Turn, Turn, Turn: The Revolving Door Spins
Sen. Claire McCaskill sounds like she just might stick her foot in the revolving door between government and the arms industry.
How’s that old song go? “To every thing, turn, turn turn, there is a season, turn, turn, turn.” The Byrds weren’t singing about the constant march of officials through the revolving door between government and big business, but they could have been. And this is certainly the season for that turning as one administration leaves town and a new one comes in.
Last week, we posted a small item on William Lynn, Obama’s choice for the number two man at the Pentagon. Like just about every other Obama appointee, Lynn was a member of the Clinton administration. He kept the Pentagon’s books back then. Remember: this is a bureaucracy so bloated and out of control, it doesn’t just fail audits of its finances. It can’t even manage its accounts well enough to conduct an audit.
You’d think the fact that Lynn was even marginally involved in, let alone in charge of, such a boondoggle at one time would disqualify him for another stint at the Pentagon. But in the bizarro-world of Washington, with its tried and true rule of reverse-accountability, Lynn’s “experience” is actually being touted as a plus.
Oy.
After he left government, Lynn became a … wait for it! … defense industry lobbyist. How refreshing. Then he parlayed his time at the Defense Department to become a … drum roll please! … top executive at a defense contractor.
Double oy.
But hold on. There’s hope. Yesterday, Lynn actually faced some stern words on these topics from a member of the Senate Arms Services Committee. From the Wall Street Journal:
President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to be the No. 2 Pentagon official, William J. Lynn, parried questions from Sen. Claire McCaskill about his defense industry ties at a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing that was otherwise smooth sailing.
…
McCaskill said she was been concerned about a “revolving door” between the defense industry and government officials. “It’s an incestuous business that’s going on in terms of the defense contractors, and the Pentagon, and the highest levels of our military,” she said.
Lynn’s defense? Think Nuremberg:
Lynn said he had followed the rules when he left the Defense Department to take a defense industry position and would continue to follow them on returning to government.
Here’s a thought. Maybe those rules that Lynn followed so faithfully need changing. Like a wise man once said, the biggest problem isn’t what’s illegal. It’s what’s legal.
Leaving the question of “the rules” aside, bully for Senator McCaskill for speaking up about the “incestuous business” between government and the arms industry. But what would speak a hell of a lot louder is a “no” vote on the guy. Of course, McCaskill was an early and enthusiastic Obama endorser. We’re not holding our breath for her to embarrass the new boss of her party by actually matching her words with action.
On the other hand, a quick check of McCaskill’s voting record shows that she toes the party line 85% of the time. That may sound highly partisan. But it’s actually an extremely independent voting record compared to her colleagues. Also, a search of McCaskill’s political donors shows she’s received a measly $36,000 from the defense industry. She’s only been in the Senate and on the Armed Services Committee for two years. That total is sure to grow. But for now, she’s about as unbeholden and ‘mavericky’ as senators get. If anyone has a chance of going rogue and casting an opposing vote on the Democratic side, it’s her.
Maybe she’ll do it. Maybe she’ll stand up to her party and her president. Maybe she’ll back her rhetoric up with a decisive, independent deed. Maybe, just maybe, it won’t be business as usual in Washington.
Then again … From Defense News:
The panel likely will approve all four nominations [including Lynn]. There was no real opposition to the nominees from panel members.
“Turn, turn, turn.”
Here is a guy who has a lot of the answers as well—
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Bush Economy Summed by Carlyle Group’s Growth
President George W. Bush leaves office in three days. While many seek to polish his crude, violent, and heavy-handed record, I offer one measure, the Carlyle Group’s funds under management:
February 2001–$12.5 billion (MarketWatch)
January 2009–$91.5 billion (Kellogg School of Management)
The private equity underwriter (PEU) garnered an additional $79 billion. How many Americans experienced similar financial growth? Who had their assets grow over six and one-half times during the go-go Bush years? Carlyle takes an management fee and a big chunk of the profits. Whose income soared 658% under George W.’s rule? Very few, my friends. Bush loves corporations and he corporafornicated to the very end. PEU.
I am very worried and furious at the creeps on Capital Hill passing, Unconstitutional laws, taking arms from vets without Due Process, renditions of people, before adjudication of guilt or innocence. Building concentration camps to house American Citizens, the Unpatriot Act, The Military Commisiions Act and so on.Sick of it all.
When do we stop writing and meet with other leaders of dissident publications. To for this new and needed third party. ENOUGH TALK !! Lets get the ball rolling. Confab with sites,whose editors and publishers primarily agree with much or most of what we say. Alex Jones, Thomas Paine, Rense, Quayle, Global Research and others who can help us achieve our goal of a third party and promulgate it.
Enough talk. Time to do. It is late. The British are not coming. They are here and occupy top goverment positions. We must now for the, 2010,2012 and 2016 elections have our people in place and our own canidates. locally, state and federally, run for office. Enough talk. Find our allies, meet and tender a platform and canidates. To be promulgated by allied sites. 58% of those 18-30 years old, get their news from the Net. Not the MSM.
ENOUGH TALK!!! TIME TO MEET WITH ALLIED PUBLICATIONS AND FIND OUR WAY. iF WE WAIT ANY LONGER WE WILL MEET IN FEMA CONCENTRATION CAMPS.TIME TO ACT. TIME FOR A CONFAB.TALK IS CHEAP. ACTION SPEAKS VOLUMES.
Luv Ya, Peace. WILDCAT
BAD NEWS AND RED HERRINGS–OR WE ARE SUCKERS
Global warming. Big topic over the last few years. Some try to deny that Global Warming is occurring. All one has to do is look the temperature of the world over the last 50 years or talk to the native indian populations of the artic. Bays and ocean once frozen solid and deep are now gone or to thin to walk on, to go on hunts. Or take a look at the multituge of Univercities that have pictures of glaciers from the early 1900’s and now. Some glaciers in Alaska and Greenland have retreated 15 miles or disapeered altogether.
Fifty years ago at Barrow Alaska in the summer, one could walk on the ice to the North Pole. Now permanent ice is 200 miles offshore from Barrow.
Summer skiing in France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain have shrunk dramatically. In Spain and Italy glaciers are dying to the point that there is almost no summer skiing in the southern Alps any longer. Where you can summer ski in France and Switzerland, you can now count on one hand,.
In Switzerland at the Univercity of Zurich hundreds of glaciers, worldwide are monitored constantly. Over 97% have shrunk or disappeared in the last fifty years. They have te pictures by the score to prove the planet is warming.
In the Himalayas dangerious glacial melt lakes have formed from the mountain chains glaciers that are melting. If they over flow. When they overflow or the natural barriers fail. Thousands will die in the ensuing flood.
Is it CO2 that is causing the warming of the planet? Who cares?While scientists and industry fight over global warming the real danger to the people of earth is not whether CO2 is the cause of global warming. Global warming by CO2 is a red herring.
The real issue is irreversible climate change and the elephant in the room.Which is POLLUTION from corporate entities. Their factories spew out arsernic,,areosols, soot, and scores of other deadly poisons.
From China, USA, the EU and other manufacturing nations, goverments have given corporations a green light to poison our world and create slave labor and slavish child labor. In third world countries. Grossly violating international labor laws. Nothing is done. Time to check out what you buy and how it was manufactured.
BUY AMERICAN!!!! DUH!!!
What a great way for Big Business to change and control the argument.No longer as in the 60’s-90’s, do we argue about pollution and it’s devastating effects on our biosphere. We have been suckered into an arguement over CO2. Just one pollutant. So Big Business now controls the arguement. It is over CO2 levels and not the totality of poisons smoke stacked out into the earth’s biosphere, we waste valuble assets and time on. As billions more people are born into a filthy planet. Where filth is not nessasary.
Scientists, ecologists,Greenpeace, Sierra Club and such, are caught in a revolving door of wasting money, time and assets on a singular issue. Meanwhile as the CO2 argument rages other toxins are spewed out and are now unimportant and overlooked step childs.Big Business has bamboozeled the ecological movement and controlled the arguement. This way other far more toxic pollutants are ignored.Score a big win for Big Business. Smoke stack pollutants from China haze the air in California.
Clean Coal does not exist. It is another false argument, to shill propaganda on Americans and the federal legislators and EPA. People are buying into this dangerious source for of energy creation.
To get at clean coal hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Appalachia are stripped mine. Meaning all trees and animal habitat are utterly destroyed as monster front end loaders 30 feet high fill up giant dump trucks with coal. Leaving behind destroyed habitat and ruined water sources.
There was just a huge leak of a mining tailing pond in Appalachia. The pond was filled with, arsernic and scores of other terrifying poisons. The failure and contamination of this tailing pond leak was 7 times larger than the Exxon Valdez. Watersheds for miles are destroyed. So are the lakes and streams that people built 2nd homes on to fish, swim and hunt in the surrounding woods. The watersheds are dead or dying and animals are dopping dead after drinking the poisoned water. Yet the MSM speaks little of this HUGE disaster.A few hundred miles from DC.Coal is Big Business and Congres noting that and where their money comes from is silent on this disaster. HMMMM!!!
Bank Bailouts there is no such thing.Citibank,Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan-Chase hold two thrids of the toxic paper. Geithner’s bailout only serves to prolong the death of these banks. His buddies from when he was President of the New York Federal Reserve, Board of Govenors. One hell of a title.
These banks are not lendind or liquifying,M1 or M2. They are picking up other smaller distressed banks for 22 cents on the dollar. Then selling of parts of those banks toxic assets as Structured Investment Vehicles. With the Federal Goveerment guarenteeing these investment vehicles.It is the taxpayer that is really putting a surety bonds on these toxic assets.
The banks make more money at aquiring these banks and the taxpayer money pays for these boondoogles and keeps the big banks in champange and Godiva chocalates. Not to mention big salaries to men and women who blew their work.
Why are we letting these banks which should be Nationalized survive on handouts from taxpayers and enabled by Congress and the President. Obama recieved his largest corporate election contributions from Wall Street. Geithner is just taking care of his lunch and dinner budies on the backs of 99.9% of taxpayers.
It is time for the FDIC and Sheila Blair, the head of the FDIC to close these banks and reopen them as nationalized institutions. Saving taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.
So far she is the only one in the Federal Goverment that has it right. Go Sheila !!
99.9% of taxpayers are getting the shaft. We need to take to the streets, peacefully by the tens of millions and let our feet do the talking..
Big Business owns DC and controls the agenda and elected officals, who didnot even read the 1000 plus page bill that released the 2nd half of the funds for banks. What they never went to college and had to read 3 books in 2 weeks.
Mother#$%^&*@.
Eveyone it is time to take to the streets and show our discust and that we will not take anymore of Big Oil, Big Coal, Nuclear Industry and such controlling the political agendas.
How the hell is nuclear power clean when the waste is deadly for up to 200,000 years and we still do not know where to permantly bury and store the radioactive waste.
Notice how before the election gas prices went down. In a move to help John Mccain no brain.
Moreover, right now, like what happened when Jimmy Carter was President the oil companies continue to lower prices to stop the work in alternative energy field. Why are we not putting giant solar farms in the seas in the tropics. Where the sun shines better than 325 days a year and cabling that power to our industrial power generation facilities?
It is time to act and control the many agendas, that now like a laser beam corporations have focused on DC and stopped the work on the best interest of the Republic and the people.
Paul Harvey…. Good Day
PEACE,
WILDCAT