Henry Waxman: The Witch Hunter of Capitol Hill

My syndicated column this week puts Henry Waxman’s latest witch hunt against companies speaking out on the costs of Demcare in the larger context of his power-grabbing career as the Left’s chief inquisitor. Related good reads: Megan McArdle breaks down Waxman’s war on accounting. John Fund calls the upcoming Waxman hearing the first Demcare death panel. As I note below, more companies are reporting write downs as required by SEC rules, disclosure laws passed by Congress (and supported by Waxman), and generally accepted accounting practices. How many show trials does Waxman plan on holding?
More targets for the Witch Hunter: “Small businesses fret over details of health law.”
Great video and info from Heritage/The Foundry: Side Effects: Obamacare the Television Ad
***
Henry Waxman: The Witch Hunter of Capitol Hill
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2010
Has there ever been a time when 18-term liberal Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman’s nostrils weren’t flaring indignantly at corporate executives and entrepreneurs? The man wields his gavel over the free market like a Damoclean sword. He throws the weight of his congressional chairmanship around like a sumo wrestler walking across hot stones. For more than 35 years, Waxman has made it his taxpayer-funded business to use the power of government to undermine private business.
No one should be surprised by his latest thuggish efforts to silence companies speaking out about the cost implications and financial burdens of Demcare — least of all, those companies.
This is the Eliot Ness-wannabe who serves proudly as the left’s chief inquisitor. This is the Capitol Hill haranguer who herded tobacco company CEOs in front of the cameras, made them raise their right hands and cackled as he forced them to testify under oath about the evils of their products. Waxman’s demagoguery then was so over the top that it prompted Washington Post columnist William Raspberry to write that the “Capitol Hill inquisition masquerading as legislative hearings reminds me of nothing so much as a witch-hunting Joe McCarthy.”
Last month, Waxman stacked the deck at the Toyota inquisition hearing with auto industry-bashing Naderites. In 2007, he held court over the Valerie Plame show trial. And in February 2008, he wasted four hours on a nationally televised interrogation of baseball legend Roger Clemens and his trainer. Republicans called Waxman out on his Captain Queeg-ish vendetta against Clemens. The debacle was dubbed a “Roman Circus.” After squandering public resources on congressional showboating over steroid use, Waxman himself confessed that he “didn’t think it was a hearing that needed to be held.”
When he isn’t abusing the deliberative process to add to his press-clipping collection and serve up red meat (er, blue meat) for the TV airwaves, he’s short-circuiting hearings to ram through political power grabs masquerading as “reform.” Waxman pushed massively expensive, complicated cap-and-tax legislation through the House last year by leapfrogging over subcommittee debate. He also staved off Republican efforts to slow down and scrutinize the behemoth bill by hiring a “speed reader” to plow through the 900-page bill during mark-up.
Waxman himself couldn’t be bothered to familiarize himself with the trillion-dollar regulatory tyranny stuffed into his own bill. When a GOP colleague on his committee asked him whether he knew a specific provision had been embedded in the proposal with his name on it, Waxman snorted: “You’re asking me?”
The indignant interrogator then went on to question the patriotism of anyone who dared ask questions about the climate change tax scheme — and accused conservatives of “rooting against the country.”
Now, Waxman is targeting the heads of Deere, Caterpillar, Verizon and AT&T with “invitations” they can’t refuse to testify at an April 21 hearing on their public statements regarding Demcare-caused writedowns. Waxman’s fishing expedition letters sent out last week “asked” the company heads to produce copious documentation.
Business execs are damned if they do disclose how the costs of the new federal health care taxes will hit their bottom line and damned if they don’t. If they stay silent, they’ll be violating Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure requirements passed by Congress after the Enron scandal. If they talk, they’ll be paraded in front of the camera like those poor tobacco heads Waxman waxed more than 15 years ago.
Who’s next? On Monday, Prudential said it would take a $100 million charge in the first quarter thanks to Demcare. In Colorado, the Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. said the health care law will cost $2 million a year starting in 2014. AK Steel Corp., 3M and Valero Energy have all announced similar writedowns. At this rate, if Waxman insists on hauling up every last truth-teller in the marketplace, he’ll be holding an inquisition-a-thon a day.
And that would suit the Witch Hunter of Capitol Hill just fine. If he isn’t meddling, he isn’t working. And if he isn’t using his powers to bully, bulldoze or bankrupt his enemies, he is failing the gods of progressivism.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Obama’s latest campaign angle: I’ve been saving America from wild Republican debts
May 24, 2012 04:33 PM by Doug Powers
47 CommentsSenate finally passes a budget approves bill striking word ‘lunatic’ from federal law
May 24, 2012 11:22 AM by Doug Powers
191 CommentsStammertime: Jay Carney asked if Chicago protests have soured Obama’s support for OWS
May 23, 2012 07:44 PM by Doug Powers
54 CommentsS.E. Cupp, Hustler, and the four stages of conservative female abuse
May 23, 2012 02:13 PM by Michelle Malkin
142 CommentsPig Maher’s boy Bill Burton mocks my support of Hatch challenger Dan Liljenquist
May 23, 2012 11:37 AM by Michelle Malkin
32 CommentsFree speech blogburst: Show solidarity for targeted conservative bloggers; Update: It’s Everybody Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day; Donation fund for targets
May 23, 2012 05:59 AM by Michelle Malkin
91 CommentsJaczko the Jerk: Harry Reid’s sexist crony gets the boot
May 23, 2012 05:15 AM by Michelle Malkin
31 CommentsPalin officially endorses desperate, clingy Orrin Hatch; time to rally around Dan Liljenquist
May 22, 2012 11:32 PM by Michelle Malkin
83 CommentsCatholic lawsuit against Obamacare mandate cites 1993 legislation written by Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer
May 22, 2012 04:35 PM by Doug Powers
48 Comments
Categories: Health care,Politics


Villainous Company
» Must Read Post of the Day. Possibly, the Year

Sister Toldjah
» Barack Obama: Can we call him a Socialist now?












He’s in the last throws of his Chairmanship. In a little over 7 months, he’ll be a lame duck, as the Republican retake Congress. No way he holds on long enough to take the reins of some future Democrat Congress, if one ascends again in his lifetime. (Hope not).
All I can say about Henry Waxman is that he certainly is a waste of good air.
The CEO’s of these companies should call rep Waxman’s bluff. Absolutely, go and testify. While doing so, educate the Congress on what the rules require the companies to do. Yep, laws made by the Congress.
Quietly remind the Congress that corporations can now fully participate in the election process. (Though I disagree that they should.) But, don’t kowtow.
Use the forum to call out the duplicity of the Congress and their culpability in what is necessary for the companies to do.
And yes, the CEO’s should do their best to put Congress on the spot.
“Waxman-ism”, it’s the new Mccarthyism… and with it we’ll have a the “House Committee on Un-Obama Activities”
Dick Dastardly strikes again…Curses!
Love it!
Of course they must demonize, its because the object of their worship is not worthy of accolades.
Yep, hope they do some finger pointing of their own for a change.
All the employees of these companies who voted for Obambi can take their pink slips to the voting booths in November. When they have an urge to vote for a liberal, statist, Democrat, they can look at it and get shocked out of their stupor.
Spot on Michelle — More evidence that laws don’t apply to the politburo.
Today is My Birthday!
And God willing, I will live long enough to see EVERY Puke Politician Brought before a Judge on Crimes Against The People,Crimes Against The United States of America. I want to see the Washington DC Bubble Burst, and then watch like turning on the lights & the cockroaches hide.
Snidley Whiplash is in need of a Nostrilectomy!
Just more proof that this is the worse congress ever, even including the 1865 congress.
When did we come to a point in our country where our government has the ability to “order” it’s citizens and businesses to do anything? I keep hearing this lending commercial on XM that says that the president has “ordered” the banks to loan over 1 billion dollars so people can get houses. I want to reach through the radio and strangle the person on the other end. There is no president of the USA (present one included) that has the power to tell any business how to conduct its affairs.
Great column!
Too bad Waxman, et al, actually enjoy the private sector objections.
I think of the current administration and their left-wing accomplices in Congress as political bestialists who are grudge-banging a capitalist pig they’ve finally managed to pin to the ground — and the more the pig squeals, the more they get off.
Is it November yet?
Whenever I see Waxman I can only think of this:
(Jerry’s car – BMW)
(Jerry scratching right side of nose. Tia in a cab sees him,
in shock. Cab pulls away.)
JERRY
No, No, No, No, Oh, No.
(Jerry’s Apartment)
(Jerry hanging up phone)
JERRY
Well every day for the past four days she hasn’t returned one call.
GEORGE
Was it a scratch or a pick?
JERRY
It was a scratch.
GEORGE
Hey. It’s me.
JERRY
Don’t you think I know the difference between a pick and a scratch?
(Buzzer)
JERRY
Yeah?
ELAINE
(OC) It’s me.
JERRY
Come on up.
GEORGE
Was there any nostril penetration?
JERRY
There may have been some incidental penetration. But from her angle she was in no position to make the call.
GEORGE
So let’s say in her mind she witnessed
a pick. Okay, so then what?
JERRY
Is that so unforgivable? Is that like breaking a commandment? Did God say to Moses thou shalt not pick?
GEORGE
I guarantee you that Moses was a picker.
You wander throughh the desert for forty years with that dry air. … You telling me you’re not going to have occasion to clean house a little bit.
JERRY
Let me ask you something. If you were going out with somebody and if she did that what would, would you do? Would you continue going out with her?
GEORGE
No. That’s disgusting!
JERRY
An’ what if I did do it? Even though I admit to nothing, and never will. What does that make me? And I’m not here just defending myself but all those Pickers out there who’ve been caught. (Elevator doors open) Each an’ every one of them, who has to suffer the shame and humiliation because of people like you..
(Everyone but Jerry is now in the elevator. Jerry’s still addressing them) Are we not human?! If we pick, do we not bleed?! (Elevator
doors shut. A few people in the hallway are looking at him, he turns and addresses them) I am not an animal!
Have a GREAT day, McCloud!!
Now, I hope those CEO’s fly to DC in their private Corporate Jets and tell Congress their next stop is Las Vegas!! And I hope they inform Congress that they are overstepping their boundaries and what they are doing is unconstitutional. Then, I hope they all stand up en mass and walk out. Poof…that daydream was fleeting!! But it felt good for a few seconds! I just pray the CEO’s know what rights they have and won’t allow the intimidation to continue.
These socialist democrat bastards don’t know what all this cost and more importantly they don’t care. They don’t give a damn what you or I think.
We need to repeat this over and over and over. SOCIALISM IS FAILURE
American Socialism = American Failure
Can someone please answer this question: Why did Waxman not hold this hearing BEFORE he joined his party in ramming the bill through congress?
It should be pointed out that a lot of this is due to Bush extended tax breaks for prescription medicare benefits, which, consequently, was also government intervention.
Waxman doesn’t need a hearing for this. It’s very easy to explain:
The tax breaks don’t exist anymore, so to fulfill obligations, companies must spend more after tax money, which strains the bottom line. They are taking write-downs now (as allowed by IRS law) so that they can spread the projected cost over the next few years.
How in the world can Waxman not understand that?
When you have all control in the hands of one party, this is what you can expect… I only hope that our GREAT REPUBLIC will survive this catastrophe… To all the MORONS out there who said, “we can survive four years of OBAMA, we survived four years of CARTER”, welcome to BUYERS REMORSE to the highest degree… The arrogance is beginning to wear real thin… I only hope the VOTER will still be disgusted with this ARROGANCE come November…
The first step to ridding ourselves of Henry et al, and the recovery of our nation is the November elections. If citizens do their usual job of simply returning the incumbents, we’re toast! My concern is with the 47% that still approve of O’Bambi & company. What exactly are they approving of at this point? I don’t trust my fellow Americans, Well OK, 47% of my fellow Americans I don’t trust.
I hope Waxman proceeds at full speed.
I am reminded of the testimony of the president of the company that made the coffeemaker for the C5A Galaxy transport plane. He was called on the carpet by a Congress, because of the cost of the coffee maker.
The committee smelled blood and were poised to rip him apart. That did not happen. The most significant comments I remember him making were:
1) The coffee maker was one of a kind, built for the C5A only. Only 80 C5A’s were built and the USAF document that mandated the coffee maker’s specifications was 4 inches thick .
2) The specifications were such that the coffee maker would continue to brew coffee under conditions that would have already killed the crew.
I expect these corporate heads to eat Waxman’s lunch. Have at it Henry.
Last night, that idiot, Juan Williams asked where these CEO’s were BEFORE the bill was passed. Why didn’t they speak up? The rest of the panel didn’t even correct him. The CEO’s DID speak up and wrote letters, etc. warning Congress about the hit they would take. So now, leftie Juan Williams is rewriting history and he gets away with it. I realize that we can’t answer ALL of the lies that are being told out there, but this one was right there in front of Krauthammer and he didn’t say a word. Maybe he missed it. I love Krauthammer, but I was pretty upset with him last night. These stupid left-wing allegations must NOT go unanswered!! And by the way, Alan Colmes last night was even more delusional and creepy than usual. I wish they wouldnt give that creature air time. He belongs in a rubber room, not on TV.
You’re asking a California politician to understand basic accounting and business practices.
Have you looked at California lately? It is one of the most anti-business, anti-profit, anti-accounting states in the Union.
These guys are clueless…
I ask again for someone to show me where the Constitution grants the authority to Congress to subpoena private citizens or private corporations not doing business with the government to testify.
On one hand I agree that it would be fun to see them use their time to call out these morons, while on the other I think they should tell them to “pound sand.”
To these long-term “elites”, they, themselves, are the Constitution. It is whatever they say it is. That’s the result of the graft and corruption rampant throughout the system. Unfortunately, they are banking on the same apathetic voters, who condemn all politicians (except their own, of course) to vote them back in office again.
Michelle, I wish you’d interview Ari David, who is running against Waxman, and write a piece about him.
Everybody … please donate!
http://www.aridavidforcongress.com
I’d love to see this jerk get booted. It would be epic.
This human flotsam has used the committee hearings to intimidate anyone who challenges his self image as a worthwhile person. He has been using it for years along with all too many others. We saw this from that marxist cow from California Maxine Waters “This Liberal will be all about Socializing“.
We are the United States. Do we really want to be united with the kind of people who vote for such scum? So the Republicans do take control of the House-Waters and Waxman will still be in Congress and the people who voted for them will still be suckling the public teat.
Clueless? Treason might be a better description.
Sadly, Bruce, its in there.
Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution allows congress the power to call and subpoena witnesses in regards to crafting legislation or gaining information. In the case Mc-Grain v. Daugherty (1927), the Supreme Court gave the nod to Congress to also call on private citizens.
so as to be fair, i gained that information here because while i knew it was legal and possible for them to do it, i wasnt sure exactly where, and went searching.
I know it sucks, and i think that they’re grasping at straws to demonize companies that provide untold tax dollars and jobs in our country…but who cares about that? It’s all about (insert current democrap mouth-foaming issue here).
It’s hard to have a business of any size that doesn’t have dealings with the feds anymore. I’d guess that every one of them has some sort of federal contract.
Congressman–we are complying with the SEC disclosure laws required by this bill. It lets our shareholders know our future earnings potential. Would you rather we break the law?????? Up yours with a fluffy feather. Good day.
It’s there of course, but if anything is clear by now, it’s that these elitists don’t know what’s in the Constitution and couldn’t care less. They intend to rule, not govern.
Personally, I’d like to see the heads of the 30 DJIA companies announce the impact of this bill to their companies on the Capitol steps and then promptly ask for their invitation to the meeting.
It would be doubly nice if a few thousand other corporations did the same.
Except that Joe McCarthy was proven right…
Unless you are talking of the people who believe the Walter Cronkite and ilk docudramas about Joe McCarthy and thus had their brains turned to mush.
Were there communist agents of the USSR working for the United States government in Sensitive Jobs? Yes.
This guy is butt ugly. If you ever need to get rid of vermin, do not waste your money calling the Orkin man. Just put out a picture of Waxman. Rats and cockroaches fear him and will flee in horror.
The Snout is in a coniption. Medicate him immediately and lay him down in a cot in the back room!
Waxman is a perfect example of why we must end the democratic majority in congress. Getting rid of RINOs is one thing but we should not let our own internal housecleaning cause us to lose sight of this immenent threat to our republic. Vote to nominate the best Republican you can get and then vote Republican in the general election no matter what. Yes, we will have to accept a few RINOs as part of a new conservative majority coalition or we’ll be stuck with Pelosi, Waxman and their cohorts in charge forever.
http://hindenblog1.blogspot.com/2010/03/burn-thug-ugly-waxman-mau-maus-law.html
Thought you guys might like this from a couple of days back.
My reaction to Thugly Waxman if I were Caterpillar CEO…
Suck my side-boom!!!
This is a KNOWN problem from the flawed senate health care bill. What this did for Harry Reid was to allow him to shift costs in the CBO estimate. In this case directly into private hands. The CBO does NOT estimate how taxpayers will adjust to a change, and in this case the CBO simply pretended these companies will simply print cash to cover the change like congress does.
Do not forget that promoters of this bill LIED about the costs then, and continue to LIE about the costs today.
These lies will be comming to a head in April when that ‘doc fix’ needs a vote! I wonder how the democrats plan to ‘quietly’ jam that in through reconcillation?
You can thank the rich a-holes of Beverly Hills, Bel Air, etc. for keeping this rat in office all of this time. They’re showbiz people and plastic surgery widows; what do they care about private industry?
Cripes – my cat looked at the TV when Waxman was on and choked up a hair ball right then and there. Even the animal kingdom can sence evil.
In the UK you would be arrested for animal cruelty. Please monitor more carefully what your cat watches on TV, also, use the parental controls, that’s what they’re there for.
The ceo’s should say as dear nan did, we did not know what was in the bill till it was passed. Now we do and it is going to break the company. Jobs will be lost, etc. I just wish these ceo’s would stand their ground with lots and lots of facts to this ‘bucky beaver’ henry
L
Rogue Cheddar said:
I actually found the 4 legs good,2 legs bad control on the remote – I will use that from now on
Waxman makes McCarthy proud!
Maybe one of these companies with deep legal departments will challenge Waxman’s unconstitutional authority in court?
I say bring on the Inquisition. Let the CEOs crunch the ObamaCare numbers before rolling C-SPAN cameras.
jsmiddleton4 #49
Why do you continue repeating that long-discredited liberalism????
McCarthy was the diametric opposite of Waxman. McCarthy proven right.
Here’s hoping. But the evil inherent in the central government is that people like Waxman, Pelosi, Reid et al are essentially immune. No accountability, no responsibility. Even when everything goes to hell exactly as everyone predicts, when the suffering peaks, the Democrats will shrug their shoulders and deliver a sly grin. They get what they want and there is no reasonable recourse for the American people.
The Statist agenda is devilishly efficient in that even if we jam up this nightmare it will ferment and spontaneously regenerate itself later. Like a boa constrictor, it never loosens its grip, it only grows ever tighter until the prey expires.
Government must be starved of it’s mother’s milk which is unlimited access to the public purse and the printing press. Starve the beast with a balanced budget tied to a fixed 15% of prior year GDP and a hard debt ceiling. Combine that with a fair tax amendment, and their power is effectively neutralized. As it is now, there is literally nothing stopping us from a swift rush to Stalinist totalitarianism. The destruction of the Constitution has demonstrated that clearly. Only the armed population gives them pause.
A day or so ago I read somewhere, If you are an X Files doubter, just take a look at Waxman.
Point well taken.!!
Waxman is what the Soviet Union calls a “Useful Idiot” that aids and abets their plan to convert the USA to Socialism from within or in other words a traitor.
greysheepdog put up a link yesterday with an interview of Yuri Bezmenov that explains what the Soviets are doing right now in the USA. He names names and some of the notable Useful Idiots are Al Gore,Jane Fonda, leftist Politicians and media pundits that “can look you right in the eye and lie”.
The reason this interview is so timely because we are witnessing exactly what he describes in this interview with the current Barry Soetoro administration.
Scroll ahead to 7:00 minutes and listen to him describe what awaits these traitors when the marxists come to power; “they are lined up against the wall and shot”.
Alan K. Henderson Not bloody likely
this Inquisitionthese hearings will see the light of day. The CongressCritters will work behind closed doors and then emerge to inform the unwashed masses (those that aren’t distracted by DWTS or AI) that they have once again been protected from the evil blood-sucking CEOs who threaten the American way of life and stomp on bunnies and kittens for fun in their Executive Cafeterias.Unlikely, McCarthy would’ve outed Waxman as the communist that he is.
“Why do you continue repeating that long-discredited liberalism????”
Well let’s see. First of all I posted it once.
Second of all the term McCarthyism is a well established term describing what Waxman is doing.
Thirdly, you seem to be distracted easily by bright shiny objects and in doing so miss the point.
Re X-Files: You could put more trust into Cancer Man (his nickname before they got PC correct and started calling him Cigarette Man) than Waxman!
Waxman: Kang or Kodos?
Ha! You got you Simpsons in my Star Trek!
Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, named his recurring alien characters “Kang” and “Kodos”, after Kang the Klingon and Kodos the Executioner.
“The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV.”
– excerpt from Kodos’ speech to the 4,000 people he murdered
Exactly. No rolling over. The Congress must be challenged with questions about their complicity.
So…Kodos? LOL
Fer sure. I can see Waxman giving that same speech to the colony.
OK. Any and every company who is impacted by this should have their moment to address the Congress.
That should keep Congress busy through the mid-terms and during their tenure as Lame Ducks — and keep evils such as Cap&Tax from becoming a reality.
Some people are ugly outside, others are ugly inside, Waxman is one of those rare individuals who is ugly outside and despicable inside.
When is this turd’s next election?
***
HI FLYOVERMAN–#23. I also remember the big buck coffeepot flap before Congress.
***
Another phony flap was the high cost of a very specialized tool needed to remove a part from an aircraft (F16?) landing gear hydraulic cylinder. Only 10 were made–at high design and construction costs. Using any other tool would have destroyed a very expensive aircraft part.
***
The Congressional inquisitor stated that a common Visegrip locking pliers could do the job! I would hate to be the pilot trying to land on a damaged landing gear caused by the lack of the proper tool. Let’s save a few bucks instead–and risk losing a plane and pilot. Clueless clowns.
***
John Bibb
***
AMEN!
Just like the “fishy” emails…companies should go on the offensive and inundate Waxman with the “evidence” he’s demanding!
These communists MUST be stopped!
I don’t see how these companies made themselves vulnerable to Congress or the SEC. We need someone like Howard Hughes to tell them to go pound sand. If there is ‘a right to privacy’ amywhere in our laws then it applies here.
A short drop gallows would do that. I advocate nothing–I am convinced they will make one big power grab that will be resisted vigorously.
May the heavens fall
Let justice be done
Speakup: Nov 2010, every two years, just like all the other T*rds in the Congress.
Just remember, flush twice it’s a long way from DC back to CA!
Waxulon-6
I think if it were me I’d tell Waxman to shove it up his arse and that I was not going to waste my time being roasted like a pig at a luau for his screwup. I have more important things to do, like running a buisness that must actually make a profit for it’s shareholders. I’d invite him to kiss my smelly pink starfish and not bother to show up. Let him throw me in jail for contempt of congress because that is exactly how I feel about them. Contempt.
I think I would then take a long business trip to Switzerland…
This is the same moron who co-sponsored last year’s climate legislation and told everyone the arctic ice was evaporating and that ice was holding down the tundra. (He doesn’t even know that our nuclear submarines regularly travel under the ice cap? What an IDIOT!) Considering the level of intelligence of the people who vote for him I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
Hey Henry! Have you seen THIS data yet? For the second time in less than one year, the Arctic sea ice extent has rebounded back to it’s THIRTY YEAR average.
You’re probably too stupid to understand the chart so I’ll explain it to you in simple terms — it means that you can now find exactly ZERO evidence of man made global warming in the Arctic…ZERO!
What makes you think he doesn’t? He is fully aware of it and is simply counting on these CEO’s to do the standard bowing and scraping by witnesses inherent in these “hearings”.
I hope and pray that at least one of these company leaders actually does stand up and say on camera and in public that he/she understands that the true reason he/she was called to testify is only to allow Waxman and his committee to grandstand, pontificate to and idealistically defecate on the American public. Tell the committee that his/her company employs CPA’s, accountants and professional finance experts to comply with rules, laws and regulations that Congress put in place and that those legions of professionals have provided the guidance the CEO needed to present, according to federal law, to shareholders which clearly shows the need for the write down. Plunk down the book of pages and pages of figures, facts, assumptions and calculations that these professionals used to derive the numbers that led to the legally mandated write downs and public notifications and then provide copies of same to the press.
Then tell Waxman and his committee that his/her testimony was complete, that he/she had nothing pertinent or additional to say. Except perhaps a general “Up Yours” to the entire committee.
I hope and pray for it, but am not naive enough to see any of these folks having the cojones to stand up for themselves, their companies and their employees. They’ll all fold like cheap suits. Sissies.
2008
Colbert Report – Better Know a District – California’s 30th – David Nelson
Waxman isn’t feeling any heat whatsoever.
Congressional seats in the House and Senate were not meant to be lifetime appointments, and this article illustrates exactly why. Too much power, and too much chance of abuse that power. 18 terms??? Thoroughly ridiculous. Term limits NOW!
On March 31st, 2010 at 2:08 pm, jsmiddleton4 said:
I was pointing out the fact that you repeated it at all.
McCarthyism is actually the definition of finding known Soviet agents operating at the highest levels of the US government. Joseph McCarthy was proven right by Venona.
The fact that you repeated the long-discredited liberalism proves my first comment correct.
No; My point was to not connect the very correct Joseph McCarthy with the witch hunting political hack Henry Waxman.
Didn’t Kruschev say that the USSR would bury us? He meant that we would cause our own demise and they would come along behind. The USSR may no longer exist, but the influence they had on our society through universities still exist. They funded student protests in the 60s and 70s and made sure that their sympathizers populated our university faculties. I may sound paranoid, but I’m just connecting dots.
I came to this country from one taken over by a “I’m not a communist” communist. It will take a lot of facts to convince me that the dems are not leading this country down the path of socialism to the big C. And – is there a communist government that has been elected in a fair election (not counting those certified by Jimmy)? We need to wake up and lose the apathy – vote!
According to former KGB agents that have defected to the USA, the KGB spends 85% of their budget to subvert the USA into Marxism. In addition. they say that the Soviet Union is still at war with the USA and never intended to stop the “cold war”.
From what has been happening in this administration, I would say they are right!
Wax-man should return to his home planet in the TwiLight Zone!
I never realized it before a few days ago, but Waxman is about 5′ nothing.
Small Man’s Disease, with very serious UUUUGGGGGly complications…???
It must be hell when not every American company is stragulated by a union and dares to speak out against DemonRat policies.
I don’t get it. Why don’t these private companies just give Waxman, Congress and Obama the middle finger and move on? Why go to DC?
Thank you, happyscrapper. I’m glad someone else was paying attention.
And thank you, Michelle, for calling Waxman out on this grotesque witch-hunt*.
*I refuse to link Waxman’s charade with Sen. McCarthy’s actions. That’s no more appropriate than the use of swiftboating for anything other than its correct application – which means telling the truth about someone who’s trying to run from and lie about that truth. It may have become common usage; that doesn’t make it right.
OT, I apologize, but this needs to be spread far and wide and in an immediate and lusty fashion. (Lusty may be too strong a word, or maybe just the wrong word for a similar expenditure of effort in this case, but…)
http://tinyurl.com/yhf95cc
Links to Flopping Aces, a daily fix for many who love rightwing verbal goodness, and a couple of videos by a Rev. Wayne Perryman – may God’s power fill him – talking about how the history of Race is taught to kids in America.
This will blow your mind. This is a black man, who needs to be heard, and we need to make it viral.
Nancy Pelosi must have commanded “Release the Kraken!”
Please tell me why there isn’t a mass effort for a national and personal protest to simply NOT buy ObamaCare insurance? If enough people simply refuse to purchase it (as I). such can make a hell of a statement! Are there that many conservatives shaky about putting their money where their mouths are??
James Greenidge
Queens New York
Can someone get nose cancer? Maybe Waxman.
Ignorant tool that he is…
That is insulting to tools. Tools are useful objects, Waxman is useless.