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tazzygirl -> RE: The most transparent Administration ever... (12/7/2009 9:02:21 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Brain
I don’t see anything serious there. He hasn't done anything corrupt. And it wouldn't surprise me if that website was set up by somebody, probably a Democrat, in the middle of an election trying to protect/help Gore, I would have done it myself to make sure Bush didn't win
I know you dont... and wont. you have to look deeper than just that site. For example, an article here
http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/1200nader.htm
when you place people on pedestals, they tend to fall eventually.
The report, which includes information about investments and sources of income, is designed to publicize potential conflicts of interest and let the public know of outside influences which may stand to gain if a particular candidate is elected. Nader submitted the report with a curious three-page "addendum" that the Washington Post's Mike Allen called "a catechism-style explanation." It was an exercise in spin control. Nader described the addendum as "going beyond the requirements of the Ethics in Government Act and further elaborating the enclosed contents for any interested parties."
In it, Nader claimed he had achieved status as a great philanthropist. "For nearly 30 years," he claimed, "my consistent practice has been to donate 50 percent of my adjusted gross income to 501(c)(3) charitable institutions. That is the maximum percentage of charitable donations allowed under the tax code. These contributions have amounted to several millions of dollars since 1967." He told the Washington Post that the real figure was actually 80 percent. But none of it could be verified, because he refused to release his income tax forms.
While going into detail about speaking and writing fees, amounting to as much as $15,000 for a speech and totaling $200,000 to $300,000 a year, Nader reported that he also received "some bequests" and invested them in money markets. He didn't identify these bequests or under what circumstances he received them. The Washington Post has reported that some people, including a retired coal miner, gave Nader their life savings because they thought he needed the money
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But in addition to Nader's net worth of nearly $4 million, one of the report's more interesting revelations is his extensive stock and money market portfolio. Because of it, Investor's Business Daily labeled the Wall Street nemesis a "market guru." Don Lambro of the Washington Times described Nader as a successful capitalist. During an appearance on the Fox Sunday program, journalist Brit Hume half-jokingly asked Nader for the name of his stockbroker, but Nader didn't want to give it out.
"[Nader] invests only in companies he considers socially conscious, based on what they produce and how they treat their workers," reported the Baltimore Sun. "He avoids those, like General Motors, that he is actively campaigning against." His portfolio includes Cadence Design Systems Inc. (a $1.1 billion company that designs software for semiconductors), Iomega Corp. (a $1.5 billion company that makes information storage devices) and Ziff-Davis Inc. (a $702 million media firm focused on technology, once a market leader but now selling off to CNET Networks).
"Number one, they're not monopolists and number two, they don't produce land mines, napalm, weapons," Nader told the Washington Post. But they are big business.
Nader also has a $1.2 million investment in Cisco Systems Inc., which makes products and software to power the Internet. Cisco dominates its market, perhaps even more than Microsoft's domination of the computer operating systems market. And yet Nader and the federal government have singled out Microsoft, depressing the company's stock price and throwing the U.S. stock market into a turbulent year.
"Cisco controls a bit more than half the overall data-networking market but has, for example, 89 percent of the market for high-end routers," reported Salon magazine. "…Cisco's Washington lobbying has been concentrated on objectives like making it harder for disgruntled shareholders to sue their companies – something Nader and his various groups have vociferously opposed. It has also focused on passing legislation to issue more H1-B visas to foreign workers, while Nader has taken a strong stand against the visas."
I know you like him. And thats fine. But you also need to realize not everything is shiney in his world.
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