What Did Cheney and Bush Know?

How long did they know this?  If we are to take a look at the some of the past investments (2005 to 2006) of both Dick Cheney and George W Bush, we will notice that neither of them put much faith in the Stock Market.

Cheney betting on bad news…. (from June 2006)

Vice President Dick Cheney’s financial advisers are apparently betting on a rise in inflation and interest rates and on a decline in the value of the dollar against foreign currencies. That’s the conclusion we draw after scouring the financial disclosure form released by Cheney recently.

And then this from our former President, George W. Bush…

President Bush may be bold in his public policies, but his private investments appear decidedly on the meek side. Bush and his wife, Laura, reported on their disclosure form that they held combined assets of $7.2 million to $20.9 million.

As of the end of last year, the Bushes’ two largest assets were their Texas ranch, valued at between $1 million and $5 million, and a blind trust, also valued at between $1 million and $5 million. Of course, it’s impossible to tell how the trust is invested, so it could be heavily in stocks. The White House would not make the trust’s managers available for comment.

Beyond the trust, the First Family’s investable assets are largely in super-safe Treasury notes, money market funds and bank certificates of deposit. The Bushes’ holdings in these instruments totaled between $1.7 million and $4.4 million. The president also listed a health savings account worth between $1,000 and $15,000.

So when was Cheney and Bush going to tell the American people that the Stock Market was going to go bust and that the 14,000 Stock Market was phony baloney?  NEVER… They had hoped that the crash wouldn’t happen until AFTER the 2008 general election.

As to stealing securing as many tax dollars as possible, Cheney began securing government contracts with Halliburton as early as 1992.  His influence was important in increasing income from the Defense Department.  Cheney has had a lock on the Defense Department for years and we paid little attention to it.  In the meantime, our tax dollars were and still are flying out the window and into the hands of the “Halliburtons”.

“The good Lord didn’t see fit to put oil and gas only where there are democratic regimes friendly to the United States” – Richard Cheney1

1992
Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root is paid $9 million by the Pentagon (under Cheney’s direction as Secretary of Defense) to produce a classified report detailing how private companies (like itself) could provide logistical support for American troops in  potential war zones around the world. Shortly after this report, the Pentagon awards Brown & Root a five-year contract to provide logistics for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. The General Accounting Office estimates that through this contract, Brown & Root makes overall $2.2 billion in revenue in the Balkans.2
1995
Without any previous business experience, Cheney leaves the Department of Defense to become the CEO of Halliburton Co., one of the biggest oil-services companies in the world. He will be chairman of the company from 1996 to October 1998 and from February to August 2000. Under Cheney’s leadership, Halliburton moves up from 73rd to 18th on the Pentagon’s list of top contractors. The company garners $2.3 billion in U.S. government contracts, which almost doubles the $1.2 billion it earned from the government previously. Most of the contracts are granted by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.3 Halliburton’s overseas operations go from 51% to 68% of its revenue.
According to the Center for Public Integrity,4 under Cheney’s leadership the company also receives $1.5 billion worth of assistance from government-sponsored agencies such as OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation) and the Export-Import Bank, a huge increase compared to the $100 million that the company had received in federal loans and guarantees in the five years prior to Cheney’s arrival. Years later, during the 2000 campaign in a broadcasted vice presidential candidates’debate with Joe Lieberman, Cheney asserts that “the government has absolutely nothing to do” with his financial success as chairman of Halliburton Co.5 Halliburton pleads guilty to criminal charges of violating a U.S. ban on exports to Libya by selling Col. Qaddafi six pulse neutron generators, devices that can be used to detonate nuclear weapons.6 Halliburton pays a $3.8 million penalty to settle alleged violations of the U.S. trade ban.7

The most agrevating part of Cheney’s deal is that he was planning war with Iraq as early as 1998.  No wonder the Republicans made sure that they stole the election in 2000 from Al Gore.  It was imperative that Bush get into office so that Cheney could influence Bush into invading Iraq.  It wasn’t only about oil, it was about cementing Defense Department contracts with Halliburton and it’s crooks, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR).

2000
August: Cheney leaves his position as Halliburton’s CEO to run as Bush’s Vice President. Halliburton announces that it is giving Cheney a retirement package worth more than $33.7 million.19 Under public pressure, Cheney sells company stock worth  30 million.

October 5: In a broadcasted debate with Joe Lieberman, Cheney asserts that “the government has absolutely nothing to do” with his financial success as chairman of Halliburton Co. 20 Halliburton is by now the world’s largest diversified energy services, engineering, construction and maintenance company, with some $15 billion in revenues annually, 100,000 employees, and 7,000 customers in over 120 countries.21

2001
KBR wins a $300-million exclusive contract to supply logistics to the Navy, providing services like cooking, construction, power generation and fuel transportation.22One of Cheney’s largest projects as Vice President is to coordinate the development of a new National Energy Policy (NEPDG). According to the former climate policy adviser in the Environmental Protection Agency, who was present at the task force’s sessions, Cheney “continually pushed plans to increase […] oil supplies while paying little heed to promoting energy efficiency and clean energy sources”.23 Casting as an inevitability that by 2020, the UniteStates will need to import two-thirds of its oil, mainly from the Arabic peninsula, the NEPDG recommends “that the President make energy security a priority of our trade and foreign policy”.24

Citizens Work has documented all this thievery and lies.

And the “teabaggers” are bitching about the government deficit.  They didn’t give a rat’s behind when Cheney and Bush allowed Halliburton and KBR (Kellogg Brown and Root) to steal our hard earned money.  Suddenly, when it comes to re-investing in the American people, they object.  Stupidity is the only way to describe their outrage.

The upside of Cheney’s recent appearances on TV, is that he keeps reminding people that he is a liar and can’t be trusted.  He is the highest ranking Republican with the lowest public approval rating that is keeping himself visable.  At least Bush knows to keep a low profile.  Cheney is so self absorbed that he can’t stand not having the last word.  Well, hopefully, Cheney’s last word will put him behind bars.

Don’t Let Them Do It

Big agriculture and factory farms are at it again. They never give up.

There is a bill in Congress, HR875, that is a threat to organic gardening. It could even put your small family plot at risk.

The original text of the bill can be viewed here….

Geezer Power, at Suzie-Q has more information and links along with a video.

Farmer Abuse:

(Did Monsanto “drop seed” on purpose? Does Monsanto own the judges?)

This is what the Monsanto Police do to the farmers in this nation and is brought to you by the Republicans and Bush. If Monsanto is allowed to continue with this food terrorism, we will return to feudalism.

(This video was filmed during the Bush Administration. Let’s make change happen during the Obama Administration.)

Whoever owns the food supply, rules the world.

Contact your Congressperson and tell them to vote “NO” on HR875.

No Bids

My, oh, my… what is it with this media? The current topic to hit the big time is “no bid contracts” and it seems that the Democrats are the devils making these deals. Never mind that Bush and Cheney made no bid contracts that cost trillions of taxpayers money, not to mention both American and Iraqi lives lost. If a Republican does it, then that’s okay. If a Democrat does it, well, that’s big news.

• On Sunday, we read about Governor Bill Richardson withdrawing his nomination for Secretary of Commerce because of a Grand Jury investigation regarding funds that his campaign received from CDR. The investigation centers around CDR receiving preferential treatment by the state of New Mexico in receiving contracts from the state. More from the Albuquerque Journal.
• The plot thickens as ABC reports that the Obama campaign received from David Rubin, yes, the very person involved in the Richardson investigation. Oh, dear, where will this end?
• Even our very own Governor Ed Rendell is being accused of a “pay-for-play” with David Rubin. Talking Points Memo has more on the story of this scandal.

Now this is serious stuff, folks. Don’t let these famous names scare you. Let’s do a body count… how many people died as a direct result of David Rubin’s contributions to campaigns? None, that I am aware of. Let’s visit the Bush/Cheney no-bids.

• The Bush/Cheney Regime were working on a no bid contract with Iraq to steal purchase their oil back in June of 2008. Article from the NY Times.
• Here’s a juicy story from CBS 60 Minutes. Seems like Cheney wanted to keep it “all in the family” BEFORE the US invaded Iraq by having the Pentagon award a no-bid worth $1.3 billion to Halliburton and its subsidy Brown and Root. Wonder if David Rubin is collecting this much from New Mexico and Pennsylvania. Rubin can forget getting anything back from the Obama campaign.
• Now this story about a water deal from the San Francisco Chronicle may not sound like much, however, it did have an impact as it was just one more slap in the face of the Iraqi people. You see, the Iraqi people had lost their source of income when we bombed their businesses and then the Bush/Cheney Regime said, no work for the Iraqis unless they are working for American companies that received no bid contracts for very low wages. You figure this one out.

So what exactly is the body count from the Bush/Cheney no bid contracts? There are the thousands of Americans that have either lost their lives or been injured in Iraq and no one knows the true number of Iraqis that died or were injured. The Iraq war was all about OIL and Halliburton’s no bid contracts were the reward for contributing to the Bush/Cheney election.

Bush and The Detainees

According to a bipartisan Senate Armed Service Committee report, Bush approved of the torture of the detainees at Guantanamo and stated that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to Bush’s war with Al Qaeda.

The executive summary also traces the erosion of detainee treatment standards to a Feb,. 7, 2002, memorandum signed by President George W. Bush stating that the Geneva Convention did not apply to the U.S. war with al Qaeda and that Taliban detainees were not entitled to prisoner of war status or legal protections.

“The president’s order closed off application of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which would have afforded minimum standards for humane treatment,” the summary said.

Members of Bush’s Cabinet and other senior officials participated in meetings inside the White House in 2002 and 2003 where specific interrogation techniques were discussed, according to the report.

As result of the policies of Bush, Rumsfeld and some other top Bush members, numerous detainee murders occurred.  According to autopsy results, some detainees died as a result of trauma.

It is probably inevitable that some prisoners who reportedly die of “natural causes” in truth died of homicide. However, the nature of Armed Forces’ medical investigations made this kind of error more likely. The AFME reported homicide as the cause of death in 10 of the 23 death certificates released in May 2004. The death of Mohamed Taiq Zaid was initially attributed to “heat”; it is currently and belatedly being investigated as a possible homicide due to abusive exposure to the hot Iraqi climate and deprivation of water.

Eight prisoners suffered “natural” deaths from heart attacks or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Threats, beatings, fear, police interrogation, and arrests are known to cause “homicide by heart attack” or life-threatening heart failure. People with preexisting heart disease, dehydration, hyperthermia, or exhaustion are especially susceptible.[11–15] No forensic investigation of lethal “heart attacks” explores the possibility that these men died of stress-induced heart attacks. There are a number of reports of “heart attack” following harsh procedures in rounding up noncombatants in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A typically sketchy US Army report says, “Detainee Death during weekend combat …. Army led raid this past weekend of a house in Iraq … an Iraqi who was detained and zip-locked (flexi-cuffed with plastic bands tying his wrists together) died while in custody. Preliminary information is that the detainee died from an apparent heart attack.[16]” Sher Mohammad Khan was picked up in Afghanistan in September 2004. Shortly thereafter, his bruised body was given to his family. Military officials told journalists that he had died of a heart attack within hours of being taken into custody. No investigation, autopsy, or death certificate is available.[17]

Instead of exposing the Bush administration for their criminal behavior, the media is consumed with the Blagojevich story.  It’s true that Blagojevich has done unethical and illegal activities.  No one died because of Blagojevich’s poor judgement.  Many Iraqis, Afgans and 4000+ Americans have lost their lives because of Bush’s illegal behavior and poor judgement.   The difference in the stories is sensationalism.  Our media is so focused on sensational stories that other more important news gets passed by.

Read more about this at Slate.com.  Glenn Greenwald has more to say about this lack of integrity by our media.

Special thanks to Buzzflash for the link to this story.  While you are visiting Buzzflash, check out their “Premiums“.

Guantanamo

From Kamelot “Human Stain”… that’s what Bush is leaving on the world.  His nasty stain.

Reporter Charged with Showing Sole

The Iraqi reporter that threw his shoes at George “Two Shoes” Bush is being charged with throwing shoes in the presense of PM Maliki.  There is no mention of any charges placed on this reporter for throwing objects at the “still president” George Bush.  Too funny.

(h/t Think Progress)

George “Two Shoes” Bush

I just couldn’t resist posting this.  The soles of shoes are considered the biggest insult in the Arab world.  This is the equivalent to an American giving Bush the finger or Cheney saying “F**k you” to Senator Leahy.

Debate Assessment

Picture from Al Rodgers

By Melinda Donahey….

OBAMA WINS

The press will argue who won the debate on points. It’s totally irrelevant. (On points, it was a draw.) Speaking as a former state champion debater and as a former professional campaign organizer on the senior staff of two presidential campaigns in the 80s, I know that it just doesn’t matter.

Based on the results of previous debates going all the way back to Kennedy-Nixon, it’s well known that the American public doesn’t score presidential debates on points. (Nixon won on debate points, Kennedy won over the public and won the election.) I think polls tomorrow and in days to come will show that a majority of Americans believe Obama won, and I’ll be surprised if it turns out otherwise. Here’s why:

1. Expectations. Obama’s the challenger, the outsider. Expectations were lower for him, especially on foreign policy, supposedly McCain’s strong suit. He needed to show that he could stand on the stage with McCain, be credible, be knowledgeable, be forceful, be confident. He did all that extremely well. People could feel comfortable with him. The newbie met or exceeded expectations. Kennedy did this in 1960 and won. Reagan did it in 1980 and won. So Obama wins category one.

2. Body language. McCain looked angry, cranky, was disrespectful; he hunched over and never looked directly at Obama. Barack looked directly at McCain repeatedly (showing no fear), stood up straight, never grew flustered or angry, challenged McCain directly but without showing contempt. (In 1960, Nixon lost this category because he looked tired, wan, and hunched over. Kennedy looked rested, relaxed. In 2000, Gore lost this category because he sighed audibly, made faces and shrugged, showing evident distain for Bush. The American people don’t like contempt openly displayed.) Barack wins category two

3. Non-Partisanship. Obama agreed with McCain on some points. (The right will spin this as a win for McCain. It’s inside baseball, important to the right but not to anybody else. If the press buys this, they’ll demonstrate again that they’re idiots.) Obama’s agreement, like his demeanor in general, demonstrated the willingness to rise above partisanship, something Americans have said in poll after poll they want to see.) McCain talked about reaching across the aisle, but most importantly, HE DIDN’T DEMONSTRATE IT. OBAMA DID. Rule No. One: SHOW, DON’T TELL! Obama wins category three.

4. The Future. Obama talked about the future a lot, McCain about the past. People care about what the next president will DO, not what he did or where he went 25 years ago. A significant segment of the public doesn’t remember most of those events, and another significant segment was born too late to remember them. It’s history book stuff. Policy wonks get caught up in it, but the public doesn’t care. Obama understood it’s about the FUTURE. He wins in category four.

5. Style of Speaking. Obama kept his answers short, straight-forward, easily understandable. He never wandered, his asides and one-liners made sense in context. He talked REPEATEDLY about how the economy affects the middle class and how the policies he will pursue will affect the average person. People care about how the policies of the next president will affect THEM.

McCain’s anecdotes were often discursive, he rambled a bit, he didn’t stay as focused on the points he was making. He made a few asides that didn’t quite make sense or sounded odd (and he didn’t provide the context to make them understandable.) References to Miss Congeniality simply reminded people of beauty queen Sarah Palin, who has turned into a liability and a reminder of McCain’s bad judgement. Above all, he didn’t bring it down to the “how will this affect YOU!!” level. Obama wins category five.

6. Change. McCain didn’t talk about change, which polls show people want this year especially. He talked about being a maverick, but polls show that people are not connecting that with change. Obama talked repeatedly about change. Obama wins category six.

(posted with permission from the author)

John McCain Made a Promise…

John McCain promises more wars and he is going to ask all the young people to serve in his wars. This serving, of course, will require a return to the “draft” with no deferrments this time. It will be like Isreal. Everyone must spend time in the military.

07 Sep 08

• A new language has been discovered.  It is known as Palinguage. and it comes with its own dictionary.  You will enjoy learning this new language.  It has only been recently discovered.  Do feel free to add more words to this language as it is still in the developmental phase.
• Oh Sarah Palin, did you not think that you would make enemies as you stepped on everyone while climbing to the top?  Lyda Green, Republican State Senate President (AK) had this to say about Governor Palin.

“She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?” said Green, a Republican from Palin’s hometown of Wasilla. “Look at what she’s done to this state. What would she do to the nation?”

• Senator Joe Biden was on Talk of the Nation this past Sunday.  He was asked about the Iraq war and he had this to say. What is happening now in Iraq is exactly what he suggested two years ago… the formation of a confederation of States.  He also said that President Bush is now working on a deal with the Iraqis that would set time lines for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, just like Barack Obama’s plan.  Then Joe Biden went on to say that John McCain is the only one that wants to stay in Iraq indefinitely.  So everyone knows that we need to get out of Iraq except John McCain and Sarah Palin.  I’ve said it before and I will say it again.  Poor John McCain is still fighting the Vietnam War.  He never had closer.
• “Media man” John McCain is suddenly against the press.  This is stupid because the press is the way to get free publicity.  Watch this if you don’t believe me.  John McCain can’t take it.  He was scheduled to appear on the Larry King show and after his campaign worker, Tucker, was asked a simple question and couldn’t answer it, John McCain said that he wouldn’t talk to Larry King. This is just like a child saying “I’m taking my toys and going home”.  Grow up, John McCain.  And you too, Sarah Palin.  If you can’t take the heat, then get the hell out of the race.  This is not about you.  This is about America and the American people.

Worst President

Look who campaigns with the worst president ever while our troops are risking their lives in an illegal war. Look who enjoys birthday cake with the worst president ever while the people in New Orleans are wading through flood waters without food and water. Can you guess who it is?