THE OWNER'S AND AUTHOR'S OF RUSH LIMBAUGHTOMY HAVE CLOSED THIS BLOG FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE

Please visit SOUTH KNOX BUBBA for great pictures great local color and great comments

And any of the blogs listed on your right particularly the League of Liberals


THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND VISITS

YOU WILL BE MISSED

Halliburton racks up $1.72 Billion as NO-BID Contract is Extended AGAIN

Pentagon delays award of Iraq oil contracts again - So what else is new.

Army doubles the Halliburton Contract Cost Estimate to 2 Billion for "sabotage".

We didn't really believe it when we were told Halliburton's NO-BID Contracts would be open for bidding in August.
In October when we were told it would be mid-December we did not really buy that either.

Well here we go again.

"Army Corps spokesman Bob Faletti said the "deadline window" had been extended until Jan. 17, 2004. An announcement would be made between Dec. 15 and Dec. 17, "

Nobody believes for a minute that Halliburton won't win the open bidding but why don't they at least care about appearances? We know Dick Cheney is running the war and the country. As long as that is true more billions will be funneled to Halliburton. When are we going to wake up and throw these thieves out of Washington? If 1.72 Billion isn't enough then what is?

12.02.03, 12:35 PM ET WASHINGTON - The U.S. military said Tuesday it had again extended a deadline for awarding two new contracts to repair Iraq's oil fields, giving Vice President Dick Cheney's old firm Halliburton more time under its no-competition deal.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in October it would replace by the end of December a no-bid deal given in March to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root, which by last week had clocked up more than $1.72 billion in business.

But Army Corps spokesman Bob Faletti said the "deadline window" had been extended until Jan. 17, 2004. An announcement would be made between Dec. 15 and Dec. 17, he said. "Our goal is to make sure that we have a good contract and so we are giving ourselves that five-week window to ensure we have a good, solid contract," said Faletti.

Bushit! Contracts don't get better with more time! By the time this deal gets done the secret underground pipeline to Kuwait will have sucked IRAQ dry like the Bush led Congress is sucking the treasury dry. All of these thieves will be living on some island like Sultans while we are left here in utter financial ruin and chaos.

In the meantime, he said KBR, which has also bid on the new deals, would continue its work in Iraq."This is not about KBR, it is about having a good solid contract," he said, rejecting past criticism that delays served to give KBR more lucrative business in Iraq.

Yeah and if you believe that I have bridge in Brooklyn.....and you also believe this:

"Work will continue in Iraq and the work to award these contracts will continue. Our goal has always been to issue competitively-bid contracts."

Faletti said the deadline had been extended to give selection officials more time to look at the complicated bids and because of the coming holidays. He said the terms of the contracts -- one for the north and the other for the southern region in Iraq -- had not changed and he did not expect the amount of the contracts to increase.

The two new deals were meant to have been announced in October but were delayed after intense looting and sabotage doubled defense officials' original estimates from a billion dollars to $2 billion.

Yes we have an army there but they can't stop a billion dollars worth of sabotage and looting.

Faletti said looting and sabotage still hampered oil field repair work but it was not as intense. "Every time the pipelines are blown up that is money that has to be diverted to fix it from other stuff that was due to be repaired."

The work given to KBR in Iraq has been strongly criticized by Democrats, who allege cronyism and favoritism in handing out the deals and claim that KBR is overcharging for some of its services. Aside from the oil fields no-bid deal, KBR has a separate logistics contract with the military, with tasks ranging from building bases to delivering mail and feeding U.S. troops.

Last week, three Democratic lawmakers asked the Pentagon's inspector general to investigate alleged overpricing of gasoline sent to Iraq by KBR. Halliburton has strongly denied overpricing of gasoline into the oil-rich country, which has suffered an oil shortage because its refineries are not running to capacity.

Well you wouldn't expect them to admit to being thieves would you? Christ gimme a break. Just take all the money and leave us with some self-respect.

GET YOUR BEST HEADLINES AT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

Cheney threatens "fundamental principles of the separation of powers"

High court may hear Cheney appeal -
Energy case focuses on confidentiality, presidential powers

This administration now threatens the power of Courts and Congress to balance the Executive

12/1/2003 WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration's sustained campaign to build up the powers of the presidency and to extend the confidentiality of White House decision-making is due for a major test in the Supreme Court, possibly as early as today.

The justices appear ready to decide whether they will hear an appeal by Vice President Dick Cheney, who is defending his refusal to disclose files of the task force that he headed in developing the administration's energy policy, which is now stalled in Congress.

If the court grants a review, a final decision would be months away. The administration has raised the stakes on the preliminary decision by arguing that the case threatens "fundamental principles of the separation of powers" between the branches of government.

Because of the sweeping constitutional arguments being made, the case has the potential to sharply curtail the power of the courts and, by implication, Congress to oversee the workings of the executive branch.

The key argument is that the Constitution's separation of powers among the three branches means that the other two branches are without authority to second-guess the president when he and his staff are deciding how to use executive powers.

The position of the administration in the case parallels arguments against judicial interference in the president's handling of the war on terrorism, arguments being made with increasing frequency in court cases involving terrorist suspects or "enemy combatants."

The White House has been making similar arguments in a running battle over access to internal presidential papers that are being sought by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the US, an independent body that is investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Cheney is not only the leading figure in the task-force dispute that is now ready for the Supreme Court's reaction. He also is the central officer of the administration waging the public campaign for greater presidential authority.

Early last year, he told a television talk show that in 34 years in Washington, "I have repeatedly seen an erosion of the powers and the ability of the president of the United States to do his job." It is a theme he repeats often in public appearances, and that Justice Department lawyers regularly make in briefs filed in court.

In the energy task force case, those arguments have been losing for the past two years, as a federal judge and then a federal appeals court have ruled that courts may order at least limited inquiry into the decision-making process that the agency used.

Two private groups, Judicial Watch, a conservative legal advocacy organization, and the Sierra Club, an environmental protection group, have sued Cheney, Cabinet officers, and other government officers, seeking to force into the open the role that energy industry executives might have played in influencing administration policy.

So far, the case is nowhere near going to trial, because Cheney has steadfastly refused to acknowledge that the courts may order such an intrusion into the decision-making process. Although given a chance by the federal judge to cite specific documents that the White House could claim were shielded by "executive privilege," the administration has refused to assert that claim as to any document, standing on its view that it need not do so in order to maintain confidentiality.

In the past, challenges over the confidentiality of presidential documents have often been ended, or settled, after presidential assertions of executive privilege -- a broad confidentiality doctrine first outlined by the Supreme Court in 1974 in the White House tape recordings case during the Watergate scandal.

But Cheney and President Bush have refused to invoke that privilege in the energy policy case, saying the independence of the executive branch does not require it. Besides, Cheney has argued, the president should not be bothered with the task of going over each document sought and deciding whether to claim a privilege to withhold it.

Cheney's appeal insists that the task force's work involved only government officials giving advice to the president. But the case against him by Judicial Watch and the Sierra Club argues that industry executives served as influential advisers, too, and their lawsuit seeks documents to show who attended meetings and what role advisers played. US District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has allowed the case to go forward, at least to the point of requiring the disclosure of some task force papers -- unless the government claims they are privileged.

Last week, Senate leaders decided not to press for final congressional action on the broad energy measure during the current session of Congress, because of the threat of a Democratic-led filibuster. The bill will be brought up again next month.

These people are megalomaniacs and will stop at nothing to claim total control of the country.

Five Black Veterans Accuse KBR div. of Halliburton with Racial Bias

Nov 29, 2003 Five black veterans have accused Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, of engaging in racial discrimination. One of the men, a 21-year veteran of the Marines, contended in an arbitration filing that he was paid less than his colleagues, endured racist epithets, was passed over for promotion in favor of less-qualified people who were white and ultimately lost his job at Kellogg Brown & Root, the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton, which is a major global supplier of oil field services.

It is difficult to draw conclusions about a company's employment practices based on the accusations of a handful of employees, specialists in employment law say, and nearly every large company has faced its share of discrimination claims. But such accusations made by veterans are potentially very sensitive for Kellogg Brown & Root, which has strong ties to the military.

A former Army staff sergeant said he lost his job when the company fired 84 percent of the blacks in his unit, according to the filing. Two other claimants, a former Army major and a former sergeant, said that, in separate incidents, they were told their jobs were no longer necessary - only to find later that white employees were promptly given their old positions.

A fifth man, a former Air Force sergeant, said that he was repeatedly denied employment at Kellogg Brown & Root when he applied in person for jobs at the company but received an offer when he sent his résumé via fax; the offer was rescinded before he could start.

"I was devastated," said Wayne Whiting, the former Army staff sergeant. He and the other four men have begun arbitration proceedings against Halliburton and Kellogg Brown & Root. "I was a former military guy, now a retired military guy, and I was well known in logistics, and I was just surprised that a company of this magnitude could go on to treat their employees with no kind of respect whatsoever."

The terms of the employment contracts signed by the four former Kellogg Brown & Root employees prohibit them from suing in federal court. This is not unusual, employment lawyers say. A date has not yet been set for the arbitration, which will be in New York, said Joshua Friedman, the lawyer for the veterans.

The stories of the four veterans who worked at the company have common elements. Each man says that he was singled out for unfair treatment by superiors. Two say that they complained to the human resources department at the company, and three filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

All four lost their jobs and contend that clearly less-qualified white employees took their old positions - even after the company told them, in some cases, that the positions were to be eliminated.

Mr. Whiting, for example, started in November 1998 at Kellogg Brown & Root in Taszar, Hungary, helping to run a supply system for the Army, according to the arbitration filing. He was told in an e-mail message in October 2000 that his position was being eliminated, the filing said. Then he learned that one of his subordinates, who is white, was taking over his old job.

According to the arbitration claim, the e-mail message with the news of Mr. Whiting's job loss came after one of his supervisors told him, "You're not the right man and color for this job."

"Militarily, their statements are almost absurd" Top Military Strategist Says of Bush and Cheney "fear-mongering"

White House assertion of terror network in Iraq may undermine own case for war
WHY IS THIS WAR MONGER LAUGHING?

Ft. Worth TX.- Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking at fund-raisers on Monday, offered his rationale for the American presence in Iraq. "Iraq has now become the central front in the war on terror," he said at a Bush-Cheney fund-raiser in Cleveland and at a fund-raising reception for Rep. Anne Northrup in Louisville, Ky. "We are aggressively striking the terrorists in Iraq, defeating them there, so we do not have to face them on the streets of our own cities."

It's a line that generates applause. It's also a line that makes several military and intelligence analysts cringe. They say it gives the impression that those carrying out terrorists acts against United States and allied forces are internationally organized with the power and reach to wage war on America's shores.

As Cheney and President Bush use the rhetoric, some experts say the White House is giving Americans a false impression of who the terrorists in Iraq are and their reasons for conducting deadly attacks. "Militarily, their statements are almost absurd," said Anthony Cordesman, a national security and military intelligence expert for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There is no evidence of activity … by extremist terrorist groups affiliated with al-Qaida."

The line from the Bush administration and similar ones from some of the Democratic presidential challengers reflect a difference of opinion between politicians and soldiers in the field, Cordesman said. White House officials say the line captures the essence and the urgency to defend America from the nontraditional, guerrilla-type warfare that's becoming an everyday occurrence in Iraq.

A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Bush and Cheney's remarks reflect the belief that there are "al-Qaida or al-Qaida types" behind the terrorism in Iraq. "The president, (Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld, (Gen. John) Abizaid have talked about foreign fighters on Iraq soil, foreign jihadists' will to inflate terror," the official said.

But Cordesman and other analysts say military officials in Iraq already have an idea where the bulk of the terrorist threat there is coming from: the locals. Abizaid, the top military official in the region, told reporters two weeks ago that most of the resistance and violence in Iraq have been spawned by former members of Iraq's Baath Party and other groups loyal to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who are waging a low-intensity war to return him to power. Abizaid said the resistance may only number 5,000, but they are a dedicated and dangerous bunch.

"It doesn't take a large group of people to commit terrorist acts," the senior administration official said. "The clear and most dangerous enemy to us at the present time are the former regime loyalists, the Baathist cells that operate in the areas primarily of Baghdad, Fallujah, Tikrit, Mosul, Kirkuk, and conduct operations against us primarily through the use of improvised explosives devices, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and, very infrequently but sometimes, small-arms fire," Abizaid said.

In addition, the Baathists have hired criminals "to do their dirty work" and work with a small but well-organized group of foreign fighters, according to Abizaid. Cordesman estimated that about 95 percent of the terrorist threat is from Saddam loyalists.

The argument by Bush and Cheney that fighting the terrorist threat in Iraq will help keep terrorists away from American cities diminishes the White House's original stance for going to war, said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst for the Brookings Institution. Bush initially said that Saddam's brutality toward his own people, his decision to ignore countless United Nations resolutions and the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction that threatened to destabilize the Middle East justified going to war.


By now describing the war as an effort to get the terrorists before they get to America, "the administration, in a strange way, discredits its own case," O'Hanlon said. "It's a weak argument," he said. "There aren't that many in Iraq who are foreign fighters who are a threat to U.S. shores. I don't know if it's fear-mongering or false re-assuring."

Cordesman and others say that Americans won't get the full story on the war on terrorism as long as the White House keeps talking about Iraq as a beachhead. "It doesn't prepare the American people for a war forced on us to fight, for its length, its intensity and risks," he said. "It's the kind of politics that gets you through two weeks."

This is the same lying and posturing that Bush and Cheney used to lead us in to this war.

Is Our "Fearless Leader" a Chicken or a Turkey?

Bush sneaks in and out of Baghdad airport in 2 hours under cover of darkness unlike some Presidents we remember
Since things are slow this weekend I took the time to catch up on reading the League of Liberals. Here is what I found from our illuminating and diverse membership:
Indigo Ocean has finished her first novel and ended a dead end
T-Rex Updates Where are they Now and explains why Republicans are bad for the economy
Our Democratic Veteran tracks the brother's Bush and takes two shots at a. sullivan
A MUST READ AND COPY - Natalie Davis All Facts and Opinions 10 Actions to Stop Bush and a few Dem Candidates are failing her test.
George is always a target rich environment says Dohiyi Mir, even with his stagecraft
The Politburo Diktat on less than good intelligence developed a map that fails to give mention to a single L o L member What's up with that?
The People's Republic of Seabrook has Tom Delay as Turkey of the Year and a nice shot at a Compassionate Conservative
Officially Unofficial covers the aftermath of the Shrubs shrubbery damage and other Orwellian happenings
Turkey and more Turkey is the T-Day offering of WTF is it Now?
Turkey at Pen-Elayne's looks appetizing during the Thanksgiving Day Parade which was not to some bigots.
The Cosmic Iguana covers a different Byrd while mentioning that the turkey has landed
Pharyngula found the Turkey in Iraq insulting but the timing of The Two Towers to be Turkey perfect
Cup O Joe ruminates on the recent L o L chat and reminds us that Repugnicans Hate Soldiers
Hammerdown gives us a few thousand words in pictures
The Happy Furry Puppy has T-day predictions
Concentration Camps and UN Resolutions are on the menu at Anarchy Xero
Different Strings covers the FOX "nuze" and Church and State
What can Bush do in IRAQ that Saddam can't asks 18 Minute Gap: answer - Nothing
If Byte Back had tallied the reactions of L o L blogs Ricky would have a very large tally although TPRS would have added to "the Left"
Why North Georgia Dogma is worth note I cannot devine. I make the L o L count about 20 to 2 on the side of "chicken little sneaks in under cover of darkness for photo op = Zero style points or more Mission Accomplished"
Rick's Cafe rates some sites for the King of Blogs and tells us the Marine Girl is back at Across the River
Bush V. the Troops Clareified by Bush Vs the Troops Again Pt II
Failure, babbler, and Blowhard are the 3 Screaming Points
Left is Right has Quotes of the Week and Friday Fun
The Gunther Concept on James Yee
Speedkill says it's serious when they don't tell Fox on the way home
The Poison Kitchen - President's in war zones and a new toy.
The Art of Worldy Wisdom Anonymoses - from Whom God Hid Nothing
Futurballa on Clinton's 21 books and a vote for Damage

The rest will wait until tomorrow

HALLIBURTON FLEECING US TAXPAYERS - Lieberman, Dingell, & Waxman

The Charges that HALLIBURTON hoped would die
find some powerful support in Congress

Wed 26 November 2003, 23:54 GMT__ Halliburton, the Houston-based oil services and construction group once headed by US Vice President Dick Cheney, is again under fire. The energy giant and its subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root have been accused by three US lawmakers of fleecing ordinary American taxpayers by charging "inflated prices" for selling petrol to US troops in Iraq.

Senator Joseph Lieberman and Representatives John Dingell and Henry Waxman on Tuesday called for a US Defence Department investigation of the company. They said Halliburton was charging US taxpayers $2.65 per gallon to transport gasoline from Kuwait to Iraq, while the Iraqi state oil company paid only 96 cents per gallon. The Defence Department's own fuel distribution centre also paid considerably less, between $1.08 dollars and $1.19 per gallon.

In a letter to the Inspector General of the Defence Department, the three lawmakers have insisted "transparency and accountability are essential if the efforts to reconstruct Iraq are to succeed".

"We hope you will help restore transparency and accountability to this process by undertaking the important investigations described in this letter" "We hope you will help restore transparency and accountability to this process by undertaking the important investigations described in this letter," the trio said.

Alarmed that the company had cornered Iraqi reconstruction contracts worth $500 million, other congressmen have questioned why so much work had been given to Halliburton's subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) without any competition.

Instead of asking for fresh bids, the Pentagon awarded Halliburton new contracts based on a 2001 contract it had won for supplies to US troops. This led to allegations Halliburton was being favoured for its ties to Cheney.

The three Democrat politicians also allege some of the fuel payments to Halliburton come out of the Development Fund for Iraq, which is meant to pay for humanitarian efforts in the occupied country. The Fund, some non-government agencies say, is being mismanaged and the latest furore over "inflated prices" is likely to fuel the charge further.

Democrats ask Pentagon to probe Iraq oil imports

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 — Three U.S. Democratic lawmakers asked the Pentagon inspector general on Tuesday to investigate alleged overpricing of gasoline sent to Iraq by Halliburton, the firm once run by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman from Connecticut, Rep. Henry Waxman from California and Rep. John Dingell from Michigan, also urged the Pentagon to look into the use of money from a humanitarian account, the Development Fund for Iraq, to buy gasoline and possibly weapons.

''We hope you will help restore transparency and accountability to this process by undertaking the important investigations described in this letter,'' the lawmakers wrote. A subsidiary of Texas-based Halliburton has been importing gasoline into Iraq under a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until the oil-rich country's refineries are running at full capacity.

Halliburton, where Cheney served as chief executive from 1995 to 2000 when he left to become U.S. President George W. Bush's running mate, has denied claims of overbilling and says the dangerous security situation has elevated prices. The Corps of Engineers also said it has not found evidence of wrongdoing but is looking into cheaper ways of importing oil.

The lawmakers asked the Pentagon to look into why it cost as much as $2.65 a gallon to import gas from Kuwait when the Iraqi state oil company told them it paid less than a dollar a gallon. The Army says it costs an average of $1.60 a gallon. ''The price Halliburton has charged to import gasoline from Kuwait needs thorough investigation,'' the lawmakers wrote.

''Transparency and accountability are essential if the efforts to reconstruct Iraq are to succeed,'' they added. To date, the members of the U.S. Congress said Halliburton had been paid more than $380 million for all gasoline imports into Iraq and an additional $690 million has been approved for future fuel imports.

The lawmakers said that based on figures provided by the Iraqi state oil company, SOMO, Halliburton may have overcharged the U.S. government by about $150 million to date. The lawmakers asked who in the U.S. Defense Department had approved Halliburton's billing and whether the oil services company had violated any laws or regulations.

Referring to the Development Fund, the lawmakers said the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq was attempting to use the money to buy assault rifles and millions of boxes of ammunition. These funds were intended to ''meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people,'' they said. The Pentagon's Inspector General's office said it had received the letter and was examining it.

From the Left:
SouthKnoxBubba __ another Mission Accomplished and the must read GOP Bizarro World Politics
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo ___ the CGI President and Culture Clashing with the Facts
Ruminate This ___ AARP; Just Another Insurance Agency and Another Vain and Vindictive Run

Damage: Global Warming Catastrophe - New Evidence

We support Damage in this week's new blog showcase. Read the entry above and while you are there check the archives.
More required reading: The False Hero The Mahablog

Big Fish Set to Swallow Spoils of Iraq War

ALL PRETENSE ASIDE HALLIBURTON REMAINS BIG HOG AT THE TROUGH

Nov. 24 20:58 David Nash, head of the new Iraq Infrastructure Reconstruction Office (IIRO), appealed to businesses' patriotism last week at a conference designed to enlist them in the effort to rebuild the war-torn country. But Mr Nash, a retired rear admiral, must have felt as if he had walked into hostile fire when it came to question time. One by one, small businessmen aired concerns that they would be cut out of the process.

Sylvester Myers, an independent construction supervisor, appeared to sum up the mood when he asked Mr Nash whether Halliburton, the Houston oil-services giant, had an information booth at the conference. "These are the guys who are going to be running the show," Mr Myers said warily. "I know how it works."

Many procurement experts agree with that assessment - although they do not believe a conspiracy is to blame. The scale of the rebuilding effort is so vast, they say, and the timetable so ambitious that it seems all but guaranteed that the government will call on large, familiar companies such as Halliburton. The deteriorating security situation in Iraq should also tilt the competition in large companies' favour, they argue, as government agencies put more emphasis on bidders' ability to protect themselves.

"At the prime contractor level there are going to be a bunch of the usual suspects," predicted Steven Kelman, a professor of public administration at Harvard University. Peter Kant, a procurement specialist at Jefferson Consulting in Washington agreed. "You're definitely going to see the more traditional government contractors. If it's not Bechtel this time, it will be Fluor or Shaw," Mr Kant said.

That could prove embarrassing for the administration of President George W. Bush since the IIRO was created in part to meet criticism that large, well connected companies were cashing in while others were being shut out. Halliburton, for instance, which from 1995 to 2000 was headed by Dick Cheney, now US vice-president, was granted a contract to restore Iraq's oil fields - valued at up to $7bn - without competition.

But it looks as though Mr Nash and the IIRO will have to rely on such companies given the time constraints. The IIRO plans to award $18.7bn in new contracts for tasks - ranging from repairing Iraqi sewers and roads to refurbishing hospitals and training the new Iraqi Army - by early February. To place the mission in context, the federal government spent about a decade ramping up a similar-sized programme to provide food stamps to poor Americans.

"This is an adventure with no comparison anywhere else in the world," said Andrew Bearpark, the Coalition Provisional Authority's director of operations in Iraq and a veteran of several post-war rebuilding exercises. "The sums are absolutely staggering."

The IIRO's central strategy, however, appears to be "bundling". It plans to divide the funds into 25 enormous contracts that will each be overseen by a prime contractor who will then carry out some of the work themselves but also subcontract much of it. "A lot of what the primes are going to be doing is managing a system of subcontracting," Mr Kelman explained.

The small business community objects to bundling because it puts the resulting prime contracts - typically the most lucrative ones - out of their reach. In the case of Iraq, each averages about $750m. "We feel frustrated in the process because the government bundles these large contracts," one small businessman complained to Mr Nash last week. "I doubt we'll see one penny from helping to rebuild Iraq."

Even companies with the capacity for such large assignments are unlikely to win unless they have worked for the government before. The shortened time scale means rounds of vetting, bidding and rebidding that might have proved their credentials will have to be condensed. Competition for the first round of contracts may not be as level as many hoped, but it seems to be following the natural law of government contracting.

"During Desert Storm a huge number of contracts were awarded very quickly and there wasn't even a pretence of full and open competition," said Jim Nagle, a Seattle lawyer and author of the book History of Government Contracting. "What you gain in efficiency, you sacrifice in fairness."

Get the Best Headlines at What Really Happened
Required Reading from the Mahablog The Fog

MYSTERY SURROUNDS DEATH of STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL

November 22, 2003 (FTW), WASHINGTON -- In a case eerily reminiscent of the death of British Ministry of Defense bio-weapons expert, Dr. David Kelly, an official of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research Near East and South Asian division (INR/NESA), John J. Kokal, 58, was found dead in the late afternoon of November 7. Police indicated he may have jumped from the roof of the State Department. Kokal's body was found at the bottom of a 20 foot window well, 8 floors below the roof of the State Department headquarters near the 23rd and D Street location. Kokal's death was briefly mentioned in a FOX News website story on November 8 but has been virtually overlooked by the major media.

Interestingly, the FOX report states that State Department officials confirmed Kokal's death to The Washington Post yet the Post - according to an archive search - has published nothing at all about Kokal's death.

Kokal's INR bureau was at the forefront of confronting claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Washington police have not ruled out homicide as the cause of his death. Kokal was not wearing either a jacket or shoes when his body was found. He lived in Arlington, Virginia.

However, a colleague of Kokal's told this writer that the Iraq analyst was despondent over "problems" with his security clearance. Kokal reportedly climbed out of a window and threw himself out in such a manner so that he would "land on his head." At the time Kokal fell from either the roof or a window, his wife Pamela, a public affairs specialist in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, was waiting for him in the parking garage. Mrs. Kokal had previously worked in Consular Affairs where she was involved in the stricter vetting of visa applicants from mainly Muslim countries after the Sept. 11 attacks.

State Department officials dispute official State Department communiqués that said Kokal was not an analyst at INR. People who know Kokal told the French publication Geopolitique that Kokal was involved in the analysis of intelligence about Iraq prior to and during the war against Saddam Hussein.

Another INR official, weapons expert Greg Thielmann, said he and INR were largely ignored by Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton and his deputy, David Wurmser, a pro-Likud neo-conservative who recently became Vice President Dick Cheney's Middle East adviser. Kokal's former boss, the recently retired chief of INR, Carl W. Ford, recently said that Bolton often exaggerated information to steer people in the wrong directions.

A former INR employee revealed that some one-third to one-half of INR officials are either former intelligence agents with the CIA or are detailed from the agency. He also revealed it would have been impossible for Kokal to have gained entry to the roof on his own. INR occupies both a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) on the sixth floor that has no windows and a windowless structure on the roof that has neither windows nor access to the roof, according to the former official. The other windows at the State Department have been engineered to be shatter proof from terrorist bomb attacks and cannot be opened.

INR and other State Department officials report that a "chill" has set in at the State Department following Kokal's defenestration. A number of employees are afraid to talk about the suspicious death. It also unusual that The Northern Virginia Journal, a local Arlington newspaper, has not published an obituary notice on Kokal.

Around the League - On Top of their games this weekend
The Mahablog_ The cost of Fish & Chips with the Fundies
Natalie Davis All Facts and Opinions _ on Gay Marriage MJ
Ayn Clouter - Old Europe Cowers Again
Wilson's Blogmanac _ GPS for Spies Lincoln Kennedy parallels
Turquoise Waffle Irons in the Backyard - Candidate's Tech Survey and the Church Signs
Musings of a Philosophical Scrivner_ State's Rights and a More Expensive Future
Indigo Ocean _ Maui Tomorrow
Estimated Prophet _The Greatest Story Never Told some contrasts
The Huck Upchuck _ Kingfishery and Kingcakery down in Louisianna
Speed kill_ Who is leading the Attacks? The Daily Howler? _ Hilarity Ensues
Bill Gates better watch out for The Poison Kitchen
Ink from the Squid on Medicare
Rick's American Cafe_ Bush fights negative fire with more negatives and CVS morality
Left is Right _ Abandoning the Drug Free America Myth and An Apology
Cup O' Joe _ What Happened Yesterday and Been Busy
Hammerdown _ Not the Sharpest Tool and Greatest Hypocrisy
Pharyngula _ Glow in the Dark Fish and Krugman in Syracuse
T-Rex's Guide to Life_ Nader is a Sanctimonious Prick and Judicial Stats
The People's Republic of Seabrook_ Canadian Outdoor Hockey and Holiday in Dallas

Exxon Mobil Claims $2.2 Billion Tax Benefit $5 Billion Court Victory - BIG OIL EVEN BEATS THE IRS

November 2003 - 7.2 Billion Dollar Benefit Month for Exxon-Mobile

Nov 20, 2003 IRVING, Texas (AP) - Exxon Mobil Corp. has settled a long-running battle with the Internal Revenue Service and said it will get a refund and interest worth about $2.2 billion. The oil giant said it would report the after-tax benefit in its fourth-quarter results. The refund and interest will be worth more than half of Exxon Mobil's profit in last year's fourth quarter.

Under a tax break called the percentage depletion allowance, oil companies are allowed to deduct some of the value of their production from income in computing their taxes. The IRS challenged Exxon's application of the allowance on some sales. Exxon went to trial three times in federal district court in Dallas and a federal appeals court in Washington, beginning in 1989, and won, the company said.

The company won decisions in 1996 and 2001 over its deductions for tax years 1974 and 1975 and was reimbursed by the government for the taxes it had paid. Earlier this year, the company won a third court ruling and the IRS and Justice Department agreed that Exxon Mobil was entitled to the deductions for 1976 to 1990, the company said.

The company said the decision to settle the case was reviewed by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Under federal law, the committee can review any refund above a certain amount, currently about $2 million. It was unclear where the Exxon Mobil refund would rank on the scale of large taxpayer victories.

A committee official declined to discuss the review and said the proceedings were confidential unless the taxpayer wanted to discuss the case. "We are taking what we and the IRS agreed was a fair refund plus interest," said Tom Cirigliano, a spokesman for Irving-based Exxon Mobil. The interest will be paid at rates set by the IRS, he said.

Exxon Mobil did not disclose the tax case in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cirigliano said the company was waiting until it had an agreement with the IRS. Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, earned $11.46 billion last year on revenue of $204.5 billion.

So if you are the World's largest Oil Company you can beat the Bush Government on Taxes - refuse to pay the Exxon Valdese settlement and have it overturned (see below), and give massive amounts to the Bush/Cheney campaign. Any questions?

Court overturns $5 billion Exxon Valdez award

November 7, 2001, 5:56 PM EST The $5 billion punitive damages award against Exxon Mobil Corp. in the 1989 Valdez oil spill is excessive, a federal appeals court ruled today. The court ordered a judge to determine a lesser amount. A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, had ordered the oil giant in 1994 to pay the sum to thousands of commercial fisherman, Alaska natives, property owners and others harmed by the nation's worst oil spill.

Get your headlines at What Really Happened

This site supports A MARINE GIRL in her 'battle' with the lying scumbag "Gunny" and so should you

New Blog Showcase contestant Anarchy Zero is the latest addition to the League. Another Cat Blogger is always welcome and keeping with the Open for Change full acceptance policy of the League an Anarchist will fit right in:
Britain Welcomes "President" Bush as Perle Tells Truth and the World Reacts in Shock as 1,000's Dance At the FTAA and 27 are Killed By Truck Bombs in Instanbul
Is it the End of The World or will the "Irrelevant" United Nations Rescue America from Bush the Madman who sent London into Literal Martial Law

IRAQ = DEATH is Anarchy Xero's entry in the New Blog Showcase and The League of Liberals has a new member in the race. Cast your votes and update your blogrolls accordingly.
Welcome Anarchy Xero.

25 More Dead 400 Wounded - Who is Winning the War on Terror?

.
Explosions Hit British Consulate and London-Based Bank, Killing at Least 25 People and Wounding Nearly 400

Nov 20, 2003 ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Trucks packed with explosives blew up near the high-rise headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank and the British consulate on Thursday, killing at least 25 people and wounding nearly 400, officials said.

The bombings, which occurred five minutes apart, at about 11 a.m., came days after two synagogue suicide bombings and coincided with the visit of President Bush to London. They were blamed on al-Qaida.

GET THE BEST HEADLINES AT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

Our showcase vote is for: Anarchy Xero: Winding the Iraq Deathwatch
He Loved the Rush - William Bennett replaces Rush Rush is Back Rush is a Money Launderer Liar Liar Pants on Fire Liberal Radio Network Greatest Threat to Life on the Planet ? Bush or just Stupid and Incoherent?

New York Taxpayers Pick up the Tab for Cheney

(Buffalo-AP) -- New York taxpayers will wind up picking up the tab for the beef-up security measures provided for Vice President Dick Cheney's campaign swing across upstate New York.
Law enforcement agencies in the Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo areas devoted hundreds of officers and thousands of dollars to ensure the vice president's safety during Monday's appearances.In Buffalo, police officers on motorcycles, on foot and in cars and helicopters guarded Cheney's route to and from a Buffalo restaurant where a fund-raiser was held.
Cheney also had breakfast in suburban Syracuse and lunched in Rochester, collecting at least $700,000 for the Bush-Cheney re-election warchest.

In Buffalo alone, the cost of the extra security is estimated at ten-thousand dollars.

Such expenses are typically paid for by the host cities -- not the president's campaign or the White House.


GET ALL THE BEST HEADLINES AT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
Natural Resource Giveaway GOP's Inhofe approves of torture Clap for the Pigboy's Money Laundry and Tennessee GOP Rep in a perp-walk.
Is Dawn Wierd? a Woman of Color or a Lawyer? have Pedro Martinez feelings? Well Hooray join the Conspiracy
Difficult Days during the Illegal Invasion and the Rape of the Earth where Protests and Whistleblowers are Patriots not Traitors
A Periodic Check of the League show better planning than the Military and certainly for "wirehead" BJ. Shades of the Solviets A Matrix Score No News Here hardly.
Just a Bump in the Beltway Too Sweet Yer Cadillac Pissed Off 1 and 2 Sick F#@K$ like Gunny and more at the Mudshark

Dollar Near All-Time Low Against Euro

Nov 19, 2003 LONDON (AP) - The U.S. dollar hovered near an all-time low against the euro and was mixed against other major currencies Wednesday in European trading. Gold prices rose.

The euro was trading at $1.1929 in late morning trading Wednesday in Europe, up from $1.1896 Tuesday. It had reached $1.1973 in late trading Tuesday in New York - the highest level since the euro was introduced in 1999.

Traders began selling dollars following news that the Bush administration has granted U.S. industry requests to impose temporary quotas on some imports of Chinese textiles. That fed concern about trade wars developing between the United States and key trading partners.

What the Average, Educated Iraqi thinks - Is Very Bad News for American Soldiers in IRAQ

.
The Anglo-American presence in Iraq is not considered one of liberation, but one of occupation
As US Casualties Mount, Iraqis Vow More Attacks -

A series of interviews with prominent Iraqi thinkers, university professors, historians and artists revealed that none believe that Iraq is about to become a democracy. In fact, many believe that Iraq is more likely to become a moderate Islamic state, very dissimilar to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iraqis today, seven months after Saddam’s ouster, have differing opinions on how to create a stable, prosperous civil society, but they do agree on a number of things:

1) The Anglo-American presence in Iraq is not considered one of liberation, but one of occupation: The lessons of the British occupation of Iraq in the period 1921-1958 (1958 was the year the British-enforced monarchy was overthrown in a bloody, vicious revolution), and particularly the British-orchestrated coup in 1941 against the government of Rashid Aali (Arab nationalism was the government’s platform) are not lost on the middle-class Iraqi today. Some Iraqis suspect that the only way the US can consider their invasion a success is to install some puppet government, a Saddam clone who is rather keen on pleasing Washington.

2) The Iraqi Governing Council is considered a cruel joke at best and a foreign weapon of domination - a proxy legate - at worst. A prominent University of Mustansiriyah professor warned that the violence in Iraq will not subside but rather increase several-fold in the weeks and months to come. He suggested that the American public exercise some wisdom and compassion for “their young boys and girls who are caught in this mess,” and that the American government transfers power over to the Iraqis as soon as possible. He called for “an Iraq ruled by the will of the legitimate Iraqis.”

3) The country is being robbed blind by US conglomerates and a White House that cares only to cement its financial ties with special interest groups. Several weeks before the invasion of Iraq, I had a phone conversation with a prominent Iraqi-American bio-medical engineer in Maine. He was furious over reports that Iraqi companies would be shut out from the reconstruction process. “We have many skilled and educated professionals in Iraq. Why are they shutting us out?” The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq says that foreign companies doing reconstruction business in Iraq employ thousands of Iraqis. However, there are no Iraqi companies that have been awarded independent contracts. Iraqi companies that are given a portion of reconstruction responsibilities usually do so under Halliburton or Bechtel proxy.

4) Iraqi Resistance will likely grow and become deadlier. Iraqis know they are in for a difficult time ahead. Last week, White House officials privately hoped that the suicide attacks on the Red Cross (ICRC) and previously on the United Nations compound would convince Iraqis that the resistance was barbarous and against their best interests. The hope fizzled as Iraqis took to the streets not only blaming the CPA for lack of security, but also blaming Israel for orchestrating the attacks “to undermine security and stability in Iraq and pit one side (Shiite and Sunni) against another.”

North American media pundits have seen fit to give very little room to Iraqi voices of dissent; Iraqi opinions of the reconstruction effort, or lack thereof, are drowned out by the number of proponents of the Iraqi war - Friedman, Krauthammer, Gaffney, Rice - who repeatedly cite the number of free newspapers that have blossomed in Iraq recently, some 300 newspapers and magazines. However, a number of these newspapers have been closed by US forces raising concerns that the press in Iraq is not that free and can only print news US forces found acceptable.

The situation in Iraq for the Iraqis themselves is so hopeless that many are finding renewed strength and hope in the Iraqi resistance, according to a CIA report released last week. The report cites the lack of faith in the US forces and the lack of progress in infrastructure development as two reasons why many Iraqis are increasingly supporting the resistance movement.

At press time, violence and attacks had spread far beyond the “Sunni Triangle.”

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED the best source for NEWS

Legal fees for Enron 'shocking' in stature

.

By Enron's own reckoning, the legal and accounting costs of its bankruptcy will exceed $1 billion in 2006. Typically, legal fees in a bankruptcy drop off dramatically after a company gains approval for a plan of reorganization -- a road map for its exit from bankruptcy -- which Enron expects to do early next year. But the company's budget through 2006 estimates more than $300 million will be spent after Enron confirms its plan. That's more than any company has ever spent confirming a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.

"It's shocking," said Lynn Lopucki, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles law school who studies bankruptcy professional fees. The largest amount of professional fees on record is the Luxembourg-based case of Saudi Arabian Bank of Credit and Commerce International, with $200 million in fees, although WorldCom may meet or exceed this total.

Sometime this summer, Enron surpassed $500 million in legal and accounting fees billed by more than three dozen law firms and a handful of accounting and consulting firms since the company filed for bankruptcy Dec. 2, 2001. According to Enron's budget estimates, it will spend $156 million in the second half of 2003 on professional fees. It projects professional fees of $229 million in 2004, $112 million in 2005 and $68 million in 2006.

The budget estimate is located in one of 18 appendices and more than 1,000 pages of amended documents Enron submitted to its bankruptcy court Thursday in support of its plan of reorganization. This is the third version of the plan and disclosure statement prepared by Enron. The modifications to the disclosure statement, which provides financial information and legal framework supporting the plan, came in advance of a hearing next Tuesday when Enron will ask Judge Arthur Gonzalez to approve the massive document, a key step toward confirming the plan.

Creditors have urged Enron to move quickly in developing a compromise plan of reorganization in large part because of a legal fee burn rate that exceeds $25 million a month. A lawyer for some creditors of Enron Corp.'s Enron North America unit that have closely followed professional fees said the future fee estimates are disturbing. "Obviously, that's of concern to our constituency," Judith Ross, of Thompson & Knight, said. "The whole point of a compromise was to move quickly."

Enron's legal expenses are notable both in gross and as a percentage of assets. Based upon estimates of about $12 billion in cash and stock to distribute among creditors, and an estimated cost of $700 million in legal fees before confirming its plan, Enron should expend about 6 percent of its assets for plan approval. By contrast, Kmart, with assets of about $11 billion and legal fees of about $138 million, spent just over 1 percent of its assets to confirm a plan. That's a more typical expenditure in a large bankruptcy, Lopucki said.

Enron, its bankruptcy lawyers and some bankruptcy professors have defended the company's expenditures by noting it is easily the most complex bankruptcy ever. The money in coming years will be spent to wind down outstanding issues and on litigation, Enron spokeswoman Karen Denne said. Legal battles include settling billions of dollars in claims and the dozens of lawsuits filed by Enron against former partners, including banks and other energy companies, seeking the return of millions and, in some cases, billions of dollars.

while we keep track of the Miserable Failure Project, snicker at Senator Bill Frist's Web Shenanagans, and marvel at the Damn Liberal Media thanks to the efforts of oour newest member, Turquoise Waffle Irons in the Back Yard. Remember to update your blogrolls, and favor this Slimy Mollusc with a few links.
Study the Myths of the War on Terrorism and Iraq, travel around the world in 80 days with Nellie Bly, or learn how to shake hands with the president. While you're welcoming Pip and the Blogmanac to the League of Liberals, you'll be thinking universally and acting terrestrially. Just wait--it will all become clear!

The League of Liberals is PROUD dismayed to WELCOME tolerate the inclusion of AYN CLOUTER just to keep an eye on her. AYN is the infamous author of THE BLOGFATHER review and the shrill twisted diatribe "How I Came To Hate Liberals" Ayn's work like CANONIZE BUSH and RENAME THE DEMOCRATS has caused speculation about her possible membership in The Landover Baptist Church There should be no question now that The League of Liberals is unbearably Liberal. We are truly the "party of inclusion" and we may see applications from LITTLE BROWN POOHBALLS and the INSTYPOOHBAH.

NOTE: If any of the membership wishes to call into question the leadership that has allowed inclusion of Ayn Clouter and The Politburo Diktat to the League now is the time to speak your piece. Welcome to "The Big Tent"

2 Tits Up Bush Brit Tabloid Growth Industry Here's shocking proof that US takes hostages and buys votes dying for Halliburton with the pilgrim Jihadist

Halliburton Reaches Agreement in Principle to Limit Cash Required for Asbestos Settlement to $2.775 Billion

.
Halliburton plan a precursor to bankruptcy re-organization

Nov. 14, 2003 HOUSTON, 8:30pm-- Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and the asbestos claimants committee with whom it has been negotiating a proposed asbestos settlement for its DII Industries, Kellogg Brown & Root and other subsidiaries jointly announced today that they have reached an agreement in principle to limit the cash required to settle pending asbestos and silica claimants currently subject to definitive agreements to $2.775 billion. The proposed debtor entities currently are parties to such definitive agreements with attorneys representing more than 95% of the current asbestos and silica claimants.

The company and the representatives of current claimants have agreed that if, at the completion of medical due diligence for current claims, the cash amounts provided in the current settlement agreements is greater than $2.775 billion, the total cash payment to each claimant would be reduced pro rata so that the aggregate of payments would not exceed $2.775 billion.

The terms of this revised settlement still must be approved by 75% of known present asbestos claimants. Despite reaching the agreement in principal, there can be no assurance that such approval will be obtained, that all members of the asbestos claimants committee and other lawyers representing affected claimants will support the revised settlement or that claimants represented by members of the asbestos claimants committee and other affected claimants will vote in favor of the revised plan of reorganization.

Contractors' Deaths Add to Iraq Toll

Haliburton Subsidiary Describes 3 Fatalities

November 14 NEW YORK -- Although the total number of American troops killed in Iraq is 397, as of Nov. 13, the overall American death count is higher. One group whose deaths often go unreported are independent contractors from American corporations working in the war-torn country. These fatalities, often from mines and ambushes, are rarely reported by newspapers and are not listed in the Pentagon's official death toll.

"I know contractors are not reported there," Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Joe Yoswa said about the official Operation Iraqi Freedom death toll. "I can tell you the contractors' names are not listed in the roll-up."

As of Thursday afternoon, for example, three employees of Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Houston-based Halliburton and the largest military contractor in Iraq, have been killed in Iraq since the war began. The contractor deaths were the results of a vehicle accident, an anti-tank mine, and a gunshot wound.

"On 10 July 2003 a KBR employee died as a result of injuries sustained in a single-vehicle accident near the city of Basra in southern Iraq," Halliburton spokesperson Patrice Mingo told E&P Online via e-mail.

The second KBR death occurred on Aug. 5 "as a result of injuries sustained when his truck hit an anti-tank mine," Mingo said. The third KBR employee died on Sept. 3 after being "fatally shot in Baghdad while driving a vehicle that was escorted by military personnel."

"KBR's primary concern is for the safety and security of all personnel, especially those working in such challenging environments and conditions," Mingo said. "We are proud of our many employees who are currently working in the Middle East in support of the U.S. military. These men and women are working hard in the midst of a difficult situation, and are doing a great job."

As a result of cutbacks in personnel, the military has increasingly relied on contractors to perform a wide range of tasks. The size of the United States standing army has shrunk from 2.1 million in 1990 to 1.4 million in 2003, according to an Oct. 30 Associated Press report. In an effort to free up more troops for combat, the military hires independent contractors for just about every other imaginable task.

The total number of contractors killed in Iraq is not known, nor is the number of contractors currently working in Iraq, according to the Oct. 30 AP article. "Estimates range from under 10,000 to more than 20,000 -- which could make private contractors the largest U.S. coalition partner ahead of Britain's 11,000 troops,"

9000 US Casulties in Iraq
Halliburton Employee admits to Illegal Warhead Sale
Rush Limbaugh back on the Air on Monday with Investigation still in progress
A History of Majority Leader Senator Frist
Rush Limbaughtomy has the 12 Step Program for Right Wing Radio Addicts

Cheney Hurts Bush's Chances for Re-Election

.
Dump Cheney Movement Under Way - Started in State Department

Nov 13, 2003 -- Is Vice President Dick Cheney an electoral liability for President Bush? Some top Republicans are reportedly worried that Cheney's actions might threaten Bush's bid for re-election in 2004. The dump-Cheney talk probably originated with disgruntled State Department folks, who would like nothing better than to undermine the neocon foreign-policy cabal headed by Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The movement's underlying premise is that the vice president's hawkish positions and statements related to terrorism, Iraq and foreign policy have put Bush at risk.

But even as more Republicans criticize the handling of postwar Iraq, international issues are only half the story. Another problem is Cheney's failed stewardship of the administration's domestic agenda in Congress, which also leaves the president vulnerable next year. Cheney is the administration's chief legislative officer, responsible for shepherding its priorities through Congress. He's a regular presence at the weekly Senate Republican policy lunches. He also is the first vice president to maintain offices in both chambers. As a former House minority whip, Cheney is surpassed by few in knowing what makes the institution run.

Despite Cheney's unprecedented ties to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Congress has publicly rebuffed the administration on a series of legislative matters. Barring late reversals, the White House defeats will include changes in overtime regulations, the Federal Communications Commission's ruling on media consolidation and the end of the ban on travel to Cuba, despite veto threats from the president.

Other bills, such as school vouchers for Washington, D.C., and funding for Head Start, have passed the House by a single vote. Several judicial nominees, such as Charles Pickering, have yet to win Senate confirmation. Cheney's role in pushing the administration's agenda isn't likely to get any easier. As Cheney's batting average on Capitol Hill drops, moderate Republicans are straying from the White House line. Even reliable members of the GOP caucus are abandoning ship on issues such as the Cuba bill. When that happens, the White House knows it's in trouble. Of course, not all of the fault lies with Cheney. The White House dispatches other advisers to make its case on Capitol Hill. Party leaders such as Bill Frist in the Senate and Tom DeLay in the House share the blame.

But Cheney's own actions have made him an unusually inviting target. He snubbed Congress and the General Accounting Office by refusing to answer questions about his energy task force. The panel, which came under fire for meeting with industry groups, helped shape the administration's energy agenda. The uncontested bid by Cheney's former employer, Halliburton, to restore Iraq's oil industry left a bad taste in the mouths of lawmakers whose districts contained other energy companies. Democrats have attacked Cheney's nearly $500,000 in deferred compensation from Halliburton.

The vice president's experience in Washington was supposed to balance Bush's lack of expertise in that area. If Cheney, who was elected six times to Congress, can't hold together a GOP Congress for a Republican president, perhaps Bush needs to tap someone else for the job.

In the campaign, Bush needs to be able to point to accomplishments other than his management of Iraq, especially if the death toll continues to rise and his approval ratings continue to drop. With Cheney focusing so much of his attention on terrorism and Iraq, perhaps the vice president has lost sight of Bush's legislative agenda. If so, Cheney may prove to be a bigger domestic liability to Bush than he is a foreign-policy burden. Bush will have to decide whether he can afford both worries.

Mary Lynn F. Jones covers Congress for the Hill newspaper in Washington; Thomas Schaller is a political scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED the best source for NEWS Oh. the Irony - Bush "welcoming" protests in Britain? He doesn't expect everybody in the world to agree with him except the US Senate on his reactionary Judges Next He'll nominate Judge NO Moore Accept Natalie's "birthday gift" to us "The Speech Bush Did Not Give" and wish Natalie "Happy Birthday" (a few hours late) while you are there.
Cast your vote for the latest plan cause you are either with us or against us Flashback on the stepped up strategy and stage the news one more time. SouthKnoxBubba has the plan.

And Then's Late Night With Majority Leader Frist

League of Liberals member And Then..'s entry in the New Blog Showcase is Late Night With Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
And Then... takes on Tennessee Senator, the Shame of Rocky Top, Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Hell for Halliburton is proud to link to Rush Limbaughtomy's Bill Frist "Republican Role Model of the Day" in support of And Then.... and urges everyone to consider And Then...... and to vote by placing a link to "Late Night With Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist" in their blogs.

Halliburton Hangover

In terms of sheer size, the $87 billion Iraq spending bill recently approved by Congress is the nation’s largest ever for war, bigger than the budgets of the Homeland Security and Education Departments combined. With so much at stake, you would think that Congress would have done all it could to ensure that these tens of billions of dollars are scrupulously monitored and wisely spent, with no opportunity for waste, fraud or abuse.

But you would be wrong. While the Iraq spending bill makes some modest progress on accountability, House and Senate leaders who negotiated the final bill eliminated or weakened more stringent reform measures passed by their colleagues in both chambers. And given the influence of the White House on the final bill, one could reasonably conclude that the Bush administration was wary of many of the accountability measures that Congress originally intended to require.

This spending plan has too little accountability and too few financial controls.

Stripped From The Bill

Consider the reform measures that never made it into the final bill:

GAO audits. The Senate originally voted 97 to 0 to have the General Accounting Office (GAO)— Congress’ investigative arm—conduct audits of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq. The CPA oversees the entire rebuilding effort in Iraq, and is in charge of dispensing billions of dollars in reconstruction contracts. That audit provision was stripped in the conference committee on a party line vote. Another provision that would have required the GAO to look at the profits made by U.S. contractors in Iraq was accepted by the Senate, but also never made it into the final bill.

Competitive bidding on oil contracts. Responding to the uproar about non-competitive bidding in Iraq, the House passed an amendment requiring competitive bidding on all oil contracts. The provision eliminated exceptions for emergencies and other extenuating circumstances, such as national security, that might make competitive bidding prohibitive. Every Democrat, plus 47 Republicans, supported it. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who sponsored the amendment, said that it was necessary because “Democrats and many Republicans do not trust the administration to use the government contracting exceptions rarely and fairly.” Still, the Sherman provision was removed during a conference committee vote.

Penalties for war profiteers. Perhaps most astounding, Congress in its final Iraq spending bill did not even include language to penalize war profiteers for defrauding American taxpayers. The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the provision, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), to ensure that contractors who cheated the American taxpayer would face fines of up to $1 million and jail time of up to 20 years. Senators of both parties supported it, but Republican House negotiators refused to include it in the final bill. “Congress is about to send billions and billions of dollars to a place where there is no functioning government, under a plan with too little accountability and too few financial controls,” Sen. Leahy said after his provision was stripped from the final bill. “That’s a formula for mischief. We need strong disincentives for those who would defraud taxpayers. It baffles me why House members would not want to provide this protection to taxpayers.” The inspector general would be appointed by the secretary of defense and would not have to be confirmed by the Senate.

Lax Oversight

And even when House and Senate negotiators did see their way clear to approving reform provisions, what they approved was often flawed. For example, the final bill provides for a much needed inspector general to monitor the Coalition Provisional Authority. But that inspector general would be appointed by the secretary of defense and would not have to be confirmed by the Senate—which has historically used the confirmation process to assure the American public of a nominee’s integrity and credentials.

“I am dismayed that this individual is not subject to Senate confirmation,” Sen. Robert Byrd said. Byrd also noted that the bill’s congressional negotiators rejected his amendment that would have required the inspector general to testify before Congress when requested. “Could it be that the president’s supporters in Congress are afraid to hear what the inspector general might tell them?” Byrd asked. And while the inspector general would be required to submit periodic reports to Congress, the President would have the right to waive those reporting requirements for certain reasons, such as national security.

Why the White House and key Republican leaders would be opposed to more accountability for this huge spending bill is hard to understand. But we at Common Cause will continue to monitor the spending in Iraq, to work in coalition with other groups to press the government to report what it is doing fully and completely. We will watch to see if the inspector general named to monitor spending in Iraq is well qualified for the job, and we will keep track of how well or poorly government officials report on the progress of Iraq reconstruction to Congress and the American people. Too much is at stake for us to do any less.

Hell on the Bush Admin all over the Blogosphere

Franken ponders a run for the Senate in his Native Minnesota at Speedkill
Is Gephart the tortoise gonna catch Dean the hare? BYTE BACK is excited.
Mad Kane has the humor round up and St. Reagan's song I am waiting for "Why Can't the American's Teach Their Leader How To Speak" and "All I Want is a War Somewhere", from the same musical.
The latest "Where will you be" picture is up at Hammerdown. There is a whole series of pained expressions.
Chinese food on the Moon - only from The Poison Kitchen
Origination of Denomination and Anti-American Asshats on Parade will Shock and Awe you.
It is Officially Unofficial - Celine Dion is destitute check your sitemeters
ACT now the Shrub is not welcome at this Coffee Break
Rick's response to the Truth Laid Bear has drawn 147 Responses _ some of them are worth the time _ As is Bush honoring the veternarians at Arlington National Cemetary
Bush tells the British what to do and Flint has Jessica in the nude
With us or Against Us Clear Skies and More Lies and they are Coming to take you away It is always a strong signal to noise ratio at SouthKnoxBubba
216 Days have passed in the search is it Time to Evolve? The Sesquipedalian is no Incipient Ass
He is For God and Country and "pretty much a shot in the dark most days..."

We Alway's Knew They'd Come Around and make Bush fear for his re-selection with More Lost Heart's and Minds Losing Faith with the Occupation.
So enters Stageleft like the Freeway Blogger

GOP Sleepover at the Crybaby Party where Mr. Smartass and Mr. High horse were seen begging a Cup O Joe at the LoL Roundup