Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Alan Colmes and Self-Loathing [Cartoon by Tom Tomorrow] If Andrew Sullivan came out swinging today like James Carville ... There can be no more profound attack on a minority in the United States -- or on the promise of freedom that America represents. That very tactic is so shocking in its prejudice, so clear in its intent, so extreme in its implications that it leaves people of good will little lee-way. This president has now made the Republican party an emblem of exclusion and division and intolerance. Gay people will now regard it as their enemy for generations - and rightly so. ... the Log Cabin Republicans went out like Alan Colmes: Log Cabin understands that sharp disagreements exist about how to recognize gay and lesbian families. This is a new and complex issue for all Americans. We encourage a healthy national dialogue. Log Cabin Republicans have been loyal members of the GOP. We have been on the front lines with this President through good days and bad days. Log Cabin members believe so strongly in conservative principles that we have stood with this party even when we disagreed on some issues. Our principles have been attacked by the radical right and the far left, but we have stuck with our party. We[base ']re not going to leave this party now, but we will not remain silent while some in the GOP try to use our Constitution as a tool for discrimination. "Log Cabin's mission is bigger than any one person, one election or one issue. We will not abandon our conservative principles, even as others toss their principles aside for short-term political gain," concluded [Log Cabin Executive Director] Guerriero. No matter what happens in the coming months, Log Cabin will stay in the GOP and fight -- fight for fairness, liberty and equality ... Imagine Martin Luther King, Jr. saying ... "We understand that sharp disagreements exist about how to recognize black families. This is a new and complex issue for all Americans. I encourage a healthy national dialogue." "I have stood by Governor George Wallace, even when we disagreed on some issues." "I will stay in the Council of Concerned Citizens and fight -- fight for fairness, liberty and equality." 11:43:36 PM    comment [] Outsourcing the Military [Cartoon by Jack Ohman of the Portland Oregonian.] "It is clear that everywhere there is oil there is Brown and Root [Halliburton]. But increasingly, everywhere there is war or insurrection there is Brown and Root also. From Bosnia and Kosovo, to Chechnya, to Rwanda, to Burma, to Pakistan, to Laos, to Vietnam, to Indonesia, to Iran to Libya to Mexico to Colombia, Brown and Root's traditional operations have expanded from heavy construction to include provision of logistical support for the U.S. military." -- Michael C. Ruppert, From the Wilderness, 2000 [quoted by Kevin Phillips, American Dynasty, 149] Question: Among America's coalition partners, which has the largest number of people in the area? Answer: if you guessed Britain, you're wrong. Their total of 11,000 troops lags behind Kellogg, Brown and Root's 15,000 employees. Security and logistical and operational support work that was once performed by the US military itself is now being allocated to private companies to an extent unprecedented in the history of American military interventions. A recent Washington Post article goes into the details. First, soldiers are choosing to work for these companies instead of re-enlisting. The companies offer better pay, better living conditions and other perks. In fact, there is a bidding war for the services of the best soldiers for security jobs, driving up salaries to as much as $2,000 a day for experienced commandos. Second, the high number of private security teams working in Iraq has caused logistical problems. The CPA is actually seeking to hire a coordinator for the security teams -- to ensure that they don't end up committing "fratricide." Third, the added cost of security, which contractors have to provide for themselves, has driven up the bills for reconstruction projects. The major projects are "cost plus" based, meaning that the tab for added security is paid by the CPA or the government. As a consequence, there is little incentive to reduce costs on security, the arrangements for which are amounting to 10% of the total for construction projects. Yes, what we have here is protection money paid by contractors to "security businesses," because the "police" in Iraq can't ensure their safety. Postscript: Private corporations with their own armies ... Dick foresaw this. 12:04:02 AM    comment []

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