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Topic: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough! (Read 1465 times) |
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CHTom
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Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« on: Sep 10th, 2005, 8:42pm » |
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Looks like Katrina is going to be good business for Halliburton and other companies run by Bush's buddies-don't these people have any sense of shame or decency? They've made a fortune in Iraq and accomplished nothing and now......
Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts
FEMA taps Halliburton subsidiary, Shaw Group, Bechtel for cleanup
Saturday, September 10, 2005; Posted: 1:26 p.m. EDT 17:26 GMT)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.
One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton.
Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs once they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq.
Halliburton alone has earned more than $9 billion. Pentagon audits released by Democrats in June showed $1.03 billion in "questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for Halliburton's work in Iraq.
Watchdog groups take notice
But the web of Bush administration connections is attracting renewed attention from watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction rush. Congress has already appropriated more than $60 billion in emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $100 billion.
"The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further private commercial interests," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight.
Bush appointees at Halliburton
Allbaugh formally registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root in February.
In lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Senate, Allbaugh said his goal was to "educate the congressional and executive branch on defense, disaster relief and homeland security issues affecting Kellogg Brown and Root."
Melissa Norcross, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said Allbaugh has not, since he was hired, "consulted on any specific contracts that the company is considering pursuing, nor has he been tasked by the company with any lobbying responsibilities."
Allbaugh is also a friend of Michael Brown, director of FEMA who was removed as head of Katrina disaster relief and sent back to Washington amid allegations he had padded his resume -- which he denies.
A few months after Allbaugh was hired by Halliburton, the company retained another high-level Bush appointee, Kirk Van Tine.
Van Tine registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton six months after resigning as deputy transportation secretary, a position he held from December 2003 to December 2004.
On Friday, Kellogg Brown & Root received $29.8 million in Pentagon contracts to begin rebuilding Navy bases in Louisiana and Mississippi. Norcross said the work was covered under a contract that the company negotiated before Allbaugh was hired.
Cheney's relationship with Halliburton
Halliburton continues to be a source of income for Cheney, who served as its chief executive officer from 1995 until 2000 when he joined the Republican ticket for the White House. According to tax filings released in April, Cheney's income included $194,852 in deferred pay from the company, which has also won billion-dollar government contracts in Iraq.
Cheney's office said the amount of deferred compensation is fixed and is not affected by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings.
Allbaugh's other major client, Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group, has updated its Web site to say: "Hurricane Recovery Projects -- Apply Here!"
Shaw said on Thursday it has received a $100 million emergency FEMA contract for housing management and construction. Shaw also clinched a $100 million order on Friday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Shaw Group spokesman Chris Sammons said Allbaugh was providing the company with "general consulting on business matters," and would not say whether he played a direct role in any of the Katrina deals. "We don't comment on specific consulting activities," he said.
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Melissa
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #1 on: Sep 10th, 2005, 9:15pm » |
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Every administration, whether republican or democrat, does this. It's nothing new.
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BobG
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #2 on: Sep 10th, 2005, 9:18pm » |
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on Sep 10th, 2005, 9:15pm, Melissa wrote:Every administration, whether republican or democrat, does this. It's nothing new.
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Yep.
Don't take it personal. It's just business.
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forgetfulnot
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #3 on: Sep 10th, 2005, 10:55pm » |
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I'm sure that all the homeless people that had their $2,000 Debit cards cancelled will feel all warm and fuzzy... of coarse they can direct deposit to the checking account they never had to begin with.
Lee
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| « Last Edit: Sep 10th, 2005, 10:58pm by forgetful » |
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jcmquix
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #4 on: Sep 10th, 2005, 11:04pm » |
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on Sep 10th, 2005, 8:42pm, CHTom wrote:Looks like Katrina is going to be good business for Halliburton and other companies run by Bush's buddies-don't these people have any sense of shame or decency? They've made a fortune in Iraq and accomplished nothing and now......
Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts
FEMA taps Halliburton subsidiary, Shaw Group, Bechtel for cleanup
Saturday, September 10, 2005; Posted: 1:26 p.m. EDT 17:26 GMT)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.
One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton.
Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs once they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq.
Halliburton alone has earned more than $9 billion. Pentagon audits released by Democrats in June showed $1.03 billion in "questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for Halliburton's work in Iraq.
Watchdog groups take notice
But the web of Bush administration connections is attracting renewed attention from watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction rush. Congress has already appropriated more than $60 billion in emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $100 billion.
"The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further private commercial interests," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight.
Bush appointees at Halliburton
Allbaugh formally registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root in February.
In lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Senate, Allbaugh said his goal was to "educate the congressional and executive branch on defense, disaster relief and homeland security issues affecting Kellogg Brown and Root."
Melissa Norcross, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said Allbaugh has not, since he was hired, "consulted on any specific contracts that the company is considering pursuing, nor has he been tasked by the company with any lobbying responsibilities."
Allbaugh is also a friend of Michael Brown, director of FEMA who was removed as head of Katrina disaster relief and sent back to Washington amid allegations he had padded his resume -- which he denies.
A few months after Allbaugh was hired by Halliburton, the company retained another high-level Bush appointee, Kirk Van Tine.
Van Tine registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton six months after resigning as deputy transportation secretary, a position he held from December 2003 to December 2004.
On Friday, Kellogg Brown & Root received $29.8 million in Pentagon contracts to begin rebuilding Navy bases in Louisiana and Mississippi. Norcross said the work was covered under a contract that the company negotiated before Allbaugh was hired.
Cheney's relationship with Halliburton
Halliburton continues to be a source of income for Cheney, who served as its chief executive officer from 1995 until 2000 when he joined the Republican ticket for the White House. According to tax filings released in April, Cheney's income included $194,852 in deferred pay from the company, which has also won billion-dollar government contracts in Iraq.
Cheney's office said the amount of deferred compensation is fixed and is not affected by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings.
Allbaugh's other major client, Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group, has updated its Web site to say: "Hurricane Recovery Projects -- Apply Here!"
Shaw said on Thursday it has received a $100 million emergency FEMA contract for housing management and construction. Shaw also clinched a $100 million order on Friday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Shaw Group spokesman Chris Sammons said Allbaugh was providing the company with "general consulting on business matters," and would not say whether he played a direct role in any of the Katrina deals. "We don't comment on specific consulting activities," he said.
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This reminds me of Area 51 Rumors... Unreal....
Have a nice day
Charlie
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CHTom
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #5 on: Sep 10th, 2005, 11:07pm » |
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I've been around a long time and I've never seen such blatant patronage-from appointing incompetanats to head FEMA to givng more contracts to Halliburton-from which Cheney gets (see the article) almost $130,000 a year, was the chairman before he beame vice president and no doubt will become chairman again after his term of office is over and the required, legal period of waiting time is over before he can return to the company. The administration's arrogance is unparralled in history-at least Bush could have given the contracts to another one of his rich friends' companies. I don't think that it is a coincidence that, just a few days ago, Bush suspended the requirement that contractors working in a disaster area pay the prevailing local wage to outside workers brought in; now Halliburton can hire people and pay them shit and keep the profits-and there are enough poor, unemployed people available that will be desperate enough to take the jobs. Imagine the cruel irony of people from NO, who lost their jobs, returning to NO to rebuild the city and get paid less than what they made before. To me, this shows the heartlessness of this administration towards poor people and the common working man and woman. No doubt the administration will then use the people hired at low wages to say that unemployment has dropped and that the ecomomy is improving-just like the Robber Barons of the 19th Century and early 20th Century. Teddy Roosevelt is surely rolling around in his grave! While patronage has always existed, in both parties, it has never been as extensive as in this administration and incompetent people were NOT given jobs that were important-like the head of FEMA, who, it now appears, exaggerated his resume and was about to be fired from his last job of running horse shows. There was an excellent editorial in Satuday's NY Times about this whole situation which contained facts and not just opinions. When Bush appears at a function, instead of "Hail to the Chief", the band should play "We're in the Money". Sorry, brother, but I think that this is more serious than "politics as usual". Poor New Orleans. Halliburton has been found to have been ripping off the US taxpayer in Iraq and I'm sure that they will do the same in NO. One example was charging the government for 42,000 hot meals served to our troops when in fact only 14,000 were served; instead of being prosecuted, Halliburton was allowed to say that it was an "accounting error" and get off easy by returning some of the money. These people are evil.
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jcmquix
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #6 on: Sep 10th, 2005, 11:11pm » |
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Well you could always get in there and do the job yourself....
Know what they say, if you want something done right (Your way) you got to do it Yourself !!!!
Have a nice day !!!!
God Bless
Charlie
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Charlie
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #7 on: Sep 10th, 2005, 11:18pm » |
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Well. Mel has a point but never in my 59 years have I seen this kind of thing so blatant and sorta out in the open. These guys don't care.........about much of anything but each other's tax cuts. It's unreal.
You know, when you want to pay back your unskilled cronies, you're supposed to stick them in the Post Office or ambassador to some Island in the Pacific.
Charlie
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BobG
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #8 on: Sep 10th, 2005, 11:45pm » |
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One thing I can't believe is all the dumbass people that supported Bush and Cheney in the last erection and they still think they are Gods. Many of those fools are at this website.
It feels so good to look back at the messages, discussions, disagreements and fights that took place here during that time and now I can say
"I told ya so!".
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Pinkfloyd
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #9 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 12:44am » |
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on Sep 10th, 2005, 11:18pm, Charlie wrote:| Well. Mel has a point but never in my 59 years have I seen this kind of thing so blatant and sorta out in the open. Charlie |
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http://tinyurl.com/85qyu
Bobw
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BobG
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #11 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 1:13am » |
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ROTFLMAO 
Good one Bob(s)!
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| « Last Edit: Sep 11th, 2005, 1:15am by BobG » |
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CHTom
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #12 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 2:10am » |
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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies."C.S.Lewis (quoted from PinkFloyd)
I believe that we have an administration that consists of people who embody the worst traits of robber barons and omnipotent moral busybodies, though I think that I would substitute the word "criminals" for "robber barons" and add "hypocritcal" to "omnipitant moral busybodies". Their attitude and behaviors remind me of the Code of Chivalry of medieval knights-it only applied (sometimes, as they screwed each other as well) to members of that class; if you weren't a member they could (and did) do anything that they wanted to do to the "lower classes"; lie, cheat, steal, kill, etc. and still be considered "honorable" and "chivalrous". Times haven't changed much, except now they ride limos instead of horses and have poor people do their killing (and dying) instead of doing it themselves.
I also find it shameful that Bush is going to visit NO on this day, 9/11. It is an outright publicity stunt to somehow tie together what happeded then and what has happened as a result of Katrina. I think that it desecrates the memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and is cyncial beyond belief. Maybe Bush will try to blame Bin Laden for Katrina. Do he and his advisors really believe that we are all idiots and can't see through his charade?
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Jonny
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #13 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 2:56am » |
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CHTom (Troll),
What have you done for the people that now have nothing?
Anything?
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It is up to YOU to educate yourself and then help your doctor plan your treatment. If you just sit down in front of your doctor and say "make me better" you are setting yourself up for a great deal of pain.
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CHTom
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #14 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 3:05am » |
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Normally I don't respond to your posts  , Queen Jonny, but I have contributed $500 to the Salvation Army. As I wrote earlier, you are soooo cute when you are angry (which seems to be ALL the time when someone doesn't agree with you).
Hugs and kisses.
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Jonny
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #15 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 3:07am » |
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on Sep 11th, 2005, 3:05am, CHTom wrote:| Normally I don't respond to your posts |
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Thats because you know better!
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It is up to YOU to educate yourself and then help your doctor plan your treatment. If you just sit down in front of your doctor and say "make me better" you are setting yourself up for a great deal of pain.
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CHTom
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #16 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 3:13am » |
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Yes, you are correct as usual-I don't respond everytime a fly farts, you sweet thing!
 
Good night, PF I hope.
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| « Last Edit: Sep 11th, 2005, 3:16am by CHTom » |
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Jonny
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #17 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 3:56am » |
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on Sep 11th, 2005, 3:13am, CHTom wrote:Yes, you are correct as usual-I don't respond everytime a fly farts, you sweet thing!
Good night, PF I hope. |
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You should be the one worried about pain, John/CHTom/Hdildo/PMCK or whatever name you are going by today.
What a punk to use four names....LOL 
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It is up to YOU to educate yourself and then help your doctor plan your treatment. If you just sit down in front of your doctor and say "make me better" you are setting yourself up for a great deal of pain.
- Guiseppi
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BarbaraD
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #18 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 6:47am » |
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on Sep 10th, 2005, 11:45pm, BobG wrote:One thing I can't believe is all the dumbass people that supported Bush and Cheney in the last erection and they still think they are Gods. Many of those fools are at this website.
It feels so good to look back at the messages, discussions, disagreements and fights that took place here during that time and now I can say
"I told ya so!". |
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Ditto what Bob said.....
Now we can tighten our belts and pay for it again -- I know the American people will be generous......
Hugs BD
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vig
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #19 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 7:37am » |
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We have our own Nero, fiddling while NO burns...
anyway, this twit not only got elected, but RE-elected in the face of some pretty flagrant facts.
I agree with all the Bobs!
Go Gringo Bonobo!
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burnt-toast
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #20 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 7:57am » |
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While the American people open there checkbooks and contribute time to support the folks in the Gulf States, there are corporations and agencies that will benefit greatly from this disaster through their close ties to politics.
Every administration has its Shaw Group's and Halliburton's. Do some research on the $$ Billions of dollars the Clinton Administration poured into Enron and how much the American people lost in subsidized loans Clinton provided Enron. Did you forget that Clinton had Goldman Sachs executive Robert Rubin as treasury secretary and former energy executive Mack McLarty as White House chief of staff? Please don't try to sell this as a Republican Vs. Democrat issue. As I've pointed out before both parties play the same Government for Sale game and "The People" pay the bill.
These types of organizations have found it easy to fund campaigns and provide safe landing spots for ex-government employees in exchange for huge govenment contracts, tax payer backed loans and grants. This keeps them from actually working to secure the bulk of their business from the private sector.
It doesn't matter what party is in power. The American people accept government corruption and an unholy aliance between private corporations and public government. As a result corruption becomes ever more blatent and costs the American people more every day. Until "The People" find a backbone and become directly involved in holding government accountable nothing will get better. Ultimately the American people are to blame because we have become sheep.
Tom
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vig
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #21 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 8:27am » |
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True Tom, but this crew rode in on the religious, self-righteous train proclaiming values, only to turn out to be incompetent con-artists.
Will we fall for it again?
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BarbaraD
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #22 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 9:25am » |
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Until the American people get off their apathetic butts and get out, get involved and VOTE (with some facts) and quit listening to the rethrotic and bleeding hearts NOTING will be done. We need to start with the lst graders... they need to be TAUGHT (at home preferably) to THINK for themselves - not just follow the leader.
If we want to start pointing fingers we can go back to the time we formed our government. George Washington had his buddies also (just didn't have 24 hour news coverage). Instead of complaining and pointing fingers, we can START with today and move forward. You can't do it, I can't do it, but WE can do it. I mean TAKE BACK OUR GOVERNMENT. Make politicians accountable to US. But it will take the people of this country to do it. And unfortunately, right now, there's just not enough willing to put out the effort, so the politicians will TELL us what's good for us and we'll just keep on giving them our hard earned money and letting them spend it how they see fit for our "benefit" and keep on complaining.
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Melissa
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #23 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 9:32am » |
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Great post Barb, my thoughts exactly.
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burnt-toast
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Re: Bush's Buddies Feeding at Katrina's Trough!
« Reply #24 on: Sep 11th, 2005, 9:34am » |
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on Sep 11th, 2005, 8:27am, vig wrote:True Tom, but this crew rode in on the religious, self-righteous train proclaiming values, only to turn out to be incompetent con-artists.
Will we fall for it again? |
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Vig,
I ask myself this question every election - then find myslef asking it over and over again between each election - regardless of the administration that is in power. But we have no real alternatives because we never demand full accountability.
This same government makes it illegal for private corportations to discriminate in the work place. Yet every election are bombarded with what blue collar, white collar, black, white, hispanic, asian, male, female, gay, straight, various religious, liberal, conservative, pro-gun, anti-gun, animal rights, etc., etc., etc., voters want.
We have a personal wealth oriented two party system that successfully separates American's by class, race, religion, national origin, sex, U.S. geographics/demographics and uses this fragmentation to their advantage. We allow ourselves to be broken into small powerless groups over too specific a set of issues - most of which should not even be issues our government is involved in. The end result is "We The People" have turned our power over to an increasingly corrupt political bureaucracy that no longer serves "The People".
The Federal Government has severely exceeded the limited powers granted to it in the U.S. Constitution by The Founding Fathers. This relentlessly swelling bureaucracy has become an ineffective beast "The People" can no longer afford to feed.
Tom
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Would the owner of the propane torch, egg beater, pipe expander and vise grips please claim these items. They're lodged in my head and I need the space.
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