Daily Archives: October 9, 2006

The talented Mr. Munitz skates free

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munitz14.jpgAlmost lost amidst the media firestorm over California Attorney General Bill Lochyer’s decision to prosecute former Hewlett Packard board chairperson Patricia Dunn was this news item that Lochyer’s office has decided not to sue or prosecute former Getty Trust president and former University of Houston president Barry Munitz (prior posts here).
Lochyer’s office had been investigating Munitz over misuse of trust money for his wifeís travel, using employees for personal errands and making improper payments to a graduate student from trust funds. Lochyer’s office concluded that no legal action was advisable because Munitz’s actions were authorized by the Getty board and that his settlement with the Getty Trust when he resigned exceeded the value of what the state could recover from Munitz in a civil action or a prosecution.
In other words, Lochyer concluded that there was no need to prosecute Munitz because he had done the right thing in settling up with the Getty Trust. That decision in regard to Munitz makes his decision to prosecute Ms. Dunn all the more curious. Perhaps Ms. Dunn should have done lunch with Lochyer?

The NY Times on James Baker’s new book

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baker_19122003.jpgFormer White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of State and Secretary of Treasury James Baker, III, who spends his time these days at the Baker Institute at Rice University, has written a new book entitled ìWork Hard, Study . . . and Keep Out of Politics!î Adventures and Lessons From an Unexpected Public Life.” The title of the book is the legendary advice of Baker’s grandfather, James Addison Baker, who was one of the founders of the venerable Houston law firm, Baker & Botts.
This NY Times review of Baker’s new book belittles the current Bush Administration, even though the book does no such thing. That passes for a book review in the NY Times these days.

More on that energy price conspiracy

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o'reillyhand7.jpgA couple of weeks ago, this post noted the news stories about some pundits were floating the theory that the recent slide in energy prices was a dark conspiracy of powerful political forces that were attempting to ensure the victory of the evil capitalist roaders in the upcoming mid-term elections. Bill O’Reilly was probably pleased with these reports.
Subsequently, a week or so ago, Clear Thinkers favorite James Hamilton shot down a similar report that Goldman Sachs was really behind the price decline.
But absurd conspiracy theories do not die easily in American society. Last Friday, this Washington Post article again channels the conspiracy theory, this time pointing toward a new bogeyman, Saudi Arabia:

According to this theory, the Saudi government is doing Bush a favor by trying to bring down prices before the election. The evidence? Some say the Saudi government has a long-standing relationship with the Bush family. They also cite the 2004 book by author and Washington Post assistant managing editor Bob Woodward, “Plan of Attack,” which said that then-Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, promised to keep oil production high enough to moderate fuel prices and bolster the U.S. economy during the presidential election year.

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