Contractors Wanted: Who Can Keep their Mouths Shut, Are Open to Travel, No Accounting Skills Needed

from today's Senate Democracy Policy Committee forum on Iraq, chaired by Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota

BARRY HALLEY, FMR. WORLDWIDE NETWORK SERVICES AND CAPE ENVIRONMENTAL EMPLOYEE: It was clear to me that once you knew the right people in Iraq, projects could be created with little emphasis on contract performance.

One example: I knew of a road project that CAPE had been awarded for $7 million. No roads were built or modified. The contracting process that existed at the time was flawed from the beginning, when the RFP was submitted, to the performance of contract oversight.

When I was working at CAPE, I also became aware, even though CAPE was being paid by the U.S. government to provide housing and food for its employees, CAPE employees were signing in and eating at a KBR facility.

This meant that CAPE was being paid by the government to feed its employees, but the employees were eating for free at KBR. KBR was billing the government for three meals a day that it served to the CAPE employees. The government was paying for twice the amount of meals provided.

When I brought up the double-billing to management at CAPE, the employee laughed at my concerns and told me he hoped this would not be noticed.

My numerous complaints to CAPE management about the operations in Iraq finally came to a head in August 2004. As I tried to leave my room on a Friday night, I encountered an armed guard outside my door, who told me to remain in my room.

I woke up on a Saturday morning and saw... armed security personnel standing in my room, pointing their weapons at me.

I was held until Monday morning, given a letter from the construction manager at CAPE ordering me to return to the U.S. immediately. I was attacked and beaten. A good friend of mine rescued me with his armed security guards.

While I was planning my return to the United States, I received death threats, picture of my family -- I received a picture of my family, which I took to be a threat against my family.

Since my return to the United States, I've suffered serious medical problems as a result of the beating. And my medicals have not been paid by the insurance company.

There are very tight connections between many people in Iraq, as it was my experience that the contractors protect each other in Iraq.

The lack of oversight that allowed waste and fraud to run rampant in Iraq -- and it's true that Iraq is referred to as the Wild West, and that's for good reason. Anything seems to go in Iraq, and most are powerless to prevent it.

Free Tibet: Made in China

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say.

No further comment needed.

Geoff Garin...

... Hillary's new chief campaign strategist keeps sending me e-mails (of course I'm still on the list) asking for my personal feedback.
What a good idea, I think, actually asking supporters, us "little people," for our feedback.
If Mark Penn had been doing this sort of supporter-outreach/acting like he gave a flying frig what supporters thought sort of thing months earlier, instead of holing up with his Microtrends and locking the door, I would have had a hell of a lot to say. Now, it's -- sniff -- too late.
But Geoff does seem like a decent guy, even likable and earnest (I think "un-smarmy" is the word I'm looking for) for a campaign strategist. Saw him on "Meet the Press" last week, and it was pretty much a lovefest between him and his old pal, Obama guy David Axelrod, in between the obligatory campaign bickering.

"Shh!"

... says the VA head of mental health, Ira Katz, in an e-mail, and then goes on to mention the 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans under VA care, and asks what he should do about it before someone else finds out... like, for instance, Senator Patty Murray, member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

How It Went Down: The Road to Guantanamo

Philippe Sands of Vanity Fair traces the case made for torture by the top echelon in Washington and their lawyers.

And the verdict is...

... We're going to Indiana, and North Carolina...

What happened to the fabled Clintonian holiday from history?

Sure, that small part of me was glad she didn't embarrass herself in my native state. I like to see the Clintons happy. But then I read about their tactics and weep.

So what if she loses the next two? Do we keep going anyway?
I think this election is a nightmare from which the Democratic Party is trying to awake.

Pennsylvania: The Calm Before the Storm

My native state has been getting a lot of attention lately, but their time in the sun is finally winding down. In 24 hours, give or take an hour or two, we'll know the verdict that will determine the next phase in this crazy election process.
Will she or won't she win big enough to stay in the race, or will she win at all?
Even though I'm no longer in her camp, I can't bring myself to actively wish her defeat, even though I want to see this thing settled, and the Dems united.
There's part of me that's still wishing her well (and no, not just my "lady parts," for those with their minds in the gutter ;)
But for the most part, I just want to see this thing over with.

Quote du Jour: Prime Minister Gordon Brown

from a news teleconference on the Global Campaign for Education Action Week

Education is a moral issue, as well as an economic issue. It is one that transcends political divides... I want to see us become the first generation in history to ensure that every child goes to school, and that we develop the potential of not just some of the world's children, but all the world's children.

Superdelegates, Howard Dean has spoken...

Don't make him yell ;)

And it's about time, really. After that ridiculous ABC debate in Philly, and the whole divisive circus this primary has become, it's time to face reality.

I still think Hillary could be a great president. I don't regret supporting her, and I mourn what may never be. But it's time to move on (no pun intended.) She has made her mark on history; she can recover from this if she bows out gracefully now; and who knows what more she may do for the country?

Quite sincerely, Ted Kennedy, whose White House quest was always ill-starred, has been one of the most influential senators in our history. There's no shame in being a senator, not to mention a pioneer and an inspiration for the next woman candidate.

But when Fox News is one of your best allies, you know something isn't right.

It just kinda needs to stop now.

In honor of National Poetry Month...

Poem Composed of Statements Made by George W. Bush in July 2002
by H.L. Hix

And my favorite former Republican senator...

... Lincoln Chafee (to whom I believe I once dedicated a sculpture of a weeping chocolate elephant -- or at least, in my mind, it was weeping) wrote a book, Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President, and was interviewed on NPR.

"Bitter" Quote du Jour: Rep. John Shimkus

I guess I'm not the only one switching camps.
Now House Republicans are doing PR damage control for Obama in their speeches on energy prices. I know this guy's from Illinois, but still...

from a news conference today:

REP. JOHN SHIMKUS (R-IL): Illinois was just declared one of the biggest states that is moving wind power. We want them all. Because more supply, with a demand, will mean lower costs. And these are true costs.

And why do we use the terminology "bitter?'

Well, you know why we use "bitter." There is bitterness out there. And it's bitterness because of these high costs. And in rural America, where people have to travel long distances to get to work -- and we don't have the buses, we don't have the light rail. We have working trucks, big trucks to haul our beef and our pork and our beans and our corn.

Best Wishes, Mr. Chairman

I felt genuinely shocked and saddened to hear that my favorite Republican (and favorite Pennsylvania senator) is sick again.
Arlen Specter's Hodgkin's disease has returned. But fortunately, it's in a very early stage, and this guy is a fighter, bless his cantankerous, crotchety heart.
Fight hard, sir. We (even us Dems -- or at least this Dem) really don't want to see Chris Matthews in your chair. Maybe Bob Casey's chair, but not yours ;)

What He Said

I guess it's time to come out and say what I've been hinting about. And internally agonizing about. I think I'll feel better. But I think the Boss said it better than I could.

In a letter addressed to friends and fans posted his Web site, Springsteen said he believes Obama is the best candidate to undo "the terrible damage done over the past eight years."

"He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next president," the letter said. "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where '...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.' "

Stephen Says: Let's Celebrate the "Democralypse"

... by voting for Barack or Hillary at DonorsChoose.org, and meanwhile help fund teacher-requested projects for schools in Pennsylvania, the current locus of the impending Democralypse. As seen on The Colbert Report.

I'm not gonna say who I "voted" for, but she (or at least some of her people) would probably rather the money went into her campaign. But hey, she kinda needed some help there...

Seriously, though, this is a great model for a charitable organization; I wish there were more like it... donors want to know that their money isn't just going for salaries or falling into a black hole.

Quote du Jour: Bob Menendez

This week's Petraeus-Crocker Iraq hearings in a nutshell:

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ): You can -- despite how many questions have been asked here, you will not give us, you know, what is the end game of success. It sounds like, "When I see it, I'll realize it, but until then, give us an open checkbook."

And that's a problem. You know, how many Iraqis need to be -- what's the troop strength that needs to finally -- here, when we say, OK, they can do it on their own ability?

What is the political dynamics in which we say, OK, that's it, you know, they can move forward?

I mean, at some point, you cannot expect the Congress of the United States, on behalf of the American people, to continue an open checkbook and say, trust us, trust us; when we see it, we'll tell you that we've finally hit success.

And that's what we hear up here. And the American people are not supportive of that.

Watch it here.

Tales from the Straight Talk Express

... where even McCain's wife was not always immune from some of the "straight talk" flying around.

Yeah, Cindy wears a lot of makeup, but sheesh. I'd hate to be on the other end of a 3 a.m. phone call with that guy.

And by that I don't mean, "He sure would make me feel secure as an American." I mean the guy has issues. Let's think about this real hard, America.

Bush and Putin: One Last Soulful Glance...

So maybe Bush didn't get what he came to Russia for (an agreement on missile defense) but at least he and Vlad shared one last walk along the beach...

A Little Steely Dan For Ya

And speaking of Clintonian blues, this old favorite of mine makes me think of Bill these days...
What he needs is some good Scotch and a saxophone.
I know he won't take a breath until the bitter* end, and not a second before she does, but until that day...

*Let's face it, whatever happens, it's going to be bitter for somebody, even if that somebody is (once again) Howard Dean.

The Hannah Jones Rodham Factor

First of all, Kathy Callahan desperately needs an editor. The flagrant abuse of various punctuation marks and overall run-on style made her post on Daily Kos very painful to read. But that's beside the point.
The point is that she raised an issue which has been on my mind ever since reading Bernstein's Hillary bio. Hillary's by-all-accounts formidable grandmother was a profound influence on her life, in small part because of the direct contact they shared, but no doubt mostly because her equally formidable (and by most accounts disagreeable) father, who had been tyrannized and intimidated by Hannah Jones Rodham, passed on her way of thinking.
Growing up with Hugh Rodham, Hannah's son, meant doing what needed to be done, and getting away with what could be gotten away with, in conspiracy with Hillary's firm but infinitely supportive mother Dorothy. Their household, in a way, reminds me of the cast of "Death of a Salesman," with Hillary's two younger brothers as Biff and Happy. Hillary is the one who's not in the script, the one who got away, and found real, genuine success. But those instincts of getting along and getting away with are still a part of her, as is a trace, no doubt, of Hannah's authoritarianism, even without the Republican trappings. All you have to do is read the latest press to see the traces of each of those instincts.
Childhood is only a part of everyone's story, but it's a big clue to how the rest will unfold, to a lesser or greater extent, depending on who one joins forces with in adulthood. Hillary joined forces with William Jefferson "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is" Clinton, God love him. And the rest has been history... theirs and ours.
As an American, I still love the Clintons, like one does a dysfunctional family, warts and all. I think Bill Clinton's presidency was one of the most successful in our history. But I'll be honest. If they don't do the right thing this time, for their party and the country, I don't think I could vote for one of them again.
That's not something I say glibly, but with a heavy heart. Whenever I hear that Fleetwood Mac song from the '93 inauguration, I feel like crying. But yesterday's gone.