Knowing that Ben Barnes is a "Vice Chair" fundraiser for the Kerry Campaign, and that he is a Texas politician/businessman/lobbyist...
Knowing that Bill Burkett is also from Texas...
Knowing Marian Carr Knox is Rather's latest sock puppet...
I found where Ben Barnes was in partnership with a Ricky Knox when they bilked GTech out of millions over a Texas lottery contract. Is the last name of "Knox" a coincidence?
Who might the "former executive secretary" be?
Inquiring minds want to know...
It is simply amazing the hoops the "media" will jump through to try and connect Bush to the SBVT adds...while completely ignoring this "obvious" connection between the DNC/Texas Democrats and the memos CBS got a hold of. All the figures involved here aren't just political oppenents of Bush...many of them have serious credibility problems. Yet, the media ignores something they would never stand for if this were Republicans.
DNC>Van Os>Burkett
Ricky Knox was also the campaign manager for Democratic State Senator Kent Hance against Bush in 1978. That seems to be an interesting tidbit...
here is an interesting article from the statesman.
Gtech settles Littwin lawsuit
Case raised issue of how Bush got into National Guard
BYLINE: Ken Herman
DATE: October 30, 1999
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Metro/State
PAGE: B1
A lawsuit that led to the disclosure of details about how young George W. Bush got into the National Guard was settled Friday by a former Texas Lottery director and the firm he blamed for his 1997 firing. Gtech, operator of the Texas Lottery, agreed to pay $300,000 to Lawrence Littwin. The company denied any wrongdoing and called the settlement a ``business decision that was in the best interest of our company and the Texas Lottery." ``The company is extremely disappointed and frustrated that it ultimately became necessary to reach a settlement of this matter,'' Gtech spokesman Marc Palazzo said. ``The cost and time associated with litigating this case would have been extensive and far more than the settlement." Littwin and his attorneys were unavailable for comment Friday. In the settlement, Littwin accepted a confidentiality agreement severely limiting what he can say about the case. Court records show Littwin wanted $2.6 million from Gtech. His lawsuit claimed the company had undue influence over the Texas Lottery Commission -- influence that led the commission to fire him -- because former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, a former high-dollar lobbyist for Gtech, had potentially damaging information about how Bush got into the National Guard. Gtech had cut its ties with Barnes -- paying $23 million to Barnes and associate Ricky Knox to terminate their contract -- before Littwin's five-month tenure at the Lottery Commission. Last month, in a deposition sought by Littwin's lawyers, Barnes was asked whether, while serving as speaker of the Texas House in 1968, he helped Bush get into the Texas Air National Guard. After the deposition, Barnes issued a statement saying he had been asked by Houston businessman Sidney Adger, a longtime Bush family friend, to recommend George W. Bush for the Guard slot that he eventually got. The statement said nobody in the Bush family had asked for favorable treatment for George W. Bush. The governor and his father have said they were unaware of any efforts by Adger to get the younger Bush into the Guard. Littwin's lawsuit said Barnes ``is alleged to have helped the current Governor George Bush avoid active duty during the Vietnam War." The lawsuit also noted that two top former Bush aides, Reggie Bashur and Cliff Johnson, became Gtech lobbyists after leaving the governor's staff. Under terms of the settlement, Littwin ``admits that he has no personal knowledge of any of the criminal activity alleged in support of his claims against Gtech." Littwin also agreed to give to Gtech or destroy all documents produced by the litigation, including transcripts of Barnes' deposition. Gtech's ability to defend itself against the federal lawsuit took a direct hit recently when a federal judge ruled that Texas Lottery Commission Chairwoman Harriet Miers did not have to give a deposition in the case. Company lawyers had wanted to ask Miers about the reasons for Littwin's dismissal, which were never detailed by the three-member commission. ``The Texas Lottery Commission is not, and never has been, a party to this lawsuit,'' Linda Cloud, the agency's current director, said Friday. ``I strongly disagree that any action by our agency is the basis of today's settlement. I remain convinced that the commission acted properly and within our rights in this matter. And just as we were not a party to this lawsuit, we have not been involved in Gtech's decision to settle." Gtech now has paid out-of-court settlements to both directors fired by the Texas Lottery Commission. In 1998, the firm gave former Director Nora Linares $435,000 to end her lawsuit blaming the company for her dismissal in January 1997. Gtech also paid $290,000 to Linares' attorneys. Linares lost her $83,000-a-year state job after acknowledging that longtime friend Mike Moeller, to whom she is now married, has worked as a Gtech consultant in New Mexico. Linares said she had been unaware of Moeller's contract until asked about it by a reporter. Gtech said the contract was improper and said it had been approved by former company official J. David Smith, who has been convicted on federal charges of taking kickbacks f rom Gtech consultants in New Jersey.
See if any of this information helps.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1218061/posts
Iterestingly .. a Marian Knox of Houston contributed to the Marth Wong campaign ... Wong is a Republican.
Her son is Pat Carr ... she was obviously married before she took the name Knox. Trying to find the Knox she married...
There is also mention of Pat Carr who is active in Chamber of Commerce work in two different SE TX communities .. not sure if they are the same person.