Has Democracy Stalled? 4 comments

17 Jun 2004 @ 09:22, by Paul Quintanilla With the Republican control of Congress many scandals are being either covered up or simply ignored. Watching the Democrats (on CSPAN) attempt to budge their Republican chairmen on various committees to act has been quite a spectacle. Since the Democrats lack the votes nothing happens, except, perhaps, rote and spurious expressions of the democratic process. Here are two large scandals the Republicans would like us to ignore. CHENEY LYING ABOUT HALLIBURTON INVOLVEMENT From the Daily Mis-Lead "Vice President Dick Cheney has repeatedly assured Americans that he has positively no involvement in directing billions of taxpayer dollars in no-bid contracts to Halliburton, his former employer. In September of 2003, he told NBC's Meet the Press that his office has "absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts."[1] In January of 2004, he told Fox News Radio, "I don't have anything to do with the contracting process,[2] and I wouldn't know how to manipulate the process if I wanted to." But, according to new evidence, Cheney's office "coordinated"[3] the Halliburton contracts and had the Pentagon specifically seek its input in constructing what ultimately became a multi-billion-dollar contract. "According to the New York Times, the Pentagon discussed a $1.9 million planning contract with "senior Bush administration officials, including the Vice President's Chief of Staff"[4] before inking the deal. According to the Los Angeles Times, three companies were vying for the lucrative contract which was seen as the precursor to a much larger, $7 billion contract. But instead of following the normal competitive civil service contracting process, the Times reports that Bush administration political appointees overruled the advice of Army lawyers and simply gave Halliburton the contract.[5] That decision was then brought to Cheney's Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who reviewed the contract and raised no objections to the non-competitive process. "Cheney has denied having any financial stake in Halliburton receiving massive government contracts, claiming, "I severed my ties nearly four years ago when I ran for Vice President."[6] But Cheney still receives about $150,000 a year in deferred compensation from Halliburton[7] and still owns about 433,000 company stock options[8]; options which could become more valuable as the company's revenues rise. That fact was enough to lead the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service to bill Cheney's continued financial ties a "potential conflict of interest."[9] "And yet despite all these questions, the Bush administration's allies today formally blocked any testimony from Halliburton employees about the matter.[10] Specifically, when Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) presented a slate of witnesses to the House Government Reform Committee, they were prevented from appearing by Republicans. That move led Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to demand the appointment of a special counsel to independently investigate the situation.[11]" Sources: 1. " Cheney denies role in Iraq deal", The Boston Globe, 9/15/2003. 2. "Cheney faults 'desperate' attacks on Halliburton", CNN.com, 1/23/2004. 3. "Cheney Coordinated Halliburton Iraq Contract: Report", Common Dreams News Center, 5/31/2004. 4. "White House Officials and Cheney Aide Approved Halliburton Contract in Iraq, Pentagon Says", The New York Times, 6/14/2004. 5. "Appointee's Role in Halliburton Pact Told", Los Angeles Times, 6/14/2004. 6. "VP Interview with Wolf Blitzer, CNN", WhiteHouse.gov, 3/2/2004. 7. "Contract Sport", The New Yorker, 2/9/2004. 8. "Halliburton asks employees to help defend company", CNN.com, 10/25/2003. 9. "Cheney may still have Halliburton ties", CNNmoney.com, 9/25/2003. 10. "Whistle-blowers say Halliburton rife with waste", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/15/2004. 11. "Senator Seeks Halliburton Special Counsel", Reuters, 6/14/2004. Visit www.misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion. ABU GHRAIB And did you happen to see Attorney General Ashcroft testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee? He has refused to allow the Senate to have the memos linking the administration with torture. And when Senator Dorgan (D North Dakota) proposed citing Ashcroft with contempt of Congress the committee’s Chairman, Republican Orrin Hatch, merely ignored the request. Here's Robert Scheer on that scandal AND HOW ABOUT KENNY "BOY" LAY, BUSH'S GOOD PAL, AND JOSEPH WILSON'S WIFE? THE WHITE HOUSE HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO LEARN WHO 'OUTED' HER YET? AND THEN THERE'S THE TOP MAN HIMSELF The GRAND LAKE THEATER, featured above, is a great old movie palace located in Oakland, California. It has a mighty Wurlitzer organ and the interior is a shameless extravaganza. The owner of the Grand Lake, though, likes to put remarks of a political nature up on his marquee, up on the righthand third of the marquee. When I was last there, about a year ago, this is what was written up on the marquee: "What constitutes an impeachable offense? "Lying about sex? No. "Lying to go to war? Yes."

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Category: Opinions 

18 Jun 2004 @ 03:04 by jazzolog : A Reason
I wonder if ever there has been a war declared that wasn't some kind of lie.  

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