For Dems only.

[YASNY]

Money well spent:

 

And the Democratic majority congress that ran for office on an end the war campaign theme will approve it.

[BigSqwert]

And the Democratic majority congress that ran for office on an end the war campaign theme will approve it.

Sadly, you are likely correct.

[YASNY]

Sadly, you are likely correct.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

[Texsox]

There is a mechanical, inevitableness to our government and I believe that is one of our strengths. We can elect the worst person possible or the greatest and the net effect is not all that much. Another way of explaining, taking the middle of the road, you ain't going to push the country to the left or right shoulder. At best, you may nudge it one way or another.

 

So those that expect great changes from either party are being silly. Small directional changes, rarely large ones.

[YASNY]

There is a mechanical, inevitableness to our government and I believe that is one of our strengths. We can elect the worst person possible or the greatest and the net effect is not all that much. Another way of explaining, taking the middle of the road, you ain't going to push the country to the left or right shoulder. At best, you may nudge it one way or another.

 

So those that expect great changes from either party are being silly. Small directional changes, rarely large ones.

 

Then what you are saying is GWB hasn't had that much of an impact.

[southsider2k5]

Money well spent:

 

So what does the Iraq War and the budget in Il, Chicago, and/or Cook County have to do with each other?

[Balta1701]

There is a mechanical, inevitableness to our government and I believe that is one of our strengths. We can elect the worst person possible or the greatest and the net effect is not all that much. Another way of explaining, taking the middle of the road, you ain't going to push the country to the left or right shoulder. At best, you may nudge it one way or another.

 

So those that expect great changes from either party are being silly. Small directional changes, rarely large ones.

Would any other Presidential Candidate from the last 8 years or so have invaded Iraq and done so in such a foolish way?

[kapkomet]

Would any other Presidential Candidate from the last 8 years or so have invaded Iraq and done so in such a foolish way?

Part A. Yes, all things being equal. Part B, no. But we've hashed that out for 4 years now, haven't we?

 

[Texsox]

Would any other Presidential Candidate from the last 8 years or so have invaded Iraq and done so in such a foolish way?

 

Yes. Many more than will admit it would have invaded Iraq. And yes, depending on who they brought into their cabinet. I don't see the President sitting around that eight sided building and knocking out strategy. So that President probably would have picked one of the stinker of choices they guys in brass came up with.

[Rex Kickass]

We have an Octagon?

[Texsox]

We have an Octagon?

 

Damn, you are correct.

I was thinking where we hold our Skull and Bones meetings

[mr_genius]

Would any other Presidential Candidate from the last 8 years or so have invaded Iraq and done so in such a foolish way?

 

 

uh, Hillary Clinton was all for it.

[BigSqwert]

uh, Hillary Clinton was all for it.

She voted for authorizing the war. Not for conducting the war in a half-assed way.

[mr_genius]

She voted for authorizing the war. Not for conducting the war in a half-assed way.

 

incorrect. she was all for the half-assed strategy, she made no objections. John McCain? Yes, he called GW out on the strategy.

 

[kapkomet]

incorrect. she was all for the half-assed strategy, she made no objections. John McCain? Yes, he called GW out on the strategy.

She made no objections until the polling data told her to say something about it, you mean.

 

[Texsox]

She made no objections until the polling data told her to say something about it, you mean.

 

I guess listening to citizens is a weakness. Good thing GOP leadership would never listen to what the public wants

[mr_genius]

I guess listening to citizens is a weakness. Good thing GOP leadership would never listen to what the public wants

 

why even have representatives? just have all legislation be based off a CNN poll

 

:usa

[NorthSideSox72]

What is worst about these tax proposals out there for Chicago, Cook and IL, is that there ARE some things in there that DO need more funding. Mass transit particularly (which the county has nothing to do with). I hope if doesn't get battered again because a bunch of other B.S. is being proposed with it.

 

[Texsox]

why even have representatives? just have all legislation be based off a CNN poll

 

 

Representative. If they are not representing the wishes of their district, then what are the representing? Special interest groups?

[Texsox]

So what does the Iraq War and the budget in Il, Chicago, and/or Cook County have to do with each other?

 

At some point isn't it all taxes? Isn't it all to run our country? When we say we are taxed to death, that usually means everything from Federal Income Tax to the tax on gasoline, property taxes, state and local income taxes, sales taxes, "sin" taxes, tolls, hotel tax, etc. The Feds mandate certain programs, but leave it up to the states to fund. Perhaps the worst aspect of how we pay taxes is how many different ones we have and how impossible it is to add up. The politicians have even severed the tie of why we pay taxes. It isn't to actually pay for what they are spending, it is to stimulate the economy.

[Cknolls]

Perhaps all that oil in Iraq will help us pay for everything. It's paying for the war, right?

 

 

Nice answer. Democrats are doing a great job running the city, county, and state. I think they need to suck some more union ****. The benefits offered these hard working people is assinine. Tax increases will not cover the expenses. I for one will not shop in Cook county if the sales tax passes. I live on the border of Cook, Will and DuPage, and will be happy to give my tax dollars to them. DuPage Co. is facing the same budget squeeze. But they realize workers must go. Shouldn't there be one pension system these gov't pukes pay into for their pensions? Why can Urkel get a pension from the City of Chicago, Cook CO. and the State of Illinois? UNIONS YES I LOVE MY HONDA....

[Balta1701]

It's like Hazing at this point. I feel like yelling "Thank you sir may I have another!"

The U.S. State Department is unable to account for most of $1.2 billion in funding that it gave to DynCorp International to train Iraqi police, a government report said Tuesday.

 

"The bottom line is that State can't account for where it went," said Glenn D. Furbish, who was involved in putting together the 20-page report for the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction (SIGIR).

 

The Department of State's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) "did not have the information needed to identify what DynCorp provided under the contract or how funds were spent," the report said.

 

As a result, the audit agency announced it has suspended its oversight of the agency's project until INL gathers the information.

 

"Their records are just not detailed," Furbish said Monday in a telephone interview. "From an audit perspective, we've identified the problem; they're working to rectify the problem."

 

Though Iraqi police have indeed been trained and equipment has been provided under the contract, invoices and supporting paperwork submitted by DynCorp "were in disarray," the report said.

 

In addition, INL "had not validated the accuracy" of invoices received prior to last October, and "INL does not know specifically what it received for most of the $1.2 billion in expenditures under its DynCorp contract for the Iraqi Police Training Program."

 

The lack of controls "created an environment vulnerable to waste and fraud," the report said.

 

Furbish, an accountant by training who spent two years in Iraq, added, "It's like so much else that happened in Baghdad ... there was just a massive quantity of work and too few people in place to do it. They just essentially did not have the staff to monitor what was going on.

[mr_genius]

Representative. If they are not representing the wishes of their district, then what are the representing? Special interest groups?

 

 

They do represent their district, else they will lose the next election. Almost no one respects these windsock politicians that change their mind 2 twice a week based on which poll just came out. But hey, if their constituents like that kind of politician they will re-elect and thats fine.

 

However, I agree, the only true way to have the will of he people is to go 100% off polls

 

"In the news today, the 'free Porsche for everyone' bill has been passed and been implemented. Only to be revoked 2 days later. And then passed again"

Edited October 23, 2007 by mr_genius

[mr_genius]

What is worst about these tax proposals out there for Chicago, Cook and IL, is that there ARE some things in there that DO need more funding. Mass transit particularly (which the county has nothing to do with). I hope if doesn't get battered again because a bunch of other B.S. is being proposed with it.

 

The problem is Cook county is extremely wasteful. These massive tax increases will continue until people have had enough and demand a more efficient local government.

[BigSqwert]

US Builds Bunker of an Embassy in Iraq

 

The United States is building a fortress in Baghdad's Green Zone to serve as its embassy. But the giant project may turn into a disaster as questions are raised about how the construction is being run -- and whether a self-contained bunker is the best approach to diplomacy.

 

The new American embassy currently rising from the dust of the Green Zone in Baghdad will break all records. It covers an area of 400,000 square meters, six times that of the United Nations complex in New York and 10 times that of the new US embassy in Beijing. It's said to be the largest embassy the US has ever built; at a cost of $592 million (€416 million), it's certainly the most expensive.

 

But now the State Department in Washington is having to face accusations of mismanagement and shoddy building practices. Due to last-minute repairs that will add an estimated $150 million to the building's price tag, the embassy, which was scheduled to open in September 2007, won't open its doors until the beginning of next year.

 

So far, criticism has been restrained. But behind closed doors, Democrats and senior Iraqi politicians are quietly wondering whether the giant project might turn into a giant disaster.

 

The State Department's inspector general has opened a probe into the sole-source contracts to determine whether their expense is justified and whether the tendering process was short-circuited in order to privilege particular companies. The First Kuwaiti General Trade and Contracting Company, which won the construction contract, is currently under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged labor abuses.

 

The bunker mentality behind the project has also been questioned. "What kind of embassy is it when everybody lives inside and it's blast-proof, and people are running around with helmets and crouching behind sandbags?" asked Edward Peck, a former American diplomat in Iraq, in remarks quoted by the Associated Press.

 

In the November issue of Vanity Fair, award-winning American journalist William Langewiesche calls the building the "Mega Bunker of Baghdad" and claims that it will serve all needs other than diplomatic ones. The message that the building conveys has nothing to do with withdrawal, Langewiesche writes.

 

Washington is doing all it can to protect its mission and to keep its people as far removed as possible from day-to-day life in Iraq. Under normal circumstances, there should be no reason -- or opportunity -- for American personnel to leave the complex. In addition to the 15 official embassy buildings, there are six apartment buildings with 619 bomb-proof, one-room apartments.

 

The new Baghdad complex will contain its own power station, a movie theater, beauty salon, tennis courts and a large pool, as well as a post office and a mobile phone network -- with an upstate New York area code.

 

And no Iraqis are involved in building the new embassy. The architectural office responsible for the project is based in Kansas, the construction company is Kuwaiti and the construction workers come from Bangladesh and Nepal.

 

Since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein, roughly 1,000 American diplomatic and military staff have been using the former dictator's palace as a makeshift embassy -- drawing unwanted comparisons between the two forms of rule.

 

LINK

Edited October 23, 2007 by BigSqwert