Our government: 289 million dollars for a 21 year old they don't even like

Military contract spurs anger in Congress
By LESLEY CLARK
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON | Military officials promised changes Tuesday after congressional outrage erupted over how a 21-year-old on a State Department “watch list” was awarded a $298 million arms deal.

An investigation found that Efraim Diveroli was granted the contract even though he, his company, AEY, and a supplier he worked with were on a watch list for suspicious international arms dealers, said Rep. Henry Waxman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The California Democrat said that the awarding of the contract revealed a “fundamentally flawed system,” noting that Defense Department officials had overlooked AEY’s “long record of failed and dubious performance.” That record included delivering damaged helmets to Iraq.

“It appears that anyone — no matter how inexperienced or unqualified — can win a lucrative federal contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” Waxman said.

Back to yours truly: I'd like to personally thank, here, the Bush Administration and the Department of Defense for both protecting our country, obviously, and spending our hard-earned money so wisely. (NOT!)

Lessons on a Monday in February

Lesson one:

Societies shouldn't have mechanisms created that take large amounts of money and transfer them to people of formerly extremely small means. Put another way, it is nearly crazy for a society to have a lottery in which middle class or lower middle class people can win millions of dollars.

It's a mistake virtually always.

It doesn't make sense.

It's a mistake looking to happen.

Wanna' have a terrific documentary? Rush to Georgia right now and start filming the family who just won 270 million dollars in the "Mega-Millions" lottery. It'll be a runaway success. This has tragedy written all over it (unless this family is extremely lucky--or smart).

Lesson number 2: World leaders should NOT hand uncompeted contracts worth large sums of money (read: millions of dollars--again) to friends, colleagues or associates. (See "Day 2" below).

I was right. The contract given to former Attorney General John Ashcroft for between 27 and 52 million dollars, according to the Associated Press, was not competed by the government--yours and mine--that gave it to him.

I wish I had been wrong.

intention

It was never--and stil isn't--my intention to make this a daily round up of what this current administration out of Washington has done and is doing to us and the country. And yet, here it is, day 3 of the blog and we have yet another example. I swear I'll quit this. Who knew it would be this easy--and relentless? (And why isn't there a long list of searching investigations into all of what seems to be massive corruption and/or incompetence? That's fodder for another day).

The current story? Another federal agency horribly mismanaged. If we can count on this administration for anything, it's ineptitude (yeah, and the corruption and graft, sure). Besides the billions we've given away, literally, in Iraq, it seems "FEMA misspent millions of dollars it received from selling used travel trailers--as allowed under the law." "FEMA used more than $13 million dollars toward fully-loaded sport utility vehicles,travel expenses and credit card accounts, according to a draft report to be released Friday.

Holy cow.

For people who hate government (and profess to dislike big government spending) these people sure like having a good time on taxpayer's money, don't they?

Can you imagine what the right-wingers and Republicans would do if this were a leftist, Democratic administration?

And why doesn't our own Congress do anything about all these abuses? Those very Democrats, anyway?

I have a friend who seems to say it best: "Democrats are stupid. Republicans are evil." (Thanks, Bryce).

Day 2

It never ends.

So now friend of the Bushies and ex-Attorney General John Ashcroft's firm got--no huge surprise--a 27 to 52 MILLION dollar contract from his palzy's government (that would be yours and mine). Let's watch and see if it was competed or just handed to him.

Any bets?


Oh, and did you see where the acting chairperson of what is jokingly known as the "Consumer Product Safety Commission" "lashed out at the toy industry for a lack of safety controls that led to a string of highly publicized recalls"? Ain't dat a hoot? Yeah, she's upset they put out toys that can at least screw up our kids. Yeah. Right. Her solution? This is rich: "She warned that the industry has an obligation to regulate itself." "IF YOU KIDS DON'T QUIET DOWN, I'M GOING TO COME UP THERE!"

Why does this administration even pretend to care?

Why isn't the press--all the media--and the American public outraged?

Oh, that's right. We have our NASCAR, beer and cigs. What the hell.


As for Castro--a McGlaughlin-like prediction: he'll be buried before we celebrate the New Year. Understand, I'm not wishing it on him, certainly. It's just that he wouldn't bow out now if he weren't extremely ill.

And a final, rather ominous financial note: before last August, our own, United States-based Citibank was the largest bank in the world. Now, due, of course, to the subprime disaster and collapses, it is not only not number one but the top three are from--guess where? China, folks.

"Hang on to your seats. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."