The Contract with America is alive and well. Oops, I mean the Contracts with American companies that have political ties to this Administration are increasing in the face of terrorism and natural disaster. Depending on the news source, the information is reported in a wide variety of ways, such as:
FRANCE: New Katrina Contracts Awarded; Include Fluor, Bechtel, Halliburton
Once again, the same massive corporations that have screwed up the Iraq reconstruction, screwed up numerous US projects, and been fined for overcharges and wage and safety violations, have been rewarded by the Bush Administration...
CANADA: First Katrina recovery contracts go to Bush friends
Some of the Bush administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have been awarded to companies with ties to the administration…
AUSTRALIA: Bonanza for Bush allies
COMPANIES with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of the Federal Emergency Agency are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina…
UNITED KINGDOM: All eyes on Halliburton as contacts turn into contracts
With the floodwaters still high in New Orleans last week, with 25,000 body bags on their way to the city, with the Gulf of Mexico oil industry crippled - 160 platforms and 16 rigs still evacuated, oil refineries shut down - there was one group of people who, nevertheless, could see some good coming out of the wreckage. Who? Halliburton shareholders…
OK, you get the drift, right? Nancy Pelosi, the mouthy Democratic House Minority Leader from California is shrilling for an investigation. As the Shrew makes hay with the media on the latest Bush Bust, her grandstanding does no good for her party. This isn’t a time for whining and begging for investigations. The House has a solid Republican Majority and, let’s face it, under the careful watch of Tom Delay, the House Majority Leader from the state of Texas, nothing will be done to uncover any potential scandal emanating from this White House. It is incumbent upon Americans to keep a watchful eye on how Congress deals with the entire Katrina debacle. I am convinced that this Congress won’t get the job done to America’s satisfaction. That can only be accomplished by sending many sitting Congress people back to their respective districts. It’s time for new faces on Capitol Hill. The Democrat Party has stagnated in the last eight years. Their only hope was the bold, courageous Howard Dean who has been reduced to a raving lunatic. Based on the cowardice emanating from House Democratic leadership, it is clear to see that the Democrats don’t have the wherewithal to get the job done. The faces must be those of new Republicans who are tired of their party being controlled by a fringe element on the right. It’s time for Republicans in the spirit of Giuliani, Todd-Whitman and McCain to regain control of Lincoln’s Party and turn things around. The revolution must begin within the ranks of the Republican Party.
Article comments
1 - Kurt
Oh, I dunno - maybe it's the perfect time for some good old-fashioned, shrill, loud, incautious hollering in congress. It can't hurt the Demo party; they have very little to lose, and much to gain, by pointing out the corruption and incompetence that characterize the current Republican "leadership."
2 - Margaret Romao Toigo
"The revolution must begin within the ranks of the Republican Party."
Amen. And may it happen sooner rather than later.
3 - Douglas Anthony Cooper
Well, it would be nice to see the most honest and independent of the Republicans -- John McCain, for instance -- get on the same page as the most principled of the centrist Democrats: if anything requires bipartisan condemnation, it's this utterly corrupt practice. If nothing else, this hurricane has demonstrated that cronyism and nepotism are not simply sleazy, they are *dangerous.*
4 - Liberal
Something I've been wondering for quite some time:
How do real conservatives stomach this Administration? If you believe in smaller government, how do you justify the creation of the largest bureaocracy (Homeland Security) in history. If you believe in State's Rights, how do you rectify that belief with the 'marriage amendment'? If you believe in fiscal responsibility, how can you watch the doors of the treasury fly open as they have?
How do McCain, Spector and even Hatch, (who I agree with almost never, but respect because he is a reasonable, honorable man) wrest control of your party from DeLay, Santorum, Stevens and the other pigs that have taken it over?
5 - John Bil
There is going to be a hurricane of stealing. No bid contracts over $25,000 should be illegal. Granted in some cases time is critical, but how is it the same names keep poping up?
6 - John Bil
There are no honest politicians, only less crooked ones.
7 - RJ
Read this:
"The Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group, CNN tells us, is a major corporate client of Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Among its Katrina-related contracts are this one valued up to $100 million from FEMA; and this one also valued up to $100 million from the Army Corps of Engineers.
"But in their zeal to embarrass the Bush administration, CNN overlooks one very fat and inconvenient fact--and embarrasses only itself.
"The Shaw Group, a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate, is headed by Jim Bernhard, the current chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. Bernhard worked tirelessly for Democrat Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco's runoff campaign and served as co-chair of her transition team. Another Shaw executive was Blanco's campaign manager. Bernhard is back-scratching chums with Blanco, whom he has lent/offered the Shaw Group's corporate jets to on numerous occasions."
Oops!
As MM asks: "What liberal [media] bias?"
8 - Silas Kain
I never quoted American media, RJ. I purposely cited non-U.S. media in anticipation of attacks from the right charging liberal media bias. Take off the Bush blindfolds. Step away and look at the situation from outside the box. Conservatives have always held the high road in an effort to avoid any appearance of impropriety. At least that's what they claim.
From lucrative contracts in Iraq to Katrina cleanup in New Orleans, well connected companies have an advantage. This is just another example of the cronyism and special interest financial influence on two branches of government.
We can't boldly reform the political system by spreading out too thin. As far as I am concerned, the Democrats are a lost cause. They blow one opportunity after another. Reasonable Republicans and Independents have an opportunity to infiltrate the GOP over the next year. It's time to take the Party back. It's time to cleanse it of the ultra right wing freaks. Keep the GOP majority in Congress, just change the GOP players.
9 - gonzo marx
ahh Silas, starry eyed Idealist that you are..
sorry to say but there is precious little to be saved in the GOP...those fine "moderates" that you speak of sold their souls to the neocons and theofascists in 2000...every last one of them...absolute power and all that
best is to toss them all out, shift the Majority, then try and work out some Reform...
and might i add, very nice Article..
Excelsior!
10 - Silas Kain
Am I too starry eyed, gonzo? Am I being naive in my idealism? Is it so bad to dream of a day when we're all Rodney Kings? What would Ross Perot do?