Book: "Billy the Kid, His Real Name Was..."

Above, the grave of Billy the Kid. Or is it? Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last year, I paid a visit to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Fort Sumner is famous as where outlaw Billy the Kid met his end at the hands of Pat Garrett and is buried there. 

Or was he?

I came across a book by Jim Johnson titled, "Billy the Kid, His Real Name Was..." 

Here's the Barnes & Noble summary:

He was gunned down at the tender age of twenty- or was he? You've probably heard the legend of William H. Bonney, a.k.a. Billy the Kid, at one time or another. Most folks have. But when it comes to the Kid, few things are completely certain - not his real name, not his parents' names, not even where he was born or just how many people he killed. Sheriff Pat Garrett is commonly credited with killing Billy. He even wrote a wildly popular and somewhat sensational book about it. But there are many scholars who dispute the claim of this bartender and former buffalo hunter because the details of Garrett's story just don't add up. Add to this the fact that throughout the following decades old men from Mexico all the way to England were declaring themselves to be the real Billy the Kid, having cheated death that warm night in New Mexico. Among these many claimants, however, are two men with somewhat credible stories: John Miller and Brushy Bill. Both men seemed to be the right age, the right size, and had stories that certainly sounded authentic. But only one of these men could possibly be the real Billy the Kid. Author Jim Johnson has made an in-depth study of the outlaw's life, and presents here two very plausible accounts. Did Billy the Kid grow to be an old man, or was he killed by Pat Garrett? Read the evidence, and judge for yourself.

When I was in Fort Sumner, I visited Billy's grave and toured the Billy the Kid Museum. Was Billy actually buried there or was someone else (claimed to be Billy) buried there. The book sounds interesting enough. I just might get the book and see.

Rahm Emanuel In Freddie Mac During Scandal

Chief of Staff desigate Rahm Emanuel was on the Board of Directors of Freddie Mac when the firm was hit by a scandal, it has been revealed.

According to ABCNews.com:

President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot "red flags," according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com.

President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot "red flags," according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com. According to a complaint later filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Freddie Mac, known formally as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, misreported profits by billions of dollars in order to deceive investors between the years 2000 and 2002.

Emanuel was not named in the SEC complaint but the entire board was later accused by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention."

In a statement to ABCNews.com, a spokesperson said Emanuel served on the board for "13 months-a relatively short period of time."

Emanuel was appointed to the Board by Bill Clinton and served there until he resigned in May 2001 to run for Congress.

The Associated Press notes:

Clinton appointed Emanuel to mortgage giant Freddie Mac's board, a post that paid him at least $292,774 in director's fees, according to a financial disclosure report Emanuel filed in 2002 when he ran for Congress. Emanuel served on the board when Freddie Mac misstated its earnings by $5 billion for 2000-2002. When the problem was uncovered in 2003, three top Freddie Mac executives were forced out.

And the Wall Street Journal writes:

Mr. Obama's choice of Mr. Emanuel to lead his White House staff through the economic crisis symbolizes the awkward balancing act that Democrats will face as they reshape the financial industry that they have also cultivated for political support.

Mr. Emanuel earned $16.2 million in a two-year stint working in Chicago for investment-banking firm Wasserstein Perella & Co. He also served on the board of Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant that was nationalized this year in the financial crisis.

It is interesting that Barack Obama seems to surround himself with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae alumns. While Emanuel has not been charged with any wrongdoing, it certainly stinks that people associated (i.e., Jim Johnson, Jaime Gorelick, Frainklin Raines) with the failed two mortgage firms were a part of his campaign or now being selected to be a part of his administration.

It also underscores that the financial meltdown can be laid at the feet of the Democrats.