TEN LASHES WITH A WET NOODLE!

Now let me get this straight.

A kid caught with some marijuana, in some states, can be tossed into the
clink for up to 30 years.

A corporate big shot caught cooking the books - or approving cooked books -
and proven guilty can get a maximum prison term of 5 years if convicted of
mail fraud or wire fraud, charges often used to prosecute corporate crimes.

Never mind that it's easier to prove the kid guilty than it is to prove the
big shot guilty. Do you think prison overcrowding results from the influx
of white collar criminals?

Never mind that the relative harm inflicted on society varies a tad. The
kid hurt, er, well let's move on. The corporate big shot cost the jobs of,
say, 10,000 or 20,000 or 80,000 people - pick your number - and the
retirement savings of millions of investors and the faith of the American
public in the capitalistic system.

But, thank God, the man that stands with the party that stands for solid
American values has come to the rescue. Yes, President Bush has come down
hard on corporate abusers.

To name but one example: He's pushing Congress to double the maximum prison
term for mail fraud and wire fraud to ... drum roll please ... 10 years!

And here's another: He's demanding that corporate American demonstrate more
character, become more ethical. Let's hope that they will hear his words
and follow his example. Whew ... I feel better. Justice may be done after
all! I was worried that George's history of plowing the oil fields of Texas
and currying the political favors of Big Business would have clouded his
judgment on the matter. But, now, at last, by slamming the door on the big
shot, he's looking out for the interests of all us little guys, the guys
who pay our taxes and obey our laws.

Now I just wish that that meddlesome media would stop probing into George's
past and give him his due for his present - a present to the American
people: justice at last for the public and renewed faith in the
capitalistic system.

President Bush, by his own admission, has made mistakes over the years, but
he's obviously learned some lessons that he's now applying to work for the
common good of the nation. And, in the process, he's never stayed far from
following the Golden Rule. He who has the gold ... rules.