Quotes of the Morning

“I mean, my first thought when I heard -- just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, ‘Hmmm, time to buy.’ Others may have thought that as well. But you never know about the markets.”
-Brit Hume, Fox News, July 7, 2005

“Pardon me, but can we get some reporters who’s first thought upon hearing about a major disaster isn’t about the stock market?”
-Skippy

“The U.S. military has hired Halliburton Co. for nearly $5 billion in new work in Iraq under a logistics contract that has so far earned the Texas firm $9.1 billion, the Army said Wednesday.
Linda Theis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Field Support Command in Rock Island, Ill., said the military signed the work order with Halliburton unit KBR in May.
The new deal, worth $4.97 billion over the next year, was not made public when it was signed because the Army did not consider it necessary, she said.
’We did not announce this task order as this is really not something we ever really thought about doing,’ Theis said.
Halliburton, run by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000, has been under scrutiny for its contracts in Iraq, and several U.S. government agencies are looking into whether it overcharged for some work.”
-LA Times, July 7, 2005

“On the other hand, could you please report this kind of stuff when it happens instead of months later? The rules are simple: Loss of life? Worry about loss of life, not money. Taxpayers shelling out billions to a company that has been robbing us blind and which has really, really strong connections to the current administration? Follow the money. Remember, lives come before cash. I guess that that's what make this next one so disturbing.”
-Skippy

"The Coast Guard's ships, planes and helicopters are breaking down at record rates, which may threaten the service's ability to carry out its post-9/11 mission of protecting ports and waterways against terrorism."
-USA Today, July 5, 2005

"Seems like a simple problem. Many of the ships are older than the parents of the crewmen in them. They break down. We need them to protect our coastlines from terrorism, so we can expect Bush to spend his money wisely to update the boats in order to effectively fight terrorism, right? I mean, we're talking about protecting the US mainland here, not his personal game of Risk in the Middle East."
-Skippy

"The Bush administration wants to increase the amount of time it will take to replace a fleet that's among the oldest on the globe — older even than fleets owned by nations such as Algeria and Pakistan. The 'deepwater' replacement program, conceived in 1998 as a $20 billion, 20-year plan to replace the fleet, could be increased to 25 years under a White House plan.
The strategy would save the government money in the short term. The White House budget office declined to comment."
-USA Today, July 5, 2005

"So, he’s actually pushing to make the Coast Guard keep their dilapidated boats for an extra five years. How can the ‘tough on terrorism’ President do that?."
-Skippy

“MR. McCLELLAN: These are dangerous individuals that are operating in Iraq, and we’re on the offensive, going after them, working with Iraqi security forces to defeat them in Iraq, so that — we’re fighting them there, so that we don’t have to fight them here. This is all part of the war on terrorism, and that’s why we’re going after them and seeking to bring them to justice.
Q Just following up on that question, you said at the outset of that, the terrorists have made it a central front in the war on terrorism. I thought it was a central front in the war on terrorism before we invaded.
MR. McCLELLAN: It is. It’s part of the war on terrorism, yes.
Q It was.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, it is.
Q It is now —
MR. McCLELLAN: Both.
Q Was it prior to —
MR. McCLELLAN: Both. It’s part of the war on terrorism, David.”
-Press Gaggle with White House Spokesman Scott McClellan, June 22, 2005

“Well, I guess we don’t have to worry about the Coast Guard because all of the terrorists are stuck in Iraq now, not the United States, or say, London. I’ll sleep easier.”
-Skippy