What About Halliburton's $1 Billion? Or Wall Street's $700 Billion?

by: David Sirota

Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 16:30

Here's House Minority Leader John Boehner (R) today:

"It is evident that ACORN is incapable of using federal funds in a manner that is consistent with the law," Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote Bush, saying that funds should be blocked until all federal investigations into the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now are completed.

Ummm...if Boehner is so worried about misuse of $31 million in taxpayer money, why didn't he use his power as Majority Leader in the last Congress to figure out what happened to the $1 billion that Halliburton/KBR may have stolen from taxpayers? And where was his opposition to giving away $700 billion to Wall Street? I don't seem to remember him trying to block funds for Halliburton/KBR or Wall Street companies, do you?

Oh, silly me. I forgot. Boehner is only interested in "protecting taxpayer money" when it means trying to destroy an organization that works for and with poor people. But when it comes to defense/oil industry contractors like Halliburton, or a bailout bill for Wall Street, he's more than happy for taxpayers to get bilked.

David Sirota :: What About Halliburton's $1 Billion? Or Wall Street's $700 Billion?

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What About Halliburton's $1 Billion? Or Wall Street's $700 Billion? | 5 comments

Off-topic question on Colorado ballot initiative 54 (0.00 / 0)

Apologies, but CSPAN had a segment on Tuesday's Washington Journal on a Colorado ballot initiative (54 IIRC), to amend the state's constitutional to make it illegal for recipients of no-big government contracts--and, it appears, their employees and their families--from making political contributions that could be seen as benefiting anyone who had anything to do with the granting of such contracts.

It's being promoted as a "transparency in government" reform, but in fact appears to be intended to weaken the political power of unions and other left-leaning organizations, who receive no-bid contracts (for legitimate reasons, e.g. there are no competitors in a given area or industry), and would thus be unable to promote specific parties or candidates.

Has anything been written here on this initiative, and is it as bad as it sounds?

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything...Mankind are forever destined to be the dupes of bold & cunning imposture" -- Alexander Hamilton

by: kovie @ Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 16:21:24 PM CDT

money (0.00 / 0)

But Halliburton is building Freedom in Iraq, whereas ACORN is (cue ominous music) destroying the very fabric of democracy!

by: Notorious P.A.T. @ Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 16:56:34 PM CDT

ACORN (0.00 / 0)

is the new Welfare Queen.

by: DaveW @ Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 18:13:17 PM CDT

I want MY FUCKING MONEY!! (0.00 / 0)

The other day on C-SPAN's Washington Journal when they were discussing the bailout, a caller suggested that we take a portion of that $810 billion, $350 million to be precise, and give every American $1 million.

What a fabulous suggestion, I can't think of anything that would help our economy more, because the next day everybody would be out shopping, of course they would have difficulty getting served because a huge swath of people wouldn't show up for work the next day, but so what. Who deserves a taxpayer-funded bailout more than I do in my own damn country, not nobody the way I see it.

Not to be offering up tactical suggestions to the enemy, but John McCain could probably still win the election, if he told Americans that he was going to take just 4% of that money and give it directly to us. Of course John would never do that because he and his corporate masters and the lobbyists in his campaign are working hard to convince the Republican sucker-base that they should settle for a few measly dollars of a tax cut. Obviously they believe that they -- the wealthy elite who are devoid of moral or ethical responsibility -- should have all the money and all the power in America, and WE THE PEOPLE should spend our lives waiting on and catering to their bloated asses, and settle for the scraps they happen to throw our way.

A whole lot of people made a whole lot of money throughout the Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush decades. I watched while the people I worked for got rich off of my labor, and gave me food money in return for the wealth I created for them. Then they tossed me aside like an old candy bar wrapper, easily replaced by the next cog/slave in their machine. So now I want mine. I want MY FUCKING MONEY now, while Uncle Sam is still paying off.

by: AaronBBrown @ Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 19:53:33 PM CDT