While We Are Firing Teachers

[Nbadan]

Let's reminisce on how the Bush Administration and the Pentagon squandered billions of dollars on contractors that defrauded the govt...

Sen. Sanders: Pentagon paid billions to fraudsters
By Agence France-Presse
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 -- 5:36 pm


WASHINGTON — The US military paid $285 billion over three years to hundreds of military contractors that defrauded the Pentagon over the same stretch of time, a US senator charged Wednesday.

Brandishing a 45-page January 2011 US Department of Defense report on the issue, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders called for "far more vigorous enforcement" by the US military "to protect taxpayers from massive fraud."

"The sad truth is that virtually all of the major defense contractors in this country for years have been engaged in systemic fraudulent behavior, while receiving hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money," he charged.

Sanders underlined that the report, which his office made public, showed that from 2007-2009 the Pentagon spent $270 billion on 91 contractors involved in fraud cases that yielded judgments of more than $1 million.

Link (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/sanders-pentagon-billions-fraudsters)

While we wither away in Afghanistan -- the graveyard of modern empires -- we continue ignoring history and common sense. Throwing good money after bad while we talk of cutting back the benefits of law-abiding and tax-paying citizens at-home...allowing our nation's infrastructure to rot hell....while we fight for pennies to save ourselves, the dogs of war, insecurity and fear make money hand over fist....that is what we are....

American exceptionalism indeed....

[Wild Cobra]

Not nearly as bad as the trillions in bailouts...

[clambake]

so....you are pissed about bush's bailouts too?

[Cry Havoc]

Not nearly as bad as the trillions in bailouts...

What about the hundreds of trillions in credit default swaps created during the Bush administration?

[George Gervin's Afro]

What about the hundreds of trillions in credit default swaps created during the Bush administration?

Can we talk about Ronald Reagan?

[boutons_deux]

TARP is almost completely repaid.

Will the MIC repay any of their fraud money? will they even be prosecuted?

[Wild Cobra]

so....you are pissed about bush's bailouts too?
I always was. I couldn't believe so many republicans went along with it, and that it was signed into law. At least I found some relief that there was a provision that all money paid back could not be spent by congress, but had to pay down the deficit. I'll bet it never would have passed without that provision.

[ChumpDumper]

Not nearly as bad as the trillions in bailouts...Trillions?

Net?

Link.

[Blake]

Trillions?

Net?

Link.




I have no time to waste on google searching for such an obviously easy to find well-known fact.

[baseline bum]

I have no time to waste on google searching for such an obviously easy to find well-known fact. I have a DVD box set of Charles in Charge to watch here at work.

fify

[ChumpDumper]

:lmao

[Blake]

fify

:rollin

[Stringer_Bell]

fify

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Charles in Charge.

Public schools suck, they should fire all the teachers and send the kids to private school.

[coyotes_geek]

Bloomberg: Bailout Total = $11.6 trillion (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZchK__XUF84)

[Yonivore]

Bloomberg: Bailout Total = $11.6 trillion (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZchK__XUF84)
Of which, I would remind everyone, only about $500 billion (as bad as that is) is the result of any legislation signed into law by President Bush. So, $11.1 trillion is on Obama and the Democrats in Congress.

A bit lopsided.

[coyotes_geek]

Of which, I would remind everyone, only about $500 billion (as bad as that is) is the result of any legislation signed into law by President Bush. So, $11.1 trillion is on Obama and the Democrats in Congress.

A bit lopsided.

The $700B TARP bill, signed by Bush, says hello...............

[Yonivore]

The $700B TARP bill, signed by Bush, says hello...............
OMG! We're left with $10.9 Trillion on Obama and the Democrats. But, of course, President candidate and then-Senator Obama voted for the bill, as well.

[George Gervin's Afro]

OMG! We're left with $10.9 Trillion on Obama and the Democrats. But, of course, President candidate and then-Senator Obama voted for the bill, as well.

so are wrong again...

[Yonivore]

so are wrong again...
It was within the MOE.

[coyotes_geek]

OMG! We're left with $10.9 Trillion on Obama and the Democrats.

Not quite. Although I'm betting as long as 50.1% of it can be blamed on Obama you're happy.


But, of course, President candidate and then-Senator Obama voted for the bill, as well.

Which proves that Bush & Obama have acted in unison throughout this whole ordeal.

[Yonivore]

Not quite. Although I'm betting as long as 50.1% of it can be blamed on Obama you're happy.

Which proves that Bush & Obama have acted in unison throughout this whole ordeal.
Bush's biggest mistake.

[coyotes_geek]

Bush's biggest mistake.

Well, it's up there..............

[Yonivore]

Well, it's up there..............
With reaching across the aisle and ever trusting Teddy Kennedy.

[coyotes_geek]

I think that whole Iraq/WMD thingy might be on one or two people's list.............

[Yonivore]

I think that whole Iraq/WMD thingy might be on one or two people's list.............
Maybe one or two, not many more.

[ChumpDumper]

Bloomberg: Bailout Total = $11.6 trillion (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZchK__XUF84)Nice edit.

[ChumpDumper]

And the Self-Reliant Ruggedly Individual Independent Republican Republic of Texas eagerly swallowed its federal bailout money without a peep from any board "conservative" here, so you don't get to bitch about it without being a massive hypocrite.

[Nbadan]

A new jobs report supports what globalization critics have been saying all along.....the multinational corporations don't need you anymore....


At a time when corporate profits are through the roof, the Dow is flirting with 12,000, Wall Street paychecks are fat again, and big corporations are sitting on more than $1 trillion in cash, you’d expect jobs be coming back. But you’d be wrong.

The U.S. economy added just 36,000 jobs in January, according to today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Remember, 125,000 are needed just to keep up with the increase in population of Americans wanting and needing work. And 300,000 a month are needed continuously for five years if we’re to get back to anything like the employment we had before the Great Recession.

In other words, today’s employment report should be sending alarm bells all over official Washington. This economy is still terribly sick. (Technical note: The official rate of unemployment fell to 9 percent from 9.4 percent, but that’s because more workers have left the labor market, too discouraged to continue looking for work. The official rate reflects how many people are actively looking for work.)

We have two economies. The first is in recovery. The second is in a continuous depression.

Common Dreams (https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/04-4)

[Nbadan]

Flashback: GOP claimed credit for today's jobs report
by Jed Lewison

Remember this? (http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0111/19_days_in_GOP_leadership_takes_credit_for_job_gro wth.html?showall)

19 days in, GOP leadership takes credit for job growth

It took less than three weeks for the new Republican Congressional leadership to claim credit for an apparent economic upturn.

Well, in light of today's jobs report, Republicans are doing their best to make you forget. (http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/142115-gop-drop-in-unemployment-rate-not-enough)


The drop in the unemployment rate last month wasn't enough, Republicans said Friday in reaction to the latest jobless numbers.

The GOP used the report showing that the unemployment rate had dropped to nine percent as a pretext for calling for new spending cuts, and attack President Obama's stimulus policies.

"Instead of more ‘stimulus’ spending and more debt, as the president proposed in his State of the Union address, we need less spending, more freedom, and more certainty for those in America who create jobs," House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement.

That's a load of crap. Not only have Republicans have done absolutely nothing to boost job creation since taking control of Congress, the only economic ideas they've proposed are making things worse.

[boutons_deux]

"GOP leadership takes credit for job growth"

+36K jobs?

while national workforce participation rate at lowest in decades?

:lol

that's as hilariious as the Reugs' draconian federal budget spending cuts of .... 00000.8% :lol

And those speed demons did it all in just 19 days? :lol