[anymouse]

It seems about time for that guardian of the public trust, (Massachusetts) Attorney General Tom Reilly, to take a look at Boston University's governance and make sure the public interest is not being abused by trustees, some of whom have clearly benefited from their university ties.

Last summer at Boston University (the nation's 4th largest private university), the man who was NASA Administrator during Bill Clinton's 8 years in the White House (Dan Goldin) became one of the only university presidents possessing merely a bachelor's degree. More recently, though, Dan became apparently the first university president in the U.S.A. ever to get fired before even reporting for work. Goldin, a registered Democrat nevertheless received nearly $2 million dollars from B.U. for his "sacrifices" a couple of days ago. Is this irreversible?

Does (Massachusetts) Attorney General Tom Reilly give a D@mn about Dan Goldin's latest example of corrupt enrichment at our expense? Does he care that this lucrative "Goldin parachute" has sent a message to our nation's capital that corruption pays, even if merely after one leaves public office? Why not ask? Here's the A.G.'s contact data:

http://www.ago.state.ma.us/contact.asp?head1=Contact+Us&section=20

A Boston University board member is to blame for Daniel Goldin's hiring, and deserves to be the target of the probe recommended above:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/10/25/bu_trustee_panel_urges_goldin_be_reconsidered/

Goldin's chief patron among the BU board's trustees was Washington lobbyist Gerald Cassidy.

Ref. http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2003/10/26/goldin_backing_said_to_erode/

http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/gold10312003.htm

What might the suddenly very quiet Gerald Cassidy have gotten in exchange for this corrupt dealing? Here's at least part of the answer:

http://www.cassidy.com/expertise/main.asp?Id=1

So perhaps Cassidy wanted to repay Goldin with this "Goldin parachute" in order to keep him quiet about Shuttle-related improprieties while Cassidy's prominent (and heavily tax-subsidized) aerospace clients had more of a chance to cover their tracks? Or maybe that lobbyist mainly wanted to demonstrate to others currently in power how loyal he is even after they've lost their ability to enrich him and his lobbying firm?

By the way, few doubt that Goldin was ill-suited for the job...

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/01/education/01BOST.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5062&en=78a0642f4cf830fd&ex=1068267600

[anymouse]

Space policy ping.

[Ann Archy]

always thought Dan Goldin was a corrupt incompetent self-promoter......that's why he worked for the Clintons.

[Analyzing Inconsistencies]

Oh, THIS isn't suspicious or anything...

Boston Globe article

Excerpts: "Silber came to embrace Goldin at the behest of a BU trustee, Gerald S.J. Cassidy, whose role in the search process suggested a conflict of interest to several committee members. Cassidy is head of a Washington consulting firm that has earned millions of dollars in lobbying fees from BU over the years; he is a close friend of Silber and Goldin; and, by helping negotiate a multimillion-dollar contract for Goldin to succeed Silber, Cassidy probably stood to gain continued business and support from BU in future years, the BU sources say. In hindsight, Silber's presence on the search committee was a major error, several committee members and BU sources said yesterday. He established Goldin as the front-runner, seeing him as a strong leader who could help land big donations and lucrative federal grants."

"Some trustees considered Goldin too arrogant from his first appearance before the committee, which one source said went so badly that Cassidy suddenly announced that Goldin had to make a flight, and whisked him away."

[dsc]

"other high profile trustees - Dreamworks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg"

That alone tells one that something is deeply wrong, doesn't it?

How did that scumbag get to be a trustee of BU? To me, that indicates advanced corruption and rot from top to bottom.

[snopercod]

I've told you the story about the John Glenn launch. I was on console securing various systems and the little $hit stood up to introduce clinton, saying, "This president has been the biggest supporter of the space program of any president in history".

I turned up the volume on my OISD panel to maximum to drown out the little weasel.

[Hildy]

My Dad would not recognize his alma mater. He won the BU Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998. Here's a write up about it.

CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE