The Growing Enron Scandal

To watch "the memo" click here .

Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly, thanks for watching us tonight.

First of all, congratulations to the New England Patriots, who through sheer hard work and determination are the Super Bowl champs, great game.  Why did heavily favored St. Louis lose?  We'll tell you later on in the most ridiculous segment.  It's something few have pointed out.

The Talking Points memo this evening is about the growing Enron scandal.  Even if you don't care about the stock market or economics, you should pay attention to this story, because this goes to the heart of our justice system.  We all know the rich and powerful can do things that everyday Americans cannot do.  They can buy justice, dodge probing questions, and generally get away with a lot more than you can.

That's not fair, but that's the way America is.  We are a society built on money.  And money buys privilege, even when it comes to crime.

Former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay canceled his appearance in front of a congressional committee today, his lawyer saying Mr. Lay would not be given a fair hearing.  But the real reason Lay didn't show up is that he's a rank coward, a man who sold $100 million worth of Enron stock before it tanked but who told his employees two months before bankruptcy to buy the stock.

Lay also hid behind his wife's skirt when she showed up on the Today show to tell America the family was broke.  Yeah, sure.

The truth is that Enron was run by dishonest cowards who committed fraud and hoped their political connections would save them.  What can you say about Enron vice chairman Cliff Baxter?  He commits suicide knowing he has a wife and two children sleeping at home.  Nice.

And another Enron CEO, Jeffrey Skilling, cashing in his chips for $67 million before the fall.  The list goes on and on.

There is no question that Enron tried to buy political pull, and in the rotten campaign finance system we have, the company was able to give big money to both parties.  Democrats are trying to tie the Enron rock to Bush-Cheney, but after DNC chief Terry McAuliffe's Global Crossing bonanza, that will not be so easy.

All these power guys take corporate money, and most of them get inside information from the big business chieftains.  Again, it's not right, but unless the feds set up an ethics police, the Beltway ain't gonna change.

The end zone here is this, millions of Americans trusted the Enron Corporation to be honest and the company was not.  So the executives of the company must stand trial.  If convicted, they should go to prison and pay massive fines.

By the way, here's Kenneth Lay's leisure resume, $7 million in Houston, private plane, two homes and property in Aspen, Colorado, currently for sale, price $15 million.  And at least 10 other properties in Texas.  Mrs. Lay was lucky she chose the Today show.  Peddling her line of bull here would have been quite a different story.

And that's the memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for the "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day." 

As we mentioned at the top of the broadcast, there is a reason the St. Louis Rams lost the Super Bowl.  And most of the analysts completely missed it.

During their blowout win over the Green Bay Packers, Ram coach Mike Martz kept quarterback Kurt Warner on the field deep into the fourth quarter.  And Warner got blasted in the ribs shortly before the game ended.

The next week, Warner took painkilling shots and the Rams barely got by Philadelphia.  If you noticed yesterday, Warner had trouble throwing deep.  The Patriots knew Warner was hurt and pounded him.  That was the key.  Keeping Warner on the field in the Green Bay game was ridiculous and Coach Martz paid the price.

— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com