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Shaking down Wachovia
The Washington Times ^ | 6-15-05 | Editorial

Posted on 06/15/2005 12:42:27 PM PDT by JZelle

The slavery-reparations crowd is serious about raiding corporate America. That's the lesson to draw from what's happening to Wachovia Corp., the nation's fourth-largest bank, which says that predecessors to two companies it acquired in 1991 and 2001 once traded in slaves. It doesn't take a historian to see that Wachovia is being mau-maued. Wachovia and other companies are now discovering that giving to the slavery-reparations movement is a losing proposition. Two weeks ago Wachovia announced that First Union Corp., with which it merged in 2001, and the South Carolina National Corp., which joined it in 1991, had absorbed predecessor companies that dealt in slaves, which it learned from a study by the History Factory, a corporate-research company. A Chicago ordinance requires companies contracting with the city to disclose ties to slavery, and since Wachovia is a partner with a Chicago community-development corporation to build low-income housing, it must comply with city law. The History Factory found that the old Georgia Railroad and Banking Co., which was founded in the early 1830s and was acquired in 1954 by a predecessor to First Union, owned at least 162 slaves. It also found that the Bank of Charleston, which merged in 1926 with a company that Wachovia acquired in 1991, used at least 529 slaves as collateral on mortgaged properties and loans. Wachovia said it was sorry. "I apologize to all Americans, and especially to African-Americans and people of African descent," said Chairman and CEO Ken Thompson. Another executive, Stan Kelly, told colleagues that he is "working to get personally connected to this chapter in our company's and our country's history." The company promised an unspecified financial contribution -- in all likelihood an educational fund or some other endowed trust -- to benefit the descendants of the slaves.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: North Carolina
KEYWORDS: cavein; plumbdumb; reparations; senseless; slavery; spinelessness; wachovia
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To: Tax-chick; Darksheare

You're right!

Darks, you are a vector.


61 posted on 06/16/2005 10:33:53 AM PDT by tiamat ("I live in my own little world. But it's okay. They know me here.")
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To: tiamat; Darksheare

Are you going to let her call you that?


62 posted on 06/16/2005 10:35:11 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Children don't need counting, because whatever number you have, you never have enough.")
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To: Tax-chick; Darksheare

ROFLMAO!


63 posted on 06/16/2005 10:40:16 AM PDT by tiamat ("I live in my own little world. But it's okay. They know me here.")
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To: Tax-chick; tiamat

LOL, well.. I have to admit that I am.
Too much contact with me generates typo virus infection.


64 posted on 06/16/2005 10:57:07 AM PDT by Darksheare (Hey troll, Sith happens.)
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To: Darksheare

You should post a warning!


65 posted on 06/16/2005 10:57:56 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Children don't need counting, because whatever number you have, you never have enough.")
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To: Tax-chick; tiamat

LOL!

Umm.. hmm..
I'll have to use it as a tagline then.


66 posted on 06/16/2005 10:58:42 AM PDT by Darksheare (Hey troll, Sith happens.)
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To: Darksheare

Your current one is relevant.


67 posted on 06/16/2005 11:00:19 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Children don't need counting, because whatever number you have, you never have enough.")
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To: Tax-chick

LOL!
Well, it has multiple meanings..
*cough*


68 posted on 06/16/2005 11:03:38 AM PDT by Darksheare (Hey troll, Sith happens.)
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To: Darksheare; Tax-chick
It's a good tag-line.

And yes, as TC says, it's relevant.
69 posted on 06/16/2005 11:07:27 AM PDT by tiamat ("I live in my own little world. But it's okay. They know me here.")
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To: tiamat; Tax-chick

LOL, thanks.

I'm now fearing seeing taglines saying somethign like "I'm carrying a typo virus! And now you are too!"
*ugh*


70 posted on 06/16/2005 11:11:05 AM PDT by Darksheare (Hey troll, Sith happens.)
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To: Darksheare

Spray your keyboard with disinfectant often!


71 posted on 06/16/2005 11:11:49 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Children don't need counting, because whatever number you have, you never have enough.")
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To: Tax-chick

Willdo!


72 posted on 06/16/2005 11:13:06 AM PDT by Darksheare (Hey troll, Sith happens.)
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To: Darksheare; Tax-chick

LOL!

Naaaahhh...

We will just say, " I can't psell, and it's Darksheare's fault!"

BTW, you have mail at home.


73 posted on 06/16/2005 11:13:08 AM PDT by tiamat ("I live in my own little world. But it's okay. They know me here.")
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To: tiamat

Understood.
LOL!


74 posted on 06/16/2005 11:13:30 AM PDT by Darksheare (Hey troll, Sith happens.)
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To: Ides of March
The History Factory... Now that's an interesting concept. I guess, by definition, they manufacture history.

I suppose one could take the long view of this and do another "corporate geneology chart" and witness, oh, Prof Ogletree as corporately geneologic spawn of Mugabe's same roots. Manufacture "history". Great coinage, BTW. Hat's off to you.

75 posted on 06/16/2005 4:23:30 PM PDT by Alia
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