First, please let me ask, who in the fuck trusts the news they get from a giant corporation?
And now, on to the post!
There have been many threads, both on the front page and in the diaries that have explained why the Abramoff Affair is not a bi-partisan scandal. I could link a few for you, but I won't. Do it yourself, you lazy fuck.
I will, however, give you a quick summary. Jack Abramoff did not contribute one red cent to Democrats. In fact, if you'll look at the graph on the link, you can see why they're called "red cents."
More?
Okay, so what? JA "break da" RULE didn't contribute to the Dems. It doesn't really matter if he did or not. What does matter is whether or not Dems took bribes.
By the way, the whole Republican/Corporate Media spin about "Abramoff directed his clients to donate to Dems..." is bullshit. Pure, stinky bullshit. The very fact that they were Abramoff's clients means that he worked for them, not the other way around.
And now, on to the point of the diary.
Why are we hacking away at Katie, Matt and Tim? They are merely the symptom and not the root. I submit that GE is the root of the problem. To help make my point, I'll refer you to this gem from the 1990's:
One pundit who had no problem with the summer's media merger marathon was USA Today columnist Michael Gartner. "It makes no difference if media are owned by corporations or families or individuals," he wrote (8/8/95). "What matters are the integrity and intelligence and intrepidness of those owners."
Gartner wrote from experience: "For five years, I was president of NBC News, which is owned by General Electric," he said. "Not once did GE boss Jack Welch or anyone else at GE ask me to put something on the air --or not to.... Jack Welch, tough and some say ruthless, does not use NBC to further the gains of GE."
Gartner should recall the warning of the dean of American press criticism, George Seldes, who wrote in 1938: "The most stupid boast in the history of present-day journalism is that of the writer who says, 'I have never been given orders; I am free to do as I like.'"
Seldes' point was that it is those who are likely to do something the boss doesn't like that get told what to do; those who naturally do what the boss wants need no such direction.
Okay, the point of that is that Jack Welch knows how to pick his ass lickers. Seeing that Matt, Katie and Tim are still working there, I can only assume they were the cream of the crop of ass lickers.
Nonetheless, the previous blockquote proves nothing except that it doesn't matter whether NBC is a "separate entity" from GE. We all know that GE can hire whomever it wants to run NBC.
So the question is, why would GE want to obfuscate the truth?
I thought I would start by investigation other GE businesses, just to see which side of their bread had butter on it. I found they had $11 billion worth of interest in Healthcare. They "create a safer world" with Government and Military security solutions. And they boast a "bold new world" in oil and gas exploration, among other things.
Drugs, Security and Oil? Yes, it seems these businesses would thrive under Republican leadership. Mind you, this is not proof of anything. On the contrary, they have every right to make money this these key areas. However, it's important to know what they do and how they might benefit from a friendly government, so I'll submit this as Exhibit A.
Here's some additional information pertaining to GE's contracts with the US Government:
POGO found that large contractors enjoy an unfair advantage over smaller contractors in navigating the federal government's suspension and debarment system, the process whereby unethical companies are prevented from doing business with the government for a period of 18 months to 3 years. Repeat violations should be grounds for being suspended or debarred. However, according to debarment officials interviewed for this study, larger contractors have the financial means, plus high-priced attorneys, that enable them to avoid suspension or debarment.
Some companies in particular have mastered manipulation of the system despite repeated misconduct. Here is a summary of the track records for repeat offenders from 1990-2002:
* General Electric: 63 instances of misconduct or alleged misconduct resulting in approximately $982.9 million in fines/penalties, restitution, settlements, and Superfund cleanup costs.
* Lockheed Martin: 63 instances of misconduct or alleged misconduct resulting in approximately $231.9 million in fines/penalties, restitution, settlements, and Superfund cleanup costs.
* Boeing: 36 instances of misconduct or alleged misconduct resulting in approximately $358 million in fines/penalties, restitution, and settlements.
* Raytheon: 24 instances of misconduct or alleged misconduct resulting in approximately $128.7 million in fines/penalties, restitution, and settlements.
* Fluor: 19 instances of misconduct or alleged misconduct resulting in approximately $70 million in fines/penalties, restitution, and settlements.
Lack of information about the track records of contractors is a major obstacle in making suspension and debarment decisions. There is no centralized comprehensive database containing the information POGO has compiled about federal contractors. Debarment Officials do not have the time or resources to pull this information together. Lack of information compromises the government's ability to make informed contracting decisions. Click here for POGO's compilation of data of the misconduct and alleged misconduct of 43 of the government's top contractors.
Further
POGO's research has identified that since 1990:
* The total amount of fines/penalties, restitution, settlements, and Superfund cleanup costs for the 43 contractors examined totaled approximately $3.4 billion.
* Sixteen of the 43 contractors examined have been convicted of a total of 28 criminal violations; four of the top 10 have at least two criminal convictions.
* Yet, only one of the 43 contractors has been suspended or debarred from doing business with the government. This suspension action, against General Electric's Aircraft Division, lasted only five days after they pled guilty to diverting millions of dollars from the U.S. Foreign Military Aid Program to finance the sale of F-16 engines to Israel.
So, it would seem that GE, being a large, rule breaking contractor with the government is in a precarious situation. If they do any hard investigations or cause too many headaches for a given administration, they could very well find themselves on the short end of the contract stick. It's in their best interest to provide cover for the government they profit from.
Unfortunately, it's not the government they profit from. It's us, the taxpayers.
Do you trust the corporate media?
hink