carolaa Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Lobbyist Caught Selling Access to White House A former Bush administration official who now works as a lobbyist has been caught on tape selling access to the White House. An undercover video shot by the Sunday Times of London shows the lobbyist Stephen Payne saying he could help the former president of Kyrgyzstan set up a meeting with Vice President Cheney or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in exchange for a six-figure donation to George Bush’s presidential library. Stephen Payne was a top fundraiser for President Bush and sits on the influential advisory council to the Department of Homeland Security. Payne is also president of the lobbying company, Worldwide Strategic Partners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I would love to get my hands on the list of criminals that donated to Clinton's due to favors. Quote May we be one so that the world may be won. Christian from the cradle to the grave I believe in Hematology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 You may be right about that. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shane Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Presidential libraries are built for every president to store the archives of Administration. There isn't space in the national archives to store all the files from all the various administrations. So a large portion of presidential libraries is paid for by the tax payers. The libraries also have a museum of the Presidents life. These museums can be quite extravagant. President Bush could have a jet he flew in the National Guard inside the museum. He is sure to have stuff from the Texas Rangers and from his governorship in Texas. So this is where his ability to raise money can help "build" the library. No scandal here. I think Clinton rented out the Lincoln bedroom to build his library and he made sure no mention of Monica is in the public area of the library. I am currently slotted to go to the country of Equatorial Guinea in Africa and build a presidential library/museum for President Obiang. My company has hired the architects and engineers that designed President G.W.H. Bush's library. Things are always subject to change but it looks like I will be going with my family some time toward the end of this year or beginning of next for a project estimated to take 1 1/2 years. Quote Pastoral Family Counselor... Find me at www.PostumCafe.com Author of Peculiar Christianity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Quote May we be one so that the world may be won. Christian from the cradle to the grave I believe in Hematology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Obiang, the most ruthless dictator in Africa: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/10/african_dictatorships_and_double_standards_where Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shane Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Aren't dictators allowed to have presidential libraries? My boss jokes around with him that when we started the project he was listed in the top ten of the world most ruthless dictators and that it has been his affiliation with our company that has moved him down the list into the top 20. The library is the first of the projects and then they want to build a university and a hospital. I don't expect to stay over there after the library project. Critics can say what they want about President Obiang but he maintains one of the safest countries in Africa. Crime is much lower than many African countries. The President before him completely neglected infrastructure. Even before the discovery of oil President Obiang built and maintained roads and schools and maintained the peace which his predecessor had neglected. Since the discovery of oil he has been building the nation's infrastructure. They just got the internet last year. The Adventist church is established there with many churches and schools. The village where I will be going is extremely isolated. It is Obiang's hometown. It has only about six or eight Adventist members. I have made arrangements with the mission there to send out a pastor to work the field if and when I move there. As I have learned more about President Obiang I have began to see why some people believe we should have left Saddam in power. The problem with Saddam is he was playing a game, lying about his hand and not smart enough to fold and quit while he was ahead. Quote Pastoral Family Counselor... Find me at www.PostumCafe.com Author of Peculiar Christianity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
there buster Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 lobbyist says it, so it must be true? I understand there's swamp land in Florida available. Quote “the slovenliness of our language makes it easier to have foolish thoughts.” George Orwell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Oh, not JUST a lobbyist. A former official and top fundraiser for the Bush administration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
there buster Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Quote: Oh, not JUST a lobbyist. Well, it's PRIME swamp land. Quote “the slovenliness of our language makes it easier to have foolish thoughts.” George Orwell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Aren't dictators allowed to have presidential libraries? If I had my way - NO. But then I'd be a dictator, and I want my library! Hmmm...... Actually, I would be the last one to say that a dictatorship is always a bad thing. But I find it so interesting that Zimbabwe and Equitorial Guinea are so similar when it comes to their government and their record on human rights, yet one is our friend and one is our enemy. And guess which one is our friend -- the one with the oil. And guess when they became our friend -- right after their oil was discovered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shane Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 We have to be careful about jumping on someone else's bandwagon too quickly. I will suggest no one on this board knows enough about either situation to say Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea have the same record on human rights. The simple fact is that there are dictatorships in the world that are better places to live than some democracies. My bother-in-law was murdered by a gang in El Salvador. That same year over 4,000 people in El Salvador were murdered by gangs. El Salvador is a democracy. Gang leaders have actually been elected to office. It is a dangerous place to live. There are dictatorships on the other hand that keep the peace and as long as a person doesn't speak out against the government or try to overthrow it, they can live in safety. Quote Pastoral Family Counselor... Find me at www.PostumCafe.com Author of Peculiar Christianity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shane Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Quote: guess when they became our friend -- right after their oil was discovered. Let me take some of the "conspiracy" out of this theory. Getting oil out of the ground isn't as easy as growing tomatoes. Many areas of the world that have oil do not have the ability to get it out of the ground. Even Mexico, which has only one oil company which is owned by the government, is unable to produce as much oil as they could if American oil companies were there. When oil was discovered in Equatorial Guinea the government needed a means to extract it. That means came in the form of American and Chinese oil companies. It only makes sense for the US government to be allies where US companies have major investments. Moreover, America is dependent on foreign oil and Equatorial Guinea is a stable country that is not susceptible to Islamic extremism. It is not that America is turning a blind eye to human rights violations as much as it is we are supporting the nation and our investments there. There is no conspiracy there. It is a win-win situation. We win and they win. Quote Pastoral Family Counselor... Find me at www.PostumCafe.com Author of Peculiar Christianity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Getting oil out of the ground isn't as easy as growing tomatoes. Many areas of the world that have oil do not have the ability to get it out of the ground. I guess this is off topic, but I wonder why we are putting pressure on Iraq to utilize our oil companies (while giving our oil companies a high percentage of the profits) when they don't need or want the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shane Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I do not believe American oil companies should be in Iraq. Perhaps in the beginning to get things back up and going but not in the long term. That said, let me explain. Iraq's oil is easy oil. It is not hard to get like oil is in many places on the planet. Iraq can get their own oil and doesn't need our assistance. Yes, I guess that is off topic. Quote Pastoral Family Counselor... Find me at www.PostumCafe.com Author of Peculiar Christianity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Iraq's oil is easy oil. It is not hard to get like oil is in many places on the planet. Iraq can get their own oil and doesn't need our assistance. Yes, I know that's true. Which really begs the question of why we need to be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.