1115.org

Actually it was from a subsidiary of the government called Halliburton.

OK, I didn’t really get one, but if they knew how influential 1115.org is,
I would have.

Read all about it here

In a memo dated October 17, company President Dave Lesar lambasted what he called “unfounded” criticism against the company and asked its 100,000 employees to get out Halliburton’s message “in a thoughtful, non-confrontational manner.

un·found·ed: Not based on fact or sound evidence; groundless.

So all the stories about Halliburton winning multiple no-bid contracts, selling
Iraqi oil back to the Iraqis at huge profits, and receiving special favors at
every turn from Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld are all groundless, unfounded and untrue?

The standard for ethics (both governmental and private sector) used to
be “avoiding even the appearance of conflicts of interest”. It wasn’t
enough to be free of conflicts, you were expected to steer clear of any
situation that could be perceived as a conflict.

Now we have our Vice President receiving $150,000 a year in addition to holding
433,000 stock options from a company that is benefiting from no-bid
contracts and ripping off the very people that they are supposed to be rebuilding.

Cheney maintains that he is donating the money to charity. While
that is very warm and fuzzy of him, when you are a multi-millionaire
(as Cheney is), getting the tax credit on charitable donations is the
same as getting the cash in the first place.

But instead of congressional inquiries we get letter-writing campaigns.
Following the highly suspect (fake) soldier letter to the editor story
from a few weeks ago, now that strategy is applied to corporate public relations.

Halliburton figures that it is easier to order their employees to do their
dirty work than to actually compete for bids, charge market-rate prices for
their oil, and forgo special favors.

Looks like they are right. My money is on them getting away with it.