Iraq is Enron, and President Bush is Ken Lay. He's fighting a war with phony accounting tricks. The Bush administration fudged the numbers to get us into Iraq, and cooked the books to keep us there. "The surge" is simply another in a long series of inflated stock quotes. This past weekend Marcel Marceau passed away at age 84. Doctors say he went quietly. Thus proving that evil thrives when good men stay silent. And just like with Enron, the good men and women who are blowing the whistle on Iraq contractor fraud are being vilified, fired, demoted, and those are the lucky ones.
Last Friday morning the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing entitled "The Mistreatment of Iraq Contracting Whistleblowers," just in time to make the Friday news dump. According to the committee more than $10 billion dollars in Iraq reconstruction and military support contracts is unaccounted for. In other words, for every six dollars spent in Iraq one dollar is in question. And folks, it's a war-zone, you're dealing with a culture known for its haggling skills, so you've got factor in a little skimming, but this is ridiculous. If you stole that much money from the Mafia you'd be dead.
Vicente Fox may have called President Bush a "windshield cowboy," but Bush has certainly turned Iraq into a wild, wild, west. And here's another one from the War in Iraq's this-is going-to-make-you-vomit file. Some Iraq contract whistleblowers have been vilified and fired, others have been detained by the US military and subjected to harsh interrogation techniques.
Donald Vance, a Navy veteran, was working for an Iraqi-owned outfit called the Shield Group Security Company. Vance said he witnessed Shield Group selling guns, land mines, and rocket-launchers to Iraqi insurgents, American soldiers, State Department workers, and Iraqi embassy and ministry workers. Vance described Shield Groups as "a Wal-Mart for guns." Vance reported this to the FBI, and instead of a pat on the back, he got 97 days at Camp Cropper, a military prison outside of Baghdad. In fact, Saddam's Hussein's old crib. Vance was placed in solitary confinement, subjected to head-banging music blaring from dawn to dusk, and interrogators screaming the same questions over and over again in his face.
Also testifying at the hearing along with Vance was Barry Godfrey, a former KBR employee (KBR+Halliburton=Cheney) who claimed that he was fired after complaining to his supervisors about fraudulent overcharges.
Also testifying was Bunnatine Greenhouse. Greenhouse is the former highest-ranking civilian contracting official at the Army Corps of Engineers, so I'll dispense with the "Greenhouse having gas" joke. But Greenhouse was removed from her position when she tried to crack down on "casual and clubby contracting practices" at the Army Corps of Engineers.
Also testifying was Robert Isakson who was a co-plaintiff in a "qui tam" lawsuit (a whistleblower lawsuit) against Custer Battles. No, "qui tam" is not that stuff that Chinese people do in the park, it's shorthand for the Latin Phrase "qui tam pro domino quam pro seipso," which dates back to 13th century England, and means, "He who is as much for the King as for himself." Today, a "qui tam" lawsuit is one brought under the False Claims Act by a private plaintiff on behalf of the Federal or State Government. Isakson won the first civil verdict for Iraq reconstruction fraud against Custer Battles. However, the verdict was overturned by the judge, who ruled that because the CPA was not part of the US government, the "qui tam" statute did not apply.
Meanwhile the Bush administration has not litigated a single case against a contractor alleged to have defrauded the US Government in Iraq. Apparently, like terrorism, this isn't a law enforcement issue either.
Bill Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" which airs every Friday at 11PM.
You should see the slick 20 page catalogue the Marines just sent my 24 year old son. At OUR expense the "All IN A DAY'S WORK. THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS." has offered to send him a free "About the Corps" opportunity book and a free Marine Corps workout t-shirt. Just complete the postage paid detachable postcard with your name, address, phone, cell, e-mail, DOB,school attended and indicate what size t-shirt you want! s,m,l,xl,xxl. Oh and there is also another postcard inviting a friend to stand with you.What do you think that cost us?
Like most homeowners, we attach the homeowners insurance to the mortgage payment. The year that Bush took office; our house payment increased by $750 per month. That's how much our homeowner's insurance had increased.
In Florida, many insurance companies are cutting and running leaving retirees high and dry.
Why?
Because they milked the residents dry while the weather pattern was good, and then, like any good gambler, took the money and ran before the house turned against them.
With the lack of interest in American benchmarks for democracy, and the abundance of morons like me who have trouble conveying a thought, I respect people like you who get it and can.
We need to remember that when the Gop goes to war and it's biggest contributors make record profits, it's not a mistake its politics.
OF course, Chomsky said the same thing during Vietnam
Americans are addicted to Oil; therefore they can condone the Invasion of Iraq, and consequently its pillaging.
THE NEO-CON OBJECTIVE:
TO LOOT THE US TREASURY.
Stealing and controlling Iraqi Oil is an added bonus.
Make General Petraeus publicly sign off on the accuracy of his progress reports. Have the President scribble his SOX John Hancock to the next White House report on global warming. Make the OMB produce a full accounting of monies spent in and on Iraq (the REAL books, not the ones they keep to show to Congress) and have the director of the agency certify they are correct and complete by adding his own SOX signature.
Bottom line, if Mr. Maher's right --- and Iraq IS Enron --- SOX might finally be the cure.
Vomit. Vomit. Vomit.
like Rush "I like to mix Viagra with vicadin" Limbaugh, and Bill "Can I get a MotherF***n Ice Tea" O'Reilly.
1) Loot the US Treasury.
2) George can call himself a "war president" going into the 2004 election cycle.
The privitization of the federal government has reached stunning depths. But we were warned. The following order was issued 1 month, 6 days after Inauguration. Though the group was to focus on ways to shift responsibility from federal to state or local authorities, I believe that it was a cover to find ways to shift the responsibility from the feds to the private sector. Edited for length, the original is here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/02/20010226-13.html.
February 26, 2001
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Interagency Working Group on Federalism
The Working Group shall comprise the following officials (or an appropriate designee thereof):
1. Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
2. Director, Domestic Policy Council
3. Secretary of the Treasury
4. Attorney General
5-14. Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health & Human Services, Housing & Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs
15. Director of the Office of Management and Budget
16. Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
17. Counsel to the President
18-20. Assistants to the President for Economic Policy, Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and Chief of Staff to the Vice President
21. Deputy Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and such other as the President may designate.
The functions are:
A. Identify initiatives that promote principles of Federalism, such as:
1. Federal endeavors which may more appropriately be carried out by State or local authorities;
2. Opportunities for flexible funding streams, regulatory waivers, and other opportunities that increase State and local flexibility, innovation, and accountability;
3. Measures for improving Federal responsiveness to State and local concerns; and
4. Enforcement of rules, orders, and procedures that advance Federalism.
B. Draft a new Executive Order on Federalism, which will require departments and agencies in the executive branch to adhere to principles of Federalism;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-fraad-wolff/lets-be-honest-it-doesn_b_66350.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-fraad-wolff/lets-be-honest-it-doesn_b_66350.html