Guilty!

So Ken Lay, the former cheif fundraiser of the GOP and Jeff Skilling have been found guilty by a jury of their peers in the Enron case. Good. Maybe we do have a justice system after all. I hope this sends a message to errant CEOs that 'business as usual' will NOT be tolerated.

This is of course, scant consolation to all the 'victims' of the Enron implosion, the workers who had invested in their careers and as stockholders, or 'owners' and were betrayed y their senior management. Plus, all the retirees and near-retirees who now face the rest of their lives in poverty, near poverty, with the threat of foreclosure or the threat of having to work until they are 90 rather than enjoying their Golden Years all because they invested heavily in Enron stock.

You'd think that with the "MILLIONS" CEOs, plus perks like company paid golf club memberships, travel for themeseves and their families and rich consulting deals after they 'retire', you' think that CEO's would actually WORK and be accountable to SOMEONE at SOME point would be the case, but not according to an article by AP Business Writer Bruce Myerson. In a recent article he notes that CEOs have a disdain for, and detest shareholder meetings. Some of the countries biggest corporations, like Verizon, who have headquarters in New York, call for the annual shareholder's meeting to be in Kansas City. Why? So, people are less inclined to attend. It seems that CEOs are loathe to answer questions that justify their insane salaries, especially, since there has been a move recently by shareholders (to whom CEOs are supposed to report) to reign in some of the CEO perks. If they don't have to answer to answer to the shareholders at the annual meeting, who DO they report to? They certainly don't care what the customer on the street wants, nor to their care about their workers whose jobs and benefits are most likely to be cut in a 'cost-saving' and therefore a BONUS for the execs. It seems we have a train running out of control, maybe the Enron verdicts will put a break on the corporate culture of excess and inaccountability. I hope so.

Bush's Immigration Plan, or the Senate vs. the House: Putting 6000 National Guard on the border with no guns makes entirely no sense. We are being invaded! Bush's plan amounts to de-facto amnesty. This is NOT a racism issue, nor is it an anti-Mexican issue, its about abiding by our laws. Mexico has MUCH stricter laws on immigration than the US does. I can't go down there, walk across the border, set up shop and be treated as the equal of a Mexican citizen.

I was watching Scarborough Country last night and there was a illegal immigrant supporter who equated Pat Buchanan with a Fascist. How can ANYONE see scores of people running through the desert and claim theat they are abiding by the rules? If someone broke into YOUR home, like a home invasion, and the burgler says "I'm not a crook, I just want a roof over my head", would you feed him or shoot him?

Bush needs to crack down on employers who hire illegals, we also need a better system to track the criminal records and identies of illegal aliens. If the government can tap into our phones, they CAN check the backgrounds of the workers that work here. When I worked at the Nevada Test Site, they did a background check on me that went back 15 years and included interviews by employers, former employers, co-workers, neighbors and friends.

I also call on Vicente Fox to do more for the Mexican economy. Crack down on government corruption, and create employment opportunities for his citizens and discourage Mexican women to stop being baby factories and I encourage the Catholic and Mormon churches to do the same.
One way to cut down on child poverty is to cut back on overpopulation and take care of the millions who are already born.

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On the plant front:

Working in the Garden - planted gladiolus, corn, day lillies, impatiens, and in a yard ornament - white flower begonias, red flower begonias, lavender (seed) and coleus (seed).

In the house - planted Lithops (no luck - will start again), Kona Coffee and Venus Fly Trap (no sprouts yet)

On the Porch - Colorado Blue Spruce (sprouts!) and Dawn Redwood (2 sprouts) and Tea (no sprouts yet)

On outside table - several varieties of cacti (some from seed)

In containers outside - One Cacti and Cucumber (seed)

Joined Cacti and Succulent Society of America.

Getting warm outside - good for the cacti.