More on Sara Lee contributions - lots of big bucks shelled out by this firm giving appearance of a "shake down"? But then the price of justice runs very high these days.. Speaking of these campaign funds - is this where Gary Condit took $2,500 to buy the bracelet for Chandra Levy and this oh so generous man also contributed $10,000 for reward to come up with the body of Chandra.....some think this money should have come out of his own pocket, and not the pockets of those who contributed to his campaign. So we see why Sara Lee virtually got away with murder - for it was proven in Court they knew at the time, they had a very serious problem and still have a very serious problem. 21 people dead and Sara Lee charged with misdemeanor and fined $200,000? Hell, they gave more than that to men in Congress and Presidential Campaigns - keeping in mind, the President Appoints the Attorney General who prosecutes such cases. This upcoming trial with Jimbo Traficant should be very interesting - now they say he took a bribe? What is the difference between a bribe and some of these so called "contributions" - remember Jesse Jackson, holding up companies with threat of boycots? So more from Sara Lee and how she got away with murder - for it was known they had a serious problem in their food processing plant... Saba Oct. 13, 1998 Campaign Cash at Work in Stealthy NAFTA Expansion: GOP Leaders Eye Omnibus Spending Bill Clothing Industry Contributors Would Obtain Huge Benefits Lavish political contributions from two major apparel firms are fueling an attempt to slip a damaging trade deal through Congress in the final hours before adjournment. Republican leaders will decide imminently whether to add a controversial 26-country NAFTA expansion to the giant omnibus spending bill, granting one-way NAFTA benefits to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. CBI NAFTA expansion has never been approved by the Senate and was defeated 234-182 in a House vote in November 1997. GOP leaders are now trying to force a choice between closing down the government or approving legislation they have already opposed. Sara Lee (Hanes) and Fruit of the Loom contributed more than $340,000 in unregulated soft money to the political parties in 1997 and 1998 and would gain an estimated $75 million annually in tax cuts through lower tariffs if the Caribbean Basin Initiative passes. "The last-minute push for an already-rejected NAFTA expansion exposes our campaign system for what it is: legalized bribery," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook. "Laws are not supposed to get passed by wealthy special interests cutting special deals behind closed doors." Sara Lee, which would gain $50 million a year in tax cuts if the CBI is passed, gave $5,179 in unregulated soft money to the political parties in 1997 and 1998. Fruit of the Loom, which will make $25 million a year from the tax cut, has given a whopping $339,687 in soft money in 1997 and 1998, including $100,000 to the Republicans in August 1998. Fruit of the Loom's CEO Bill Farley gave more than $35,000 in campaign contributions to Congressional candidates in 1997 and 1998, while Sara Lee's CEO John Bryan made $9,550 in personal contributions to candidates. "Fruit of the Loom slashed 7,700 U.S. sewing jobs last year, more than a third of the company's entire U.S. workforce, and has announced plans to reorganize under a Cayman Islands parent company, thus evading $100 million in U.S. corporate income taxes. This is not behavior we should reward," said Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. ===================================== Saba Return to Newsroom Return to Public Citizen Home Page �
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