Of course, the fact that Lieberman promised to endorse a Dem for president won’t be noted by the Washington punditocracy*, because Lieberman is the only honorable Democrat.
*Which might be better described as a Kakistocracy.
Category: Corruption
Congress Moves to Ban Lead System Integrator (LSI) Procurement
The latest defense authorization bill bans lead LSI contracts:
2008 defense authorization bill includes a provision — section 802 — that would prohibit the Defense Department from awarding new contracts for lead systems integrator functions beginning Oct. 1, 2010. The bill also would place an immediate ban on such arrangements for programs that are not yet in low-rate initial production.
This may seem to be a bit esoteric, but the basics of the LSI arrangement are the idea that the system is so complex that the military cannot contract management and oversight, so it gets handed off to a Lead Systems Integrator.
Shorter version: Fox, here are the key to the hen house.
The results:
- FCS:
The outcome has been less than impressive. In 2003, when the LSI contract officially kicked off, Future Combat was meant to be a $92 billion effort; today, that figures stands at $200 billion, minimum — and maybe more than $230. An operating system that was supposed to require 33.7 million lines of code is now estimated to be 63.8 million lines big. “They’re getting to the point they should’ve been in 2003,” Francis noted.
Hull cracks, bad wiring, insecure network, and (of course) over budget.
- Air Force Transformational Satellite:
Shrinking performance, the LSIs refusing to verify program requirements , and (of course) over budget.
Another Day, Another Halliburton Gang Rape
Raises a chicken-egg question, is this a product of Dick Cheney being CEO of Halliburton, or did they hire Dick Cheney because they were objective pro rape to start with.
In either case, this company is lawless and should be gone after the same way Elliot Ness went after Al Capone.
Covering Religion Made These Guys Lose Their Faith
Stephen Bates, former religion reporter for the Grauniad*, his work covering religion caused him to lose his faith.
Specifically, his coverage of the entire “Gay Bishop” brouhaha in the Anglican Church”
….
There is also no doubting, personally, that writing this story has been too corrosive of what faith I had left: indeed watching the way the gay row has played out in the Anglican Communion has cost me my belief in the essential benignity of too many Christians.For the good of my soul, I need to do something else.
….
The trouble with these people, my wife always says, is that they don’t read their Bibles, for they know nothing of charity. I think she’s right and I am in mortal danger of losing mine. It’s time to move on.
The whole article is rather forceful about what he found that turned him off of religion, and I feel that he is entirely justified.
You should also look at William Lobdell’s article, Religion beat became a test of faith, where he describes how covering the abuse scandals and similar obscenities in the Catholic Church, along with the “capitalist nearest to God” con games of “prosperity gospel” of some of the mega churches, which seem even more obscene to me, caused him to lose his faith.
There are strong arguments to be made that organized religion is inimical to real faith.
Luckily for me, I am not a member of an organized religion, I am a Jew, to paraphrase Will Rogers.
*According to the Wiki, The Guardian, formerly the Manchester Guardian in the UK. It’s nicknamed the Grauniad because of its penchant for typographical errors, “The nickname The Grauniad for the paper originated with the satirical magazine Private Eye. It came about because of its reputation for frequent and sometimes unintentionally amusing typographical errors, hence the popular myth that the paper once misspelled its own name on the page one masthead as The Gaurdian, though many recall the more inventive The Grauniad.”
Kevin Drum Explains Social Security and the Very Serious People In Washington
As we all know, the “Very Serious People” go on and on about how Social Security is not affordable….After all, look at this picture from the CBO looking at budget impact:
Needless to say, it’s clear that it’s medical costs, and not Social Security that are the issue, But Kevin Drum explains why the “Very Serious People” think that Social Security must be gutted today:
Of course, Russert and his pals actually use medical services, of which Medicare is merely a reflection, and are thus not quite so keen to bang on endlessly about how we should be working to control medical costs and distribute medical care more efficiently and more equitably. After all, that might actually affect them. Slashing Social Security benefits really doesn’t.
This, is more than an insight into their attitudes into Social security. This is an insight into their attitudes on EVERYTHING. Basically, it’s all about making the tough choices that hurt other people.
That is what makes one a “Very Serious Person” in Washington DC. Hurting those who have no power and who you don’t know, except perhaps as landscapers, housekeepers, and waiters. They define this as bold thinking.
I believe that Marie Antoinette said something similar, “Let them eat cake.”
Former Gitmo Prosecutor Blasts Military Commissions, Bush and His Evil Minions™ Order Him Not to Testify Before Congress
Interesting, Colonel Morris Davis, former prosecutor writes an OP/ED for the LA Times about why he stepped down from his position as prosecutor as the Pentagon’s Chief War Crimes Prosecutor blasts the military commissions process because he, “”elt that the system had become deeply politicized and that I could no longer do my job effectively or responsibly.”
He goes on to state that the commissions lacked the, “atmosphere of honesty and impartiality”, essential to legitimacy. He accuses the convening authority (basically the people who will act as judge and jury)), of, “Intermingling convening authority and prosecutor roles perpetuates the perception of a rigged process stacked against the accused.”
Further he believes that the trials can be conducted largely in open court, and that closed door proceedings further degraded the legitimacy of the proceedings.
The Senate Judiciary Committee called him, but did not subpoena him, to testify before them on these and related issues, but he was ordered not to appear.
Orwell is spinning so rapidly in his grave that you could power all of Bristol with him.
CIA Got Legal Approval for Torture Tape Destruction
The interesting part is that they did not get permission from John A. Rizzo, the CIA’s chief lawyer, but instead got it from some unnamed lawyers within the operations directorate.
Sounds to me like Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., the former chief of the clandestine branch, sounded out a lot of lawyers until he found one who would sign off on it.
Telco Immunity: Reid to Choose Which Surveillance Bill to Send to Senate Floor
It makes a big difference if it’s the Senate intelligence committee or the Senate Judiciary Committee version.
The former has retroactive Telco immunity for the illegal wiretaps that the Telcos did for Bush and His Evil Minions™.
Senators are aggressively lobbying Senate Leader Harry Reid on this.
Chris Dodd has already made it clear that he will filibuster, and because Reid won’t extend the courtesy that he does to the obstructionist Rethuglicans, this will mean him talking, and talking, and talking, and talking on the floor of the Senate.
It would take Dodd off the campaign trail, but the spectacle would be the best thing that could possibly hit his candidacy.
The following letter was sent to him:
Dear Majority Leader Reid:
We understand that the Senate will shortly be considering amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. As you know, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Judiciary Committee have reported very different versions of the FISA Amendments Act, S. 2248, and it is up to you, as Majority Leader, to decide how the Senate considers this legislation.
We urge you to make the version of S. 2248 reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee the base bill to be considered by the full Senate. While the structure of Title I of both bills is the same, and both make improvements over the Protect America Act, the reasonable changes to Title I made in the Judiciary Committee ensure that the FISA Court will be able to conduct much-needed oversight of the implementation of these broad new surveillance authorities, and help to better protect the rights of innocent Americans. While we appreciate the hard work that the Intelligence Committee has done on this legislation, the process by which the Judiciary Committee considered, drafted, amended and reported out its bill was an open one, allowing outside experts and the public at large the opportunity to review and comment. With regard to legislation so directly connected to the constitutional rights of Americans, the results of this open process should be accorded great weight, especially in light of the Judiciary Committee’s unique role and expertise in protecting those rights.
We also believe that the Judiciary Committee bill is preferable because it does not provide immunity for telecom companies that allegedly cooperated with the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. As this is such a controversial issue, we feel it would be appropriate to require the proponents of immunity to make their case on the floor.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Russell D. Feingold (D-WI)
Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD)
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)
Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
Jim Webb (D-VA)
Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
For your convenience, I have highlighted the presidential candidates who have objected.
Civilian Pentagon Employees to Have Union Rights Restored
Congress has agreed to changes to the National Security Personnel System, an attempt by the Bush administration to strip all union and civil service protections from civilian Pentagon employees.
My guess is that this will see a veto. Pissing on unions and worker rights is a win win for Bush and His Evil Minions&trade.
Gang-Rape and Cover-Up Brought to You By Halliburton
Let’s see, a 22 year old girl, one of their employees is gang raped bo other Halliburton employees, and Halliburton’s response is to keep her prisoner in a shipping container, and when the Army doctor turned over the rape kit, they “lost” it.
I used to wonder why Halliburton hired Dick Cheney, and continued to employ him after his disasterous decisions (he bought a company that made them liable for asbestos law suits). Now I think I know why, they simply came from the same place value wise.
Libby Drops Perjury Appeal
I have no clue as to why lybby dropped the appeal, but it means that he can no longer take the 5th if he is called before Congress.
I can’t help feeling that there is some sort of angle here that I am missing.
Krugman on the Bush/Paulson Mortgage Rate Freeze
Once again, he nails it. The Bush/Paulson program isnot about fixing the problem, it’s about making sure that no one else does, or as Dr. Krugman puts it:
In particular, the Paulson plan is probably an attempt to take the wind out of Barney Frank’s sails. Mr. Frank, the Democratic chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has sponsored legislation that would give judges in bankruptcy cases the ability to rewrite mortgage loan terms. But “Bankers Hope Bush Subprime Plan Will Scuttle House Bill,” as a headline in CongressDaily put it.
As it currently stands, a bankruptcy judge cannot rewrite the terms of a mortgage, but Frank’s legislation would allow that.
He makes a compelling case that this is about protectinb banks and bond holders, so go read his OP/ED
C.I.A. Was Urged to Keep Interrogation Videotapes – New York Times
It now appears that The C.I.A. was told to preserve the torture video tapes.
White House and Justice Department officials, along with senior members of Congress, advised the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 against a plan to destroy hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda, government officials said Friday.
So, they were wold not to by a number of lawyers, and decided to do so anyway, when things started getting hot, with legal and Congressional investigations ramping up.
Sounds like obstruction of justice to me, in fact, I’d call it a slam dunk.
The Buzzy and Cookie Show Has Been Canceled
Howard J. “Cookie” Krongard is resigning from his position as Inspector General for the State Department.
You may recall that his brother, Alvin B. “Buzzy” Krongard, gave an interview saying thaat “Cookie” was lying about conflicts of interest, (They must really love each other) and that a congressional committee was looking into whether he perjured himself.
So, we will not see the spectacle of the “Buzzy” and “Cookie” show, with frick and frack testifying against one another.
Bush Determines What Is Constitutional
Senator Whitehouse (D-RI)has read the Secret memos from Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counse, and he has concluded that they say the following, “The President’s Word Is Law. (Whitehouse’s full speech is here.)
Why these folks have not hat their law licenses revoked is beyond me.
We are a nation of laws, not men.
Durbin asks DoJ Justice to Investigate Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes
He’s written a letter to Michael Mukasey about this.
I don’t expect any action prior to January 20, 2009.
It Looks Like The California Republican Electoral Vote Theft Scheme Won’t Be On June Ballot
Even if they had all the money that they need, and they don’t, they would not make the deadline for a June Election.
Basically, the initiative moves to allocate electoral votes on a per congressional district basis, having the effect of giving 20 votes to a Republican presidential candidate. I’ve blogged on this here, here, and here.
Bill Donohue and His Merry Band of Bigots Call “Golden Compass” Anti-Catholic, American U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops Disagrees
The Catholic League has represented itself as the voice of American Catholics while ignoring statements by the religious hierarchy. This time, it’s directly disagreeing with the Bishops, calling for a boycott, while the USCCB, “thought that series helped reinforce faith, and finds value in Golden Compass.”
At some point, I’d like to see someone in the Catholic church with legitimate religious authority disavow Donohue and the rest of those anti-Semitic bastards.
State Department Contractor Who Created Corrupt and Unsafe Baghdad Embassy Still Running Construction (and Krugman Owns Cheney)
Note that this guy is not career State Department.
State Dept. retains manager of troubled embassy project
Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: December 06, 2007 08:22:34 PM
WASHINGTON — A State Department project manager banished from Iraq by the U.S. ambassador and under scrutiny by the Justice Department continues to oversee the construction of the much-delayed new American embassy in Baghdad from nearby Kuwait, State Department officials disclosed Thursday.
James L. Golden, a contract employee, is still managing the $740 million project, said Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy, the department’s top management official.
“Mr. Golden is still . . . our project manager, and still is working with the contractor, at their base in Kuwait,” Kennedy said.
One State Department official with detailed knowledge of the unopened embassy expressed outrage that his superiors haven’t replaced Golden.
…
(Emphasis mine)
So, this guy is so bad at what he does, that he got thrown out of the Green Zone, but he’s still managing construction.
When one considers the shoddy and unsafe construction, and allegations of corruption and slavery, one wonders why this guy is still getting paid.
So, which company does he work for, and what sort of political connection with Bush and His Evil Minions™ is keeping him on the job?
I should note that the inestimable Paul Krugman puts in his two cents on this too:
Back when Hillary Clinton described Dick Cheney as Darth Vader, a number of people pointed out that this was an unfair comparison. For example, Darth Vader once served in the military.
Here’s another reason the comparison is invalid: the contractors Darth Vader hired to build the Death Star actually got the job done.
CIA Destroyed Torture Tapes
According to reports, “They were destroyed in part because officers were concerned that tapes documenting controversial interrogation methods could expose agency officials to greater risk of legal jeopardy, several officials said.”
So in addition to crimes against humanity, we have conspiracy to obstruct justice. Considering that this information was extant when the 911 commission and the Judge in the Moussaoui trial specifically asked for this sort of information.