Thomas Lawler                                                                            4/17/01

Blue                                         

The Mafia, CIA, and George Bush

          The book, The Mafia, CIA, and George Bush, is about the S&L (savings and loan) scandal. The book exposes the CIA’s ties to the failed banks with mob ties, and how the Bush family was making money off of the failed banks. The banks made loans to corporations and other people influenced by board members. The person would get an inflated appraisal on the land he would as collateral for the loan. The person would default on the loan and the bank would have worthless land. The book took place in the Milky Way galaxy, planet Earth, Northern Hemisphere. Most of the failed banks were in Texas, but others were in California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida. One of the ways the execs of the banks made excuses that a falling real estate market caused by falling oil prices did them in. That excuse holds water in Texas, but not in California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida. The same names kept coming up in the failed bank’s files. 

The characters in The Mafia, CIA, and George Bush were connected to the government (Neil Bush, George Bush), connected to the Mafia (Herman K. Beebe, Walter M. Mischer), or connected to the CIA (Barry Seal, John Mecom). I did not like any of the characters because all of them helped have caused $500 billion of debt to be put on the backs of taxpayers. I wouldn’t want to trade places with George Bush because who wants to have ulcers bugging you all the time. He also is a crook.

          The beginning of the book didn’t capture my attention. The prolog was informative, but not interesting. The author could have stuck in some jokes or have a frank writing style, like Iacocca’s. The main problem in the story is who was at the base of the S&L scandal. Unfortunately, some of the important files are locked up or missing. Overall, the prolog was o.k. The major problem in the book was who was responsible for the S&L scandal.

The main event in the book was when Reagan/Bush de-regulated the banking industry.

          The theme of the book is the story of one of the greatest looting of the American taxpayer (1^st place goes to George W. Bushes budget). It makes us wonder. If the government can get away with this, who cannot?

          The overall effect the book has had on me was a positive one. It shed light on a very dark, complicated subject. It has given me new ammunition in my political guns whenever politics comes up in a discussion.  It has enlightened me on a very interesting topic. The book overall is long and has many details. I would recommend it to a person with no life or has allot of time on their hands. Al Gore should have read it.