Biden family transactions revisited

"Moral clarity" is a phrase I heard recently and it comes to mind when sorting out these troubling times and who's done what for whom and why.  In the case of the $200,000 (or $240,000) sum(s) transferred between the Biden brothers, there is absolute clarity someplace.  We just don't know where it is yet.

The money transfers under scrutiny, either represent a legitimate extension and repayment of a loan, or they don't.  Much seems to hinge upon a trust account established by a Delaware law firm used to transact business on behalf of ___________ and that's the question....who?  

Rep. Comer and company seek to prove that the trust fund was used to launder money for the benefit of Hunter Biden, his Uncle and partners -- and ultimately to compensate the elder Joe Biden.  

The White House and their acolytes seek to prove that the trust account in question was controlled exclusively by Joe Biden and simply used as a conduit for the funds extended by Joe Biden to his brother, in the form of a personal, interest-free loan.

Neither side has definitively proven its case.  Only one side can be correct and that's the missing clarity.

Image by wirestock on Freepik

Midwestern watchdog reporting still works

Here are two current examples of how the Fourth Estate still serves the public interest.

1.  Locally, in my home town of Milwaukee, readers were shocked and angry to learn how their tax dollars are squandered (again) by a $350 million state child care program that is routinely plundered by a number of providers, including one -- who as a result of Journal Sentinel investigations -- turned herself in to state authorities.  Fine reporting indeed, by Ms. Raquel Rutledge and others at the Journal Sentinel. Read more about the scams they uncovered at www.jsonline.com/cashinginonkids

2.  Ninety miles south of me, another series by the Chicago Tribune exposes corrupt admission practices at the University of Illinois, as well as other cheats and cronyism throughout the Land of Lincoln. Here's the spot to read, "State of Corruption".

I'm not sure how we'd learn about these issues if old fashioned, gumshoe reporting didn't occur.

Hillary Clinton declares cause of US debt

freepik image

Hillary Clinton has now identified "Republicans" as the sole cause of America's national debt. Yes, it's all a vast right wing piracy.

Stumping yesterday in Maquoketa, Iowa in town hall style, Ms. Clinton addressed the causes of America's political, social and economic woes and explained them with one word - "Republicans."

During Ms. Clinton's diatribe against all things Republican, she actually said to her audience...

"They have driven us into nine trillion dollars of debt."

Note: She didn't say "Congress" nor did she cite any spending complicity on the other side of the aisle - she said "they" i.e. Republicans.

At the conclusion of the event, Ms. Clinton listened intently to one admirer and then enthusiastically replied...

"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely...totally partisan, totally ideological, that is not the way to get things done in America."

Indeed, Senator.  

A blockbuster book on Enron

For a definitive account of the whole Enron matter, grab a copy of Conspiracy of Fools (Broadway Books) by Kurt Eichenwald, a New York Times Reporter, based in Dallas.

At over 700 pages, you won't exhaust this book quickly, but you'll have difficulty putting it down.

Unlike creators of the TV movie "The Crooked E" (with questionable casting of Mike Farrell as the late Ken Lay) or authors of the well-titled, but shallow account Final Accounting by Barbara Ley Toffler and Jennifer Reingold. (Yes Ms. Toffler it's true, partners at professional services firms must sell work) -- Mr. Eichenwald delivers more substance.

Ken Lay, Wikipedia

Eichenwald manages to avoid easy stereotypes of all the major players in his meticulously-researched tome.  He writes with the verve of a mystery novelist, so you can't turn the pages fast enough, even though you know how the narrative ends.

This detailed account confirmed some of my early impressions about the primary players involved.  After reading the news stories, it was hard to come away with much sympathy for the now incarcerated, ex-CFO, Andy Fastow.  After reading Mr. Eichenwald's book, that hasn't changed for me.

I'm still unsure if the fired Andersen partner turned government witness David Duncan, was truly an unwitting sacrificial lamb offered up to the wolves by Andersen's leadership, or a firmly culpable player that deserved everything his actions wrought.

When reading Conspiracy of Fools, readers are reminded that Mr. Duncan repeatedly ignored and possibly distorted advice given from Andersen advisers rendering in-house guidance on push-it-to-the-line accounting matters.  Still I have some pity for Mr. Duncan and his family.  Like Icarus, he flew way too close to the sun and burned himself...big time.   

I disagree with Mr. Eichenwald's conclusion that Andersen as an entire firm "deserved the death penalty."  Andersen was a dynamic, monolithic institution with a rich history and I was fortunate to be a part of it -- even for a short two and a half years.  Eichenwald might feel differently if he (like me and 29,000 other Andersen people in the U.S.) had been displaced by this debacle because of the actions of a few Houstonian Andersen people and an overzealous Justice Department. 

All that notwithstanding, I recommend that interested parties read this fine book.