Military Base Closure = Payback Pork And Payola - The Three Way Screw

[althecat]

Was unfortunate enough to be watching Fox news last night (early your morning) as the base closures were announced.

At one point they crossed to Bush making a speech to a Realtors conference. (They did so in order to close down a segment on Tom DeLay in which they were telling lies and didn't like the cut of the democratic gib they were getting in response.)

In the grab Bush made some ridiculous remarks about how the War on Terror was an extension of the 1st and 2nd World Wars. They were hoping he would make a remark about the base closures... he didn't of course.

But in my mind the whole exercise was rather revealing.

In an ideal world the bases they would be choosing to close would be being chosen on the basis that they are 1) surplus to military requirements 2) financially and economically sound decisions.

Unfortunately as some of us know the idea of eonomically sound decision making hasn't penetrated the pentagon for several decades. These are the same people who haven't been able to post audited financial accounts for nearly a decade remember and who have lost track of $3.3 Trillion (Yes that's 3,300,000,000,000 or $1320 per naturalised American - I can post references if necessary to back this up).

In fact as we know this is all about payola, pork and payback.

Payback to the states that have the temerity to elect Democrats - Note New Hampshire, CT and Maine all have major base closures.

Pork to the bomb and plane making companies whose shareholders contribute so handsomely to Republican coffers and who will receive the benefit of the $60 billion savings.

&

Payola to the * friends in the real estate industry who will doubtless be the beneficiary of crooked property deals involving surplus military land.

(There is also an element of payola to the Republican congress zombies and their electors in areas whose bases have saved from the chop.)

In regard to the real-estate payola part of this equation the fact that Bush was talking to a Realtors Conference this morning was not in my view a coincidence.

This was * crowing about the cleverness of his corruption. And a signal to those elements in the commercial world about what his intentions will be in terms of the disposal of surplus military real estate.

Now I have no doubt that it is probably sensible for the US Military to be closing some installations. They have enough of them... but I have no truck with money that is currently being used to employ soldiers and train personnel being redirected by Rumsfeld and his cronies for the benefit of *'s mates. This is like being screwed three ways simultaneously.

Am I out of line here? Missing something?

al

[althecat]

1. ..... don't die yet....

[althecat]

2. Must be missing something.. this one just won't float...

Should have used the word EXERCISE in the headline...

[Horse with no Name]

3. In response to a naysayer disputing the evidence of this

who said that Maryland (blue) disproves this theory since they were getting the largest increase. This was my response as posted on that thread:

"Federal contracts in Maryland aerospace and defense related industries are up to $9 billion annually. With two of the world’s largest defense contractors—Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman—key companies also include AAI Corporation, Alcore, British Aerospace, Litton, Middle River Aircraft Systems, Orbital Sciences, Racal Avionics, Raytheon, and SAIC. In addition, Maryland boasts some of the nation’s most sophisticated air and space facilities, including the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Patuxent Naval Air Warfare Center, U.S. Satellite Applications Laboratory, U.S. Satellite Research Laboratory, and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory."

http://www.choosemaryland.org/techcareers/WORK/aerospac...

Military contracts 2004: $11.9 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $1.68 million (defense related)
$1.77 million (total)


World: Making Money on Terrorism
by William Hartung, Nation
February 23, 2004
We all know that Halliburton is raking in billions from the Bush Administration's occupation and rebuilding of Iraq. But in the long run, the biggest beneficiaries of the Administration's "war on terror" may be the "destroyers," not the rebuilders. The nation's "Big Three" weapons makers--Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman--are cashing in on the Bush policies of regime change abroad and surveillance at home.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=11

[althecat]

4. HWNN do you have a link to that thread?

I guess everybody is having dinner watching the box... tis 4pm over here... things seem to have quietened down considerably on the board. Was beginning to wonder if people were so depressed about the Military Base closures that they couldn't be bothered talking about them.

[Horse with no Name]

5. Sorry was reading

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3653901

[Daphne08]

6. "These are the same people who haven't been able to post

audited financial accounts for nearly a decade remember and who have lost track of $3.3 Trillion (Yes that's 3,300,000,000,000 or $1320 per naturalised American - I can post references if necessary to back this up)."

Hi, althecat. If you do have links to this, I would really appreciate you posting them or PM'ing me with them.

I know that I've read this a few times before, and I've told my husband about it (but I don't have proof) and I don't think he believes me. :)

[althecat]

8. My pleasure...

http://www.whereisthemoney.org/

There is a petition here and lots of links to the original reports. The investigative reports that revealed this were written by Kelly O'Meara who I have had the great pleasure of meeting personally. They were published in the investigative magazine attached to the Washington Times... yes.. the Mooney Times.

al

[Daphne08]

11. Thanks!

[BiggJawn]

7. I was wondering this tonight...

How many of the closing bases are in areas with Democrats in Congress?
Yeah, wouldn't that just be THE campaign ploy next year?
"Why vote for HIM? HE couldn't even fight to save your jobs at The Base..."

And a 49 BILLION dollar savings over 20 YEARS. I bet the pentagon spends that much on Ty-Dee-Bowl.

I gotta better idea. I can tell you how to save 49 Gigabux in SIX MONTHS...

Get the fuck out of the Middle East...

[althecat]

9. :) damn right...

JazzJunkySue and others have been pumping the numbers over here..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3653901

It would be damnedly helpful to have this info compiled into one easy to read post.

[OneBlueSky]

10. two points . . .

1. the amount of money supposedly saved by these base closing -- times ten -- could be saved in very short order by ending the war in Iraq . . . and

2. New England got royally screwed . . .

[markus]

12. North Dakota is one, and a perfect example

The 119th Fighter Wing of the ANG, aka The Happy Hooligans, are the top ranked ANG fighter wing in the U.S., routinely winning AF competitions and awards.

While they are not being moved, they are having their aircraft taken away.

While they had some of the oldest F-16s still in service, this makes no sense, except to punish ND for continuing to elect a Democratic delegation.

And, while the local officials have found a very nice dress to complement the pig's lipstick, the fact that they are moving over 90% of the personnel out of Grand Forks AFB pretty much amounts to closing it from an economic point of view.

I expect to hear a lot next year about how we're suffering because we don't have a Senator and Congressman with the pResident's ear.