Alice in DC continued ...

    “Whoa! Hold it. We need your opinion on a matter vital to America’s security,” Harry shouted.

    Alice covered her face as they approached and pleaded, “Please leave me alone. I’m just a visitor. Look, I still have a piece of hay stuck in my hair from helping Papa in Iowa feed the cows. I’m sure you can find someone better for your important question.”

    The pig spoke. “You are the very person to speak to. You are a classic American.”

    Harry butted in, “Yeah, Cornbelt meets the Beltway.” Harry thought he was very clever.

    Cheney-Baby attempted to free himself, but they held him tightly and, in unison, asked, “Do you favor the Robin Hood or the Cheney theory of taxation?”

    Alice didn’t understand the question. “Wh-wh-wh-, what do you mean?”

    “Let me put it this way,” said Hare-Brained. “Do you want taxation that favors the poor or favors the rich? Dicky-Boy is for tax cuts favoring his rich friends, CEOs and Chairmen of the Boards. However, some say the rich are getting too large a portion of the tax cuts, and the poor and middle class are paying more than they should. What do you think?”

    Dicky-Boy kept looking longingly at the marble floor behind him, wondering whether the fall had damaged his precious “shootin’ iron.”

    Alice thought and replied, “Shouldn’t taxes be fair? If persons are poor and don’t make a lot of money, shouldn’t they be given breaks to pay their bills and put a little bit aside? Aren’t the executives of corporations already well-paid, getting big benefits that include golden parachutes? Are golden parachutes safe? By the way, what part of government are you in? I’d like to know so I can tell people.” She turned to Cheney-Baby. “Are you Vice President Cheney?”

    Dicky-Boy shook his head in denial.

    The pig told her she could go, and Harry pointed to the reappeared door. Harry turned to pig. “She didn’t answer the question. It’s either black or white. Don’t you agree?”

    Pig responded, “Yes, it ain’t no good to give the poor and middle class breaks because they’ll just spend the money on necessities. The rich ones add important fuel to the economy.”

    Harry stroked his furry chin, turned to Dicky-Boy and asked, “What do you think about this, ol’ Cheney buddy?”

    Cheney-Baby responded by pointing to his shotgun and asking to rejoin it. They agreed, and all three made their way down the room.

    Alice found the door, exited the building, now wary about both roving manholes and buildings not identified on an official map. What new adventures will befall Alice in Washington, D.C.? Stay tuned.

    The fumes generated by aging coatings have several detriments: they cause the user to engage in profanity, similar to the remarks uttered by Vice President Cheney on the Senate floor; they cause persons gathering about the coated politicians to contribute large amounts of money, even though the donors may be unaware they are doing so. In addition, the toxicity, if not corrected by a recoating, promotes breaks in the brain's electrical connections that have been linked to ethical misconduct.

    When I tried to contact Dr. Penally in his lab, I was referred to an individual who required my social security number, bank account numbers and strongly suggested that, to free-up some offshore funds that a Nigerian General had deposited in Switzerland, I needed to wire $10,000 as a goodwill gesture to recover 25 million dollars.

    These are trying, complicated times. Our business community continues to exhibit major signs of moral and ethical rot. Legislation enacted in 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (S.O.X.), was designed to force public companies, their executives, lawyers and accountants to clean up their acts and perform their professional duties responsibly and ethically. It’s apparent that S.O.X. hasn’t slowed, yet alone stemmed, the tide of corporate misfeasance and malfeasance.

    The Bush Administration and the GOP-dominated Congress, promoting themselves as ethical and honest government and representing themselves as the breath of fresh air and honesty needed after the Clinton Administration, have done just the opposite. Greed and corruption run rampant in both the executive and legislative branches, and the real needs of the people continue to go unfulfilled.

    All the wonderful, beauteous words of President Bush and his administration honoring God, motherhood, the American flag and apple pie have not been substantiated by actions and deeds. The man who proclaimed he was dedicated to healing America and bringing its people together has caused greater polarity, dissension and disgust for government than ever before. He has harmed Americanism and the American way of life in the eyes and hearts of many around the world.

    There is much similarity between the Bush Administration and its leaders and Enron and its now-convicted leaders. Beside the strong personal, political and business connections between Bush, Vice President Cheney and Enron past CEO and Chairman of the Board Kenneth Lay, Enron’s history has proven its house-of-cards destiny. The Bush Administration is quickly going in that direction.

    Before we go further, let’s define “administration”. Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition defines the verb “administrate” as “to manage or direct; administer.” The definition of “administration” includes “the act of administering; management; specific, the management of government or institutional affairs; and the officials…in the executive branch of government and their policies and principles.”

    Let’s touch briefly upon Enron’s business, its past lack of management and its dedication to a morally and ethically corrupt corporate culture. Kenneth Lay was more interested in seeking government favors and personalized legislation and hob-nobbing with governmental powers than attending to business (assuming that he had the management skills to do so). Lay was one of those infamous and non-named people with whom Vice President Cheney met when the Bush administration first began. Although called upon to do so in court and otherwise, Cheney refused to turn over records of that secret meeting dedicated to input and advice from energy field “leaders.” These “leaders” no doubt influenced the Administration’s energy policies or, rather, the lack thereof