One-Minute Editorial
President Eisenhower, in his
last speech to Congress, warned
the nation of the dangers from the
military/industrial complex.
He said, in 1961, there were
3.5 million men and women
directly engaged in the defense
establishment and the cost was
more than the net income of all
corporations in the U.S.
News you seldom get is that
the military, controlled by the
Pentagon, takes the biggest bite
of the federal budget.
Most of Pentagon spending is so
secret there is no accounting for
| the billions lining the pockets of
big industries, like Lockheed and
| global companies like Halliburton
or the actions of people like Paul
B re miner.
j Bremmer headed up the Iraq
Provisional Authority in the
early days of the Iraq war. He,
for example, failed to account
for more than $9 billion of
I reconstruction money. Part of the
money was listed as payroll for
| 8,206 workers but an audit could
only verify 602 of the names.
! He later disbanded the Iraqi army,
throwing 400,000 experienced
soldiers out of work and into
the streets, carrying automatic
weapons, a decision our soldiers
have been dying for ever since.
But, after letting $9 billion of Iraq
reconstruction money slip through
his fingers, he came back to
Washington where President Bush
honored him with the Presidential
Medal of Freedom award. For all
| his good works, President Bush
made sure he had a good job and
| let him step right into the World
Bank as its president, where he
has screwed up again.
The new Congress gives us hope,
but r\ot much. Changing the
military’s lust for dollars is about ;
as easy as trying to suck Lake
Norman dry with a soda straw.
Prodded by Congress, the Coast
Guard is taking a $24 billion
modernization joint venture contract |
from Lockheed Martin and Northrop !
Grumman because of substandard
work and cost overruns since 2002.
A U.S. Navy ship building contract
with Lockheed was cancelled when
cost control negotiations failed.
Doing business with U.S. industries :
is good but the Government j
Accountability Office said
Lockheed’s work on a new fleet j
of Marine helicopters has run j
over budget and the choppers are
1,200 pounds overweight.
Probably to justify the cost overruns, |
Homeland Security accused j
Lockheed of installing unauthorized
electronics on Coast Guard cutters.
Does all this bother Lockheed?
Not in the least. They evei^define
losing the contracts, not as being |
fired, but merely a “departure
from the norm.”
This is from a company reporting j
2006 sales of $39.6 billion, an
increase of 6.5 percent, helped
along, we're sure, by military j
spending, overseen by the I
Pentagon, who enjoys a good
laugh with their defense industry
buddies whenever they turn over j
another fistful of blank checks j
signed by taxpayers like you... ■
...which is not “a departure from j
the norm.”
t
orntna
Thursday, May 3
Art Talk- Journeys of an Artist will be at La
Dolce Vita Cafe, at the comer of W. Broad and
N. Center St. 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Amy Queen will
speak about adventures of painting in public.
Saturday, May 5
National Motorcycle Awareness Month starts
with a cruise-in (for all bikes) at the Harmony
post office, 10 until noon. On sale will be the
new collectable, the Honda Goldwing, (three
wheeler), Trike stamp.
Saturday, May 5
The Grandchildren/Grandparent Rights
Organization of North Carolina meets at 10
a.m. at the Iredell County Public Library, 201 N.
Meeting St., Statesville.
Sunday, May 6
Clarksbury UMC is hosting its Family
Day/Spring Celebration at 924 E. Memorial
Highway in Harmony. Events planned are
lawn games and bingo, hot dogs with all the
trimmings, and entertainment by the Wesley
Memorial UMC Clown Ministry and singing by
the Gospel Voices.
a
Tuesday, May 8
The Democratic Party meeting for May will be
held at the Captain’s Galley Restaurant on
Hwy. 21 north of Statesville. Dinner is 6 p.m.
and the meeting is at 7 p.m. All Democrats are
invited.
Thursday, May 10
The Union Grove ECA will meet at 2 p.m.
in the home of Martha Lundy. The program
will be “I’m Still the Parent." The club meets
the second Thursday of each month. All are
welcome. Call 704-539-5560 for information.
Nine U.S. soldiers died-and 20
were injured when two trucks carrying
bombs exploded and collapsed a school
building the soldiers were using as
a patrol base. This was the deadliest
attack since the invasion in 2003.
Sen. Arlen Specter-told Attorney
General Gonzalas his, and the
administration’s, credibility has been
damaged because of his poor
handling of the details when eight
federal prosecutors were fired.
Top journalist-David Halberstam,
73, was killed in California when
the vehicle in which he was riding was
broadsided by another vehicle.
Gunmen-in Baghdad stopped a
bus and killed 23 members of a
religious sect. At least 20 others
were killed in car bombs.
Israeli troops-killed nine Palestinians
straining a five-month-old cease fire.
Six Afghanistan civilians died-and
40 were injured by a suicide bomber. A
roadside bomb killed four others.
Heck-of-a-job-FEMA gave $3.6
billion worth of Hurricane Katrina
contracts to companies with poor credit
and bad paperwork, a report by the
Homeland Security Department
said. The report said more than $1
billion has been wasted.
Navy Blue Angel-jets paid tribute to
one of their own with the “missing
man formation.” Lt. Comdr. Kevin
Davis was killed when his plane
went down in an air show near
Beaufort, S.C.
In Memphis-former state Senator
John Ford has been accused of
taking $55,000 to help change state
laws to help a computer company.
The Justice Department-will look into
charges of conflict of interest and
mismanagement by the Education
Department in the $1 billion-a-year
Reading First program.
The U. S.-is offering Russia our
cooperation on defense technology,
sharing of intelligence along
with permission to inspect future
missile bases if they will drop their
opposition to our missile bases in
Poland and the Czech Republic.
Since 1996-150,000 people have
received grants from the Department
of Agriculture who posted their
Social Security numbers on their
Web site for everyone to see.
Senate Republicans-blocked a
bill that would let the government
negotiate with the drug companies
to lower prices seniors now pay.
Russia’s first-freely elected president,
Boris Yeltson, 76, died of heart failure.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.-is sponsoring
legislation to repeal the law giving
the president powers to take control
of the National Guard and bypass
authority of state governors.
Mexico City-legislators have voted
to legalize abortion.
Astronomers-found a planet about
like ours. If you would like to visit,
it’s just 120 trillion miles away.
Take your lunch!
Army Ranger Pat Tillman’s
death by friendly fire was covered
up by the military. A fellow Ranger,
with him when he died, told a
House committee he was ordered
to Conceal information from Tillman’s
family. President Bush called for
accountability into the death of Tillman.
Details of Former-Pfc Jessica Lynch's
rescue in Iraq were an elaborate
lie, she told a House Committee on
Oversight.
The Marine Corps-will put the V
22 Osprey hybrid aircraft in combat
for the first time.
Land leases signed-North Carolina’s
Tvveetsie Railroad will keep its engine
chuggin’ along through 2010.
uune Medical center-researchers
say about 13,400 consumers were
treated for nail-gun injuries in 2005,
a 200 percent increase sinc^/1998.
Regulations proposed-by the EPA
will cut smog-forming engines,
used mostly in lawn mowers, by
35 percent, starting in 2011 for
riding mowers and in 2012 for the
pushing kind.
A new breed-of wide-seat bikes
called Coastings, by Trek, Raleigh.
American and Giant Bicycle, has
a small generator in the front hub
to power a computer that tells the
bike when to change gears.
The $1.5 billion-research campus
planned for Kannapolis has hit
a money snag because of public
financing questions.
The N.C. Court-of Appeals will
hear a case that questions the
legality of incentives given by
Forsyth County to Dell Computer.
Canada will ban-incandescent
light bulbs by 2012 and has promised
to cut greenhouse gas emission 20
percent by 2020.
Venezuela-moves to nationalize
its oil industry.
The European Parliament-has
called for the resignation of World
Bank President Paul Wolfowitz
citing his favoritism in promotion
and pay package for his girlfriend.
Jack Valenti-former White House
aide and film-industry lobbyist, who
set up the first movie-rating system,
died in Los Angeles. He was 85.
By a 24-7 House-committee vote,
the Lumbee Indian Tribe of North
Carolina took a step closer to federal
recognition, provided the tribe stays
out of the casino business.
North Carolina-home-forclosure
filings jumped 25 percent to 9,563,
the first quarter, compared to a year
ago. Over the nation there was a 35
percent increase to 437,498.
A plan-by Democrat Charles Rangle
would protect couples, 20 million
taxpayers making $250,000 or less each^jf^
year, from paying the alternative
minimum tax. the ARM. Republicans
say they will oppose the bill.
CitiZEn
(USPS 017-606)
Award-Winning
Member of the
North Carolina
Press Association
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