Gary_K's Blog

Today I received mail from Bank of America. That would be the Bank of America that is receiving my tax dollars in the form of bailout money. That would be the Bank of America that is so mismanaged that they need bailout money. 

The mail from Bank of America was a notice informing me that they will be charging more fees and higher fees on my credit card account. This is Bank of America's thank you for me giving them my hard earned tax dollars so their criminal enterprise (I consider their sleazy mortgage business and their rip-off credit card business to be criminal enterprises) can continue to stay in business.

Having received Bank of America grateful thanks in the form of new rip off fees, I then called the office of Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ). As an American citizen and a taxpayer, Senator Lautenberg is an employee of mine. The Senator was too busy to speak with me as he was probably receiving campaign contributions from the likes of Bank of America at the time.

The reason I called Senator Lautenberg's office was because the Senator voted for the bailout, the Senator voted to take my money from me (the equivalent of food off my table) and give that money to Bank of America so Bank of America could raise the fees on my credit card.

Senator Lautenberg's staffer, another employee of mine did not like my reminding him of this,  so he hung up on me. My dear Senator, I demand your resignation. If you do not know enough not to hire staffers with telephone skills instead of rude jerks; then you do not know enough to manage the affairs of this country. This would explain your incompetence in voting to torture people, voting to knowingly suspend due process and civil liberties, your votes that make a mockery of the US Constitution you swore to protect, and and your vote to bailout Bank of America.

You claim that you ran for the US Senate because of you commitment to public service. Now I call on you to make good on the campaign promise and resign, the only act of public service you will have done since you got into office.

As for Bank of America, it is my sincere wish that you go out of business. As for my credit card, you may take it and your new fees and your higher fees, and shove them in a place where the sun does not shine.

The LGBT Community is Attempting to Take Over all the Newspapers in CA. Want to get the same-sex marriage issue back in the media in a positive way? Want to make a memorable statement in a way that's never been done before? Join us in taking over statewide newspapers on Sunday, May 3rd! WHO: The LGBT community and their allies WHAT: Taking over statewide classifieds in the CA newspapers WHEN: The ads will need to be in the May 3rd paper, so make sure you submit yours with enough time to meet the deadline. Make sure your ad is not printed early! WHERE: All publications in CA that have classifieds HOW: We need as many people as possible to submit marriage equality classified or personal ads to publications in CA. Be as creative as you can, but make sure it is obvious you are talking about marriage equality. If you can submit multiple ads or hit numerous publications, please do so. We want to make sure no one will miss our ads, so the more that are submitted the better. If you want to submit half page or full page adds, please do that as well. If you can write in a foreign language, please consider submitting ads in newspapers that are published in different languages. Be creative, witty, sarcastic, and/or humerous; however please do not attack or point fingers at any group. WHY: Classifieds are read by numerous people across the state. This is our chance to reach out to people in a humorous, non-confrontational way that will be remembered. While protests are great, they can't be the only way we fight back. In order to keep our issue in the media, we will need to be more creative. Here are some examples of the types of ads you can submit to the newspaper of your choice: WANTED The right to marry the person I love. If anyone has a right to marry that they are not using, please let me know. This right must be non-revocable and available to all people regardless of their sexual orientation. Please call ASAP if you can help me secure equality for all. TEMPORARY HOME NEEDED My right to marry the person I love needs a good home since I am temporarily displaced from my Constitutional Protections. If you know of a place where I can protect my dream to marry him/her until I can get my rights back, please contact me. PERSONALS Seeking responsible committed right to visit my spouse in the hospital when I travel out of state, ability to give my social security benefits to my spouse and seeking the 1,138 other federal rights denied my spouse at present . No flakes or substitutes need apply! LOST AND FOUND Lost - my right to marry the person I love. Last seen on November 4th, 2008. If seen, please return to law abiding, taxpaying citizen. It is dearly missed. FOR SALE My Rights FOR SALE Equal rights for minorities. Please join this activity to help get the same-sex marriage topic back into people's home. It's a great alternative for people that are not comfortable going to protests or rallies. ---------------------------------------------- My thanks to Eric Ross. From: http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=2797629&gid=130337&trk=EML_anet_qa_ttle-0Ot79xs2RVr6JBpnsJt7dBpSBA

Unlike you, I had to work today.

Unlike the crooks on Wall Street, I am not getting special tax breaks and $700,000,000,000 taxpayer funded bailouts.

Unlike you, my job does not provide health insurance, and if I become seriously ill,I will not be able to afford health care.

Unlike Detroit, I will not be receiving a government bailout for over 30 years of mismanagement, incompetence and running my company into the ground.

Unlike foolish people who paid more for their houses than they are worth, I am not having special laws written to help me keep my rented residence.

Unlike banks, I am not the beneficiary of having the Treasury Secretary change tax laws so that I get special tax breaks and loopholes.

Unlike you, I do not have a pension and approximately 40% of my retirement savings have been taken from me in a single year.

Tell me Senator (who voted to give a $700,000,000,000.00 taxpayer funded reward to crooks, cheats and liars), what do I have to do to get a government bailout, or am I supposed to work until the day I die (while praying that I never become to sick to work)?

My take on the financial crisis is that this is not a crisis. It is the fruits of years of lobbying by big business.

The Great Depression was caused by unregulated financial markets. As a result of the Great Depression, US financial markets had been regulated. The financial corporations have fought those regulations since the 1930s. In the last 30 years, Big Business has pushed a massive propaganda and lobbying effort to deregulate all business activities. The results have included; the Savings and Loan scandal, the financial fraud scandals, contaminated food, the tech bust, the depressed housing market, and on and on and on. 

The current crisis is the result of the financial institutions (insurance companies, brokerage firms, and banks) being deregulated and the reforms of the 1930s being gutted. In short, the heirs to the very companies and people who brought this country to its knees in the 1930s have done it again. These crooks now come to you and me and say give us $700,000,000,000.

They want us to reward them for being crooks. The administration is willing to give them the money, no strings attached. The Democrats are putting on a show about maybe attaching a string or two.

What I am not hearing is a solution. For $700,000,000,000 I want: * investigations * indictments * CEOs making restitution * effective laws and regulations * majority equity interests in all the bailed out companies.

You will be paying for this so called crisis twice. First, you will pay $700,000,000,000 of your tax money to bailout the people who: * wear custom tailored clothes * have servants to pamper them, cook for them, clean for them, and run errands for them * who travel in private jets * live in mansions * vacation in their other mansions * and ride in chauffeured driven limousines.

Second, you will be paying for this in losses to your portfolio, in an economic downturn (recession or depression), in depressed home prices, job losses, etc. The fat cats who buy our politicians, and the corporate whores who hold elected office are seeking to stick it to you. There will be no bailout for you. You will pay for Wall Streets' thievery. Then these crooks will see to it that as a taxpayer, you pay twice by giving them a $700,000,000,000 reward for raping, looting, and plundering this country, and the worst part is many economists say the $700,000,000,000 bailout is not needed as it will not prevent an economic downturn.

Today, on the floor of the United States Senate, treason was committed. Today, the United States Senate voted to spit on the US Constitution and desecrate the graves of every patriotic American including this country's founding fathers. Today, the following US Senators voted to spy on every loyal American, to listen to every one of your phone conversations and read every one of your emails. Today, the following US Senators committed treason: Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC)Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Feinstein (D-CA) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Inouye (D-HI) Isakson (R-GA) Johnson (D-SD) Kohl (D-WI) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McCaskill (D-MO) McConnell (R-KY) Mikulski (D-MD) Murkowski (R-AK) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Obama (D-IL) Pryor (D-AR) Roberts (R-KS) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Shelby (R-AL) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stevens (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wicker (R-MS)

Once again, the Democrat controlled House of Representatives have sold out our freedoms, our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and desecrated the memories of out founding fathers, and desecrated the graves of every brave patriot who fought for and died defending the freedoms our founding fathers gave us.

Since the current regime took office, we have endured eight years of impeachable offenses, eight years of treason, eight year of betrayal of the very liberties and system of government that have served this country for over 200 hundred years. For six of those years, the Republican controlled Congress aided and abetted the Bush/Cheney regime in their reign of terror, destruction, rape, loot and plunder. For the last two years, the Democratic Congress has aided and abetted the Bush/Cheney regime in their reign of terror, destruction, rape, loot and plunder.

Today, the US House of Representatives committed treason and spit on the graves of our founding fathers. Today, members of the House of Representatives betrayed their oaths of office, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Today, they voted to approve an illegal and unconstitutional wiretap program that allows the government to read every one of your emails and to listen to everyone of your phone conversations. If you discussed the your last date, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your husband, your wife, your finances, your medical condition, your job, your being unemployed, your children, your parents, or what you think of the government; the government knows and has it in a database to be used against you.

Not only did the House of Representatives do this, but today they voted to allow the Bush/Cheney regime to cover-up this criminal conduct. Not only that, but today they voted to grant immunity to the very corporations that profited off this illegal conduct.

Over the last few days, Congressman Wexler (D-FL), Senator Feingold (D-WI), and Leahy (D-VT) have spoken out against this outrage. Today, I called my useless senators; Menedez (D-NJ) and Lautenberg (D-NJ). It is worth noting that Latenberg is up for re-election. I asked their Washington offices' what the senators proposed to do now that this proposed legislation is before the senate. I was told the senators do not know and are waiting to see what the senate committee does.

Our tax dollars pay for salaries and office space and staff for senators "I don't know." Our tax dollars pay for people to go "I don't know" every time they are asked to represent me. Do me a favor senators, either do your job or resign. "I don't know" is the cowardly politician's way of saying you have do re-election polling. Your colleagues have publicly stated their positions, so I expect you to do at least as good a job as someone from VT or WI. If you cannot do this, then quit.

Today, I nominate:

• Senator "I do not know" Lautenberg (D-NJ)
  
• Senator "I do not know" Menedez (D-NJ)
  
• Congressman "I will not impeach" Rothman (D-NJ), who is also up for re-election
  
• House Speaker and loyal Bush toady "Impeachment is off the table" Pelosi (D-CA), who is up for re-election
• House Majority Leader and Bush lackey Hoyer (D-MD), who is up for re-election
• Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) who took money from the telecomm corporations in exchange for this sell out of the American people; and
  
• Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) who supports this flawed legislation, to the Hall of Cowards.
  

I look forward to the publication of a book detailing their history of public disservice; "Profiles In Cowardice."

A friend sent me an email and I thought I should share it:

 

PEARLS OF GAY WISDOM

If homosexuality is a disease, let's all call in sick to work: "Hello. Can't work today, still queer." ~ Robin Tyler

I'd rather be black than gay because when you're black you don't have to tell your mother. ~ Charles Pierce

"Dear Abby," In response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood. 'You could move.' ~ Abigail Van Buren.

The one bonus of not lifting the ban on gays in the military is that the next time the government mandates a draft, we can all declare we are homosexual instead of running off to Canada . ~ Lorne Bloch

Why can't they have gay people in the army? Personally, I think they are just afraid of a thousand guys with M16s going, "Who'd you call a faggot?" ~ Jon Stewart

My lesbianism is an act of Christian charity. All those women out there praying for a man, and I'm giving them my share. ~ Rita Mae Brown

Soldiers who are not afraid of guns, bombs, capture, torture or death say they are afraid of homosexuals. Clearly we should not be used as soldiers; we should be used as weapons. ~ Letter to the Editor, The Advocate

You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight. ~ Barry Goldwater

Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~ Ernest Gaines

My own belief is that there is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror. ~ W. Somerset Maugham

Drag is when a man wears everything a lesbian won't. ~ Author Unknown

If male homosexuals are called "gay," then female homosexuals should be called "ecstatic." ~ Shelly Roberts

My mother took me to a psychiatrist when I was fifteen because she thought I was a latent homosexual. There was nothing latent about it. ~ Amanda Bearse

It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality. It's like disapproving of rain.... ~ Francis Maude

The only queer people are those who don't love anybody.... ~ Rita Mae Brown

The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision. ~ Lynn Lavner

If Michelangelo had been straight, the Sistine Chapel would have been wallpapered. ~Robin Tyler

Pronouns make it hard to keep our sexual orientation a secret when our co-workers ask us about our weekend. "I had a great time with... them." Great! Now they don't think you're queer - just a big slut! ~Judy Carter

I get sick of listening to straight people complain about, "Well, hey, we don't have a heterosexual-pride day, why do you need a gay-pride day?" I remember when I was a kid I'd always ask my mom: "Why don't we have a Kid's Day? We have a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, but why don't we have a Kid's Day?" My mom would always say, "Every day is Kid's Day." To all those heterosexuals that bitch about gay pride, I say the same thing: Every day is heterosexual-pride day! Can't you people enjoy your banquet and not pee on those of us enjoying our crumbs over here in the corner? --Adam Row

 

Book Reviews:

The Actor's Guide To Murder

The Actor's Guide To Adultery

Michael Tolliver Lives

It has been ages since I sat down and read a book. It is usually all I can do to keep up with my email and professional reading. I am reading novels for a change.

During Pride in Asbury Park, I stopped at the Ocean County Library System table. My library in Bergen County does not observe anything, not LGBTI Pride, not Banned Books Week, not anything. I am always impressed that the Ocean County Library people come to our Asbury Park LGBTI Pride celebration year after year.

This year, our friends at the Ocean County Library were even more impressive. This year they brought novels as gifts. I was lucky enough to be given a copy of The Actor's Guide To Murder (Where there's a murder, there's a Method...) by Rick Copp. I had jury duty the next day and I figured I could not go wrong going to a courthouse for jury duty with a book titled The Actor's Guide To Murder.

The book's principal character is Jarrod Jarvis, a gay, witty, out of work former child star, who winds up solving an actor friend's murder. The book is not only a good, suspenseful mystery; it is also a fast read, and a hoot. The writing style reads more like gossip than literature. I enjoyed it so much that I bought and read, The Actor's Guide To Adultery (When it comes to murder, someone's not fooling around...). The book was very similar to The Actor's Guide To Murder, however it was still great deal of fun. I enjoyed both books so much that I am now about to start the next book in the series, The Actor's Guide to Greed (Dying isn't everything it's cracked up to be...). I recommend both The Actor's Guide To Murder and The Actor's Guide To Adultery very highly. I am grateful to the Ocean County Library people for not only supporting our community, but for introducing me to some great gay murder mysteries.

As luck would have it, Armistead Maupin, my favorite gay author has come out with new novel, Michael Tolliver Lives. I picked it up at the same time I picked up The Actor's Guide To Adultery. Armistead Maupin is the author of the fabulous Tales of the City series of novels. The last of the Tales of the City novels, Sure Of You, was published in 1989. I loved the Tales of the City series. Most of the plots were zany; the principal characters were lovable, fun people; the dialogue was witty; and the books were deeply touching, telling the story of a place that is now long ago and far away.

Michael Tolliver Lives updates us on the lives of those wonderful characters 18 years later. All the beloved principal characters from the series are now older, much older. Many characters are sick, or dying, or dead. The plot is solid, not zany. The characters are likable (or beloved if you can remember the first six novels in the series). The dialogue is sharp. The book's handling of shopping malls, Orlando, Disney, and Christian Fundamentalists is dead on target. Still, the book is depressing. The beloved characters of younger days are old or frail or near death or dead.

Before Michael Tolliver Lives, the beloved principal characters from Tales of the City were young, alive, and vibrant. Now they are not. I enthusiastically recommend the first six novels in the Tales of the City series:

* Tales of the City (1978)

* More Tales of the City (1980)

* Further Tales of the City (1982)

* Babycakes (1984)

* Significant Others (1987)

* Sure of You (1989)

These novels are also available in the omnibus editions 28 Barbary Lane and Back to Barbary Lane. Some years ago, there were TV miniseries of the first three novels. The miniseries are also worth watching. I cannot recommend Michael Tolliver Lives, as some things are best preserved by being left in the past.

On June 9, 1954, as Senator McCarthy engaged in his reign of terror, Joseph Welch asked the Senator during the Army-McCarthy hearings "Have you no sense of decency ?".

We have a President who asked for and a Congress that voted to imprison people without trial in violation of the Constitution our founding fathers gave us. I ask these leaders, have you no sense of decency?

We have a government that reads its citizens email and monitors its citizens telephone calls, without a constitutionally required court order and in violation of our laws. To those who illegally and unconstitutionally spy upon law abiding citizens I ask, have you no sense of decency?

Our government tortures people in violation of our own Constitution and the Geneva Convention. I ask our government, have you no sense of decency?

I ask those in the White House that knowingly and willfully violate our laws, and that then claim "executive privilege," have you no sense of decency?

I ask those convicted of violating our laws who then get President clemency, have you no sense of decency?

I ask those of you that endanger our national security by leaking the name of a CIA deep cover operation, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the politicians and clergy that champion "family values," yet commit adultery, hire prostitutes, and who solicit sex in public bathrooms, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the hypocrite Judges, Senators, Representatives, and US Attorneys who violate their oaths of office for partisan political advantage, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the Judges who pervert justice or the rule of law to further the ends of their corporate masters, have you no sense of decency?

Our food is unhealthy. It is adulterated. It is contaminated with carcinogens, pathogens, pesticides, fecal matter, and untested genetically engineered substances. Instead of acting to protect the public health, our government acts to protect the food industry and the chemical industry that adulterate and contaminate our food. I ask the people who make our food unsafe and I ask the government that turns a blind eye toward our unsafe food, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the corporations that outsource, the politicians that fail to protect our jobs, the politicians that sign and vote for trade agreements to export our jobs, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the business lobbyists and their allies in government that claimed raising the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour is too expensive, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the government officials, politicians, and corporate executives that destroy our retirement plans, have you no sense of decency?

We have the lowest life expectancy and highest infant mortality rate of the developed nations. Millions of our citizens do not have access to health care. Yet, our elected officials take campaign contributions from those who profit from diseases, suffering, and misery. Our elected officials then act to protect the profits of those that become wealthy from our diseases, misery and suffering. I ask all of you, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the hospitals and doctors that deny care to the poor or uninsured, who let someone lie on the emergency room floor and bleed to death rather then provide medical care, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the President, whose medical care is paid with our tax dollars; the President who was quoted in the New York Times as saying: "I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room," have you no sense of decency?

Our tax laws are rigged so that those who are the richest, or the most profitable, pay proportionately less in taxes then those who work for a living. I ask the rich, the corporate special interests, and our elected officials who do the bidding of the rich, the powerful, the special interests, have you no sense of decency?

As people demand action on energy independence and global warming, our elected officials do nothing but issue press releases and promote the scams of their campaign contributors (liquid coal, nuclear power, bio-fuels, and not raising auto fuel economy standards). I ask all of you, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the hugely profitable transnational corporations that sue mom and pop business solely for the purpose of squashing the competition, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the businesses that advertise fake sales prices based upon rebates that you will never receive, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the charities that behave more like businesses then entities concerned with the public good, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the homeowners association, condominium, and co-op boards that engage in malfeasance or knowingly breach their fiduciary duties, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the real estate developers that destroy the quality of life in the communities where they build and I ask the government officials who give them favors (like rezoning or zoning variances), have you no sense of decency?

I ask the real estate developers and government officials that favor the placement of housing developments on industrial sites contaminated with carcinogens, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the government officials who profit from war, the government officials who support war for corporate ends, the corporations whose business is war, and those who send our soldiers into combat without proper equipment, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the government officials who shake down government contractors and the contractors that bride government officials, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the computer companies that sell untested, defective software, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the computer companies whose new, much heralded technological breakthrough is in reality an old technology that people have been using for years, have you no sense of decency?

I ask the energy companies that manipulate energy markets and prices (including the costs of natural gas, gasoline and electricity), have you no sense of decency?

I ask the CEOs & their cronies who steal from the companies that employ them, or who fire their workers while giving themselves bonuses and stock options, have you no sense of decency?

I ask our business leaders, politicians, lobbyists, government officials and clergy, the question Joseph Welch asked Senator McCarthy; "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

As I read recent articles in the accounting and business news, I am forced to ask the question, has anyone learned anything from Enron?

I ask this because the business community that committed massive investment fraud is hell bent on gutting the one law to come out of this massive mess of scandal, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Their efforts to undermine this law are actively and vocally supported by the Bush administration and Congress.

I ask this because Accounting Today reported (in the Oct. 22 - Nov. 4, 2007 issue) the results of an extensive analysis that the SOX whistleblower protections are not working. I ask this because The Wall Street Journal reported on October 23, 2007, that Ernst & Young (EY) and its client Wal-Mart are under investigation by various government agencies and tax authorities in several states. EY developed tax shelters for their audit client Wal-Mart. What type of audit quality can we expect from a CPA firm that markets questionable tax shelters to the very client they are auditing?

Furthermore, the New York Times reported on May 31, 2007, that four current and former partners, including EY's National Director of Personal Income Tax and Retirement Planning practice, have been indicted on tax fraud charges. Additionally, in 2003, EY reached a civil settlement with the IRS over the firm's design and sale of questionable tax shelters.

Nor is EY the only CPA firm to have committed tax fraud. The Chicago Tribune reported on August 30, 2005: " KPMG LLP, the nation's fourth-largest accounting firm, admitted Monday to setting up fraudulent tax shelters for its wealthiest clients that cost the U.S. billions of dollars in revenue."

Not only do we have some of the world's largest CPA firms involved in tax fraud, we also have them involved in defective audits. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has issued report after report, noting the same audit errors committed by the same CPA firms year after year. Among the errors cited in one of the PCAOB reports on EY, http://www.pcaobus.org/Inspections/Public_Reports/2007/Ernst_and_Young2006.pdf, we have the PCAOB making the scathing charge that " the Firm, at the time it issued its audit report, had not obtained sufficient competent evidential matter to support its opinion on the issuer's financial statements." That a major CPA firm would issue an audit report without sufficient evidence to support its opinion is a grave and serious violation of the public trust, government regulations, and our own Code of Professional Conduct. It is stunts like this that allowed Enron to happen.

Nor is EY unique. Another Big Four CPA firm, Pricewaterhouse Coopers is defending itself from PCAOB charges of deficient audits (http://www.accountingweb.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=104173&d=883&h=884&f=882&dateformat=%o%20%B%20%Y).

I now come to the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations, COSO. According to http://www.coso.org/: "COSO was originally formed in 1985 to sponsor the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting, an independent private sector initiative which studied the causal factors that can lead to fraudulent financial reporting and developed recommendations for public companies and their independent auditors, for the SEC and other regulators, and for educational institutions." During the 22 years of COSO's existence, we have had fraudulent financial reporting scandal after scandal. Did any of the accountants at Enron, Tyco, MCI WorldCom, Global Crossing, Adelphia Communications, Charter Communications, HealthSouth, Computer Associates, Waste Management, et. al have even a passing knowledge of COSO's work? Did the auditors of any of these companies have any clue what COSO does? Did any of the auditors of these companies learn anything from any of these frauds? What, if anything, has the SEC learned from COSO? Has the SEC learned anything from all these frauds? Has anyone on Wall Street learned anything from these frauds or COSO? Have any of our nation's politicians learned anything from these frauds or COSO?

Once again, it seems that we have a situation in which powerful special interests are seeking to undermine a law designed to protect the public, and where the auditing firms that audit those businesses are again being named for being involved in various frauds and deficient audits. Against this background, I ask, has anyone learned anything from Enron?