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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 Washingtons budget hawks want to decimate the federal workforce to shrink the deficit. It will have the opposite effect.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
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March 28, 2009
By: Not To Blame From CNN:
Let's see: inspections disclose "some of the worst electrical work I've ever seen", work that puts people's lives at risk, and has already killed 18 people. The majority of this work was done by KBR. And yet KBR is "not to blame". That's totally plausible! For instance, it could be that after KBR's crack electricians got done wiring the buildings, and after their quality control teams checked and double-checked every last circuit to make sure it was done right, bands of evil gnomes went burrowing around behind the wallboards and switched all the wires around. I'll bet all you KBR bashers didn't think of that. But it could have happened! Blame the gnomes! Seriously: can you imagine what it would be like to be the parents or spouse or child of someone serving in Iraq, hoping against hope that your loved one would make it home, learning that she had died, and then finding out that it wasn't an IED or a sniper that killed her; it was faulty wiring installed by an American company that hadn't bothered to do its job right? On the other hand, can you imagine being the kind of person who would decide that despite your company's having gotten billions of dollars in contracts, despite its repeatedly overcharging the government, despite "an impossibly high cost overrun of $436,019,574 on one job, charges of $114,308 for an oil spill cleanup that failed to remove any oil and another set of tasks in which the overruns were 36.9 percent of all costs", you were not going to make sure your company did a good enough job to keep our soldiers from getting killed? How, exactly, would you live with yourself? *** Oops, I forgot to add this: I've tried to find out whether it has been cancelled since then, but if it has, I can't find word of it. —Hilzoy 6:48 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (25)
Comments
But the good news is that by AIG standards, they really deserve some large bonuses. (/snark) And the outrage from CNN and the host of higly paid journalists is where? Seriously??? I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation You outrage is quite appropriately expressed. Posted by: Dr Lemming on March 28, 2009 at 7:08 PM | PERMALINKHow, exactly, would you live with yourself? The Friends of the Bush Crime Syndicate sleep very well, thank you. Do you really think they care what we think of them? Does a rancher worry that his cattle just don't seem to love him? No need to ask, h. Just look at Cheney and Rumsfeld. Posted by: Keith G on March 28, 2009 at 7:14 PM | PERMALINKHow is this distinguishable from sabotage? And what is the penalty for sabotage? Posted by: Jay on March 28, 2009 at 7:29 PM | PERMALINKjesuschristalmighty, this takes the concept of 'friendly fire' to entirely new depths. Don't worry, the only thing to cause KKR to lose sleep would be a subpoena. Posted by: Ken on March 28, 2009 at 7:41 PM | PERMALINKKBR is a spin off from Halliburton. --> Cheney was the former CEO of Halliburton. --> Cronyism is no coincidence. --> Bush Administration response: "Stuff happens" and/or "So what?" Hopefully some criminal investigations will be performed where some of those billions will be recouped from KBR et al. Posted by: bruno on March 28, 2009 at 7:52 PM | PERMALINKisn't this criminal negligence? When a drunk driver (KBR/Halliburton are drunk on power) injures or kills another person, h/she is charged with criminal negligence and may be charged with murder, depending on the circumstances. The fact that this has been known for years and is still not resolved is the crime. Where is Ed Henry and Chuck Todd of the WHPC on this one? Why are they not asking questions of this President, or the former VP? curious!! peace, it's worth repeating: god damn dick cheney's shit-filled soul to hell. Posted by: neill on March 28, 2009 at 8:47 PM | PERMALINKHilzoy, I have it on the best of authority that the gnomes are going to sue you to hell and back for besmirching their good reputation. Everyone knows that it was the gremlins that did the dirty deed---and that all gremlins are KBR employees. Posted by: Steve W. on March 28, 2009 at 9:04 PM | PERMALINKThe late Colonel David Hackworth told this story. He was a green Army private, who had been assigned to an outfit in Italy right after WW2. Dwight Eisenhower came to inspect the troops. He addressed Hackworth's unit, and finished by asking if there were any beefs. Hackworth piped up, and said, yeah, the chow stinks. That it was damn near inedible. Ike turned on Hackworth's C.O., and demanded an explanation. Turned out, the outfit had been eating years old, surplus K Rations. Eisenhower put a stop to it, and food rations immediately improved. I wonder what Ike would have said about his soldiers being electrocuted on account of greed and negligence. Posted by: JL on March 28, 2009 at 9:36 PM | PERMALINKAre there any electricians here? How criminally incompetent does your work have to be if people can get electrocuted in their showers? Posted by: Mark S. on March 28, 2009 at 9:54 PM | PERMALINKThat's just shocking... But why am I not surprised? This is war profiteering, pure and simple and there must be some kind of law against it. Posted by: Alison S on March 28, 2009 at 9:59 PM | PERMALINKWhat do you expect from the Gang 'O Pirates that worship Joe "not" The Plumber? I wouldn't hire that guy to change a washer on my kitchen sink. Posted by: CParis on March 28, 2009 at 11:27 PM | PERMALINKReported on Rachel Maddow's TV show (either this past Thurs. or Fri.), a recent contract to repair the faulty wiring ws awarded to (wait for it) --- KBR. Stories about showers in KBR-wired buildings having a charge of 135 volts or higher in the water (and military, while showering, being injured or killed) have been around for some time now. Posted by: NotMax on March 29, 2009 at 12:34 AM | PERMALINKHave torch and pitchfork, will travel. Posted by: low-tech cyclist on March 29, 2009 at 6:08 AM | PERMALINKYeah, but don't forget: Republicans support the troops, and Demoncrats and LIEberals are the ones who hate America, and want the war effort to fail. Not an electrician, but I do have an electronics degree and have wired many circuits in my house and it sounds to me like they have a serious lack of grounding problem. Grounding should be frequent and redundant. If your only real ground is too far away, through many connectors, a potential can build up especially if the connectors corrode. Posted by: Michael7843853 on March 29, 2009 at 8:25 AM | PERMALINKMy congresswoman Carol Shea Porter has been on this, but I don't know if the contract has been rescinded. Doubt if KBR has sent any crews to a certain Preston Hollow home for re-wiring tasks. Posted by: berttheclock on March 29, 2009 at 11:01 AM | PERMALINKIraq has 220 volt electricity. If some moron in KBR caused the wiring to be designed for 120 volt (US) standards there would be problems. Posted by: skeptonomist on March 29, 2009 at 12:33 PM | PERMALINKThe electrocutions go back to 2003. I remember reading some news stories about these KBR horrors before this month -- maybe a year ago? two? does anyone know? So why does it take until now for CNN to catch on? CNN -- breaking the news. Irreparably. Posted by: Too busy I guess? on March 29, 2009 at 12:44 PM | PERMALINKtoo busy I guess? That was my point, earlier...this is not some new revelation. This was known years ago and nothing, or very little too late, in being done to correct the problem or to prosecute the executives responsible. It always comes down to the executives: they make the decisions and set policy. The individuals on the ground making the electrical connections are also responsible, but they are not the first line of responsibility. I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation 
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