Buck Naked Politics

GAO Slams Administration over Costs and Performance of Defense Contractors

by D. Cupples |  The Bush Administration has made great advances in funneling tax dollars to private contractors.  As we've repeatedly discussed, the Administration has also done a poor job of 1) negotiating contracts so as to protect us taxpayers, and 2) monitoring the contractors.

In short, it's been a free-for-all climate of waste, fraud, and questionable performance.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report pointing out that the Pentagon's biggest weapons programs are billions over budget and largely behind schedule (see  full report or summary.)  The GAO has spent years urging the Defense Department ot get its act together -- to no avail. The Washington Post has a good write up:

Bush's Disturbing Rhetoric: Iran a "Nuclear Threat"

Did you know that Bush is still president and therefore Commander in Chief?  It's true.  And he's got plenty of time to stir up trouble if he wants to.

While Democrats sling mud at one another across the barricades, Bush is harping on the nuclear threat from Iran. The Washington Post reports: 

CNN Poll Shows that 71% of Americans Think Iraq War Spending Hurt Economy

Posted by Damozel | Two reports from the Department of the Bleeding Obvious:

CNN (via Memeorandum) announces:

More than 7 out of 10 Americans think government spending on the war in Iraq is partly responsible for the economic troubles in the United States, according to results of a recent poll.

Wall Streeters Become "Welfare Clients" (Again)

by D. Cupples |  The Federal Reserve has offered a $30 billion credit line to help JP Morgan buy Bear Stearns and deal with the consequences, about 10 times more than the $236 million sale price. 

I grasp the reasoning, but can you smell the odor of hypocrisy?  For decades, Wall Streeters (and the politicians they fund) have trumpeted against welfare (for middle-class folks) and government intervention (to protect middle-class folks) -- as though defending some grand principle. 

In reality, Wall Street's "free market" defenders were fighting for practical, self-serving results: they simply did not want to give up a portion of their collective billions to create decent jobs, to help middle-class folks, or to follow regulations that protect us ordinary investors.  The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne sums up the hypocrisy quite neatly:

Clinton Speaks On Her Plan to End the Iraq War Responsibly

Posted by Damozel |   Hillary made an excellent and crucial speech at George Washington University on the Iraq War, some of which I've excerpted below. 

Hillary began by expressing my view:  the surge can't be said to be working unless its goal is achieved: political reconciliation within the Iraqi government.  Otherwise, we are simply policing Iraq's civil war." 

Our Bushed Economy

Posted by Damozel | Did you know that George W. Bush is still president?  It's true.  And at the moment he is busy trying to persuade himself and Americans that the economy isn't as bad as it is. 

I've come to the conclusion that W really believes that the difference between a statement that's true and one that isn't has to do with how many people you can persuade to believe you.  Or else he really believes what he's saying about the economy and the magic power of tax cuts to solve every problem.  I don't know which is more worrying.   When you continue stubbornly to pursue a course of action you can see isn't working, it reflects on your intelligence and also, a bit, on your connection to reality.  But if the problem is that you can't see it, what does that reflect?  Rose-colored glasses can't correct severe myopia.   

Cool-Headed Commander Retiring Early

by  D. Cupples |  Admiral William Fallon, the head of Centcom, has been known to disagree with people.  He reportedly called General Petraeus an "ass-kissing little chicken shit." 

Fallon also openly disagreed with the Bush Administration's gung-ho attitude toward war with Iran.  Apparently, President Bush doesn't like being disagreed with.  The New York Times reports:

"Adm. William J. Fallon, the top American commander in the Middle East whose views on Iran and other issues have seemed to put him at odds with the Bush administration, is retiring early, the Pentagon said Tuesday afternoon."

      

Spitzer Should Resign....Right After Senators Vitter and Craig

Posted by Damozel |  Apparently Spitzer is considering resignation.  At Mercury Rising, Phoenix Woman asks: 

Have either Senators Craig or Vitter resigned yet?

No?  Didn’t think so.

Then neither should Governor Spitzer.  That’s my take.

Oh, and guess how Spitzer was brought down? The bankers he’d pissed off were watching his money really closely. Normally they wouldn’t be flagging $5,000 transactions from a man of his wealth (his father is a real estate mogul), but in his case they sure did.

I think this is probably right.

Memeorandum on the resignation issue:  here.

A Democrat Wins Hastert's Seat

Posted by Damozel | Elsewhere in the world of politics, a Democrat, physicist Bill Foster, defeated the Republican dairy magnate, Jim Oberweis, in the special election to replace Dennis Hastert's seat. (The Fix)  A physicist versus a dairy magnate?   And the physicist won?  The smart guy beat the rich guy?   The Democrat beat the Republican? 

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Foster had 52.5 percent of the vote to Oberweis's 47.5 percent. That result was amazing given the 14th District's clear Republican lean. President Bush won the district, which spans into the far western suburbs of Chicago, with 55 percent in 2004 and 54 percent in 2000. Hastert won reelection easily for more than two decades.

It's Not a Recession Till they Announce It

Posted by Damozel | Did you know that there is an arbiter of recessions?  Well, apparently there is, and it's called  the National Bureau of Economic Research, "a group of academic economists that is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, chair of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, says he can't say whether or not there is a recession till they weigh in.  "“I’m still not saying that there is a recession,” he said, because it seems these things are never clear till this National Bureau of Economic Research announces make an announcement. 

Don't say it, National Bureau of Economic Research!  If you don't announce it, maybe it will go away.

And actually, the National Bureau of Economic Research says it's still too early to know.

Bush to Veto Anti-Torture Legislation

D. Cupples | The Washington Post reports:

"President Bush today will veto legislation meant to ban the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics and will argue that the agency needs to use tougher methods than the U.S. military to wrest information from terrorism suspects, administration officials said....

"'The bill would take away one of the most valuable tools on the war on terror: the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives,' White House spokesman tony Fratto said yesterday."

There are a couple of problems with what Mr. Fratto is saying on Mr. Bush's behalf.

U.S. Lost 63,000 Jobs in February

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a rather unpleasant situation summary yesterday.  It states, in part:

"Nonfarm payroll employment edged down in February (-63,000), and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.8 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Employment fell in manufacturing, construction, and retail trade.  Job growth continued in health care and in food services.  Average hourly earnings rose by 5 cents, or 0.3 percent, over the month...."

Bomb Kills 68 in Iraq, Next Assessment Might be Kept Secret

Today's Los Angeles Times reports:

"A carefully orchestrated suicide bombing Thursday in a crowded shopping district killed at least 68 Iraqi civilians and security officials and injured 120 people.

"The death toll was expected to rise overnight as hospitals in the capital struggled to contend with shrapnel and burn victims, many of them women and children enjoying an evening out at the start of the Muslim weekend.

"The bombing followed by three days an attack that killed 26 people in Baghdad's Bab al Muadam district and by a month suicide attacks against Shiite Muslim pilgrims that killed nearly 100 people.

Halliburton/KBR: Getting us Taxpayers Coming and Going

by  D. Cupples | Defense contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root ("KBR," formerly a Halliburton subsidiary) has received more than $15 billion in federal government contracts.  Instead of being grateful for the contracts (some of which the company won without going through the competitive-bidding process), the company allegedly and repeatedly overcharged us taxpayers by many millions of dollars. 

Now, it turns out that KBR dodged paying taxes, which other American businesses have to pay, by hiring employees through off-shore shell corporations.  The Boston Globe reports:

The FBI improperly sought personal data

posted by Damozel | A follow-up to an audit by the inspector-general found that "found the FBI demanded [through national security letters]  personal data on people from banks, telephone and Internet providers and credit bureaus without official authorization and in non-emergency circumstances between 2003 and 2005."  (MSNBC; emphasis added). In case you didn't know it, national security letters are "administrative subpoenas that can be issued under the USA Patriot Act in terror and spy investigations."(MSNBC) Apparently an FBI agent who has one of those can get access to all sorts of records.   

Iranian President Visits Iraq

Posted by D. Cupples | Reuters reports today about the warm welcome that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's received when visiting Iraq this weekend:

"Pomp and ceremony greeted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his arrival in Iraq on Sunday, the fanfare a stark contrast to the rushed and secretive visits of his bitter rival U.S. President George W. Bush.

"Ahmadinejad held hands with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani as they walked down a red carpet to the tune of their countries' national anthems, his visit the first by an Iranian president since the two neighbours fought a ruinous war in the 1980s...."

Mukasey Blocks Contempt Probe Against Bush Aides

posted by D. Cupples | Thursday, I wondered whether Attorney General Michael Mukasey would ignore the law or ask a federal grand jury to probe whether Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten were in contempt of Congress for refusing (under questionable White House orders) to comply with subpoenas from congressional committees investigating the fired U.S. Attorney scandal.

Apparently, Mukasey has decided to ignore the law. (see CNN via Memeorandum)

Clinton Sponsors Bill to Limit Private Mercenaries

by D. Cupples  | Sen. Hillary Clinton sponsored a bill that would require federal government personnel (instead of private contractors) to provide security services for diplomats in Iraq.  Clinton commented, in part:

"...This administration has permitted thousands of heavily-armed military contractors to march through Iraq without any law or court to rein them in or hold them accountable.  These private security contractors have been reckless and have compromised our mission in Iraq....  We need to stop filling the coffers of contractors in Iraq, and make sure that armed personnel in Iraq are fully accountable to the U.S. government..." (U.S. Senate)

More information re: Questionable Prosecution of Siegelman (New Video) UPDATED

by  D. Cupples | The questionable prosecution of ex-Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is evidence that Congress was right track to investigate the politicization of our Department of Justice.  If well-connected operatives could turn the DoJ loose on their well-connected political enemies, how safe are politically outspoken ordinary folks?

MSNBC is actually doing its job re: Siegelman (video below).  Reportedly, his trial ended more than 18 months ago, but the court hasn't yet produced a transcript; thus, Siegelman's appeal is delayed.  White-collar criminals typically are allowed to avoid prison while waiting for appeal -- Siegelman was sent to prison immediately after trial and is there today.

It couldn't hurt to contact some members of Congress and encourage them to step up the investigation or at least let them know that you support their efforts (email links below).

Is Mukasey Blocking Contempt Action Against Miers & Bolten?

Posted by D. Cupples |  Two weeks ago, the House voted to hold White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress after they failed to comply with subpoenas issued by congressional committees probing the possibly politically motivated firing of U.S. Attorneys.  The next legally required step is for U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia Jeffrey Taylor to bring the matter to a grand jury.

Reportedly, Attorney General Michael Mukasey "has indicated that the Justice Department intends to prevent Taylor from complying with the law" (The Gavel via Memeorandum).  Some Bush Administration officials' disregard for our nation's laws has compelled many onlookers to wonder if the Administration is trying to hide its own criminal activities.