a quick question before heading to work

[rodbolt]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

no ya dont<br /> this started long before cheney became VP. in fact I had hoped as VP he would force halliburton to uphold the payment contracts as promised when congress allowed the merger but alas it did not happen. seems cheney went in through a backdoor and quietly got halliburton off the payment hook in the name of national security. he told congress that if halliburton had to pay all the mesothelioma suits they may be financially weakend. congress bought the story apperaently.<br /> but that still does not adress the question. maybe I should not have vented my outrage in this forum. but the question is a big one and its coming in a couple months. when the contractors come for another no bid handout what do we,as the taxpaying public, demand and how can we get our demands met?<br /> but I am not the only taxpayer that has been screwed by the backdoor policies favoring former employers.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

How many Dems in congress sided with Cheney?

 

[JustMrWill]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

Originally posted by KaGee:<br /> That was a good deal for you guys QC. I wonder if the folks in Boston feel the same way about the big dig up there?

You must be referring to the Big Leak Project...I am just sitting back and waiting for it to all flood so I can start scuba diving in it... .<br /><br />Try to make the best outta of a bad situation ya know... <br /><br />-JMW

 

[mattttt25]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

this thread is full of misconceptions and plain lies. it's very obvious that very few people have any real knowledge of govt contracting and construction. and because you remodeled your bathroom last spring does not qualify you.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

dont know how many actually voted on the payment thing. I just go by the letters my attorney sends and what I can find on the congressional record sites here and there.<br /> Mattt25<br /> I know a bit about how it works, done a bit with them here and there but nothing on this scale. worked many places that did cost plus contracting. its a loser for the taxpayer almost everytime.<br />I found a lot out the other day searching about for anything positive from our actions in the past year or so. seems not a lot of positive progress has been made. but maybe it will tuirn around. but when the same folks come for more money shouldnt they show some kind of progress for the first 20 BILLION? most of the informaton I found and gave a bit of credence to was in a report to congress by the GAO and the IG offices. <br /> are they wrong? I really hope they are cause they paint a dismal picture.

 

[12Footer]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

Originally posted by rodbolt:<br /> now that halliburton and others have almost run out of the 20.5 Billion dollars given them a year os so ago to do reconstruction in Iraq is almost gone and based on the results these contractors have shown. what do we do in the spring when they ask for another 20 Billion ??<br /> and no I am not bashing Halliburton they just happen to be the most widly known name of about 20 or so contractors.

Well you give it to them, of course. <br />We are at war. I know it's a hard concedpt to grasp,(that beiong that war kills people and breaks things,and costs money).<br />But that's the shint sammich we all have to take a bite of.<br />War is,was,and ever shall be hell.

 

[dogsdad]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

Hawkeye Pierce said "Better a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." Good advice, I say...but then again, drinking and posting is a lot like drinking and driving. Bad things happen.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

ok so by being at war does that mean being at war with the entire Iraqi populace? whom exactly are we at war with?<br /><br /> the iraqi infasrtucture was not much in 03, its less now after spending over 20 billion in taxdollars on reconstruction. before 03 iraqi's had had no concept of suicide bombs and such. we allowed that by a failure to put enough troops in country to secure the country. but our promise and our goal,at least the last ones, were to liberate and rebuild. if we dont and dont soon it will continue to degenerate. <br />all the elections in the world wont work if they cannot keep the water and the lights on. it will degenerate into a large ghetto with the haves pitted in a death struggle with the have nots. its mostly why you dont see many wealthy educated suicide bombers.<br /> the war as currently run was ill planned and poorly executed. but we are there and should not leave until we get the power and the water back on. if not we will be there again and again and again. so do we continue paying for the same lame excuses or do we try to get another set of contractors with a more strongly written contract ?<br /> seems the wealthy islamics are the ones doing the whooping and hollering and calling for suicide bombers. kinda like in our country, the greatest war hawks here mostly spent no time in the military and have no concept of what it actually entails.<br /> the one simple fact,been a fact for a few hundred centuries, of warfare is to conquer you MUST occupy. you can use all the high tech whiz bang weapons you wish but without people bleeding on the ground and occuping you CANNOT conquer. has not happened in history yet.<br /> everyone says we are at war but no one says with whom.<br /> saying a war on terror is like a war on drugs,poverty or ghosts. if ya dont belive it try shadow boxing and see who wins.<br /> in 91 the persian gulf war was over so quick that there was no planning for the power vacum the removal of saddam would create. Bush senior and his advisors realized it and stopped at the border. seems the planning phase on the debacle never got much further than just the removal of saddam, which was a foregone conclusion at the start. taking saddam out was a given, we had the power to do it. we had no real plans for what happened next even though its been known and studied for 10 years or more. but it still goes back to who pays and how and if a contractor cannot produce do we pay more or fire them and try again?

 

[mattttt25]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

i'm confused how some people are evaluating the contractors in iraq and then using that to determine if they should receive more money... there are a lot of pieces missing in this argument.<br /><br />contractors are paid to provide a service. we didn't say, "go in and fix iraq". we let contracts to perform a certain task or service, and while i don't have first hand knowledge of every project and how they went, i can safely say we didn't pay a contractor if he didn't provide the goods. build that building, pay them x dollars. it's that simple.<br /><br />so.... if we don't like what has happened in iraq, blame your govt for choosing bad projects. but i don't think anyone here has even a small percentage of the knowledge required to make an educated evaluation. i have several friends in iraq and afghanistan right now, and they report decent things. they just initiated afghanistan's first 911 type system that covers most of the country. this something they would have never accomplished on their own. another buddy who just entered iraq 30 days ago reports he is a project officer running approx 30 small jobs in various parts of the country. he said things are going up quick, but the recent muslim holiday was tough to handle, when everyone left one day and didn't return to work for a week.<br /><br />very few contractors are equipped or capable of working in iraq and afghanistan. we pay a premium for them to perform their services, which we should. but trust me when i say it's not an open checkbook. govt contracting is about the most painful way to make money for a contractor, most refuse to do work for the federal govt because of this.

 

[technostingray]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

Don't look now Rod, but I think you're late for work!

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

I'd hate to see a question where he had some time on his hands!

 

[DJ]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

rodbolt,<br /><br />I'm late, because you're already at work.<br /><br />Just take comfort in knowing that we NASTY REPUBLICANS are TARGETING YOU--PERSONALLY.<br /><br />WE KNOW where you work on those fossil fueled engines. You heathen you. That's what your "party" thinks of you. After you vote, for them.<br /><br />GEEZ, going through life with that hanging over your head must be a biotch.<br /><br />I've been WRONG before. The difference between you and me is that you'll NEVER admit it. I will.

 

[technostingray]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

Jeeez, what a grouch! BTW, I am a Republican living in a Republican County. Now you not only need to check your reasoning, but your sources as well.

 

[mrbscott19]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

Wrong about what? He was asking a question. Your post has absolutely zip to do with the discussion. Tactics like that are what got your party into power in the first place and it's also what is bringing them down.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

I did vote for bush the first time. the second time i penciled in Mickey Mouse as he has a plan.<br /> but in looking at some of the contracts, the short versions not the minutia, some of the electrical plants that were supposed to be online are not even in the country, the water system that was supposed to be repaired still pumps water mixed with sand, the contractor is blaming the maint personel but the contractor trained them, the total power output average is about what it was prewar after almost 9 Billion spent on the grid. 3 stations are complete but not hooked to the grid. and the excuse to why the oil fields and refinerys are down is due to lack of electrical power.<br /> all I was doing was reading the GAO report to congress and the inspector generals report to congress. just made me wonder if the planning and letting of no bid contracts with that much money involved was wise. halliburton and brown and root have a 30 year or so history of completeing jobs years late and 4 times over budget. I worked and lived near the commanche peak power plant and got to watch daily doses of it.

 

[technostingray]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

Originally posted by mrbscott19:<br /> Wrong about what? He was asking a question. Your post has absolutely zip to do with the discussion. Tactics like that are what got your party into power in the first place and it's also what is bringing them down.

My party? Are you refering to the Republican Party. My post was a little attempt at humor. Which party is yours? I think maybe you need to check your reasoning as well. Being stupid is not a pre-requisite for being an American.

 

[dogsdad]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

If some over-the-counter remedies will, when taken orally, stop rectal spasms, I wonder if the same remedies taken rectally will stop oral spasms.<br /><br />Hmmm...

 

[rodbolt]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

hahahah dont know but I am sure someone has tried it, sued about it and won.<br /> techno<br /> I got the joke, I usually catch sarchastic jokes when posted .<br /> and the rehubs are pushing me to burn MORE fossil fuels, its the dumbocrats that are trying to make me use 3 star emissions . doesnt matter to me, they break I fix them. as I have no party affiliations the party line does not affect me. I try to take the good from both and combine them. its getting to be less and less choice though. <br /> but ya gotta admit its been a sheet stack of cash spent and the major points are still not operating.

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

how about this hahahaha - since when does the government dole out 20 billion to a section of this country to support those who chose to live in a place below sealevel? - uh right now.<br /><br />so is 20 billion an offer of charity? is it something we set aside to help those in need? ask that question to your senators. then ask them who is more important. i imagine americans are, right? ok. then ask them why do we even help people outside our country. then ask them how often is that $20B needed, and where? <br />and lastly, find out how certain circumstances lead up to a handout, and why.<br /><br />i'd say if you have someone who knows how to do a certain job is available, or if there is only a few people who have the experience, then that will be a great deciding point in who you hire to do a job... and anyone here in america knows, you pay for what you get. maybe we should've spent more time putting the rebuild of iraq up on the auction channels on local tv. heck, surely someone could've done a cheaper job, right?

 

[rodbolt]

Re: a quick question before heading to work

EBB<br /> I agree that there are only a few companies in the WORLD that can pull off a major reconstruction after they get bombed out. however halliburton with a subsidiary of B&R usually isnt one of them.<br /> they do have a large track history in the states of always coming in way late and over budget. its just a fact. if you think new orleans will be rebuilt with 20 billion I think you will be on the low side.<br /> and no it was not charity it was something that was promised the iraqi people and if we fail to deliver they will continue the downward spiral futher destabilising the reagion.<br /> now that the US has opened the box for pre-emptive strikes to prevent "national" security issues due to unstable regimes, pull out a world map. look how far away both in miles and logistics, our two most distrusted friendly nations are. my bet is they would not hesitate to attempt a hostile takeover if given a chance.<br /> so its not an option to get the infastrutue up and the lights on. its a mandate and was mandate in o3. in order to complete our 8 or so planned permanant military bases in Iraq we must have local civilian support. otherwise not only will the bases be incredibly costly but personel will be subgect to attacks and harrasing moves that we taught the taliban and al-queda in the 80's. they learned well.so far the bases are listed as "temporay" we all know what temporary means in govt speak I was housed for some time in the 90's in a govt temporary facility built during WWII.