Edwards has profited from the war in Iraq.

I don't see how he can run on his message about corporations when he has invested in corporations and made large profits off of those that are the antithesis of good corporate behavior. He's invested in Schlumberger which is no different than investing in Halliburton- though I also read yesterday in a DU post here that he was invested in Halliburton through Fortress as well as being invested in Schlumberger in the same manner.

Profiting off this war is simply not OK.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/MutualFunds/EdwardsMakingHisMillionsGrow.aspx

stop the trolling

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

rules- something you know, but have no problem doing. Oh, and I'm always amused by people who are arrogant enough to speak for others. It demonstrates such insecurity about their own opinions.

original post. And you call people out all the time.

You can't take a dose of your own medicine.

edit: I forgot to add that one thing I am not is insecure. Especially if you're the other person involved.

it's pefectly clear to anyone with a modicum of brains that my OP is not a declaration. And gee, you sure sound insecure. YOU are the one that calls me out frequently. I have never called you out. I really wouldn't bother.

that you play fast and lose with the truth as well?

And many have even said they were waiting to hear the input from "some!"

Are you in a room with mirrors as you penned your responses above, Cali?

Just so you know, I just donated to Edwards campaign. Must be the law of unintended consequences at work.:hi:

trolling. You may not like the facts, but that's too bad. This isn't flamebait and it certainly isn't trolling.

This is trolling and a perfect example of why the IGNORE feature was invented

Concur on trolling, dissent on IGNORE.

Missing Cali's musings would cause me to miss so much unintentional humor :)

There are many reasons NOT to support our candidates, and their position (past and present) on the Iraq War is one of the issues people feel very strongly about, as well we all should.

I hope he/she won't mind, but I'm using something Two Americas wrote which, to me, explains why many of us - in spite of being aware of negatives...negatives which others can't get beyond (which I truly can respect and understand)... choose to support Edwards. It comes from an informed, educated place, not a Kool-Aid-drinking place.

I don't post this with the intention of changing anyone's mind about Edwards, I do so simply as a way to perhaps give those who question why we support him some insight, in spite of legitimate criticisms of his resume. Note, emphasis mine:


"Speaking for myself, and from what other Edwards supporters have told me, it is not Edwards that people are "over the moon" for, it is the promise and power implicit in his message and the potential that has for overhauling the entire political landscape.

Other candidates have much more "star appeal," and better resumes, more charisma, more talent and are better speakers.

There are, of course, some who are infatuated with Edwards, just as there always are with every candidate, but there is something different going on with the Edwards following.

I will support any Democrat who says what Edwards is saying. I strongly believe that if every Democrat were saying what Edwards is saying, that the right wingers would be totally routed for a generation or more. If every Democrat said what Edwards is saying - even if they were lying or failed to come through (as people insinuate about Edwards) - the revitalization and success of the Democratic party would be assured, because an aroused population would demand it and sooner or later the politicians would have to come through for us.

I also believe that there are Democrats who are resisting this because they do not want the Democratic party to return to its roots and regain its former prowess and success. They are personally comfortable with the party the way it is.

Edwards is far from perfect. If politicians were rainstorms, he would be a sprinkle. But that could grow into the downpour we need, and after decades of drought people who are dying of thirst are excited by the first sign of rain and that is why their heads are pointed skyward and their palms are outstretched to catch every drop. For those who are themselves not dying of thirst, and who are oblivious to the millions around them who are, it is difficult for them to understand the Edwards phenomenon. That is OK. Everyone will come around eventually. It is just a matter of time now, and is much, much bigger than the Edwards candidacy."



:hi:

You should post this as a thread topic!

Yeah, what he/she said! :bounce:

"The wealthiest was Mr. Edwards, of North Carolina, a former trial lawyer and presidential candidate who reported assets of $14.3 million to $44.7 million. His disclosure forms also show that he and his wife - who kept their assets in a blind trust - benefited from buying the stock of several military contractors in the days before the United States invaded Iraq."

Link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/6/15/75634/5691


That said; the mistake on this is when he did find out, it would have been better if he donated the money to efforts in Darfur, New Orleans or other areas where it could have done some good.

War profiteering is despicable but I do not believe Edwards was honestly trying to make money off of the Iraq war, it is not part of his character.

and Obama's strange fixation.

Just sending a hello and an Edwards bounce your way!

:hi: :bounce:

:hi:

Sending a donation to Edwards now.

It's that simple. And you can talk about Obama and Reagan until the cows come home- it's fine with me.

That you don't know whether a fund Edwards invested in had positions in Halliburton?

an attack piece on Edwards. If you started counting people who have money in blind trusts, mutual funds, stocks, most if not all of us who have money invested would have some profit in this despicable war so does that mean we are for it.

Are you saying that Obama has never been invested in "any company" that has profited from the Iraq war? Or that he does not take money from any company that has profited from the Iraq war?

Look it up.

NBC and you're supporting the war since their parent company makes bombs. Fly on a Boeing jet, and you're supporting the war. Drive a car and you're supporting the war.

the writer goes into the same old nonsense about hair cuts and houses. It is obvious he is rallying against Edwards because of Edwards stand against the corporations.

the writer of the article does not like Edwards positions on corporations as many other corporations are nervous about his position on them.

that for hiding???

and threads like this and snarky responses, which she admitted to, are standard operating procedure.

I have both IRA and 401K money invested in the S&P 500 Index so I am sure I have too.

Fortress Investment Fund III is based in the Cayman Islands. Edwards' campaign said he opposes offshore tax havens and, "as president, he will end them."

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/MutualFunds/EdwardsMakingHisMillionsGrow.aspx

During the 2006 midterm elections, its executives and employees accounted for $6 million in campaign contributions, the first time its giving was tracked as a separate industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The investment and securities industry as a whole accounted for $65 million in federal political contributions.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (R), for whom Wall Street is an especially key constituency, count hedge fund executives as donors and fundraisers for their presidential campaigns. Hedge fund executive Paul Singer is a key adviser and fundraiser for Giuliani, whose presidential campaign collected $159,000 from employees at Singer's firm, Elliott Associates. Clinton is getting fundraising help from Lisa Perry, whose husband, Richard, runs a $12 billion hedge fund, and the former first lady got $46,000 from employees of the private equity firm Farallon Capital Management.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Democratic presidential candidate from Connecticut, home to many hedge fund firms, received $175,400 from employees of the SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund during the first quarter -- his top source of support from a single company. As chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Dodd has opposed additional regulation of hedge funds.

One of Sen. Barack Obama's biggest presidential fundraisers is a hedge fund manager -- Orin Kramer, general partner of Boston Provident Partners LP in New York and a longtime Democratic fundraiser. Along with Sens. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Obama (D-Ill.) has proposed legislation to drastically reduce offshore tax havens that includes a provision to crack down on offshore hedge funds. The senators introduced the bill after an investigation last year documented how wealthy U.S. investors had used hedge funds to evade taxes.

Unlike mutual funds, which are narrowly defined in their investing strategies, hedge funds can seek large gains through a broad array of investments -- everything from buying stocks and bonds to dealing in commodities, currencies and emerging-market debt. They are bound by far fewer disclosure rules than mutual funds and enjoy much looser constraints when it comes to trading techniques such as short selling (a method of profiting from a declining stock) and borrowing money to seek higher returns.

Because they are much less regulated and carry more risk, they are open only to accredited investors -- pension and endowment funds, and individuals with more than $1 million in assets or incomes of more than $200,000.

Hedge funds that incorporate themselves offshore -- as Fortress did in the Caymans -- are attractive tax havens for wealthy investors. Certain U.S.-based pensions and endowments, as well as all foreigners who invest in such funds, are exempt from having to pay U.S. taxes on their capital gains. Offshore hedge funds allow such investors to take advantage of U.S. investments and expertise without having to pay taxes, and the firms get huge infusions of foreign capital that otherwise wouldn't be invested in U.S. markets because of the tax consequences.

Link to entire article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/22/AR2007042201339_pf.html

The answer is no, they are not.

Obama's net worth has been listed as $1.3 million--the smallest of the top contenders, by far.

to justify your dislike of Edwards, you now want to go on degrees of investments, how much, etc.

doesn't matter the various degrees of connection. All of us who have investments are guilty. All of us who support GE by buying their products or watching their programs are guilty to some degree, etc. I think his justification of the investments were that they were in the blind trust and they were handled by someone they trusted to make the investments for him. He also disassociated himself with Fortress after all the flak.

Edwards is one who is using his money to try to make change in this country.

to buy his house below market value.....or why he courts big business now. You THINK?

I prefer a happier predictability.

who are caught up in situations where they are unable to defend themselves. A man who has been unafraid to take on the large and powerful corporations of this country and as such, are now doing everything in their power to stop him from winning this election.

He is criticized for being wealthy which is so diabolical as how would a poor man run for the Office of President today unless you were able to get someone to bankroll you. He is using his wealth to do this and where again he believes he can make the necessary changes to make all of our lives better and especially the American workers' lives.

He may not win the nomination but I hope there is a place for him in the next Democratic administration such as Attorney General or he has some say.

I disagree on that point.

As a fervent Edwards supporter, I think comedians like the OP, enrich the day, with their unintentional humor. :)

exactly counter to his message. There would be no swiftboating required - just a recitation of a few facts would be enough to cause a lot of people to wonder if he isn't a phony. I think it would be fatal to a general election run by him.

:shrug:

I'd like to hear from an Osama supporter why Obama is viewed as the savior in cleaning up the BushCo mess.

he's just like Cheney, you know, he's another monster just like they are. He's getting rich off of the slaughter.





:sarcasm:

When it comes to acting out and deep personal issues, it's cheaper than therapy!

Awaiting the predictable ol' "lol". :eyes:

know this poster well.....

Its called MUTUAL FUNDS.

I'm probably invested in some bad companies too.

Thanks for doing your damage cali.

You should spend more time reading Four Trials instead of trying to destroy the man who is speaking out for your best interests the loudest.

We have been in Halliburton since the occupation started, thats where the money is.
"By any means..."

He's abusing his control of your tax dollars to make money! Particularly in the Homeland Security field! He just invested $50,000 in a medical company he helped hand a big contract to combat avian flu. OMG! 911! Fear! Fire! Murder! Rhinoplasty! Your posts have taken a disturbingly silly turn of late, haven't they? This is as old as politics, and mutual funds often contain defense firms that have a steady rate of return. Why are you doing this? This innuendo can be manufactured for almost any significant investment portfolio held by a congressperson. And the longer they've been in public life, the worse it is.

you would have to be nuts not to profit off this.

http://www.slb.com/content/about/index.asp?entry=about&

Let me know when Edwards uses his position as vice president of the U. S. to invade a country and reap millions for himself.

again, bullshit.
mean spirited and naive, but total bullshit.

The same behavior elicits two wildly different interpretations. For x, the behavior gets the best intentions and context attributed to it, whether or not they exist. For y, the behavior gets the worst intentions and context attributed to it. It's a stupid, useless and insensible game.

i totally agree... i'm kinda sick at the straw grasping all over this place. Oy!
and how are YOU doing?
:hi:

I'll bet most investors with large sums of money are investing in some type of defense contractors etc. They'd be a fool not to...so quit trying to find fault with everyone and stick to defending your own candidate. You seem to spend an inordinate amount of time criticizing others.

all it takes is a voter with a clean conscience.

This is an issue I have with all candidates who speak about these issues and then profit from the very thing they are claiming to be against. The bottom line is that every dollar you spend, or invest, speaks volumes about what it is you truly value. There are socially responsible investment options that Edwards, or any other candidate, can use. If a candidate truly cares about these issues then they will make sure they are not invested in companies like Schlumberger.

that are of the network that GE owns?

All of his stocks were in a blind trust so I assume you understand blind trusts.

Also he had people that were managing all this for him.

There probably is not a candidate out there that you can even vote for if this is the criteria for you not to vote for them account of how they have their investments.

Profiteering off of the war is totally despicable and when Edwards learned of this, he diversified himself of all of this.

It is companies like GE, Halliburton, Backwater, etc that intentionally profit off of a war that is so very wrong.

Take a look at JED's past and all he has ever done is fight battles for those who are unable to fight for themselves and he could not and would not intentionally profit from a war he hates and wants to get us out of.

I know for a fact that I don't own GE or any of the companies mentioned in this thread as 100% of my investments are in SRI funds and separate accounts. Further, I know 100% of the holdings in those funds. Even my savings and checking accounts are with Community Investment banks. Also, I only use my TV for watching movies and I don't rent Disney (serious human rights violations) movies!

While I am not an expert on blind trusts, my understanding is that you can not know the specific holdings and that the executers have full discretionary authority. However, it seems like it would be possible to request that your money is not invested in certain types of businesses (i.e. alcohol, tobacco, weapons manufacturers, etc) just like you should be able to say how conservative or aggressive you want to be.

Please understand that I am not calling out John Edwards or any other candidate on this, especially if he did divest. My issue is more about people, including our politicians, not making the connection between the values they speak of and where their money is invested.

I agree with you on the people, politicians. Sounds like you are a very conscientious investor trying to do the right thing. We all need to do that.

You really hit a hornets nest. I hope you learn something.

To my shame, I have also made some $$$ off some indirect investments...

I'm no WarWhore, and I didn't MEAN to make any, it just sort of happened - I own a bunch of stocks specializing in natural resources - oil, gold, uranium, timber and the like.

I really dislike Edwards, but there is way more damning stuff on him than this...



P.S. May 15, 2008 is when Pretty-Boy has to disclose the disgusting profits (~$4-6 million) he made off his $16 million investment in Fortress...

*sigh*

I think I should be doing things with their money. :) I trust myself.

because everyone of our candidates has profited from the Iraq War.

Thanks for clearing up this mess.:sarcasm: You seem to have developed a knack for it.:applause:

Way to go.:thumbsup:

All the corporate candidates have.

:eyes:

So has Susan Sarandon and John Kerry and Leonardo DiCaprio and Alec Baldwin and lord knows who else.

but he needs to drop out. Sucking all the air out of the Mercer platform.