Why no press for Feinstein's misdeeds?

[IRISHDODGER]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_FeinsteinDid anyone hear why California senator, Dianne Feinstein, resigned from the Military Construction Appropriations committee (MILCON)? Of course not. WHy? Because the mainstream media is mostly liberal & anti-war. Were this Dick Cheney or any other conservative, they'd be hung out to dry. Not only should Feinstein resign from MILCON she should resign her senate seat. But not one mainstream media outlet (even Fox as far as I can tell) has reported this as relevant news.

Feinstein finally resigned after 6 yrs as chairperson b/c she had a conflict of interest due to her husband Richard Blum's ownership of 2 major defense contractors, who were awarded BILLIONS of dollars for military construction projects approved by Feinstein.

The MILCON subcommittee is not only in charge of supervising military construction, it also oversees "quality of life" issues for veterans, which incl. building housing for military families & operating hospitals & clinics for wounded soldiers. Perhaps Feinstein is trying to dissociate herself from MILCON's incredible failure to provide decent medical care for wounded soldiers.

This scandal makes Scooter Libby look like a footnote. Just check out the above link or google her name w/ military contacts for other sources.

 

[Junkhead]

The gov't corruption the past decade is staggering. I have a feeling we have only scratched the surface. I have little faith in any of our leaders. Most seem to be old white guys only worried about THEIR bottom line.

 

[Shark Attack]

Sounds a bit like Halliburton, doncha think? Corruption in handing out government contracts is on both sides of the aisle. The scooter libby case shows that the Bush administration plays dirty and won't follow its own rules when it's politically advantageous (see Gonzales' latest scandal).

By the way, what's with the wikipedia link?

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Unfortunately, you're right. Regardless of party affiliation, politicians have one primary goal: reelection. To do this, they must deliver pork to their constituents, which makes sense for the voter. The disconnect comes when they realize they have to cut deals to get that pork or their resolution passed. In other words, "you scratch my back...I'll scratch yours". Comprimise is the key & everyone's for sale.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Sounds a bit like Halliburton, doncha think? Corruption in handing out government contracts is on both sides of the aisle. The scooter libby case shows that the Bush administration plays dirty and won't follow its own rules when it's politically advantageous (see Gonzales' latest scandal).

By the way, what's with the wikipedia link?

Yeah, that was my point. Cheney got raked over the coals by every news outlet in the world for his association w/ Halliburton. In fact, the media still likes to beat that dead horse. But have you heard about feinstein's wrongdoing? Nope.

For what it's worth, I gotta buddy that works for Halliburton. He admits they're not perfect, but when it comes to a lot of those contracts, there's just not a lot of other companies that can do what they do & when there is, they can rarely compete when it comes to bids. Kinda like wal mart.

Like it or not, Scotter Libby will probably be pardoned. He pales in comparison to Susan McDougal & Web Hubbell & Mark Rich.

As far as the link, I'm admittedly not very computer savvy when it comes to links. I tried to leave a wikipedia link on the subject of the thread to provide a reference. If it doesn't work, it's my bad.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

IM SO SICK ABOUT HEARING 'HALLLIBURTON IS BAD' FROM LIBERALS WHO DON'T KNOW ONE DAMN THING ABOUT THAT COMPANY!...aside from hearing it being blasted by the drive by media and hollywood types.

It is so easy to accept the fact that they are awful. LOOK AT ALL THE OTHER INTEREST GROUPS/RECEPIENTS WHO ARE GOING TO GET A BOATLOAD OF MONEY (attached as riders) from the bill supposed to be about funding for the troops!. NO payoffs and bribes there!

 

[Shark Attack]

My beef with Halliburton is that we're paying an external company to rebuild Iraqs infrastructure. The money would be much better spent investing it in LOCAL companies, which would mean that they wouldn't be economically dependent on the US for years to come, there would be more confidence in their own economy, and on and on. I don't care about it's military and defense contracts, I don't know much about it, but if it's the best service for the best price, then go for it.

If you want to talk about attaching riders to bills to support the troops, go talk to John Kerry about it - he got slammed in '04 for voting for a bill to support the troops, then later voting against a bill that supported the troops... as well as japanese ceiling fans among other things.

 

[Shark Attack]

Like it or not, Scotter Libby will probably be pardoned. He pales in comparison to Susan McDougal & Web Hubbell & Mark Rich

Scooter Libby will be pardoned because as he says, he's "tired of being the bush administration scapegoat" and is trying to strike up a deal with plaintiffs to hand over some more names.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

My beef with Halliburton is that we're paying an external company to rebuild Iraqs infrastructure. The money would be much better spent investing it in LOCAL companies, which would mean that they wouldn't be economically dependent on the US for years to come, there would be more confidence in their own economy, and on and on. I don't care about it's military and defense contracts, I don't know much about it, but if it's the best service for the best price, then go for it.

If you want to talk about attaching riders to bills to support the troops, go talk to John Kerry about it - he got slammed in '04 for voting for a bill to support the troops, then later voting against a bill that supported the troops... as well as japanese ceiling fans among other things.

Ok, I can see that gripe. Help the local economy out. I believe that Halliburton is one of the few companies in the world that could actually handle what is being tasked. We're talking about construction on a massive scale. It seems that one company being hired to oversee all that makes sense.

The fact is, that company did some overbilling. Fine them, throw someone in jail, whatever, but it seems like it gets bad press just because cheney was the old ceo. The funny thing is that halliburton got many govt contracts under clintons watch because......it's one of the few companies that can do what they do.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Scooter Libby will be pardoned because as he says, he's "tired of being the bush administration scapegoat" and is trying to strike up a deal with plaintiffs to hand over some more names.

Perhaps. People are assuming there is more to the story. Maybe, maybe not. Keep in mind, the ONLY thing that has been found out is that Libby lied to an investigator/under oath. Wow, no one's ever done that before!! If there is truly a scandal, FIND THE EVIDENCE, OR...the media should stop acting like they have already found the smoking gun...and move on!

There is no scandal, and it would shock me if more evidence comes to light. It reminds me of the ATTORNEY GENERAL SCANDAL. There is no scandal here, presidents do NOT need a reason to remove anyone. Under Clinton, who WAS being investigated, he fired everyone. This constant attack of the Bush administration gets old: fire cheney, fire rumsfeld, fire gonzalez, fire rove (he hasn't done anything). If people can't see that it's all designed to embarrass and get bush, i'm not sure what to say to those people.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

The funny thing is that halliburton got many govt contracts under clintons watch because......it's one of the few companies that can do what they do.
It's the same w/ Enron. They, like most major corp., put money in Dems coffers as well, but all you hear is how they were in bed w/ the Reps. Look at their election contributions. Most companies support both sides. That way, whoever wins, they can call in their favors to the winner.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Absolutely, corporations hedge their bets and give to BOTH parties. It's a shame though, that teachers, unions, and lawyers feel they can only give to democrats. Let's keep having more money go down a bottomless pit, more businesses going under and union members losing jobs, and trivial lawsuits driving up medical/insurance costs. Yeah!

 

[MirageSmack]

"I believe that Halliburton is one of the few companies in the world that could actually handle what is being tasked."

We'll never know because no one else will ever get a chance. I assume they were smaller, or more inexperienced at some point?

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Does any of what you said justify the hatred of a company that is simply doing its best to return a fair profit to the many investors who depend on their growth? I see it as just another attack on bush/cheney. It never ends.

 

[marv81s]

its just another bullshit want to be conspiracy.

sweat to GOD, Bush would get critisized for whiping his ass standing up rather than sitting down. Press trying to make a story out of a non-story, same as the Scooter Libby story and the 8 fired US attorney's.

Shit is really getting old after 5 years.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Good call marv, everything that happens in the admin is a 'scandal'. Hey Couric, if you wanna know why your (and others) ratings suck, find some objectivity!

 

[irishunclebill]

its just another bullshit want to be conspiracy.

sweat to GOD, Bush would get critisized for whiping his ass standing up rather than sitting down. Press trying to make a story out of a non-story, same as the Scooter Libby story and the 8 fired US attorney's.

Shit is really getting old after 5 years.

The U.S. attorney's is my current fave. U.S. attorneys are and have always been political appointees, (some would say hacks, but not I) who serve at the discretion of the President. If a President wants to fire them for political, or whatever reasons, that has always been one of his prerogatives, and this prerogative has been used by Presidents for a long time. This whole U.S. attorney's sham is just another smokescreen set up by Reid & Pelosi to try to engender more power to the Congress, and less to the Executive Branch.

I do agree that Gonzalez should be fired, but not for allegedly lying, or for any political reasons, but for a lack of stones, and mere incompetence in allowing the Congress to make an issue out of this in the first place. At the very first mention of this, he should have said exactly what happened and how it happened, and said the firings were within our right as the executive branch, and if you don't like it go F'yourself.