Letters to the Editor
MacK..
Published Letters: 477 Editor's Choice: 49
-
Stiglitz is devastating
[Read the article: Worst. President. Ever.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I may be prone to repetition -- but I think few people are aware, on an objective level of how bad Bush has been for the long term future and status of the United States.
By 2006 the US Public debt was as high as that of France and Germany -- by now it is higher. Yet Republicans light to make those two countries poster-children for fiscal incompetence! The US went into the Bush administration the 2nd wealthiest country in the world -- it has slid to 10th, and the ladder steps above are big.
In 2000 I listened to Republicans sneering at the Euro, how it would fail, how it was worth less than a dollar $1 then bought you €1.14 -- earlier this year the Wall Street Journal (who made that pillock Rich Miniter their Brussels Correspondent for a few years) was predicting that because of Italy the Euro would fall appart -- now €1 buys about $1.50. The Wall Street Journal editorial page would by the way, if they had been giving investment advice or running a company have been fired long ago!
Meanwhile a row of Republican dipshits can be found to say "oh you are exaggerating, he is the best President ever for the economy." Hell, Republicans including the current candidates calling for tax cuts is the clearest evidence I have ever seen that the war of drugs has been an abject failure -- it's the only explanation I can see.
It is absolutely astonishing that the Democrats are the totally credible party of fiscal competence and restraint, the Republicans the profligate lunatics. Imaging, the left being the party of fiscal responsibility and the right . . . Who could have imagined it!
-
What attorneys do to justify $1000 hourly rates
[Read the article: Worst. President. Ever.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]UHHH barry payne - economist, try billing in sterling and euros, yen and dollars.
Seriously, some of do get about $1000 per hour, but we are worth it. Others make $30-100 an hour, and some of them are worth a lot more.
More to the point, I have competition, a lot, and much of it at hourly rates. If you were looking at the economics, you would see I am in an efficient market.
And anyway, I pay my taxes, a lot of taxes, in more than one country -- I certainly have not benefited from the Bush tax cuts, b/c what he gives me on one marginal rate, other governments take back.
That said, no way is a 1st year associate worth $160k. A lot of lawyers are joking that some firms will announce that number, but actually hire no-one at the salary.
-
How about a little shot across her bows before the vote
[Read the article: Dianne Feinstein -- Bush's key ally in the Senate -- to support telecom amnesty]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It may be crude, it may be brutal, but:
The MilCon subcommittee has review over the business of her husbands company. How about picking up a few issues and asking her husband Mr. Blum to testify about Perini in the next few weeks. There are some tough questions that could be asked. As one article put it:
"There are some serious problems with Perini's work in Iraq. In June 2004, the Government Accountability Office reported that Perini's electrical reconstruction contract in southern Iraq suffered from mismanagement and lack of competition. In 2006, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction found that Perini was paid to construct multimillion dollar electrical substations in the desert that could not be connected to the electrical grid. And the company was billing the government for purchasing and subcontracting costs that were not justified, according to the Defense Contract Audit Agency. An October 2005 audit by the Defense Department's Inspector General criticized the execution of Perini's cost-plus military construction work in Afghanistan, saying, "The contractor had an incentive to increase costs, because higher costs resulted in higher profit."
A little whisper to DiFi, how hard do you want us to press the questions? Are you a Democrat? Now people may regard this as outrageous, and for anyone else it would be. But DiFi was removed from MilCon when it became apparent that she was using her position to help Perini and her husband win contracts. If she does not see the line when it suits her, she need to learn that this cuts both ways.
She is such a hack that I think even the possibility that Blum would be testifying soon might make her rediscover her Democratic principles.
As for any writing campaign to try to persuade her, I suggest that everyone include a copy of a letter (FYI) that they are sending to Senate and House MilCon asking tat they demonstrate bipartisanship by not just investigating Republican linked companies, but also those with Democratic links such as Perini -- that will really get her attention. The people to write to are:
Senate:
Tim Johnson, Chairman D-South Dakota
Daniel Inouye D-Hawaii
Mary Landrieu D-Louisiana
Robert Byrd D-West Virginia
Patty Murray D-Washington
Jack Reed D-Rhode Island
Ben Nelson D-Nebraska
On the House side try:
Appropriations
Armed Services
Oversight and Government Reform