(no subject)

[badstar]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060325/ap_on_re_us/katrina_barbara_bush

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this. Barbara Bush gave money to the Bush-Clinton Houston Hurricane Relief Fund, specifying that it be used to buy software for schools...specific software coming from her son Neil's company.

My thoughts...which are just thoughts...are this:

1. I don't know anything about the software. I can't criticize or laud it's use.

2. It's her money, if she wants to donate it to a specific cause for a specific use, it's her choice.

3. I think I would have more clear-cut feelings- I think it would bother me less- if she had just purchased the software and given the software. Something about "Here's a chunk of money now go buy stuff from my son's business" really puts me off.


The article mentions a previous conflict-of-interest situation....

Two years ago, the Houston school district board wrestled with conflict of interest concerns over the Ignite program. Neil Bush had helped raise $115,000 for the district's philanthropic fund from donors who insisted the money be spent on his company's software.

Comments

[robinhoodvandal.livejournal.com]

That whole family is so freaking sketchy

[saratoga80.livejournal.com]

There's nothing new about this. Alot of political donors put such ties to things, to help out friends and families. Corrupt? Yeah, but both sides do it. If you look at politics, alot of sides guarantee their contributions go to political allies, friends and families - it's the creation of a political class. There's almost no difference between Republicans and Democrats these days. They may both find themselves out of a job if their political class ever starts interfering, I mean truly interfering, with free markets and basic rights. Note: Patriot Act and NSA Wiretapping are also nothing new, in reality - Patriot Act is akin to WW2 anti-foreign agent acts, and even the Clinton White House engaged in warrantless search to nail Aldrich Ames. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. -- Roger Daltrey, of THe Who.

-- Rich

[fuego.livejournal.com]

no it's not new, but it's a specific incident that I learned of. I'm not criticizing a political party, just expressing my feelings about a specific act....

[pagandenma.livejournal.com]

Can you say nepotism children? We knew you could . . .

Disgusting. How about money for what they really need?

[sunneyone.livejournal.com]

then why not just give the schools the software?

[forexample.livejournal.com]

Neil Bush is a bad businessman and a crook who couldn't survive without help from friends and family. A recurring method is to give him a high paying job he's unqualified for so it can be counted as salary. There's an article from 2003 floating around about it.