Corpocracy

This comes courtesy of Knight Ridder:

WASHINGTON - The Air Force gave the Boeing Co. five months to rewrite the official specifications for 100 aerial refueling tankers so that the company's 767 aircraft would win a $23.5 billion deal, according to e-mails and documents obtained by Knight Ridder.

In the process, Boeing eliminated 19 of the 26 capabilities the Air Force originally wanted, and the Air Force acquiesced in order to keep the price down.

The Air Force then gave Boeing competitor Airbus 12 days to bid on the project and awarded the contract to Boeing even though Airbus met more than 20 of the original 26 specifications and offered a price that was $10 billion less than Boeing's.

The Boeing tanker deal has been under investigation since it became public two and a half years ago and has been suspended pending the outcome of the probes.

But the e-mails and other documents show just how intent the Air Force was on steering the deal to Boeing, even though Airbus' tankers were more capable and cost less.

In one document, Bob Gower, Boeing's vice president for tankers, noted that one objective in rewriting the specifications was to "prevent an AoA from being conducted." "AoA" stands for "analysis of alternatives" or, in essence, a look at serious competitors...[snip]

...Politics has played a heavy role in the Boeing deal. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., whose state is home to Boeing headquarters, and Democratic Rep. Norman D. Dicks, who represents the state of Washington, where a key Boeing production plant is located, lobbied the White House on the deal.

Boeing and the Air Force also lobbied for the deal, and President Bush designated his chief of staff, Andrew Card, as the point man on the issue....[snip]

Much more at link

You really should take the couple of minutes to read the piece. It's a very revealing article about the closeness corporate America is with policy makers.....as if that needed any further evidence.

Dewey once said: "Government is the shadow cast by corporations over society." This is probably the most terse explanation of our dysfunctional democracy.

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Hypocrisy

It appears the Kerry has raised the ire of the bush camp by quoting scripture. I didn't know that only the GOP could use religion as political tool. But then, I'm grossly uninformed about religious things. Here are the words:

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but doesn't have works? -- James 2:14.

And:

He allegedly told listeners of a stump speech to become: "doers of the word, not hearers only."

I have no beef with that. He is obviously giving Bush's 'compassionate conservatism' bs a left hook.

I remember MA. Governor Bill Weld telling the Bush camp that Kerry is a fierce campaigner. It appears that Weld was correct. Disarming your enemy is an effective way to win a war.