Cheney at Savannah Center

[Guest]

Who on this forum went to the Savannah Center yesterday to hear Dick Cheney hawk his new book? I know it was a full house from all the cars in the parking lot.

I also saw a couple of protesters just outside the driveway entrances with signs saying "Cheney Lied, 4,400 Died" and "Cheney - Draft Dodger and War Criminal".

How was the presentation?

[Guest]

Who on this forum went to the Savannah Center yesterday to hear Dick Cheney hawk his new book? I know it was a full house from all the cars in the parking lot.

I also saw a couple of protesters just outside the driveway entrances with signs saying "Cheney Lied, 4,400 Died" and "Cheney - Draft Dodger and War Criminal".

How was the presentation?

Gotta agree with that. He is a first class scumbag.

[Guest]

:ohdear:

[Guest]

:ohdear:

Sorry Richie, but he ruined W. His connection the Halliburton and then getting them a no-bid multi million dollar contract was shameful.

[Guest]

Well, this thread is going nowhere. It's premise from the very first post was just a set-up for a bashing session. Nothing here worth debating. Forum is slipping downhill rapidly.

[Guest]

Gotta agree with that. He is a first class scumbag.

Ditto...wouldn't waste the gas to see him...

[Guest]

:ohdear::ohdear::ohdear:

[Guest]

The picture in the paper this morning of the event showed people all excited and clapping, so I assume he was on stage. There were a lot of empty chairs to the side and rear. I wonder why...

I did have a wonderful laugh while reading about the event. Cheney said he liked W because he spoke plain and never spoke above people's heads.

Hilarious!

[Guest]

Hey, I'm no fan of Dick Cheney - though the worst I'd go as far as name-calling would be "Darth Cheney" because it's from my old geek side.

But I certainly respect the fact that he had the guts to go on Jon Stewart's show to hawk his book.

I may think he's wrong about a LOT of things and I don't particularly care for many of his actions - but the guy was still the Vice President of the United States and, as such, deserves some amount of respect. I don't have to like it - but I know how I'd act if I suddenly met him. ...and no, it wouldn't make the news.

[Guest]

I wouldn't go duck hunting with him.

[Guest]

The usual D bash R!!

btk

[Guest]

Sorry Richie, but he ruined W. His connection the Halliburton and then getting them a no-bid multi million dollar contract was shameful.


While Cheney is always vilified because of Haliburton and its contracts, democrats said NOTHING about this:

"Army contract for Feinstein's husband / Blum is a director of firm that will get up to $600 million
April 22, 2003|By David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer

URS Corp., a San Francisco planning and engineering firm partially owned by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, landed an Army contract Monday worth up to $600 million.

The award to help with troop mobilization, weapons systems training and anti-terrorism efforts is the latest in a string of plum defense jobs snared by URS. In February, the firm won an army engineering and logistics contract that could bring in $3.1 billion during the next eight years.

Government contracting has come under increasing scrutiny by Congress and citizen groups, with critics decrying the political connections of firms winning lucrative jobs. Richard Blum, Feinstein's husband, serves on the company's board of directors and controls about 24 percent of the firm's stock......"
http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-04-22/news/17487250_1_eg-g-division-george-r-melton-president-urs-corp-s-eg-g

"...Perini is known today for its hospitality and gaming industry projects, and for its corrections, health care, sports, entertainment and educational expertise. It is the largest casino and hotel builder in the United States. It also builds hospitals, prisons and public buildings. In addition, Perini is a major player in civil infrastructure construction, working on everything from bridges and highways to subways and airports.

Chairman and CEO Ronald Tutor and billionaire investor Richard Blum, who together own investment groups that hold 75 percent of Perini's voting stock, control the company. Blum is the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

In addition to Perini, Tutor and Blum conduct a great deal of business through another company called Tutor-Saliba. Among that company's largest projects is the Los Angeles subway system.

Iraq contracts

In April 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Transatlantic Programs Center awarded a contract to Perini worth as much as $500 million to provide goods and services to the U.S. Central Command. Washington Group International and Fluor Intercontinental were awarded similar contracts. ......

...In late September 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers issued additional task orders totaling $278 million on the three individual contracts and the Corps decided to raise the contract ceiling from $100 million to $500 million......

Afghanistan contracts

In March 2003, Perini was awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic Programs Center, for the design and construction of facilities to support the First Brigade of the Afghan National Army, located near Kabul.

Perini is the prime contractor for this $25 million, fast-track project, providing overall program management, design management, construction management and supervision, and quality control. The Perini team includes Tetra Tech, Azad Architects, and POWER Engineers.........

Government ties

Principal shareholder Richard Blum, who co-owns 75 percent of Perini's voting shares, is the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California who serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.
http://projects.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=45

[Guest]

While Cheney is always vilified because of Haliburton and its contracts, democrats said NOTHING about this:

"Army contract for Feinstein's husband / Blum is a director of firm that will get up to $600 million
April 22, 2003|By David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer

URS Corp., a San Francisco planning and engineering firm partially owned by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, landed an Army contract Monday worth up to $600 million.

The award to help with troop mobilization, weapons systems training and anti-terrorism efforts is the latest in a string of plum defense jobs snared by URS. In February, the firm won an army engineering and logistics contract that could bring in $3.1 billion during the next eight years.

Government contracting has come under increasing scrutiny by Congress and citizen groups, with critics decrying the political connections of firms winning lucrative jobs. Richard Blum, Feinstein's husband, serves on the company's board of directors and controls about 24 percent of the firm's stock......"
http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-04-22/news/17487250_1_eg-g-division-george-r-melton-president-urs-corp-s-eg-g

"...Perini is known today for its hospitality and gaming industry projects, and for its corrections, health care, sports, entertainment and educational expertise. It is the largest casino and hotel builder in the United States. It also builds hospitals, prisons and public buildings. In addition, Perini is a major player in civil infrastructure construction, working on everything from bridges and highways to subways and airports.

Chairman and CEO Ronald Tutor and billionaire investor Richard Blum, who together own investment groups that hold 75 percent of Perini's voting stock, control the company. Blum is the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

In addition to Perini, Tutor and Blum conduct a great deal of business through another company called Tutor-Saliba. Among that company's largest projects is the Los Angeles subway system.

Iraq contracts

In April 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Transatlantic Programs Center awarded a contract to Perini worth as much as $500 million to provide goods and services to the U.S. Central Command. Washington Group International and Fluor Intercontinental were awarded similar contracts. ......

...In late September 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers issued additional task orders totaling $278 million on the three individual contracts and the Corps decided to raise the contract ceiling from $100 million to $500 million......

Afghanistan contracts

In March 2003, Perini was awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic Programs Center, for the design and construction of facilities to support the First Brigade of the Afghan National Army, located near Kabul.

Perini is the prime contractor for this $25 million, fast-track project, providing overall program management, design management, construction management and supervision, and quality control. The Perini team includes Tetra Tech, Azad Architects, and POWER Engineers.........

Government ties

Principal shareholder Richard Blum, who co-owns 75 percent of Perini's voting shares, is the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California who serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.
http://projects.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=45

If Cheney was not such a crook, he could have done something about that, but his hands were just as dirty so he let it go.

[Guest]

The picture in the paper this morning of the event showed people all excited and clapping, so I assume he was on stage. There were a lot of empty chairs to the side and rear. I wonder why...

I did have a wonderful laugh while reading about the event. Cheney said he liked W because he spoke plain and never spoke above people's heads.

Hilarious!
:ohdear::ohdear::ohdear:

[Guest]

Actually, I like Cheney. Wish he had been President instead of Bush. Now I will duck for cover.

[Guest]

Actually, I like Cheney. Wish he had been President instead of Bush. Now I will duck for cover.

Cheney is a good man but the democrats like playing the boogie man game. Makes them feel superior. Mostly faux elitists.

[Guest]

If Cheney is such a fine American, why did he apply for 5 deferrments from military service during the Vietnam era? What were his qualification to be CEO of Haliburton - which gave him a net worth of well over $100 million? How did Haliburton get over $1 billion in no-bid contracts in Iraq and Kuwait?

Just a few questions of this "good man".

[Guest]

Sorry Richie, but he ruined W. His connection the Halliburton and then getting them a no-bid multi million dollar contract was shameful.

You must not be aware that he severed ALL ties with Halliburton when he ran for office. The only lingering connection he had with them was some deferred compensation package which he donated 100% to various charities. Would you like to compare charitable contributions from Cheney to those of our current VP?

[Guest]

I am sure Cheney said he severed all ties with Haliburton and he probably even too the legal step to do so. However, do you honestly feel that having Cheney as VP did not have anythng to do with Haliburton getting millions and millions of dollars in no-bid contracts? No, it still counted for a lot and Cheney and family got their cuts of the money, too. Blind trusts or whatever, they got the money for their juice.

[Guest]

I am sure Cheney said he severed all ties with Haliburton and he probably even too the legal step to do so. However, do you honestly feel that having Cheney as VP did not have anythng to do with Haliburton getting millions and millions of dollars in no-bid contracts? No, it still counted for a lot and Cheney and family got their cuts of the money, too. Blind trusts or whatever, they got the money for their juice.

Some people will continue to believe whatever they want about those they disagree with, but the facts are not there to support it. Here is what Factcheck found:

http://www.factcheck.org/kerry_ad_falsely_accuses_cheney_on_halliburton.htm l

The $398,548 Halliburton has paid to Cheney while in office is all deferred compensation, a common practice that high-salaried executives use to reduce their tax bills by spreading income over several years. In Cheney's case, he signed a Halliburton form in December of 1998 choosing to have 50% of his salary for the next year, and 90% of any bonus money for that year, spread out over five years. (As it turned out, there was no bonus for 1999.) We asked Cheney's personal attorney to document the deferral agreement as well, and he supplied us with a copy of the form, posted here publicly for the first time.

Legally, Halliburton can't increase or reduce the amount of the deferred compensation no matter what Cheney does as vice president. So Cheney's deferred payments from Halliburton wouldn't increase no matter how much money the company makes, or how many government contracts it receives.

so, whatever happened to Halliburton, Cheney did not profit or suffer - he was completely isolated.

Before I stated that it was his deferred compensation that was donated; it was actually his stock options:

That still would leave the possibility that Cheney could profit from his Halliburton stock options if the company's stock rises in value. However, Cheney and his wife Lynne have assigned any future profits from their stock options in Halliburton and several other companies to charity. And we're not just taking the Cheney's word for this -- we asked for a copy of the legal agreement they signed, which we post here publicly for the first time.

The "Gift Trust Agreement" the Cheney's signed two days before he took office turns over power of attorney to a trust administrator to sell the options at some future time and to give the after-tax profits to three charities. The agreement specifies that 40% will go to the University of Wyoming (Cheney's home state), 40% will go to George Washington University's medical faculty to be used for tax-exempt charitable purposes, and 20% will go to Capital Partners for Education, a charity that provides financial aid for low-income students in Washington, DC to attend private and religious schools.

The agreement states that it is "irrevocable and may not be terminated, waived or amended," so the Cheney's can't take back their options later.

The options owned by the Cheney's have been valued at nearly $8 million, his attorney says. Such valuations are rough estimates only -- the actual value will depend on what happens to stock prices in the future, which of course can't be known beforehand. But it is clear that giving up rights to the future profits constitutes a significant financial sacrifice, and a sizable donation to the chosen charities.


It's a b**ch when long-held beliefs are proven wrong with facts.

[Guest]

I am sure Cheney said he severed all ties with Haliburton and he probably even too the legal step to do so. However, do you honestly feel that having Cheney as VP did not have anythng to do with Haliburton getting millions and millions of dollars in no-bid contracts? No, it still counted for a lot and Cheney and family got their cuts of the money, too. Blind trusts or whatever, they got the money for their juice.

Serious allegations which border on slander. Cheney is probably the best Vice President this country has ever had. His due diligence in keeping America safe and free will be forever stamped in American history. Just compare him to the present Vice President who is considered by most to be a clown.

[Guest]

Hey, I'm no fan of Dick Cheney - though the worst I'd go as far as name-calling would be "Darth Cheney" because it's from my old geek side.

But I certainly respect the fact that he had the guts to go on Jon Stewart's show to hawk his book.

I may think he's wrong about a LOT of things and I don't particularly care for many of his actions - but the guy was still the Vice President of the United States and, as such, deserves some amount of respect. I don't have to like it - but I know how I'd act if I suddenly met him. ...and no, it wouldn't make the news.

He was also on Leno a week or so ago promoting his book. Of course Jay had a lot of good 1 liners prior to the visit. From what I recall hearing, Cheney was critical of Powell and Condoleeza Rice. Has anyone actually read the book?
It is heavily discounted on Amazon. Was $35, now $19.20. I think I will wait for the garage sale clearance price.

[Guest]

Well, it looks as though NJBlue has proved me wrong. I retract what I said since I have been proven wrong.

[Guest]

:It's a b**ch when long-held beliefs are proven wrong with facts.

Awesome!! You're my hero for the day!! (whether you care or not)