Democrats are not Communists, But Many Republicans are Morons!
On 10/31/10, Keith In Tampa <[email protected]> wrote: > Robert Reich: Admitted & Professed Communist. > > www.RobertReichSaysWhereAreMyQuaaludes.com<http://www.robertreichsayswherearemyquaaludes.com/> > > > > > > On Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 8:55 PM, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> http://www.opednews.com/articles/Halliburton-and-the-Upcomi-by-Robert-Reich-101029-29.html >> >> >> >> October 29, 2010 at 15:14:00 >> >> Promoted to Headline (H2) on 10/29/10: Permalink >> Halliburton and the Upcoming Election >> >> >> >> >> >> SAVE AS FAVORITE >> VIEW FAVORITES >> By Robert Reich (about the author) Become a Fan (11 fans) >> For OpEdNews: Robert Reich - Writer >> >> Next Tuesday Americans will be deciding whether to hand over even more >> of our government to corporations that have been plundering America -- >> such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Wellpoint insurance, >> Massey Energy, and Halliburton, the giant oil services company. >> >> Not every large corporation is irresponsible, of course, but >> plunderers that get away with it gain a competitive advantage over the >> more responsible, and thereby lead a race to the bottom. >> >> Case in point: The staff of the presidential commission investigating >> the BP oil spill has just revealed that Halliburton executives knew >> the cement it was using to seal BP's Deepwater Horizon oil well was >> likely to be unstable but didn't tell BP or act on the information. >> >> In a letter to the commission's seven members, the staff found that >> the failure of the cement was a key factor in the blowout that caused >> millions of barrels of crude oil to escape into the Gulf of Mexico. >> (Not the sole factor, of course; most of the blame for the disaster, >> says the staff, still rests with BP and Transocean, the company BP >> hired to drill the well.) >> >> Halliburton has not sat out this election. Last May, as Congress began >> investigating its role in the disaster, its political action committee >> made 14 contributions -- 13 to Republicans and one to a Democrat. Many >> were involved in the investigation; others had responsibility for >> overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf. It was the biggest donation month >> for Halliburton's PAC since September 2008. >> >> Halliburton, in case you've forgotten, is not exactly a model citizen. >> It has evaded U.S. taxes and export bans through foreign subsidiaries; >> admitted to bribing foreign officials (a subsidiary paid $2.4 million >> to a Nigerian government official in exchange for favorable tax >> treatment); conceded in an internal memo (leaked to the Wall Street >> Journal) its cost controls for government contracts in Iraq were >> "antiquated" and its procurement "disorganized; was found by Pentagon >> auditors to have overcharged estimated at $27.4 million for meals >> served to American troops at five military bases in Iraq and Kuwait >> (in one camp billing for an average 42,000 meals a day but serving >> only 14,000). >> >> The list of Halliburton's crimes goes on and on. And yet, somehow, >> Halliburton goes on piling up profits. How? Because of its deep >> connections to Washington. >> >> Dick Cheney hadn't had any experience in the oil business when he >> became Halliburton's CEO in 1995. But he did have experience in >> government -- as George H.W. Bush's Secretary of Defense. And those >> military ties were invaluable to the company. Under his reign, >> Halliburton rose from 73rd to 18th on the Pentagon's list of top >> contractors, and the money garnered from government-sponsored agencies >> (such as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the >> Export-Import Bank) soared from $100 million in the five years prior >> to Cheney's arrival to $1.5 billion a few years after. >> >> As vice president to George W. Bush, Cheney made sure Halliburton's >> stunning performance would continue (Cheney continued to receive >> checks from the company). According to congressional inquiries, >> Cheney's vice presidential office was instrumental in forcing the >> Environmental Protection Agency to remove sections on climate change >> from reports in 2002 and 2003 (a process Christine Todd Whitman, then >> the E.P.A. administrator, subsequently described as "brutal.") The >> Bush-Cheney administration also sought to control or censor >> congressional testimony about climate change by federal employees, and >> tampered with other reports in order to inject uncertainty into the >> climate debate. >> >> Which brings us back to the Deepwater Horizon blowout. Halliburton's >> executives knew the cement it used to seal the well was filled with >> mud -- but Halliburton said nothing presumably because doing the job >> correctly would have cost too much. And, hell, Halliburton is in >> business to make money. >> >> Halliburton isn't on the ballot next Tuesday, but it might as well be. >> >> http://robertreich.org/ >> >> Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of >> California at Berkeley. He has served in three national >> administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President >> Bill Clinton. He has written twelve books, including "The (more...) >> >> The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the >> author >> and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors. >> >> >> Contact Author >> >> >> >> -- >> Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. >> Have a great day, >> Tommy >> >> -- >> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. >> For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum >> >> * Visit our other community at >> http://www.PoliticalForum.com/<http://www.politicalforum.com/> >> * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. >> * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. Have a great day, Tommy -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
