Chris Herz: Follow the money (also Halliburton losing no-bid status)

[Robbien]

VHeadline.com commentarist Chris Herz writes: Politicians blather on about this and that ... but when one wishes to figure what is really going to happen look for where they put real money. This week in Washington has been a good one for that exercise.

First, the Congressional Budget Office has released the projections for the public deficit. This shows at least a $440 billion short-fall between expenditure and income.

Over the next ten years this deficit, now structural and permanent, will cause $2.3 trillion in added federal debt. This added to formidable existing levels.

Second, with the Bush regime somewhat weakened by funding and spy scandals (more on this juicy tidbit in another paragraph), the Pentagon's permanent military bureaucracy have struck back. Friday the military procurement officials announced that vice president Dick Cheney's Halliburton Corporation will lose its special no-bid status in the provisioning and supply of the forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. All future contracts must go through the competitive bidding process.

much much more:
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=22731

[OneBlueSky]

1. this is a fascinating article . . . and there's more . . .

it's interesting to read the perspective of someone from a nation like Venezuela, and what he has to say about both Republicans and Democrats . . . in looking for other commentary by the same author, I found another column also dated today . . . what's scary is that the guy's probably absolutely right . . .

More on the US Budget
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=22730

(snip)

For it is clear that this Bush administration and any likely successor are in utter unity on the need for militarism abroad and domestic controls and repression at home. This to the extent that they contemplate the destruction of the very modest, by the standards of industrial countries, social security infrastructure in the USA itself: And the conversion of its resources to military purposes and the further enrichment of our corrupt business class.

(snip)

Should the abuse of social security funding not somehow be made up by income from imperial conquest there is no answering for the domestic political consequences. Each US worker has contributed over his lifetime serious money to this retirement/health care fund. Yet the financial picture now points conclusively to the determination of our misleaders to pursue, without questioning, exactly this course.

- more . . .

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=22730