Posts
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Peace in the Middle East - Mission Accomplished
A smattering of todays headlines (12/28/08) from BBCs Mid East and South Asia News Pages provided as evidence of Bush's success at bringing peace and security to the Mid-East. (and a headline from Bloomberg to highlight that in spite of the BILLIONS we've given their military, the Pakistanis are moving their troops FROM the Afghan border where we need 'em TO the Indian border for bullshit posturing)
Massive Israeli air raids on Gaza
Israel set for prolonged Gaza op Israeli F-16 bombers hit targets across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 227 people, local medics say. (Guess who sold them the f-16s?)
Taleban 'will kill school girls'
Many killed by Baghdad car bomb
Afghan police die in suicide bomb
Bomber targets Sri Lanka capital
Clashes mark final Kashmir poll
Pakistan MPs urge India restraint
US warning on South Asia tensionThe United States has urged India and Pakistan to avoid unnecessarily raising tension amid reports of troop movements to the border.
India Steps Up Diplomatic Pressure as Pakistan Redeploys Troops (bloomberg)
Just remember, when you hear Bush talk about how he's brought peace and stability, he simply means we haven't had an attack on our soil since the last one. I'll be the first to admit that these headlines weren't directly caused by Bush, but he's the one out there pumping up his legacy. Perhaps if he wasn't spending so much time and resources trying to talk the world into believing he did a bang up job, I wouldn't have felt it necessary to spend this much time pointing out that we're not out of the woods yet...
Bush on His Record(wsj)
"therefore the two-state solution led by a Palestinian Authority that recognized Israel has now come to be."
"broader "freedom agenda" in the Middle East. That agenda, he says, is working, [...] is really the only practical way to provide long-term security"
Bush stands by his time in office(bbc)
‘Good’ progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace: Bush(tin) (12/20/08) Bush said that there has been a “good deal” of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process despite the failed effort to reach a settlement before he leaves office.
(anyone remember in January when Bush actually thought he'd have the Israelis and Palestinians singing Kum Bay Ya by the end of this year because he held a meeting for them in Maryland?)
Bush: Israeli-Palestinian peace possible within a year(th) (1/4/08)
Presidential Media Blitz to point out how good he was, because we would have never noticed it without his help...
THIS is whyipaytaxes:
"In my line of work you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kinda catapult the propaganda." - Dubya, May 24, 2005
Massive Israeli air raids on Gaza
Israel set for prolonged Gaza op Israeli F-16 bombers hit targets across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 227 people, local medics say. (Guess who sold them the f-16s?)
Taleban 'will kill school girls'
Many killed by Baghdad car bomb
Afghan police die in suicide bomb
Bomber targets Sri Lanka capital
Clashes mark final Kashmir poll
Pakistan MPs urge India restraint
US warning on South Asia tensionThe United States has urged India and Pakistan to avoid unnecessarily raising tension amid reports of troop movements to the border.
India Steps Up Diplomatic Pressure as Pakistan Redeploys Troops (bloomberg)
Just remember, when you hear Bush talk about how he's brought peace and stability, he simply means we haven't had an attack on our soil since the last one. I'll be the first to admit that these headlines weren't directly caused by Bush, but he's the one out there pumping up his legacy. Perhaps if he wasn't spending so much time and resources trying to talk the world into believing he did a bang up job, I wouldn't have felt it necessary to spend this much time pointing out that we're not out of the woods yet...
Bush on His Record(wsj)
"therefore the two-state solution led by a Palestinian Authority that recognized Israel has now come to be."
"broader "freedom agenda" in the Middle East. That agenda, he says, is working, [...] is really the only practical way to provide long-term security"
Bush stands by his time in office(bbc)
‘Good’ progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace: Bush(tin) (12/20/08) Bush said that there has been a “good deal” of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process despite the failed effort to reach a settlement before he leaves office.
(anyone remember in January when Bush actually thought he'd have the Israelis and Palestinians singing Kum Bay Ya by the end of this year because he held a meeting for them in Maryland?)
Bush: Israeli-Palestinian peace possible within a year(th) (1/4/08)
Presidential Media Blitz to point out how good he was, because we would have never noticed it without his help...
THIS is whyipaytaxes:
"In my line of work you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kinda catapult the propaganda." - Dubya, May 24, 2005
Friday, December 26, 2008
Nonprofit. For profit!
Houston woman who exposed scam still waits for repairs(hc)
Why does it seem that some of the best examples of government waste come from Texas?
This one is not even a surprise. The government comes up with a plan to help people repair their homes after hurricanes and whatnot. As in any situation where the government is giving out money to help the taxpayers, it goes through a series of shady groups and organizations who are generous enough to spend some time skimming cash off the top.
This time they did it by quoting the price of 2 roofs on one house, 500 feet of sewer main to get 50 feet, etc. etc. After getting paid for the quote, they (poorly) installed the 1 roof, the 50 feet of main, etc. etc. As it turns out, over half of the jobs quoted were quoted for the exact maximum allowable under the plan. There are several other pretty obvious indications of swindling going on.
The government and its various investigative arms still can't figure out where the missing money went, who got a little richer on taxpayers behalf. The FBI claims to still be investigating, but had no comment. The city of Houston decided that the best way to handle this situation was to not pursue the investigation at all and to just give a bunch of cash back to the Fed. They stated that it is better to invest the money into fixing the repairs of the shoddy workmanship than it is to spend money investigating the crimes. I imagine someone in the government had a specific reason for being concerned about having an investigation into the scheme. Wouldn't want that probe to lead back to him or her...
In fact, if it wasn't for the hero of the story, Marsha Farmer, the government would have kept on giving away your hard earned dollars. She's the one that had the 2 roofs quoted. Because she had the audacity to try to get the government to look into it, she still hasn't had her house repaired 8 years later.
Read the article for more details. Its pretty run of the mill scam the system stuff. You know, so long as you're a contractor with connections in the government.
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
Why does it seem that some of the best examples of government waste come from Texas?
This one is not even a surprise. The government comes up with a plan to help people repair their homes after hurricanes and whatnot. As in any situation where the government is giving out money to help the taxpayers, it goes through a series of shady groups and organizations who are generous enough to spend some time skimming cash off the top.
This time they did it by quoting the price of 2 roofs on one house, 500 feet of sewer main to get 50 feet, etc. etc. After getting paid for the quote, they (poorly) installed the 1 roof, the 50 feet of main, etc. etc. As it turns out, over half of the jobs quoted were quoted for the exact maximum allowable under the plan. There are several other pretty obvious indications of swindling going on.
The government and its various investigative arms still can't figure out where the missing money went, who got a little richer on taxpayers behalf. The FBI claims to still be investigating, but had no comment. The city of Houston decided that the best way to handle this situation was to not pursue the investigation at all and to just give a bunch of cash back to the Fed. They stated that it is better to invest the money into fixing the repairs of the shoddy workmanship than it is to spend money investigating the crimes. I imagine someone in the government had a specific reason for being concerned about having an investigation into the scheme. Wouldn't want that probe to lead back to him or her...
In fact, if it wasn't for the hero of the story, Marsha Farmer, the government would have kept on giving away your hard earned dollars. She's the one that had the 2 roofs quoted. Because she had the audacity to try to get the government to look into it, she still hasn't had her house repaired 8 years later.
Read the article for more details. Its pretty run of the mill scam the system stuff. You know, so long as you're a contractor with connections in the government.
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
Bailing out the automakers... SO worth it!
How else could we realize the dream of having a hybrid that gets 13 MILES PER GALLON? What company other than an American auto maker would be retarded enough to look into their crystal ball and see the need for a hybrid that gets gas mileage worse than most large luxury sedans?
A reader recently posted a comment on my post about whether or not Chrysler even makes a hybrid that they could have taken to DC to beg for my money. She did a bit more research and forwarded an article to me about Chrysler's answer to the fact that it is obviously time to move past gas guzzlers and into alternative fuels.
Chrysler Aspen Hybrid(hc)
The article talks about how this is actually a big step in reducing oil consumption. I don't agree, 13 miles per gallon is 13 miles per gallon. Period.
Saving the car companies so they can pursue the same miles per gallon vehicles that brought them to their knees...
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
A reader recently posted a comment on my post about whether or not Chrysler even makes a hybrid that they could have taken to DC to beg for my money. She did a bit more research and forwarded an article to me about Chrysler's answer to the fact that it is obviously time to move past gas guzzlers and into alternative fuels.
Chrysler Aspen Hybrid(hc)
The article talks about how this is actually a big step in reducing oil consumption. I don't agree, 13 miles per gallon is 13 miles per gallon. Period.
Saving the car companies so they can pursue the same miles per gallon vehicles that brought them to their knees...
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
Government sponsored Viagra treatments
Pfizer must be proud to know that Viagra is now saving soldiers lives. By the end, it'll probably save hundreds or more lives of US and other NATO forces. Yay!
'Viagra lure' for Afghan warlords(bbc)
In the story, they tell about a 60 year old war lord with 4 young wives. Initially, he was all about the 'Die you American Scum!'. After we gave him 4 viagra and 4 nights alone with his 4 wives, he greeted us as second only to Allah and worthy of detailed plans of the movement of Taliban troops.
Hey... Who among us wouldn't turn on our closest allies to become a stallion among mules? (well, a lot of us, but, then again, our closest allies aren't murderous thugs with superiority complexes..)
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
'Viagra lure' for Afghan warlords(bbc)
In the story, they tell about a 60 year old war lord with 4 young wives. Initially, he was all about the 'Die you American Scum!'. After we gave him 4 viagra and 4 nights alone with his 4 wives, he greeted us as second only to Allah and worthy of detailed plans of the movement of Taliban troops.
Hey... Who among us wouldn't turn on our closest allies to become a stallion among mules? (well, a lot of us, but, then again, our closest allies aren't murderous thugs with superiority complexes..)
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
That bitch dumped my son...
I'm going to have to expand my blogging capabilities... While I prefer to concentrate on government waste caused by the government, there is just so much going on that costs us taxpayer money that really isn't the governments fault. Case in point:
Grade School Break-up Ends in OC Stabbing(kfwb)
This loopy broad got so upset when her 12 year old son got dumped by his girlfriend that she showed up after class and stabbed the mother and 2 other relatives of the chick that dumped the dude.
Like the cops didn't have ANYthing better to do that day... (and I'm sure the judge, prosecutor, public defense, and clerks didn't have anything better to do the day this shit goes to court...)
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
Grade School Break-up Ends in OC Stabbing(kfwb)
This loopy broad got so upset when her 12 year old son got dumped by his girlfriend that she showed up after class and stabbed the mother and 2 other relatives of the chick that dumped the dude.
Like the cops didn't have ANYthing better to do that day... (and I'm sure the judge, prosecutor, public defense, and clerks didn't have anything better to do the day this shit goes to court...)
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
