FDR vs GWB

adam

Nov. 11, 2007 at 08:39:06 PM

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Reicht wingers:

Perpetual Lying
Perpetual False Religion
Perpetual War

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adam

Nov. 11, 2007 at 09:46:12 PM

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Phaedrus,

Bu$h's fear mongering is not even a safety or moral issue, it is a business model......

How US merchants of fear sparked a $130bn bonanza

9/9/2006 10:24:48 PM

The homeland security market has an army of lobbyists working for its interests in Washington

Paul Harris in New York
Sunday September 10, 2006
The Observer

Brian Lehman's farm lies down a gravel road, between two fields of swaying corn as tall as a man. It is in the middle of Indiana's rural heartland in a landscape populated mostly by bearded Amish farmers and their wives.
Horse-drawn buggies are more common than cars, roads are littered with horse manure and fields are worked by hand. It feels distant in time and place from big cities such as New York or Washington, or even Indianapolis, two hours' drive south.

Yet Lehman's farm, from which he runs a small popcorn business, was recently declared a target for terrorists. State security officials included it in a list of assets considered potential victims of attack, most likely by Islamic fanatics. That was a surprise to Lehman, who had previously never considered Amish Country Popcorn on the front line in the war on terror. But he reckons he knows why he was chosen: 'It's the money.'

Five years after the World Trade Centre fell, a highly lucrative industry has been born in America - homeland security. There has been a goldrush as companies scoop up government contracts and peddle products that they say are designed to make America safe.

The figures are stunning. Seven years ago there were nine companies with federal homeland security contracts. By 2003 it was 3,512. Now there are 33,890. The money is huge. Since 2000, $130bn (£70bn) of contracts have been dished out. By 2015 annual federal spending on the industry could be $170bn.

But state officials want in on the government handouts too. That is why Indiana ended up identifying 8,591 potential terrorism targets (including Lehman's farm) inside its Midwestern borders. But they went too far.

Indiana's total was the most of any state - twice as many as California and 30 per cent more than New York.

The reason is simple. With so much money on offer and such riches being made, there is a powerful economic incentive to exploit the threat to America. The homeland security industry has an army of lobbyists working for its interests in Washington. It grows bigger each year and they want to keep the money flowing. America is in the grip of a business based on fear.

Inside a fancy office block in downtown Washington DC lie the offices of the Ashcroft Group. It is six blocks from the imposing buildings of the Department of Justice where the head of the firm, John Ashcroft, used to be President George W. Bush's Attorney General. As Attorney General, Ashcroft controversially extended the surveillance powers of the state in order to fight terrorism. Now he lobbies and consults on behalf of technology companies seeking to capitalise on the new powers. His clients include firms such as ChoicePoint, which gathers data on individuals and sells it, and Innova, which makes software for surveillance drones and robots.

In turning from powerful official to powerful lobbyist, Ashcroft is a brazen example of what critics call Washington's 'revolving door' - a process whereby officials leave public service for the private sector, exploiting their old contacts for commerce. 'It's become the norm that senior officials open up their own shops in their old sectors. It can be incredibly lucrative for them,' said Alex Knott, project manager for Lobby Watch, part of the Centre for Public Integrity.

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Phaedrus

Nov. 12, 2007 at 05:26:56 PM

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Yep, Adam, the War Machine better be putting some of that cash away. Pres. Dennis Kucinich is probably going to cut off the gravy train.

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adam

Nov. 12, 2007 at 09:00:13 PM

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Phaedrus,

If only that were true....

More likely our parents and then us will be lucky to be able to eat Gravy Train at the rate of inflation that Bu$h's oil and foreign policies are creating for the future.

We could still have a Musharraf type election you know......or even another Diebold one.....

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prometheus

Nov. 12, 2007 at 09:14:01 PM

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And Bush could still be elected President . . . since he has yet to be elected President (I voted for jeff gannon guckert-bush) in the poll

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Phaedrus

Nov. 12, 2007 at 09:19:21 PM

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You know Prom, I think Bush is going to be happy to leave the White House. He can go back to being responsibility free, and he can then blame everything in Iraq on the next President. It'll go like this "jeez, we had it all wrapped up in Iraq, then the dirty Democrats came in, and then it all went to hell." Plus he'll have more time to spend with Jeff Gannon-Guckert, in his FoxHole. Or Jeff will be in his.

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indie616

Nov. 13, 2007 at 07:02:28 PM

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Olberman had a great chyron on his show tonight that pretty much sums up the Republicans.

The segment was on the fear tactics of the Republican candidates, in particular the new Tom Tancredo ad.

The headline said "GOP Your Pants"

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AZ Moderate

Nov. 14, 2007 at 10:44:44 PM

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Indeed.

This SOB (SonOfaBarb) and the homegrown Fascist conspiracy that is the juggernaught for which he is the hood ornament was forseen by the founders of our Constitutional Republic.

Our Constitution alludes to it with the phrase "... enemies both foreign and domestic ...", and we should take note. Protect us from those usurpers of constitutional checks and balances that are far and away a greater threat to you, me, our children, and indeed the human race than any external threat could ever be.

It is pretty clear that this SOB (SonOfaBush) is in fact far ahead of the Average American sleepy head when it comes to studying the highly successful techniques of Third Reich (and its kissing cousin Soviet Communism) for leveraging the Average Americanesiac. A dash of Roman "bread and circuses" in the form of constant drivel that passes for news and "reality" adds a cheap shot of brain deadener to ensure stupification of the electorate.

It occurs to me that the travail that we face from this SOB Regime will be taught in the law schools as a case study of the very real domestic threat that we must be eternally vigilant for if we are to bequeth our progeny the blessings of liberty and security - security from "... enemies both foreign and domestic ...". It is a bitter pill, but in fact just what the doctor ordered. If our constituional Republic can survive it we will be much stronger for it.

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indie616

Nov. 14, 2007 at 10:57:20 PM

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Today I watched the ceremonial swearing-in of the new Attorney General Mukasey.

It was the standard oath. But when Supreme Court Chief Justice got to the line "...against all enemies foreign and domestic" it struck a cord with me.

Will the Mukasy protect us against enemies "domestic?"

We shall see. I don't have much hope, but on the other hand I thought of those brave men who resigned rather than implement Nixon's request to fire the special prosecuter (aka The Saturday Night Massacre).

Will we have a hero's like that again?

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FDR vs GWB

Comments:

Reicht wingers: Perpetual Lying Perpetual False Religion Perpetual War

Reicht wingers:

Perpetual Lying
Perpetual False Religion
Perpetual War