From: Judy Miriga
Folks,
GOP leader’s top goal: Make Obama 1-term president…..Then What?…collapse America and expand Ponzi Scheme?
Sen. McConnell take of hard line, aims to cut down health care law and give President Obama one year ticket…..is not wise……
Health, Peace and Unity is the antidote for Power, Strength and prosperity……Hate and Division gives rise to failure….an example of third world collapse…..To build a good lasting house with strong foundation, takes years of toil. To destroy a house, takes only a few hours…… Take care, we all need each other for sustainability and existance !
Lets give credit where credit is due! President Obama has done so far so good, he need each and all of us to perfect our parts through collaborative gesture to support his good policies so we can, in a teamwork, access funds , create jobs & build economic balance we all need……
President Obama is able to do this by reaching out to general public voice of reasons, pay attention to urgent public demands and help provide remedy through channel of constant communication and information…….America is the light of the World, we must not blanket or shadow the brightness of the light by being careless or stubborn. We must all try to be wise and sober out ! …….Middle Class economic stability is the back-bone and strength of this present Generation America and the future of our children.
……This is what President Obama is all about in his leadership…..and I cannot help, but stand with him in agreement……
The tone of Mitch McConnell with that of John Boehner to break President Obama and get him out of office before his 8 years term is completed as the first Black American President, will not go down well with many of like mind who believe and trust in the strength and power of America, but look-forward to change and reform that which will make it more stronger, stable and progressive on the face of world’s super-power challenges and competitiveness.
From my point of view, I am not begging, but I believe strongly in the power of voters, and I can feel the fears of joblessness with being without financial securities where many lack and is worrisome. However, I believe there are majority of others who think like I do, and are looking for urgent remedy not gridlock stance…….
Cheers people !
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
USA.
I thought you would want to share in this too…..and have a development day…….
msnbc.com news services
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40007802/
updated 11/4/2010 11:18:42 AM ET 2010-11-04T15:18:42
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday offered an aggressive assessment of the election results, calling for votes to erode the reach of the health care law that was a signature of the Obama administration.
He said the only way Republicans in Congress can achieve their goals is “to put someone in the White House who won’t veto” a repeal of Obama’s health care reform, spending cuts and shrinking the government.
First Thoughts: McConnell doubles down
While other Republicans talk about working with the president, Mitch McConnell is taking a harder line.
Obama’s first year
McConnell’s confrontational tone was in sharp contrast to the chastened posture Obama took Wednesday in the face of a new Republican controlled House and Republican gains in the Senate.
On Wednesday, likely incoming House Speaker John Boehner said that he promised to be honest with Obama and the two agreed to work together on cutting spending and creating jobs, even though Republicans campaigned on vows to turn back much of Obama’s agenda.
In remarks prepared for a speech Thursday to the conservative Heritage Foundation, McConnell says Republicans will work to deny Obama a second term in the White House in 2012.
McConnell’s own approval rating, per a September NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, is 12 percent positive, 20 percent neutral and 18 percent negative, with another 50 percent responding that they did not have an opinion.
RESPONDENTS
1. Truth Lover, with 146
Mr. McConnell, we do not pay you to get rid of the president of the United States. If all you care about is being in power, get the hell out! Your focus had better be the people…we are not going to take this BS from you. For almost 2 years you and the GOP have used as many lies as possible to deflect away from the fact that you have offered no viable solutions. Either you have none, or you are withholding in order to make the president look like he can’t get anything done. You refuse to do what you were hired to do, which is work for the American people. Trying to make yourself look good by doing everything possible to make someone else look bad is disingenuous and childish, to say the least.
Get off your arrogant self-serving a** and put viable solutions on the table to help create jobs and stop banks and insurance companies from abusing the American people.
No, I do not consider the following as viable solutions: editing video to create lies, stomping on someone’s head because they don’t think just like you, trying to convince people that the president is not a US citizen, apologizing to BP for the president boldly securing funds to help Americans after the oil spill, telling folks the president is creating death panels to kill grandma, telling people he is going to take away your guns, etc… all lies.
Do your freaking job!
2. Jake-312935, with 193
Thanks, Mitch. It is nice to know as hundreds of thousands Americans are losing their homes because they lost their jobs due to a world wide Ponzi Scheme created by Wall Street, that at least your priorities are straight. Its all about you and you having power. Nice vision for YOU…not so much for America. It is no wonder why America’s Royalty, (life long incumbent politicians like you) have such a collectively low approval rating. Politicians like you stink. As their leader, you really stink. As one of the many Politicains bought and paid for by Wall Street, you are the perfect crown prince to lead the United States of Corporate America. I would have addressed you as Senator, but your opening salvo into campaign 2012 demonstrates you are unworthy of respect.
BJs65-634377Restored
That he is! Pompous ass is right!
I recall that “Contract with America” bull and how arrogant the GOP was then. It bites in the ass in the end.
I can see it now – nothing but partisanship and gridlock. Never mind doing what is right for our country.
Wake-up….Watch this like movie…..and take caution…….It is an eye opener…….
Dennis Kozlowski
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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)
Leo Dennis Kozlowski [1] (born November 16, 1946, Newark, New Jersey) is a former CEO of Tyco International, convicted in 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in purportedly unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by Tyco of a $20 million investment banking fee to Frank Walsh, a former Tyco director. He is currently serving 8.33 to 25 years at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York.
Contents
1 Tyco International
1.1 Scandal, trial, and conviction
1.2 Commenting on his trial
2 Lifestyle
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
[edit] Tyco International
Kozlowski joined Tyco in 1975, becoming CEO in 1992. With Kozlowski at the helm, Tyco massively expanded during the late 1990s. The company consistently beat Wall Street’s expectations and through a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions, ushered in a new era of mega-conglomerates. Kozlowski left Tyco in 2002, amid a controversy in regard to his compensation package.
[edit] Scandal, trial, and conviction
Kozlowski has been tried twice. The first attempt was a mistrial as one of the jurors, Ruth Jordan – who sided with Kozlowski – later claimed that she was threatened by a member of the public.[1] Kozlowski testified on his own behalf during the second trial, stating that his pay package was “confusing” and “almost embarrassingly big”, but that he never committed a crime as the company’s top executive.
Kozlowski was convicted on June 17, 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in purportedly unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by TYCO of a $20 million investment banking fee to Frank Walsh, a former Tyco director.[2] On September 19, 2005 he was sentenced by Judge Michael Obus of the Manhattan Supreme Court to serve from eight years and four months to twenty-five years in prison for his role in the scandal.[citation needed]
Kozlowski, New York State Department of Correctional Services # 05A4820, is in Mid-State Correctional Facility.[3][4]
His aggregate minimum sentence is 8 years and 4 months, and his aggregate maximum sentence is 25 years. His parole hearing date will be in April 2012. His parole eligibility date and his parole hearing merit release appearance are on January 17, 2014. His conditional release date is on May 17, 2022. His maximum expiration date is September 17, 2030.[4]
[edit] Commenting on his trial
Kozlowski, commenting on his trial in a March 2007 interview with the CBS television newsmagazine 60 Minutes, told Morley Safer, “I was a guy sitting in a courtroom making $100 million a year [a]nd I think a juror sitting there just would have to say, ‘All that money? He must have done something wrong.’ I think it’s as simple as that.” [2]
Kozlowski, however, asserted his innocence by stating, “I am absolutely not guilty of the charges. There was no criminal intent here. Nothing was hidden. There were no shredded documents. All the information the prosecutors got was directly off the books and records of the company.” [3]
Kozlowski is not the only one to question his conviction. Writing in Forbes at the end of the second trial, Dan Ackman said [4]:
It’s fair to say that Kozlowski and Swartz abused many corporate prerogatives and that they invented new ones just so they could abuse them. They acted like pigs, as a lot of CEOs act like pigs. Still, the larceny charges at the heart of the case did not depend on whether the defendants took the money–they did–but whether they were authorized to take it. Questions of authority are, by nature, legal questions, not questions for jurors. Much has been made of how the second Tyco trial was less of a circus than the first one. That’s true, but only by comparison.
On November 15, 2007, the appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court denied Kozlowski’s appeal in a unanimous decision.
[edit] Lifestyle
Kozlowski became notorious for his extravagant lifestyle supported by the booming stock market of the late 1990s and early 2000s; allegedly, he had Tyco pay for his $30 million New York City apartment which included $6,000 shower curtains and $15,000 “dog umbrella stands”.
According to Forbes, Kozlowski also purchased several acres in the private gated community, “The Sanctuary”, in Boca Raton, Florida, while he was CEO at Tyco International.
Tyco paid $1 million (half of the $2 million bill) for the 40th birthday party of Kozlowski’s second wife, Karen M. Kozlowski. The extravagant party, held on the Italian island of Sardinia, featured an ice sculpture of the Statue of David urinating Stolichnaya vodka. This birthday bash was disguised as a shareholder meeting in order to get corporate funding. In a camcorder video, Dennis Kozlowski states that this party will bring out a Tyco core competency – the ability to party hard. Subsequently, this shareholder meeting/birthday party became known as the Tyco Roman Orgy.[5]
On July 31, 2006, Karen Kozlowski filed for divorce in Palm Beach County, Florida. No specific reasons were cited, but the motion asks the court to equitably distribute the couple’s assets and liabilities and asks that gifts Karen received be declared marital property. She also seeks a lien on the couple’s Boca Raton mansion. Finally, the motion requested alimony.
Kozlowski is a graduate of Seton Hall University, and served on the Middlebury College Board of Trustees in the 1990s.
PONZI SCHEMES!
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned. The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. The perpetuation of the returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises and pays requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors to keep the scheme going.
The system is destined to collapse because the earnings, if any, are less than the payments to investors. Usually, the scheme is interrupted by legal authorities before it collapses because a Ponzi scheme is suspected or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities. As more investors become involved, the likelihood of the scheme coming to the attention of authorities increases. While the system eventually will collapse under its own weight, the example of Bernard Madoff demonstrates the ability of a Ponzi scheme to delude both individual and institutional investors as well as securities authorities for long periods: Madoff’s variant of the Ponzi scheme stands as the largest financial investor fraud committed by a single person in history. Prosecutors estimate losses at Madoff’s hand totaling roughly $21 billion, as estimated by the money invested by his victims. If the promised returns are added the losses amount to $64.8 billion, but a New York court dismissed this estimation method during the Madoff trial
A weekly American television series that airs on CNBC.
The program is produced by Kurtis Productions.
The program focuses on the stories behind some of the biggest corporate and white collar crimes in the United States such as WorldCom, HealthSouth and Tyco. In addition, stories about more common crimes such as insurance fraud, murder, embezzlement, art theft, Ponzi schemes, credit card fraud, bank robbery, money laundering, identity theft, and medical fraud are also featured. Other topics have included the story behind the famous Mustang Ranch in Nevada and the rise and fall of boy band impresario Lou Pearlman. American Greed is narrated by veteran actor Stacy Keach.
On February 3, 2010, American Greed entered its fourth season; covering stories including high profiles cases such as Raffaello Follieri, Marcus Schrenker and Sholam Weiss.
Bernie Madoff
He was the mastermind of the biggest Ponzi scheme in American History. He stole millions…maybe billions of dollars from unsuspecting clients. Lives were shattered and fortunes ruined. After confessing to his crimes, Bernie Madoff received the maximum sentence: 150 years in prison.
With exclusive interviews, American Greed goes behind bars to reveal the inside story of Madoff’s life at Butner Prison in North Carolina. You’ll hear from a former prisoner, a current inmate and the victims’ attorney who met face-to-face with Madoff. Does Madoff continue to say he acted alone? Does he show remorse for his victims or just regrets of his ruined reputation? Discover how a notorious conman is adjusting to life in prison and how even from behind bars, Bernie Madoff is not going away quietly.
The Golden Touch
It’s the classic rags to riches story. Richard Marin Scrushy is a brilliant businessman with the “golden touch.” The one time bricklayer turns billionaire after starting HealthSouth, a big provider of outpatient rehab services. Scrushy is the darling of Wall Street. Investors pour money into HealthSouth stock.
High-Flying CEO
The high-flying CEO always travels in style… by air, land and water. Scrushy has a Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, a yacht, seaplane and four mansions. The town of Birmingham, Alabama names buildings after him… and a parkway. But, not everyone is impressed.
Jekyll and Hyde
Employees call Scrushy a sinister CEO… a classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. To the outside world, all appears well… but on the inside a billion dollar fraud is brewing. Accountants conspire to cook the books and report fake earnings.
No Ordinary Trial
The accounting scandal at HealthSouth becomes front-page news. Scrushy is indicted. But the HealthSouth founder puts his faith in a higher power. Scrushy becomes a televangelist.
American Greed follows the story of a man who turns the American dream into the American nightmare!
Season 1
Episode #1 Case 1: Hook, Line and Sucker Barry Hunt—a successful con artist who left a coast-to-coast trail of deception, deceit and empty bank accounts. A profile of Hunt’s crime and the investors who bought his story.
Case 2: Maxfield Parish Art Heist A daring heist. Under the cover of darkness, a hole is expertly cut in the roof. An alarm goes haywire. Two paintings by famed American Artist Maxfield Parrish disappear into the night.
Episode #2 Case 1: The Imposter: Dr. Barnes For twenty years he was an imposter doctor! Dr. Gerald Barnes has a thriving practice specializing in “executive” medical exams. His salary is six-figures and life is good. But there’s a problem: he’s not the real Dr. Gerald Barnes.
Case 2: Interstate Bank Mart Bandit He leaves no clues behind, only a trail of broken dreams and empty bank accounts. Forty-three robberies in 20 months. The M.O. is always the same. Police say it’s the work of one man: “The Interstate Bank Mart Bandit!”.
Episode #3 Case 1: Art Heist: Fine Arts Express A museum quality art collection worth more than $4 million dollars is stolen! Two men, who in a twist of fate, end up working at Fine Arts Express, together hatch a plan to steal the art… museum quality pieces by Picasso, Matisse, and Rothko.
Case 2: Medical Scams: Dr. Martinez It sounds like a nightmare—long needles repeatedly jabbed to a patient’s back. But for Dr. Jorge Martinez, it’s routine business. Expensive, painful and unnecessary shots are all part of a multi-million dollar billing scheme.
Episode #4 Case 1: Meth Identity Thieves It’s a new crime wave rippling across the west; thieves are committing identity theft to fund their meth drug addictions. Victims are robbed. But the thief takes more than money, the victim’s identity is stolen, too.
Case 2: The Wheaton Bandit Wheaton, Illinois – considered a nice place to raise a family. But a shadow hangs over this affluent Chicago suburb. A serial bank robber is armed and ready for a fight.
Episode #5 Case 1: Religious Prey: Baptist Foundation of Arizona The Baptist Foundation of Arizona is a non-profit fundraiser dedicated to the church. Investors believe their money will be secure but millions are lost! “American Greed” unravels the elaborate Ponzi scheme which left a religious community betrayed and baffled.
Case 2: Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos The story of a murderous Chicago doctor who bilked Medicare! He’s a caring doctor with a sterling bedside manner. His practice is lucrative. But beneath the charm lies a con artist; a doctor playing the system and making off with more than a million.
Episode #6 Case 1: Religious Prey: Greater Ministries International A story of religious fraud; a $500 million dollar pyramid scheme. Church founder Gerald Payne has a plan for the faithful to gift the church and double their money. American Greed profiles one of the most lucrative pyramid schemes in history.
Case 2: It takes a Thief A thief leads a double life. By day, he’s a property manager; by night, a cat burglar who executed some of the most daring jewel heists in American history!
[edit] Season 2
Episode #7 The Martin Frankel Case Financier Martin Frankel, a con-man who vanished with $200 million dollars! A story of money laundering, prostitution, bizarre sex and drug abuse.
Episode #8 When Greed and Giving Collide A major charity scam…John Bennett’s “Foundation for New Era Philanthropy” stole millions of dollars from unsuspecting patrons. A story of deception, theft and “American Greed.”
Episode #8 Confessions of a Con Man Eric Stein, mastermind of one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Nevada history, cost his victims nearly $34 million dollars.
Episode #9 Unsolved: $300 Million Art Heist A dark night. A clever plan. $300 million in art is stolen from a Boston museum. Paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Manuet disappear into the night!
Episode #9 Preying on Faith He’s a man of faith and his name is Abraham Kennard. But this pastor preys on his flock. Trusting Christians from small, struggling churches who are hoping to better their communities hand over their savings to this pastor. But instead, as many as 1600 churches nationwide are swindled out of $10 million.
Episode #10 Stealing $$$ From Scientologists A religious man leads a deceptive life and scams investors out of more than $600 million! The rise and fall of Scientologist minister Reed Slatkin is a story of “American Greed.”
Episode #10 The Art of Fraud Enter the mysterious world of art fraud. An elaborate sting operation exposes Dr. Vilas Likhite, a doctor stripped of his medical license who begins a new career as a con man selling fake art treasures!
Episode #11 Deadly RX For Greed Patients are at risk. A respected pharmacist is on the take. Robert Courtney mixes a prescription of greed; diluting life-saving drugs and the hopes of cancer patients.
Episode #12 Inside the WorldCom Scam Inside the WorldCom Scam – Bernard Ebbers, CEO of WorldCom, rises from rags to riches. But the “telecom cowboy” becomes the poster child for everything that went wrong on Wall Street in the 1990s. WorldCom’s eventual downfall shakes the financial community and the lives of thousands of investors. – American Greed investigates one of the most notorious cases of corporate fraud in US history.
Episode #12 DHS: Department of Hollywood Scams It reads like a Hollywood script: Joseph Medawar is a hotshot television producer. He creates a new action packed adventure series based on real-life national security cases. Investors fund the project. But there’s no show…. only a scam to rob investors out of millions of dollars!
Episode #13 Fraud in Cyberspace A conman. Some say an “evil genius.” The once- chairman of Cybernet, a wildly successful global technology company, stands accused of stealing millions in an elaborate fraud. American Greed profiles one of the biggest scams of the 21st century!
Episode #14 Party’s Over – Tyco’s Kozlowski Dennis Kozlowski, once described as “The Most Aggressive CEO in America,” now sits behind bars. A poster boy of excess, the former CEO of Tyco stole millions from his company, using the money for a lavish party, a gilded shower curtain and expensive art. American Greed goes behind prison walls for a rare glimpse into Kozlowski’s personal life and one of the biggest cases of white collar theft in U.S. history
Episode #15 Driven By Greed It’s called the “Miracle Car Club.” Starting with members of their own church and then branching out, two young men take investors for a ride to the tune of more than $21 million. American Greed profiles one of the largest car scams in U.S. history! It was known as the Miracle Cars scam.
Episode #15 Conned in the Caribbean It sounds too good to be true. An offshore bank promises astronomical returns to investors…100% guaranteed. But, the bank is a sham and investors lose more than $170 million!
Episode #16 Robbing Hollywood’s A-List Dana Giacchetto advises Hollywood’s hottest stars… and finds his own fame and fortune. But, his star-power fades when nearly $10 million goes missing!
Episode #16 Soaking The Rich at Auction He’s an art collector, the former chairman of Sotheby’s and a convicted felon. Alfred Taubman takes us inside the price-fixing scandal at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
[edit] Season 3
Episode #17 The Bonnie and Clyde of Mortgage Fraud An attractive, sinfully dishonest Tampa mortgage broker meets a single mom looking for love. Together they team up and make millions in the real estate market. In a tell-all exclusive interview, Matt Cox and Rebecca Hauck explain how lust and greed are a hot combination for fraud.
Episode #18 Boy Band Mogul Lou Pearlman… the legendary manager of boy bands like *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys… the king of an entertainment empire that crumbles. Pearlman lives a glamorous life of fame, fancy cars… and crime. He’s the mastermind who scams $500 million from investors!
Episode #19 A Wall Street Wonder Takes a Fall Richard Scrushy is the Superstar CEO of HealthSouth, a huge provider of outpatient rehab services. But, the billionaire falls from grace after federal prosecutors accuse him of masterminding a $2.7 billion dollar fraud!
Episode #20 Two Brothers, Two Murders Multi-millionaire businessmen and brothers Andrew and Robert Kissel have it all…beautiful families, mansions, country clubs, and fast cars. They appear to live charmed lives. But, the Kissel brothers’ good fortune runs out and ends in murder. Who would want them dead?
Episode #21 Skin Doctor Takes His Cut A respected doctor. Trusting patients. Dr. Michael Rosin runs a thriving dermatology practice specializing in a highly effective procedure for skin cancer. But, Dr. Rosin’s surgery isn’t just a cancer treatment… it’s a goldmine.
Episode #21 Revolutionary Guru of Greed He proclaims himself “King of the Offshore World.” Marc Harris promises financial freedom in paradise… a way to keep assets out of the reach of government. But, the “guru” is running a Ponzi scheme and bilking clients out of millions of dollars!
Episode #22 A Scam Exposed: Strippers and Insider Trading A shocking scheme to use strippers to solicit information from Wall Street bankers. Another plan to steal secrets and cash in on stock that’s about to soar. Two young traders, David Pajcin and Eugene Plotkin, are the masterminds behind a complex Wall Street con.
Episode #22 Economan: Superthief Al Parish. An economics professor. A trusted financial advisor. A genius. But the self-proclaimed “Economan” is the suspected mastermind behind an $80 million investment scam.
Episode #23 The Mustang Ranch: Money, Women and Murder The Mustang Ranch. It’s the famous brothel where sex is always for sale. Joe Conforte is the pioneering pimp who makes millions peddling sex at the Nevada Ranch. He’s creates a brothel empire and defies the law. But his thirst for power and influence ultimately bring him down.
Episode #24 The Body Snatcher A disgraced dentist carves out a gruesome new business. From a secret room in a Brooklyn funeral home he runs a multi-million dollar business… cutting up corpses and stripping the bodies for parts. Michael Mastromarino’s is a modern day body snatcher!
[edit] Season 4
Episode #25 Suicide is Painless Samuel Israel III turns his wall street hedge fund, “Bayou Investments”, into a ponzi scheme after poor management, then attempts a fake suicide to flee prosecution.