By Jason_Grimms
Digital delivery
By A. Burt
Bush Jr. has made a lot of money off of three business deals. In each one, his contribution is hard to perceive, yet he walked off with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in deals arranged by his father's political cronies. The deals were 1. the sale of Junior's struggling oil company, 2. Junior's sale of oil stock just before the Gulf War, and 3. getting a cheap slice of the Texas Rangers baseball team, which he sold in 1999 for a huge profit (he paid $600,000, and sold for $14 million).
The general pattern here is just as important as the details. Bush did no work in his business career that can clearly be called "excellent" or even "solid." The money he made is tangential to his efforts at best -- the oil companies lost a great deal of money during his tenure, and the Rangers cut a lot of corners -- which makes the cronyism that much more suspicious.
It's not just that one or two of Bush's deals look funky; every major business deal he has been involved with included wealthy supporters of his father, and many of those investors later received favorable treatment from either the federal government under Bush, Sr. or the current Texas administration of Junior.
The 50 investors, who were "mainly friends of my uncle" in Junior's own words, put in $4.7 million and lost most of it. Junior claims that investors "did pretty good," but Bush family friend Russell Reynolds told the Dallas Morning News: "The bottom line was there were problems, and it didn't work out very well. I think we got maybe 20 cents on the dollar."
As Arbusto neared collapse, Spectrum 7 Energy Corporation bought it in September 1984. Despite his poor track record, the owners made Bush, Jr. the president and gave him 13.6% of the parent company's stock.
Spectrum 7 was a small oil firm owned by two staunch Reagan/Bush Sr. supporters -- William DeWitt and Mercer Reynolds. These two were also owners of the Texas Rangers and allowed Bush Jr. to purchase a chunk of the team cheaply; he later sold it for over 24 times what he paid.
Within two years of purchasing Arbusto and making Bush Jr. president, Spectrum 7 was itself in trouble; it lost $400,000 in its last 6 months of operation. That ended in 1986, when Harken Energy Corporation bought Spectrum 7's 180-well operation.
Junior got $227,000 worth of Harken stock, and a lot more. He was named to the board of directors, made $80,000 to $100,000 a year well into the 1990s as a "consultant" to Harken, and was allowed to buy Harken stock at 40% below face value.
He also borrowed $180,375 from Harken at very low rates; the company's 1989 and 1990 SEC filings said it "forgave" $341,000 in loans to unspecified executives.
So what did Junior do for all this money? It's hard to say exactly, but things happened for Harken after Junior came on board: it got a $25 million stock offering from an unusual bank with CIA ties, it won a surprise exclusive drilling contract with Bahrain, a small Mideast country, and an Arab member of its Board of Directors was invited to White House policy meetings with President George Bush and National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft.
Easy Money From Odd Sources The firm's $25 million stock offering was underwritten by Stephens, Inc., an Arkansas bank whose head, Jackson Stephens, was on President Bush's "Team 100." (That was a group of 249 rich persons who gave at least $100,000 each to his presidential campaign committee). Stephens placed the offering with the London subsidiary of Union Bank of Switzerland, which (according to the Wall Street Journal) was not known as an investor in small American companies.
The firm's $25 million stock offering was underwritten by Stephens, Inc., an Arkansas bank whose head, Jackson Stephens, was on President Bush's "Team 100." (That was a group of 249 rich persons who gave at least $100,000 each to his presidential campaign committee). Stephens placed the offering with the London subsidiary of Union Bank of Switzerland, which (according to the Wall Street Journal) was not known as an investor in small American companies.
Union Bank did have other connections; it was a joint-venture partner with the notorious BCCI in a Geneva-based bank, and was involved in a scandal surrounding the Nugan Hand Bank, a CIA operation in Australia whose executives were advised by William Quasha, the father of Harken's chairman (Alan Quasha.) Union Bank was also involved in scandals surrounding Panamanian money laundering by BCCI, and Ferdinand Marcos' movement of 325 tons of gold out of the Phillipines.
That wasn't the only financing connection Junior brought; after the company won its Bahrain deal (see next item), the billionaire Bass brothers of Texas offered to underwrite the drilling operation. Robert Bass is also a member of Bush's Team 100, and he and his kin gave $226,000 to Bush Senior between 1988 and 1992.
The Bahrain Contract In January 1990, Harken was chosen out of the blue by the small Mideast country Bahrain for an exclusive offshore oil drilling contract. They beat out Amoco, an experienced and major international conglomerate, despite having no offshore oil drilling experience at all. As of March 1995, the most recent report we could find, they had found no oil.
In January 1990, Harken was chosen out of the blue by the small Mideast country Bahrain for an exclusive offshore oil drilling contract. They beat out Amoco, an experienced and major international conglomerate, despite having no offshore oil drilling experience at all. As of March 1995, the most recent report we could find, they had found no oil.
Junior has denied that he was involved in the deal, and even told the Wall Street Journal that he opposed it. But a company insider told Mother Jones Magazine "Like any member of the board, he was thrilled. His attitude was 'Holy shit, what a great deal!'"
If he did oppose it, he wasn't much of a consultant. Charles Strain, an energy company analyst in Houston, told Mother Jones: "Harken is not hard to understand -- it's easy. The company has only one real asset -- its Bahrain contract. If that field turns out to be dry, Harken's stock is worth, at the most, 25 cents a share. If they hit it big over there, the stock could be worth $30 to $40 dollars a share." As of December 1998, Harken Energy Corp. (HEC on Amex) is trading at $2.69 a share.
Access to the President For Bush's Foreign Business Partner The most troubling thing that happened to Harken after it bought George Bush Junior in, was that one of its Board of Directors members was suddenly admitted to the highest levels of United States foreign policy meetings. These were not Clintonesque meet-and-greet fundraisers, but actual working policy meetings during a critical period.
The most troubling thing that happened to Harken after it bought George Bush Junior in, was that one of its Board of Directors members was suddenly admitted to the highest levels of United States foreign policy meetings. These were not Clintonesque meet-and-greet fundraisers, but actual working policy meetings during a critical period.
After the Harken-Bahrain deal was signed, Palestinian businessman Talat Othman was added to a group of Arabs who met with George Bush and National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft three times in 1990 -- once just two days after Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Othman was the representative of Sheikh Abdullah Bakhsh, who purchased 10% of Harken stock. (More on Baksh in a second.) Othman has continued a fruitful relationship with Bush. He has visited Bush in the White House, and gave an Islamic benediction at the 2000 Republican convention. More recently, several Islamic charities and businesses run by Othman's business partner Yaqub Mirza were raided on March 20, 2002 by Treasury investigators, investigating ties between them and Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Just two weeks later, Othman was able to get a luncheon meeting with President Bush's Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill (since fired), to complain about the raids.
Backsh, Othman's patron, had several ties to the infamous BCCI bank according to the Wall Street Journal. Bakhsh was a co-investor in Saudi Arabia with alleged BCCI front man Ghaith Pharaon. Bakhsh's banker, Khalid bin Mahfouz, was another BCCI figure and head of the largest bank in Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Kalifah, the prime minister of Bahrain, was a BCCI shareholder and played the key role in selecting Harken for the oil contract.
This is the crowd that gained entry to the President and the National Security Adviser of the United States after George Junior made his deal with Harken.
Deal #2: Selling Oil Stock Just Before Iraq Invaded
A secret State Deparment memo in May of that year had warned that Saddam was out of control, and listed options for responding to him, including an oil ban that might affect US oil prices.
We can't be sure that the President or an aide mentioned these developments to his son, or that Harken's representative who was admitted to meetings with the President picked up something and reported back to Junior. But it is the simplest and most logical explanation. The Bushes acknowledge that George Senior and his sons consult on political strategy and other matters constantly.
Furthermore, Harken's internal financial advisers at Smith Barney had issued a report in May warning of the company's deteriorating finances. Harken owed more than $150 million to banks and other creditors at the time. George Bush, Jr. was a member of the board and also of Harken's restructuring committee, which met in May and worked directly with the Smith Barney consultants. He must have known of these warnings.
These are pretty clear-cut indications of illegal insider trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission, controlled at the time by President George Bush, investigated but chose not to press charges.
Junior also violated another SEC rule explicitly. He was required to register his sale as an insider trade by July 10, 1990, but didn't until March 1991, after the Gulf War was over. He was not punished or cited.
The third unusually easy deal for George Bush Junior was his involvement in the Texas Rangers baseball team. In a nutshell, he was offered a piece of this valuable franchise for only $600,000, by supporters of his dad who also bailed out his failing oil company. He sold his stake for $14 million - while Texas governor -- to a Texas millionaire with lots of businesses regulated by his administration. "When all it is all said and done, I will have made more money than I ever dreamed I would make," Bush told the Forth Worth Star-Telegram.
Bush was allowed to buy 1.8% of the team for $600,000 of borrowed money, and was even made one of the two general managers. His qualifications for partial ownership? Several years working at failing oil companies, and his political connections through his father. It's hard to be sure, but we're guessing that latter was probably more important.
Even if he really had done that work, it's an absurd bonus ($12.2 million), but the fact is that he didn't add much. Cincinatti financier William DeWitt brought Bush in, not vice versa, shortly after George Bush Sr. was elected president. (DeWitt had also invested in Junior's oil companies.). The only investor Bush actually brought in was Roland Betts, a Yale fraternity brother, and that wasn't good enough.
Under Junior's management, the deal was about to fall apart until baseball commissioner Peter Uebberoth brought in another investment group led by Fort Worth Billionaire Richard Rainwater and Dallas investor "Rusty" Rose. Since the deal, both men have profited greatly from business with the Texas administration of George Bush, Jr. Rose personally invested $3.2 million and became the other general manager of the team. Under the team partnership agreement, Bush Junior couldn't take any "material actions" wihtout Rose's prior approval. There was also a method for removing Junior as a general partner, but no way to remove Rose. Yet Rose's "bonus" for his role in setting up the deal was less than half of Junior's.
What kind of owners would approve such a big payoff to Bush? In addition to Rose and Rainwater, men with business pending before Texas government, the owners included William DeWitt and Mercer Reynolds, major contributors to President Bush who had also purchased Junior's failing oil company through their Spectrum 7 Energy company.
If this deal doesn't smell bad enough already, consider Bush's blatant hypocrisy. The main value of the team is its new stadium (ranked by Financial World as the most profitable in baseball) and 300 acres of vacant land the team owns between the stadium and 6 Flags of Texas, which is next door.
Putting Tax Money into Bush's Pocket
The hypocritical part is, the private owners of this very valuable land didn't want to sell. Bush and his partners gave them only a lowball offer, and when it was rejected they arranged for a new government agency (the Arlington Sports Facility Development Authority, or ASFDA) to condemn it for them.
The agency foreclosed the land and paid the owners a very low price, later judged by a jury to be only 1/6th of its actual value. The agency also floated bonds, guaranteed and repaid by taxpayers, to finance the purchase. This amounted to a $135 million subsidy for Bush and partners, compared with the $80 million they paid for the franchise. Since they sold the entire franchise for $250 million, it's easy to see whose money Bush and friends pocketed.
The next time Junior talks about tax cuts, remember this: Arlinton had to impose a new 1/2 cent sales tax just to pay for the subsidy Bush and his partners received.
To add insult to injury, Bush and his partners continue to stiff the taxpayers for $7.5 million they owe under the terms of the agreement. It held that the team would pay all expenses over $135 million. The original owners of just 13 of the acres sued the City of Arlington, saying that the ASFDA had not paid a fair price for the land. The jury awarded them $7.5 million, but even though the project exceeded the $135 million limit, the partners have refused to pay. Given their huge taxpayer subsidy and $170 million profits, it seems absurdly selfish.
George Bush, Jr. has said in campaign speeches "I will do everything I can to defend the power of private property and private property rights when I am the governor of this state." Apparently this deal was not covered by that statement, since he wasn't governor yet.
He claims that he "wasn't aware of the details" of the land condemnations, even though he was the team's managing general partner and has bragged about personally getting the stadium built. But he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in October 1990 that "The idea of making a land play, absolutely, to plunk the field down in the middle of a big piece of land, that's kind of always been the strategy."
And the key to their land play was always the strong arm of government. A memo from Arlington real estate broker Mike Reilly to Rangers President Tom Schieffer dated October 26, 1990 - the day before Bush's comment about the land play - said "In this particular situation our first offer should be our final offer ... If this fails, we will probably have to initiate condemnation proceedings after the bond election passes."
On the first day of the 1993 campaign, Bush said "The best way to allocate resources in our society is through the marketplace. Not through a governing elite." Not through a private sports team buying in the President's son cheap, and then getting the government to hand them extremely valuable land.
The Bush family spin is that the governor quit drinking cold turkey on his 40th birthday, straightened out by the love of a good woman (his wife, Laura.) They even pull out their secret weapon, lovable Barbara Bush, with anecdotes about what a rascal little George Junior was.
But the explosive element here is not booze. It's sex, drugs and hypocrisy. Frankly, it doesn't bother us if candidates have partied, even a lot. Who wants a bunch of namby-pamby boy scouts running the country? But George Bush Jr. makes a big point of travelling around the country and lecturing students on staying celibate, sober and drug free. He does not permit the option of partying hard until you're 40 and then stopping.
And as governor, he attacked his predecessor for allowing leniency toward first-time drug users, and pushed a "no tolerance" policy that has sent casual cocaine users -- who's dads aren't rich, or president -- to prison for years. He even has the gall to proclaim that such users "need to know that drug use has consequences." At least if you're from the wrong neighborhood.
According to an unnamed insider quoted on MSNBC, Bush "isn't terribly thrilled" about what they found, though no one is spilling the details (yet). "No handcuffs or dwarf orgies, but he was a handsome, rich playboy and lived that life," the insider said.
W is For Women: Bush volunteers to reporters that he has been faithful to his wife. However, he was married at 31 and makes no claim of virginity before that point, even as he lectures the youth of today to remain celibate. A Clinton aide who was in Bush's class at Yale has already warned him that "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
We have received two credible reports from women who say they had affairs with George Bush, Jr. One alleged affair took place after Bush was married, on business trips to Los Angeles; in the other case, Bush was single but the woman was married at the time. Neither woman is willing to go public with further details, including their names, which is why we aren't publicizing these incidents more, but in our editorial opinion they are credible, and the details that these woman have provided check out.
Furthermore, porn publisher Larry Flynt has alleged that one Bush affair led his then-girlfriend to have an abortion, and claims to have 5 affidavits from friends of the woman and others supporting the claim. Again the woman does not want to be named, which makes it hard to prove the claim, but you can't really blame a lady for not wanting to be known as the "Bush abortion girl." Flynt made this allegation on CNN. The host of the program actually said "Now we at CNN don't want to be accused of censoring anybody...", yet that is exactly what CNN did. They removed the show's transcript and links from their web site days after the broadcast. You can still get details on the incident at the Bush Watch web site. They have more details here.
That year certainly is out of character with the rest of Bush Jr.'s life. Before and after 1972, he was a rich, hard drinking playboy. Suddenly, and only that one time in his life, he worked for a liberal charity in an inner city ghetto. As soon as the year was over, he resumed his previous pattern and has done no charity work since.
The author of this book, J. H. Thompson, has some interesting scandals of his own. Of course, his own flaws don't disprove what Bush did or didn't do, but the way Thompson has responded certainly undercuts his credibility. First, he admitted to a reporter from Slate Magazine that he made up at least one detail, that one of his informants spat tobacco into a styrofoam cup during their (phone!) interview.
Then, reporters -- or perhaps Bush campaign operatives -- found that the author apparently is an ex-convict, on parole for hiring a hit man to kill a former boss. That doesn't mean he can't research, of course, but Thompson's credibility suffered greatly as he claimed it was someone else, despite incredible similarities between his resume -- including unexplained job gaps during the prison years -- and confirmation from his parole officer that indeed, the author named J. H. Thompson is the one who did time.
Bush Jr.'s Evasive Responses:
Bush has essentially admitted that he used cocaine in his Clintonesque, carefully worded partial denials. He won't deny using cocaine or marijuana, though under persistent questioning he said that he hadn't used cocaine in the last 7 years. Most newspapers report that he denies using cocaine since 1974, but that's not exactly true.
That is the most favorable interpretation of what Bush said, but since Bush and his campaign have already made Clintonesque denials on other issues, we need to look at his words carefully.
What Bush actually said was ""I could have passed the [FBI] background check on the standards applied on the most stringent conditions when my dad was president of the United States - a 15-year period," Mr. Bush said. This is ambiguous because background forms ask slightly different questions, depending on the position. Drug questions can go back one year, seven years or 10 years. Bush Jr. didn't have any formal position in his father's administration, so which one applies is unclear. And 15-years is not one of the choices.
Since Bush Sr.'s presidency began in January 1989, reporters assumed that Jr. was denying drug use for 15 years before that, to 1974. But that is not at all clear. His only direct statement was for seven years before today. He could easily have been denying drug use only for 15 years before today, based on 7 or 10 years dating back from the END of his dad's term. 10 years before 1993, the end of Bush Sr.'s term, is pretty close to 15 years before today.
The Clinton administration actually has a stricter standard than Bush did -- the FBI now asks about any drug use after age 18. But Governor Bush has refused to say whether he would pass that standard, even though that is what he will be asked if he wins. Bush also has refused to answer whether he could have passed the FBI test when his father was vice president, during the 8 years from 1981-1989.
As for the arrest and diversion charge, Governor Bush admits working at the center in 1972. When asked for comment, Bush's campaign spokesman reportedly said "Oh shit... no comment." McLellan denies saying that.
Bush's father, ex-president George Bush, denies the cocaine arrest charge, and in yet another carefully worded denial, Bush said ""It's totally ridiculous what he suggested and it's not true."
You'll recall that President Clinton made a very similar statement about Gennifer Flower's allegations of an affair, during the 1992 campaign. Later, when he had to testify under oath, it turned out that he was denying that all of the details of the story were true, not whether an affair had occurred or any specific details (many of which were accurate).
Similarly, Bush himself does not deny being caught with cocaine, or having performed community service. Bush's campaign spokesman has now denied that Bush was ever arrested on any drug charge.
The director of the center, Madgelean Bush (no relation), also denies the reports. However, her center is dependent on Texas state money, and the director, who grew up poor but has amassed several houses around the center while running it, allowed Governor Bush to use the center for a photo opportunity earlier this year.
The Bush campaign also produced Carol Vance, who was the Democratic District Attorney in Harris County in 1972, to say that there was no diversion program in that year, nor were there any Republican judges (as Hatfield's book states.)
Rock and Roll: Bush keeps a picture of himself with two members of ZZ Top, but does not play the song "Tube Snake Boogie" during his celibacy lectures. We have found no evidence to support the the most explosive allegation so far; that Bush played air guitar to a Foghat record at a party in the late 1970s. But he won't deny it, either.
When pressed on the hypocrisy issue, he speaks to hypocritical baby boomer parents everywhere: "If I were you, I wouldn't tell your kids that you smoked pot unless you want 'em to smoke pot. I think it's important for leaders, and parents, not to send mixed signals. I don't want some kid saying, 'Well, Governor Bush tried it.'"
It's amazing enough that he openly defends hypocrisy, but his own signals are very mixed. When allowed to imply that he is just another manly, hard-drinking rapscallion, Bush seizes the opportunity. "When I was young and irresponsible, I was really young and irresponsible," he often says. He even hints at pot smoking, as in the above quote, and why not? Everyone from his likely opponent Al Gore to Newt Gingrich has admitted smoking pot.
But Junior wants it both ways. When the deadly rumor of cocaine use surfaces, he retreats to his high-minded rhetoric about not giving mixed messages. If he thinks he can skate to the presidency without either his right-wing foes or embittered Clintonistas pushing his past into the limelight, then he really IS on drugs.
"The Sons Also Rise", by Evan Thomas, Newsweek, November 16, 1998 p44-8
"Like Most, I'm Amazed" (Bush interview with Howard Fineman), Newsweek, November 16, 1998
"Another Bush Contemplates Run for Presidency", by Sue Anne Pressley (Washington Post news service), San Francisco Chronicle, May 12, 1997 pA5
"The Bush Brothers", by Howard Fineman, Newsweek, November 2, 1998 p30-33
Robert Novak's column -- "Mission to Niger", by Robert Novak (syndicated column), July 14, 2003
"A War on Wilson? : Inside the Bush Administration's feud with the diplomat who poured cold water on the Iraq-uranium connection", By MATTHEW COOPER, MASSIMO CALABRESI AND JOHN F. DICKERSON, Time Magazine, July 17, 2003
"Capital Games: A White House Smear", by David Corn, The Nation magazine, July 16, 2003
"Columnist Blows CIA Agent's Cover" by Timothy M. Phelps and Knut Royce, Long Island Newsday (newspaper), July 22, 2003
"War critic at center of CIA flap always vague on wife's job: Ex-ambassador lauded by 1st President Bush" By Bill Nichols and John Diamond, USA TODAY October 1, 2003 p6A
Bush Sr. quote -- ("most insidious of traitors") -- "Remarks By George Bush 41st President of the United States, At the Dedication Ceremony for the George Bush Center for Intelligence", April 26, 1999, on CIA website
"Justice Department Opens Probe Into Leak of CIA Agent's Name", by David Cloud, Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2003 pA3
"Justice Investigates Leak Claim", by Deb Reichmann (AP), The Oregonian, September 29, 2003 pA2
"Bush Aides Say They'll Cooperate With Probe Into Intelligence Leak", by Mike Allen, Washington Post, September 29, 2003; Page A01
"Bush Vows Action if Aides Had Role in Leak" By Mike Allen and Dana Milbank, Washington Post, September 30, 2003; Page A01
"White House Says Top Aide Was Not Behind CIA Leak", by David Stout, New York Times, September 29, 2003
ABC-TV News, "The Note", September 30, 2003
"Bush welcomes probe of CIA leak", CNN website, October 1, 2003
"Out the Outers", editorial, Washington Times (newspaper), OCtober 1, 2003
"Attorney General Is Closely Linked to Inquiry Figures", By ELISABETH BUMILLER and ERIC LICHTBLAU, New York Times, October 2, 2003
"White House Looks to Manage Fallout Over C.I.A. Leak Inquiry", By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and ERIC LICHTBLAU, New York Times, October 2, 2003
"Outside Probe of Leaks Is Favored: Poll Findings Come As White House Softens Denials", By Dana Milbank and Mike Allen, Washington Post, October 2, 2003; Page A01
"She's the perfect spy: Outed CIA agent had glamour job & looks to match", By JAMES GORDON MEEK and KENNETH R. BAZINET New York Daily News, October 2, 2003
"Why Are These Men Laughing?"(about Karl Rove), Esquire Magazine, January 2003
"Probe Focuses on Month Before Leak to Reporters: FBI Agents Tracing Linkage of Envoy to CIA Operative", By Walter Pincus and Mike Allen, Washington Post, Sunday, October 12, 2003; Page A01
"No Proof Connects Iraq to 9/11, Bush Says", by Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times, September 18, 2003
"Iraq, 9/11 Still Linked by Cheney", by Dana Priest and Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, September 29, 2003 pA1
George Bush's Arrest Record, The Smoking Gun Website, November 3, 20000
Bush's Driving License Suspension Record, The Smoking Gun website, November 3, 2000
"No arrests after '68, Bush told paper", By Wayne Slater and Pete Slover , The Dallas Morning News, 11/03/2000
Bush lied about his arrest, a reporter says", by Jake Tapper, Salon Magazine, November 3, 2000 Court hearing: "Bush downplayed drinking", by Stephen A. Kurkjian and David Armstrong, Boston Globe, 11/4/2000 pA11
Court hearing: "Bush downplayed drinking", by Stephen A. Kurkjian and David Armstrong, Boston Globe, 11/4/2000 pA11
"Bush Admits 1976 DUI Arrest; Dem Delegate Made Disclosure", Fox News Website, November 3, 2000
"Bush Admits He Drove While Drunk", The Oregonian, November 3, 2000 pA19
"Bush Still leads, but Key States Buoy Gore: Disclosure of DUI for GOP Candidate is Late Disruption", by Jackie Calmes and Jeanne Cummings, The Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2000 pA22
Interview with Thomas Connolly, (the lawyer who revealed the conviction), Fox TV News, November 3, 2000, 12:00 PST
"What Is George Dubya Hiding?", by Linda Starr and Bev Conover, The Online Journal, June 4, 1999
Yelling at reporter -- from The Economist, July 29, 2000 p21
"vampires": "At Night, Bush-Speak Goes Into Overdrive," By FRANK BRUNI, New York Times, August 19, 2001
"feather my nest": "Business associates profit during Bush's term as governor" by R. G. Ratcliffe, Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1998 pA1
Divider: "Bush Muffs Letterman's Late-Night Opportunity", By CARYN JAMES, New York Times, March 2, 2000
"Who goes to heaven":"Bush fields questions about faith upon return from trip to Israel" by Clay Robison, The Houston Chronicle, December 3, 1998
"More money than I ever dreamed": quoted in "The Governor's Sweetheart Deal", by Robert Bryce, The Texas Observer, January 30, 1998
"New York GOP leaders eye surrender in anti-McCain effort" By MARC HUMBERT (Associated Press), on the CNN web site, February 3, 2000
"Bush Criticizes Web Site as Malicious", by Wayne Slater, Dallas Morning News, May 22, 1999
"Governor Rips Web Site Parody", Associated Press, May 21, 1999
"Bush Campaign Tries to Limit Internet Attacks", by Alan Elsner, Reuters News Serviec (on Yahoo! web site), May 19, 1999
"4 protesters arrested at Governor 's Mansion" by R.G. RATCLIFFE, Houston Chronicle, April 20, 1999 Section A Page 13 Metfront. 3 STAR edition
"Activists to challenge policy against protest gatherings near the Governor's Mansion", by Jay Root, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 25, 1999
Here is an excellent web site with actual photos of the military documents from Bush's career: http://www.cis.net/~coldfeet/document.htm
"2 Democrats: Bush Let Guard Down", By George Lardner Jr. and Howard Kurtz, Washington Post, November 3, 2000; Page A22
Questions remain on Bush's service as Guard pilot , By Walter V. Robinson, Boston Globe, 10/31/2000, pA14
"Bush Twins Summer Vacay", Entertainment Tonight Online, June 3, 2002
"1-Year gap in Bush's Guard duty", by Walter Robinson, Boston Globe, May 23, 2000
"Ex-Lawmaker Says He Helped Bush Join the Guard in Vietnam War", by Jim Yardley, New York Times, September 27, 1999
"Barnes moves to block questions about Bush, Guard", by Ken Herman, Austin American-Statesman, September 9, 1999
"Records of Bush's Ala. Military Duty Can't Be Found", by Wayne Slater, Dallas Morning News, June 26, 2000 pA06
"Friends: Barnes was asked to help get Bush in Guard", by George Kuempel and Pete Slover, Dallas Morning News, Sept. 8, 1999
"Texas Speaker Reportedly Helped Bush Get Into Guard", by George Lardner, Jr., Washington Post, Setember 21, 1999 pA04
"Bush's Air Guard career an unusually easy flight", by Richard Serrano, Los Angeles Times (reprinted in the San Francisco Chronicle), July 4, 1999 pA-6
"At Height of Vietnam, Graduate Picks Guard", by George Lardner Jr. and Lois Romano, Washington Post, July 28, 1999 pA01
"Bush flies into an air force cocaine cloud", by Tom Rhodes, The London Sunday Times, June 18, 2000
"Ex-Pol at Center of Bush Flap", by Michael Holmes (AP), Washington Post, September 8, 1999
"Barnes says he urged Guard slot for Bush", by Pete Slover and George Kuempel, Dallas Morning News, September 29, 1999
"Adviser asked Barnes to recall Guard details before Bush joined race", by Pete Slover and George Kuempel, Dallas Morning News, September 26, 1999
"Bush Worked Campaign While in Guard", by Chris Williams (AP), Washington Post, May 23, 2000 "Gtech settles Littwin lawsuit", by Ken Herman, Austin American-Statesman, October 30, 1999 Gtech paid Littwin $300,000 and got a strict confidentiality agreement from him.
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