In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
As I'm only posting on T days this week (Tuesday and Thursday), I missed the Top Ten on Monday. Every day - week day posting returns next week.
The Top Ten Conservative Idiots, No. 143
5. Halliburton
It's no surprise that Halliburton are stepping up their PR campaign (funny how that works, isn't it? They take the taxpayer's money, do a shitty job, and then use more of the taxpayer's money to make TV ads telling the taxpayer what a great job they're doing). Yes, it was revealed last week that Halliburton officially "wastes taxpayers' money" according to company whistleblowers. And not just by making god-awful TV commercials either. According to the Associated Press, former Halliburton employee Henry Bunting revealed to a Senate committee that "Top Halliburton officials frequently told employees that high prices charged by vendors were not a problem because the U.S. government would reimburse the costs and then pay the company an additional fee. Higher than necessary prices were paid for ordinary vehicles, leased for $7,500 a month, and for furniture and cellular telephone service. Halliburton tried to keep as many purchase orders as possible below $2,500 so its buyers could avoid the requirement to solicit quotes from more than one vendor. Supervisers provided buyers with a list of preferred Kuwaiti vendors, including companies that charged excessive prices. Buyers were not encouraged to identify alternative vendors." But as if wasting taxpayers' money isn't enough, Halliburton are also alleged to have been trading with the enemy. It was announced last week that "The US Treasury has reopened an investigation into whether Halliburton, the oil services firm once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, broke US laws in its dealings with Iran via a foreign subsidiary." My, my. On a side note, it was reported last week by the GAO that "A total of $3 billion in unpaid taxes is owed by more than 27,000 defense contractors." Sounds like these poor guys need another tax break! Oh, won't somebody please think of the multi-national corporations?
George W. Bush (again)
Let the battle for the NASCAR dads commence! George W. Bush showed up at the Daytona 500 last week for a little election boost, and he did it in style. According to the New York Times, "On the way in for landing, the president's jet made a low, fast loop above and around the track, which attract thousands of camera flashes. Then his motorcade of a couple dozen vehicles took a loop around the oval, stopping to let the president and Mrs. Bush out on pit row." Jesus, first the guy pretends to be a cowboy, then a fighter pilot, and now he thinks he's a NASCAR driver. The good news though is that Bush didn't have to dig into his multi-million dollar campaign fund to create this shameless vote-grubbing spectacle. You see, according to the St. Petersburg Times, "While a presidential visit to an important swing state in an election year has all the earmarks of a campaign visit, this is being billed as an official visit, with taxpayers picking up the tab." That's right, folks - Bush gets to play race cars and mug for the cameras, and we get to pay for it.
- rob 4:04 PM - [PermaLink] -
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