In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
The Top Ten Conservative Idiots, No. 126
1. The Bush Administration
Ah, remember when we were going to get Saddam Hussein, find his weapons of mass destruction, pay for the war using nothing but Iraqi oil revenues, and the only thing getting in our way would be the Iraqi people throwing flowers at us? Yes, those were the days. Unfortunately things haven't quite gone according to the neo-con plan, and now we can't find Saddam or his weapons, the Iraqi people are blowing us and each other up with car bombs, and Our Great Leader had to make a groveling speech to the nation last week asking for another $87 billion to rebuild Iraq. And that's just for one year. That brings the total budget for the war - so far - to $166 billion. But pay no attention to the enormous $550 billion budget hole we're slowly digging, if another $87 billion is what's needed, then another $87 billion is what we shall pay. Just to put things in perspective, $87 billion is three times the amount Bush intends to spend on education this year, twice the budget for Homeland Security, and ten times the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. To put it further into perspective, the 1991 Gulf War cost the United States about $20 billion total. And to put things even further into perspective, ask yourself how much of that $87 billion is going to go directly into Halliburton and the Carlyle Group's back pockets. Let's face it, Bush and Cheney probably don't even care about next year's election - in a few short years the CEO president has already managed to set himself up for the world's biggest golden handshake.
2. Congressional Republicans
Funny how one day Republicans are all "smaller goverment this" and "cut spending that," and then the next day they're "crack open the piggy bank and let's SHOP TILL WE DROP!" Last week Congressional Republicans gushed over Dubya's $87 billion request, practically soaking the Capitol Building with spittle. Not only that, but to drive the point home they played their "treason" card - again - suggesting that Democrats who criticized Our Great Leader's Great Economic Toilet Flush were "endangering U.S. troops." Ri-i-i-ight. Rep. Ed Schrock of Virginia said that the Democratic presidential candidates were "trying to make this look like the worst thing that's ever happened. Frankly this administration has done a magnificent job and more people need to come out and say that." This administration has done a magnificent job? ON WHAT PLANET IS THAT, ED? This adminstration has screwed the pooch at almost every possible opportunity - alienating our allies, rushing to start a war based on false pretences, lying about the costs - how exactly do you define that as MAGNIFICENT? Anyway, I guess this means the days of the Republican party as a bastion of fiscal responsibility are well and truly over since they're now practically orgasmic at the possibility of throwing good money after bad. Oh and by the way - as George W. Bush is so fond of saying, that's your money.
3. Halliburton
Speaking of Halliburton, as we were a moment ago, a recent Reuters report indicates that they're making out like, well, bandits in Iraq. The current cost of their no-competition contract to repair Iraq's oilfields is just shy of $1 billion - around $200 million dollars higher than projected last month. Meanwhile - if you can believe this - Halliburton is having such trouble getting the oilfields restored that the United States is currently importing oil into Iraq, which is costing the U.S. taxpayer around $6 million per day. So much for Our Great Leader's claim that we'd be paying for the war using Iraqi oil revenues. Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root has also managed to incur around $1 billion in costs. Incidentally, when Halliburton's no-competition contract expires next month the Army Corps of Engineers will be awarding two new contracts for the long-term rebuilding of Iraq's oilfields. And while a Corps spokesman last week "declined to disclose the number or identity of bidders," one of the companies bidding will be... you guessed it - Kellogg, Brown & Root. Gee, I wonder who's going to get those new contracts?
- rob 1:47 PM - [PermaLink] -
----
TCS Now offers a News Reader Feed
Subscribe to the TCS Feed
Having trouble with some of the poor English
on this site?
Imagine what it looks like when translated by a machine:
This is a "team" blog. We are a bunch of
Americans, whose rising distress
in our leader's decisions brought us together to make this site.
As Bush said, he's a "uniter." Many of us have never even met.
That's the internet for you.
Buy our cool stuff.
And tell everyone what you feel.
We have a little Store
you can visit.
Our store's selection of items is constantly growing. Come
see what we have.
We're also Amazon Associates, so if you want to buy something from Amazon, please search for it below, and we will get a few bucks from the sale.
Static Sky
Tin Foil Caps
The Free Speech Zone
The office of the independent blogger
Buzzflash
Tom The Dancing Bug
VerifiedVoting.org
Get Your War
On
This Modern World
Eschaton / Atrios
Daily Kos
meowpurrmeow
Contribute to America's Future
It is now more important then ever.
Donate to the Democractic Congressional Campaign Committee
Donate to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Some More Site Mottos
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the
president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is
not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the
American people."
- Teddy Roosevelt
"Government has a final responsibility for the well-being of
its citizenship. If private cooperative endeavor fails to provide work
for willing hands and relief for the unfortunate, those suffering
hardship from no fault of their own have a right to call upon the
Government for aid; and a government worthy of its name must make
fitting response."
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions, but laws must and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
- Thomas Jefferson
"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."
"All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain
degree."
- James Madison
"I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves."
- John F. Kennedy
"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are [a] few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
more coming...
