George W. Bush Presidential Library to be Built on Stolen Property?

[maha]

The Texas Rangers baseball team is bidding vigorously for the honor of donating land for the eagerly anticipated George W. Bush Presidential Library. According to this article in the Fort Forth Star-Telegram, the Rangers and "Arlington leaders" are offering a choice of sites from more than 100 acres surrounding the Rangers ballpark in Arlington, Texas.

This is thrilling, because it gives me an opportunity to re-tell the great old story about how George W. Bush made a fortune by stealing land from hard-working, honest Texans in the name of the Texas Rangers.

For example, one site the President might consider for his library is a ten-acre spread purchased by hard-working, honest Texans in 1942 to raise thoroughbreds. In 1991, the city of Arlington seized the land from the purchasers' grandson, Bucky Fanning, and gave it to the Texas Rangers.

There were winners in the deal, he (Mr. Fanning) says - among them George W. Bush and his partners, and Tom Hicks, the wealthy real estate developer they sold the team to - and there were losers.

He was one of the losers.

"Anybody who was in their way, they just ran them over," says Fanning, a soft-spoken man whose anger rises as he talks about the ballpark. "I used to be a Rangers fan, but then they stole my property."

Fanning's grandparents bought the 10-acre spread in 1942 to raise Thoroughbreds. Now it is a little-used parking lot on the east side of the stadium. "Bush didn't need our land for a ballpark," Fanning says. "He wanted it for his own personal gain." ("Broken Promises Plague Parks," The New York Daily News, October 12, 2002)

But the story of Bucky Fanning and his lost ten-acre spread was only a small part of a big and sordid scheme that earned Mr. Bush $14.9 million on an investment of $600,000. (And most of that $600,000 was borrowed. He repaid the loan through sale of his Harken stock, a transaction that had the appearance of insider trading but for which the SEC gave Bush a pass, possibly because his father was President of the United States at the time.)

(Read Remainder)

[Jack Rabbit]

1. That would be appropos

Of course, how much space is needed to house a couple of coloring books?

[tabasco]

21. Ahhhahahahahaha

Got a good laugh out of that one.

[Turbineguy]

2. Steal everything

It would be completely in character. The building should be funded with stolen money and of course the coloring books should be shoplifted too.

[realFedUp]

4. Welcome to DU Turbineguy

:hi:

[kskiska]

3. Aside from the coloring books,

what papers will be available for anyone to read? Considering how he impounded all his father's papers, and his gubernatorial papers, and refuses to release 9/11 papers to Congress, will future scholars be able to read the GWB papers on the Iraq War, for example?

[maha]

6. That's a point

We could have fun speculating about what WILL be in the presidential library. A collection of worn-out running shoes? The Pretzel? Laura's purple plaid suit (the chicks here will no doubt remember the purple plaid suit)?

[OldSoldier]

20. There will be a copy of "The Pet Goat"

And one of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."

There would be a copy of "Green Eggs and Ham," but it has too many different words in it so it's too hard to read.

[Nickie]

5. George Bush is EVIL

....

[newyawker99]

14. Hi Nickie!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[starroute]

7. Tom Hicks is a story in himself -- and not a pleasant one

http://www.utwatch.org/utimco/hicks.html

"Tom Hicks is a Dallas billionaire and investment banker who began raiding the University's public funds after the University refused to invest in his dental company in the early 90's. Hicks first appeared on the public scene when he donated $17,500 to Ann Richards, Texas governor at the time. He was subsequently appointed to the Board of Regents by Governor Richards in 1994.

"After Ann Richards was defeated in 1994 by George W. Bush, Hicks shifted his heavy donations to Bush. Hicks gave $146,000 to Bush in both of his gubernatorial campaigns. In return for the gratitude, Bush approved legislation to form UTIMCO in 1995. Hicks had used a full-court press strategy, spending between $50,000 to $110,000 in lobbying and using with the powerful lobbying team Vinson and Elkins, who represents several Texas business interests, to achieve this dream.

"Conveniently for both men, Bush appointed Hicks as the first chair to UTIMCO, which began the tradition of tit-for-tat management and good-ol' boy favoritism that has defined the relationship between UTIMCO and Texas politics since. In 1998, Hicks would make Bush a multi-millionaire by purchasing the Texas Rangers. In addition, Hicks' company, Hicks, Muse, Tate, & Furst, Inc., is now Bush's number 4 career patron. The company is still donating to the GOP; Rick Perry has received $283,481 from Hicks Muse, with another $176,500 coming from Charles Tate . Hicks's brother Steven has also thrown in $138,516.

"For several years, UTIMCO acted in secrecy under the protection of the Texas Attorney General, which facilitated the process of questionable investments in return for political favors. UTIMCO invested some $525 million in assets run by Hicks associates and other major GOP donors. After the Houston Chronicle exposed such insider dealings in a 1999 article, Tom Hicks resigned from the board."

[susu369]

8. The building should be in the shape

of a big forked tongue.

Like the old adage: If a man will steal, he will lie.

[izzie]

9. I do not like the library, any of them, they should be the peoples things.

n/t

[maha]

11. They are the peoples' things

The presidential libraries are connected to the National Archives and Record Administration, and as such they can be very good resources for people looking for documents or photographs about a particular President. Otherwise a lot of this stuff would be in a warehouse someplace where no one could find it.

I am especially fond of the FDR library, because it has a kick-ass collection of historical photos you can browse on the web.

[northzax]

19. except nixon's of course

which remains outside the system...

[Wickerman]

10. Fitting

Stolen property that it is. And, at a ballpark. That our least intellectually curious President would forego the tradition of having his library at a University and instead would have it at a ballpark is so fitting. Colouring books and videos of the three stooges will be all it contains.

[maha]

12. Is there a "Six Flags" nearby, too?

I haven't been in Texas for years, but I read there was a Six Flags not too far from the Stadium.

[HotAndSpicy]

15. University

Clinton's isn't at a University either. And there are several others that are not. There is no tradition to having the library at a University.

[forgethell]

13. This seems to be

a good example of the misuse of "eminent domain" by local governments, both Republican & Democratic. This is a terrible misuse of power, and should be stopped. Not just the individual perpetrators, the whole system of condemning private property, people's homes & businesses, to give the land to other "entrpeneuers" who promise "increased tax revenues" need to be abolished.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GreatTaste]

18. Good book

eminent domain is an issue that really gets me going. Check out the book "Mugged by the state" to learn more about the outrageous abuses people have suffered from this.

Taking people homes to build a Wal-Mart is NOT a legitimate use of eminent domain, yet it is happening all over the country and virtually no one knows about it!

[newyawker99]

23. Hi GreatTaste!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[dennis4868]

16. put the library in....

Iraq!

[MagicMan]

22. Wasn't the Clinton library

also built on "stolen land" using the standard set forth here?

Eminent domain is being abused probably more than any other governmental power at this time.

[argyl]

24. Stolen election,stolen land.Both deals have one thing in common.

They were unprecedented,one of a kind,one time only deals.The land deal was the first,only,and probably last time the state of Texas appropriated private land for a private enterprise,the Texas Rangers ballclub.Smirk put in nothing but borrowed money into the pot and walked away with 14 million dollars when the team was sold.I think one main reason this was done was to make this miserable failure look like a man of some substance to the American public.

As for the election,most of us here recall the Gang of Five saying their handing the election to Smirk in no way established a precedent,it was a one time only decision.Hell,every decision the SCOTUS makes is supposed to establish precedent and become foundation for new law.That lets you know they were perfectly aware that what they were doing had no foundation in law.Just give the spoiled little boy what he wants.