.

I mean, these minorities are getting to live high on the hog--they got to stay in the Astrodome, didn't they? And now they're getting to use really neat software that's meant for kids with a higher station in life, from a better caste.

Wasn't it Nixon who said of Bar, "there's a woman who knows how to hate". ?

...fucking people.

Can I "earmark" my Katrina donations to ensure that they don't go to greedy inhuman bluebloods?

God, the fucking NERVE of these people and their obvious contempt for Americans is astonishing...

The Donation page https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Simple/Donor.asp?ievent=131413&en=ikKWJ1NHLhLRI0OQLfKNJaOZLlLRI5PNJfIRIeMUJiKWLdPSKfLXKgN1JyE

And, from the FAQ:
"How can I ensure that my donation will be spent wisely and for the purpose that I intended?
The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund is committed to the highest level of transparency and accountability as it distributes its donor resources. An audit committee will oversee all controls at the Fund and organizations receiving funds will be required to provide frequent reports on their use of resources from the Fund. The Fund will communicate regularly with its donors to ensure that they are kept abreast of all of the Fund’s contributions to the affected communities. "

Maybe my reading comprehension skills have gone downhill but I fail to see an option for "earmarking" one's "contribution" to their kids latest shady scam through the fund. Am I missing something?

This is nothing more than a mother-truckin' tax free handout to Neil (the most evil ones are closest to her heart) that she most likely thought nobody would dare question. How much money did she donate to rebuild shattered homes? How much money did she donate to bring families scattered to the winds back together? How much money did she donate to finish the OBSCENELY long past overdue task of finding the lost and giving them the human dignity they deserve? How much money, Mrs. Bush, did you donate to revitalize destroyed black neighborhoods with information, relief and culture centers? Health care? How much Mrs. Bush? That's what I thought. Bitch.

...specifically for the thousands of students FLOODING into the Houston schools,"

with it? Over-running, invading, overwhelming, stampeding ~ You know, anything that paints a picture of undeserving rugrats "stealing" all of the edumication out from underneath, well, students anywhere.

LET US NOT FORGET that the Uncurios George administration has stayed on message from day....... oh I dunno, four? It has been their standard line to blame those who COULD NOT EVACUATE, and then the Democratic local and state officials. This fits in perfectly with Bab's sickness.

Get the Tax break.
Give money to Neil.
Be SEEN as "generous".
Make sure all the money doesn't go to "them".

They know exactly how to send the code words to their base.

And, their base listens ~ will they ever learn?

I don't think so because it has worked for them this far, with the help of Diebold of course.

Neil has his needs, doncha know.

Her "America's Grandmother" image is flat out bullshit.

If you are really into the masochistic thing try reading her memoirs... :spank: :)

But I fucking have a problem with the tax deduction she gets for doing it.
This shit ought to be illegal.:mad:

And if they wait until after she passes away, they'd have to pay estate tax (except in 2010).

possibly get any worse... :spank:

And that's all BEFORE you look at the OTHER business scams

snip>
In 2002, for instance, {Neil} Bush signed a consulting contract with Grace Semiconductor -- a Shanghai-based company managed in part by the son of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin. Bush's contractual duties consist solely of attending board meetings and discussing "business strategies." For this, he is to be paid $2 million in company stock over five years, plus $10,000 for every board meeting he attends.

"Now, you have absolutely no educational background in semiconductors, do you Mr. Bush?" Brown asked.

"That's correct," Bush responded.

Meanwhile, back home in Texas, Bush serves as co-chairman of a company called Crest Investment. Crest, he revealed in the deposition, pays him $60,000 a year to provide "miscellaneous consulting services."

"Such as?" Brown asked.

"Such as answering phone calls when Jamal Daniel, the other co-chairman, called and asked for advice," Bush replied.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35297-2003Dec27?language=printer

was the actual Quaker Oats Man quote re: the Katrina victims living like rats in the Superdome.

George pushes "No Child Left Behind"

Jeb implements "No Chld Left Behind" in Florida

Neil sells software to Florida to "help" kids study for required "No Child Left Behind" testing.

:argh:

They're also destroying education as we know it!!
New education law a failure, study says

(snip) A national study contends the Bush administration's signature education policy achievement, the No Child Left Behind Act, is a failure.

The study released Tuesday by Harvard University's Civil Rights Project also concludes the U.S. Department of Education has negotiated individually with states, nullifying any uniform standard of accountability intended by the 2001 law.





<http://www.suntimes.com/output/education/cst-nws-nclb15.html>

and leave the rest of us hanging out to dry when they are in "power".

No one else exists to these slime.

Why not just cut your loser son a check? Do you people really need that tax deduction? :puke:

K&R.

Peace.

All of them, honey. :hi:

with any of Bab's antics . . .

;-)

Bar is a vomit inducer...I have a complex about her.

Now it's a badge of honor.

to the "underprivileged" is a way that enriches her son, Neil the S&L criminal.

These Bush boys cannot stand on their own two feet. Do these babies--still suckling at their mother's breast---have a shred of dignity?

They cannot survive, unless their mommy is propping them up with cash and special favors that they don't deserve.

The Bush boys are the male version of Paris Hilton. They are untalented, spoiled little dweebs who can't do anything for themselves.

It's interesting. Despite all of the cash thrown at them---they still fail miserably. They're still surrounded by scandals and colossal business blunders that
make them look like complete nimrods.

And we wonder why Junior can't take responsibility for this behavior, act like an adult or compromise with anyone? Babs raised a bunch of powder puff boys who
don't know how to operate in the real world. They've had undeserved gifts handed to them--and they've never worked a day in their lives. Their mother
rewards them for their mediocrity and she continues to throw cash at them--to make them appear more successful. She doesn't realize that she makes them look
like miserable failures--even with the special treatment.

If you want to know why this family is so screwed up, look at Babs. She enables these sociopaths, and blocks out criticism of them--as if it is a personal affront to her.
No wonder Junior can't take criticism--and insists on speechifying only to hand-picked fans. He can't take dissent or legitimate question, because his mommy
never let anyone say a bad word about his sparkly, darling little self. Junior may be a bubble boy, but his mommy constructed the bubble for him.

Whoa!!! I must be on auto-pilot this a.m. She's never paid taxes. What a slip up.

Remember the old story of the man who had five sons? One got the family business, one became a preacher, one was so stupid he could only go into politics...

Seems like the Bush boys are only good at ruining businesses and politics. A couple of them have really screwed up family lives, as well. What a model American family!

Does anyone here know how to check on that?

These people are so purely evil.

Always in it for themselves.

You can't set a limbo pole as low as this family will go.
Set it on the ground and they'll find a way to slither under it.

what a fucking scum bag. She fell out of both the stupid AND ugly trees, hitting every branch on the way down! Another Rethuglican who's grave I'll piss on when they're dead. I've got a list of them and it's getting mighty crowded. :grr:

not do better than you did, so a big fat DITTO!!!!
They are beyond disgusting..the entire bloodline is poisoned.
:grr: :nuke: :puke: :mad:

A picture I took of a wonderful poster during the protest at the Repuke Convention in NYC:

I love it. But THIS disgusting crone was born with a superfluous boob, Neil. Never in American history has one mean, menacing matriarch been endowed with three monstrous boobs such as these!

:shrug:

They are pure evil.

She could just give the money to Neil, but look at the tax angle. Anything over $10,000 given to Neil would be subject to the gift tax.

By making an earmarked "donation" Barbara gets a tax write-off and Neil avoids the gift tax. Now how is that for a sweetheart deal.

one of them does.

:yoiks:

:rofl:

...that I have to force myself to type "dislike."
:mad:

um, people who actually deserve it. Greedy fucks. I hope they all go to a special circle of hell.

:eyes:

is shocked when you come to the conclusion that every nickel that comes within reach of the Bushes, for or against American interests, against common decency or common sense, that money MUST go into their pockets. This war profiteering with both sides, circular money gravy train is really what Bush Dynasty Empire building is all about, whatever the idealistic boobs in PNAC might have imagined.

Sick sick sick. A classic example.

They are often out front on stories about the Bush's, when other Texas papers (Dallas Morning New, Austin American Statesman) would never publish things that arent favorable to the Bush's/Republicans. They haven't always been that way, but in the last few years they are doing their job of holding the powerful accountable.

I am going to throw up!

It doesn't seem quite so philantropic as it would had she just given the money to go to the most needy, but ownership has it's priveledges. She has a right to give her money any way she wants.

This looks like a tax scam to me.

fucking shite she is.

Hmmm... Memo to Barbara,Will these displaced people be able to vote. That's a good way to help them. http://smashface.com/vlog/videos/karmagrrrl20050908.mov :nopity:

A very deserving recipient today!

where Neil Bush presented the COW program to science education leaders. Of course, no one in the room had any idea the free curriculum was funded by his mother.

I was unimpressed with the presentation while others were lapping it up.

Bush's Uncle Earned Millions in War Firm Sale
An SEC filing shows William H.T. Bush collected about $1.9 million in cash, plus stock valued at $800,000, from the deal.

WASHINGTON — As President Bush embarks on a new effort to shore up public support for the war in Iraq, an uncle of the commander in chief is collecting $2.7 million in cash and stock from the recent sale of a company that profited from the war.

A report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that William H.T. Bush collected just under $1.9 million in cash plus stock valued at more than $800,000 from the sale of Engineered Support Systems Inc. to DRS Technologies of New Jersey.

The $1.7-billion deal closed Jan. 31. Both firms have extensive military contracts.

William Bush was a director of Engineered Support Systems. Recent SEC filings show he was paid cash and DRS stock in exchange for shares and options he obtained as a director.

Before DRS purchased it, Missouri-based ESSI experienced record growth as a result of expanded U.S. military contracts — many to supply U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The contracts, some awarded on a no-bid basis, include a $77-million deal to refit military vehicles with armor for use in Iraq.

More ===> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bucky23mar23,1,1874375.stor y?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true

I mean, they keep doing things like this, & they don't seem to get how horrible it makes them look. Even GWB's cousin has gotten into the act, profiting from war. Either they are incredibly stupid, or incredibly evil. Maybe both.

the Borgias.

it ain't a donation no more.

:eyes:

what do you say about people like that.

:puke:

No non profit is obliged to accept a contribution that compromises its ethics.

While it might be reasonable to restrict a contribution to education, a restriction to benefit your family in order to get a tax benefit, is quite appalling.

They should be exposed. I love Bill, but this is 5 day old fish.

for a Bush, I don't know who I thought in that mix would have any ethics.

is she?

Jeb Bush's mistress. Former Playboy bunny.

Would this be money laundering? Or Tax evasion, or...

Puke-O-Rama!:puke:

Yeah, for the executives of Invest!,

Er, I mean Ignite!

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

But, hey, what a great way to get a tax deduction for Neil's allowance...

"Katrina funds earmarked to pay for Neil Bush's software program. The Bush family evil empire strikes again!" After my "oh shit", all but the few freep types where buzzing the story back and forth, sharing my sentiment.

"Mrs. Bush wanted to do something specifically for education and specifically for the thousands of students flooding into the Houston schools,"

Bullshit. That lunatic woman just wanted to give her son some money. It seems she could have done that without exploiting Katrina victims. The Bush Family is nothing more than a pack of leeches. Barbara Bush is just as bad as any of them. For her shameless exploitation of the people from NOLA who have suffered far more than momma Bush could imagine, I nominate Barbara Bush as one of this week's top 10 Conservative Idiots. Gawd only knows she deserves it anyway.

We ought to lock up the whole bunch of them.

These people see everything and I mean everything as an opportunity to line their own pockets. The concept of compassion isn't just lost on them. It's something from another dimension. They couldn't understand it, couldn't conceive of it, couldn't even imagine it. What would normally trigger the compassion reflex in most people bounces off them or even worse. It triggers a cynical response, the "what's in it for me?" reflex. We need to have this whole family genetically tested to see if they're even human.
:rant:

Person in the World!" Very appropriate---this is one of the tackiest things imaginable. If she'd really wanted to help Katrina victims, she would have. :spank:

no shortage at all of sewer-scraping human scum rise out of the Katrina mess. But Barbara Bush is apparently their queen.

When is this old bag finally going to relieve us of her presence? She's already embalmed.

I wonder if she was as nasty as Barbara Bush.

What a monster - she has to be, look at what she turned out for kids: thieves, liars, bigots, criminals, drunks, adulterers, drug abusers. And their offspring include child molesters, public drunks, etc. What a great family.

Hasn't The Bush Crime Family™ hurt American enough already?

I'm sure they're not done hurting us yet.

But having family members as judges probably helps them in some way:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_well-known_U.S._presidential_relatives#Relatives_of_George_W._Bush_-_43rd_President


Chief Judge John Mercer Walker, Jr. - Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, cousin of George H.W. Bush. He was appointed by President George H. W. Bush for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, serving as a judge from 1989 to the present, and since 2000 as the Chief Judge of the Second Circuit.

Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, (b. 1944) - U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; nominated by his cousin, President George H.W. Bush, and received his commission, November 1989. He became Chief Judge of the District Court in 2004

There are 40 Ignite programs being used in the Houston area, and 15 in the Houston school district, said Ken Leonard, president of Ignite. Information about the effectiveness of the program, through district-generated reports, was not readily available Wednesday, according to an HISD spokeswoman.

Two years ago, the school district raised eyebrows when it expanded the program by relying heavily on private donations. In February 2004, the Houston school board unanimously agreed to accept $115,000 in charitable donations from businesses and individuals who insisted the money be spent on Ignite. The money covered half the bill for the software, which cost $10,000 per school. The deal raised conflict of interest concerns because Neil Bush and company officials helped solicit the donations for the HISD Foundation, a philanthropic group that raises money for the district....

Last year, Neil Bush reportedly toured former Soviet Union countries promoting Ignite with Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky. According to the Times of London, Berezovsky, a former Kremlin insider now living in Britain, is wanted on criminal charges in Moscow accusing him of seeking to stage a coup against President Vladimir Putin.

Glad to see Neilsie is doing better. When he dumped his wife of 20 years for a cutie he met at his Ma's charity, the 1st Mrs Bush was offered a pittance in child support. And she'd have to leave the family home when the kids were grown. No community property to split because Neilsie was broke! She threatened to write a very "interesting" book & the settlement was improved.

She has always been a nasty arrogant individual who cared little for anyone or anything other than herself. She has only refined these traits in the aging process.

Now we know why Nancy Reagan wouldn't allow them into the inner circles of the Reagan functions..

...is anyone really surprised that her idea of "giving" is to her own family, and to hell with those "poor people, who are doing so well living in the Astrodome"?

:mad: :puke:

it's a Lily Tomlin line, and I'm living it every day.

"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them." –Former First Lady Barbara Bush

Can anyone come up with some links regarding the time the State of Texas wanted to join OPEC?

I believe it was during the Oil Embargo / Crises during the early to mid 70's.