Why Does Dick Cheney Hate America?

On the same day that President Bush announced plans to investigate Iran for ties to terrorism, Halliburton acknowledged that "a U.S. grand jury issued a subpoena to the company seeking information about its Cayman Islands unit's work in Iran, where it is illegal for U.S. companies to operate."

Earlier this year, CBS News reported that Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO of the company "during which time Halliburton Products and Services set up shop in Iran." In fact, Cheney was so adamant about doing business with terrorist nations like Iran, he even went abroad to publicly attack American foreign policy after meeting with top officials from a foreign government. According to the Malaysian News Agency, Cheney publicly attacked U.S. sanctions on terrorist countries after a meeting with top Malaysian government officials in Kuala Lampur. [ Malaysian News Agency, 4/20/98 - no web citation available ]

Despite economic sanctions on Iran because of its ties to terrorists, Cheney openly bragged about Halliburton's business dealings there during the 2000 campaign. Cheney argued that it was ethical for Halliburton to use "independent foreign subsidiaries" that exist in tax shelter countries like the Cayman Islands to skirt U.S. law.

During the 2000 campaign, Cheney also claimed that, as Halliburton CEO, "I had a firm policy that we wouldn't do anything in Iraq, even arrangements that were supposedly legal." Yet, earlier this year, The New Yorker reported "during Cheney's tenure at Halliburton the company did business" in Iraq as well. The Washington Post reported that despite strict economic sanctions, Halliburton did up to $73 million in business with Iraq while Cheney was heading the company.

What Do These Americans Have In Common?

Ottilie Lundgren
Kathy T. Nguyen
Joseph P. Curseen
Thomas L. Morris Jr.
Robert Stevens

Hint: they are as significant in our time - and in history - as the nearly 3000 victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

There are/were no public memorial services held for most of them (to my knowledge). There were not months of hearings and best-selling books about the hearings. Michael Moore probably isn't planning a movie about them. These folks probably won't even be a footnote in history, even though their fate lays waste to a political boast by our nation's boaster-in-chief.

These people were victims of a POST-9/11 terrorist attack on US soil. They died of anthrax poisoning in that carefully buried event. When the Prez and his cheerleaders boast that there have been no terrorist attacks in the USA since 9/11 - they are lying, simply lying.

We don't know the who, why, or how of this POST-9/11 terrorist attack on US soil. We don't even know if the perpetrator(s) were swarthy, or black, or white, or whatever. That fact highlights another failure of the Bush Administration - and of the so-called "liberal media." But now, at least YOU know: There most certainly has been a terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream

It was on this day in 1904 that the ice cream cone was first introduced at the World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. A Syrian man was selling a crisp, waffle-like pastry in a booth right next to an ice cream vendor. When the ice cream vendor ran out of dishes, the two men got the idea to put scoops of ice cream in the waffle pastry, shaped like a cone. They called it an ice cream cornucopia.

Does Bill Gates really Believe This Crap?

In a talk with Asian governments last week Bill Gates emphasised "how damaging open source software can be."

Note: "open-source" software is the opposite of Microsoft's approach to software development; basically, open source software is software which anyone can use, redistribute, modify - all without charge. Bruce Perens, Treasurer of the Open Source Initiative and leading technology author, offers a more complete description of the concept.

“If you don’t want to create jobs or intellectual property, then there is a tendency to develop open source. It is not something you do as a day job. If you want to give it away, you work on it at night,” he said.

Hmmmm. Someone should tell Sun Microsystems, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Novell, Red Hat, Mandrake, Suse, Xandros, Linspire, and dozens more for-profit companies. They're all too busy making money from open-source software to notice Bill Gates' alternate reality.

Morgan Reed, vice president of public affairs for the , Linux generated $2.5 billion in related products and services in 2003.

Clearly Mr. Gates misses the point of the Open Source Motto: "Free, as in speech, not as in beer."

Old Habits Die Hard

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger referred to state Democratic law-makers as "girlie-men." Since then, the governator has been grabbing and groping Democrats.

Grand Old Party, Revisited

On July 1,2004, I opined here about putting the Party into Grand Old Party. Well, it just keeps getting better.

What started this thread was that Illinois Republican Jack Ryan was running for US Senate. The tawdry details of his divorce surfaced (pressuring his wife to go to sex clubs to, um, perform.... in public.

Then Chicago football legend Mike Ditka consider running, then wisely reconsidered. Why get tarred with the same brush as Other (Sleazy) Illinois Republicans?

The Bushies pushed former Bush administration drugwarrior Andrea Grubb Barthwell as a candidate. If you liked Clarence Thomas's shenanigans, you'll love Ms. Barthwell.

An internal inquiry last year found a potential Republican candidate for the Senate seat from Illinois engaged in "lewd and abusive behavior" while she served as a top official in the White House drug policy office.

A March 19th, 2003, memo prepared by drug policy office staff says Andrea Grubb Barthwell made repeated comments about the sexual orientation of a staff member to staff and used a kaleidoscope to make sexually offensive gestures (come on, use your imagination).

Barthwell says the memo overstates what happened. But she says she was wrong for participating in "inappropriate banter" at a staff birthday party.

Commenter Nina Katarina provides a few details:

"Dr. Barthwell suggested that the staff member would want to cut the cake available for the gathering because the knife was 'long and hard' and he might 'enjoy handling it.'" And "she said to the staff member, 'I know you like it big and meaty'."

Those Republicans - they sure know how to have a good time.

Thanks to Holden

Why Computers (and Software) Don't Always Perform As Expected

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

Software doesn't just appear on the shelves by magic. That program shrink-wrapped inside the box along with the indecipherable manual and twelve-paragraph disclaimer notice actually came to you by way of an elaborate path through the most rigid quality control methods on the planet. Here, shared for the first time with the general public, are the inside details of the program development cycle.

1. Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free.
2. Product is tested. Twenty bugs are found.
3. Programmer fixes ten of the bugs and explains to the testing. department that the other ten aren't really bugs.
4. Testing department finds that five of the fixes didn't work and discovers fifteen new bugs.
5. See 3.
6. See 4.
7. See 5.
8. See 6.
9. See 7.
10. See 8.
11. Due to marketing pressure and extremely pre-mature product announcement based on over-optimistic programming schedule, the product is released.
12. Users find 137 new bugs.
13. Original programmer, having cashed his royalty check, is nowhere to be found.
14. Newly-assembled programming team fixes almost all of the 137 bugs, but introduces 456 new ones.
15. Original programmer sends underpaid testing department a postcard from Fiji. Entire testing department quits.
16. Company is bought in hostile takeover by competitor using profits from their latest release, which had 783 bugs.
17. New CEO is brought in by board of directors. He hires programmer to redo program from scratch.
18. Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free.
Copyright © 1996 by David Lubar

Why Does Bush Hate Retirees?

In pushing Congress to pass its controversial Medicare bill, President Bush promised that "corporations have no intention to what they call 'dump retirees'" from their existing prescription drug coverage. But according to a new report, Bush's own health officials estimate that millions will be cut off from their existing drug coverage because of the new Medicare law.

According to government documents obtained by the New York Times, the Bush Administration now estimates "that employers will reduce or eliminate prescription drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees when Medicare offers such coverage in 2006." That represents one-third of all the retirees with employer-sponsored drug coverage. Medicare's new benefits are often less comprehensive than those offered by employers.

Even while Bush was reassuring the nation about the Medicare bill, he was actually working to create an incentive for employers to cut off seniors from existing coverage. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Administration quietly added "a little-noticed provision" to the bill that allows companies to severely reduce - or almost completely terminate - their retirees' drug coverage "without losing out on the new subsidy." In other words, the President did not just break his promise to sign a bill that prevents seniors from losing their existing drug coverage. He actually acted to reward companies who cut off their retirees with a lavish new tax break. The companies that lobbied for the provision donated almost $140,000 in hard money and $2.5 million in soft money to Bush and his party since 2000.

In addition to the above, Bush low-balled the estimated cost of the program by 35%. He told Congress it would cost $300,000,000 when he knew that the actual estimate was $430,000,000. The Budget Office analyst who knew the truth was ordered by his superior to hide the correct information, according to transcripts of Congressional inquiry into the matter. The superior who ordered the coverup? He's now a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry.

Save Our Power & Privilege, Before It's Too Late

July 26-29 John Kerry and thousands of his proletariat-sympathizing cohorts will convene in Boston for the Democratic National Convention (DNS). There they will craft their platform for the future and articulate it to America's masses. High on their agenda will be:

$ repealing Bush's tax cut for the wealthiest 1% instead of extending it
$ increasing the minimum wage instead of abolishing it and legalizing child labor
$ affordable healthcare instead of letting the free market decide who's healthy
$ funding for public education instead of no-bid contracts for Halliburton
$ denying the benefits of toxic-enhancements to the air and water

It couldn't be clearer: John Kerry wants nothing more than to scrap the incredible progress our nation's billionaires have made over the last four years. He is a class-traitor who will return America to the grubby hands of the great unwashed middle-class masses.

It is our sacred duty as guardians of privilege and power to defend the Bush administration from this barbaric electoral challenge. We therefore call upon all loyal People of Wealth to defy the Democratic National Convention and converge on the streets of Boston for a Million Billionaire March on July 27. Billionaires from Beverly Hills to Grosse Pointe to Wall Street will fire champagne corks at the misguided simpletons nominating John Kerry and launch our "Get on the Limo" swing state tour. http://billionairesforbush.com/limotour.php

If you plan to attend the Million Billionaire March, please RSVP by sending your name and phone number to dnc@billionairesforbush.com