Posted on 07/06/2006 10:11:14 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
No, I don't have the resources myself to go around the US asking people what they thought of Ken Lay, so yes, I did rely on the media for this - and the blogs and message boards online - and a few other sources.
OK, the Osama remark was extreme; I get your point. I just don't like leaving the impression that what Enron did and who it affected with its dishonesty were *just* my fellow Houstonians. The scandal has already left a stained legacy - in many people's eyes - on an industry and a city that didn't deserve it.
I couldn't agree with you more on this post.
The scandal has already left a stained legacy - in many people's eyes - on an industry and a city that didn't deserve it.
Agreed. However, the guilty are paying and that's the good side. Even Arthur Anderson, Enron's accounting firm, and a nationally prominent one at that, lost it's CPA license - bringing shame to it's namesake (long deceased) The ripples go out.
And now I'm off to have some brisket at the neighbors - you have a good day.
No, I missed that. Evidently, it was from yesterday, as it is gone now. Too funny!
I just saw on TV that Skilling and his wife and Petrocelli are all going to attend the memorial service here in Houston next week.
AND the one in Aspen Sunday!
Must be nice to keep grinding it in on those who were hurt by the company. You ought to see the paid obit for *Dr.* Lay. Grind, grind.
One word from the POTUS can impact the entire globe. He has more power overall then those in the fray, so his actions and words will vary based on a bigger/different picture then most of those fighting alongside him.
Remember he serves his constituents, yes, but he also serves the people of the U.S. overall, too. This is his job and I will trust that he had his reasons for not talking against Ken Lay. He picks his fights--there are many he chooses every hour not to engage in. The ones he does engage in become headline news for the week, maybe the month, maybe the year. He is wise to control the focus of the dialog/agenda as much as he can--this is very smart, strategic leadership.
Another possibility--he may feel one of the battles right now is moral against amoral. Isn't this one of the reasons we wanted him in? So when he chooses to set an example from a moral perspective, he is doing the job, we as his constituents have assigned him to do through our vote.
We can't micromanage all the day to day fights he chooses here. He may have felt taking higher ground with Ken Lay was a better moral decision than commenting on a dead man's sin (which at that moment was being judged by God himself). He understood this and thus his comment about being right with God. That sets a larger example for the world. "You may screw people on this earth, but God will be your final judge and juror." Maybe this is really more important than anything specific about Ken he could have said.
I hate to say it, but I think you may be reacting a little more strongly because you care so much about how your lovely city is viewed. May I assure you it is not? Because it is not.
Enron was there because it is also business friendly, so Enron isn't synonomous with 'bad city', it may be synonymous with great business environment--which the last I looked is very enticing in a capitalistic society. No one really cares about Enron anymore. (except for the the whacko libs) JMHO.
Taking the high ground on Ken Lay would be OK. But "He was a good guy" sounds like a blank check to too many people, even though it isn't. Bush could and should have said less, or something more ... uh, nuanced.
A president is certainly in a unique position, and has a unique perspective on what is and isn't important. You have a good point there. But that doesn't mean his perspective is always right.
I kind of wish he had said "he betrayed the trust of his employees and the shareholders" instead of just shareholders only, but at least he did say it - and most employees were shareholders, too.
Thanks - I know that, but it still comes up whenever I tell an out-of-towner where I live. I appreciate your post, as any longtime Houstonian would. You're right, it has been mostly libs who've remarked, come to think of it.
I didn't catch that. Glad he said it!
"I wonder what President Bush or his father would say were Clinton to meet his demise while both of them were alive?
That, he too, was a "good guy"?"
Because they both have class, that is exactly what they would say.
Sat 07/08/2006 05:01PM MST"This whole thing that there are some people we shouldn't talk to because they're bad is nuts."
Former President Bill Clinton, speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
Yeah but with Kenney Boy they mean it.
Today's find: "The Smartest Guy in the Tomb"
Security tight at Lay service
David Frey - Aspen Daily News Correspondent
Sun 07/09/2006 08:01PM MST
Scores of friends and loved ones gathered at the Aspen Chapel on Sunday afternoon for a private memorial service for former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay in the town that Lay considered a part-time home and sanctuary from the scandals and criminal investigations that followed him to his death.
Among mourners were Lay's co-defendant, Jeffrey Skilling, and Skilling's attorney Daniel Petrocelli.
Under looming clouds and periodic showers, attendees entered and left the chapel behind a screen of security guards' umbrellas. Lay's family members entered in an entourage of three SUVs led by a Pitkin County deputy.
Across the street from the chapel, where Lay and his wife sometimes attended church while in Aspen, about a dozen journalists gathered under umbrellas, barred from entering the private service which was open only to those on a guest list.
"It was very moving," said Fred Malek, chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Thayer Capital Partners and a former advisor to presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and the first President Bush. "It brought back the philanthropic man that he was."
Lay, 64, died of an apparent heart attack at a home he and his wife rented in Old Snowmass early Wednesday morning. The former executive of the embattled energy company was charged with 10 felonies related to company's bankruptcy, which resulted in billions in losses and left hundreds of workers without jobs or pensions. At the time of his death, Lay was awaiting sentencing that could have put him away for decades.
A part-time Aspen resident for years, Lay was forced to sell off $21.8 million in Aspen properties, including two homes.
Pitkin County Director of Investigations Joe DiSalvo estimated over 100 people attended the service. Among them were many of Lay's friends and associates from Houston, some of whom also own homes in Aspen.
Skilling attended with his wife Rebecca Carter and left without comment. Others in attendance included Richard Kinder, chairman and CEO of energy company Kinder Morgan, and Sheldon Erikson, chairman and CEO of the energy-equipment company Cameron. Other guests included Aspen friends like I.V. Pabst, Lay's neighbor who rented the Old Snowmass home where he died.
Another memorial service is scheduled for Houston on Wednesday at the First United Methodist Church.
"I think in many ways it was supposed to be a celebration of Ken Lay's life," said Shelby Hodge, society columnist for the Houston Chronicle. "The Lays loved Aspen. This is where they chose to spend their days before the final sentencing, and it turned out to be their final days."
Organ music could be heard coming from the chapel, where tables were set with white tablecloths for a reception of wine and appetizers. After the service, many attendees mingled outside, despite periodic showers, largely hidden from reporters by a row of aspen trees.
"It's the crowd I totally expected to see," Hodge said, glimpsing mourners as they entered. "Friends that didn't desert them and people who have maintained a loyal friendship with the family."
Under the rules of his $5 million bond, Lay was allowed to stay in south Texas or Colorado until his October sentencing. He faced decades in prison after he was convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges earlier this year by a federal grand jury in Houston but had planned to appeal the conviction.
"Most people will tell you, despite what happened, the Lays were generous, and contributed very much to the city of Houston, both philanthropically and civilly," Hodge said. "Now, people who lost their livelihood, that's a tragedy."
According to the Houston Chronicle, Houston's Rev. Bill Lawson officiated the service, which included few references to Enron.
Lawson reportedly likened Lay to others who were vilified in life but became heroes in death, including John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Jesus Christ.
Former Enron executive Mark Seidl eulogized Lay, as did Linda Lay's brother Ray Phillips and the five Lay children.
Asked about the message of the service, one man said, "Ken's with Jesus," as he stepped into a Hummer with Texas license plates. "If I have a service like that, I'll be a blessed man."
What a stupid blunder. Even if you don't think Lay was that bad a guy, you don't say that in an election year.
Oh, thanks by the way jveritas...missed your reply but found it while looking for an earlier thread.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.