Want to know why we are not going to leave Iraq any time soon?

Submitted by Kosh on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 1:41pm.

Lawmakers heavily invested in defense
Associated Press

Members of Congress have as much as $196 million collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department, earning millions since the onset of the Iraq war, according to a study by a nonpartisan research group.

Not all the companies in which lawmakers invested are typical defense contractors. Corporations such as PepsiCo, IBM, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson have at one point received defense-related contracts, notes the report by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics.

The center's review of lawmakers' 2006 financial disclosure statements suggests that members' holdings could pose a conflict of interest as they decide the fate of Iraq war spending. Several members earning money from these contractors have plum committee or leadership assignments, including Democratic Sen. John Kerry, independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman and House Republican Whip Roy Blunt.

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And Helms begat Reagan...


Arguably, Ronald Reagan's Helms enabled win in the 1976 NC primary was all the encouragement he needed to try again in 1980, setting the stage for the Reagan Revolution and synergistic escapades like this one...

TrueMeckDem on Myers Park Pat

"My opinion of Pat has changed over the years. I used to think he was truly a man of the people but the longer he has been mayor, the less I think of him.

As with most cities, Charlotte has three political parties: Dem, Rep, and Chamber of Commerce. Pat is definitely the puppet of the COC here. What is good for business is good for Charlotte and Pat ... very personable guy, he has gotten a bunch of Dems in these parts to vote for him but I don't trust him."

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