The Reality Coalition — formed by environmental groups to debunk the notion of “clean coal” — just aired this ad on CNN that I hadn’t seen before. It’s titled “Smudge,” and it’s a pretty good effort:
The answer: Bob Ney.
Our longtime Abramoff junkies will remember the special shout-out in the Congressional Record that then-Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) gave to Jack Abramoff’s casino buddy, Adam Kidan, and their ill-fated SunCruz venture in Florida. The Kidan shout-out was one of the “official acts” that the feds charged Abramoff with securing from Ney in return for campaign contributions. Both men wound up in jail. (Ney has since served his sentence and been released.)
Well, it turns out a few years later, on 2005, Ney gave a similar shout-out in the Congressional Record to Allen Stanford. And wouldn’t you know that the campaign contributions to Ney from Stanford picked up markedly soon after. Hmmm …
From, well … The San Francisco Chronicle …
The Hearst Corp. today announced an effort to reverse the deepening operating losses of its San Francisco Chronicle by seeking near-term cost savings that would include “significant” cuts to both union and non-union staff.
In a posted statement, Hearst said if the savings cannot be accomplished “quickly” the company will seek a buyer, and if none comes forward, it will close the Chronicle. The Chronicle lost more than $50 million in 2008 and is on a pace to lose more than that this year, Hearst said.
Turns out that Merrill Lynch lost half a billion more than Bank of America (Merrill’s new owner) estimated just one month ago. $15.84 billion in the 4th quarter of last year.