Repubs give states the green light to tax interstates.....

From The Washington Post:

"Construction of the first major expansion of the Capital Beltway in a generation could start as soon as next year, Virginia transportation officials said yesterday after signing a deal with two private firms to build toll lanes for a speedier ride on 14 miles of the chronically clogged highway.

The deal calls for adding two lanes in each direction of the Beltway, separated from other traffic, between Springfield and Georgetown Pike near the Maryland border. The high-occupancy toll -- or HOT -- lanes would be free for vehicles containing three or more people; other drivers would pay to use them. To keep the lanes from clogging, tolls would increase with the amount of traffic.

The state would not have to pay anything for the new lanes. The private companies would invest the entire $900 million cost of the project in exchange for all or part of the toll revenue.

The lanes represent the first step in what regional leaders hope is an extensive network of toll lanes across the region. Virginia officials are considering additional HOT lanes on parts of Interstates 95 and 395, and Maryland officials are exploring express toll lanes on the Beltway, I-270, the Baltimore Beltway and I-95 north of Baltimore.

Maryland officials said yesterday that they are in the early stage of studying Beltway toll lanes. 'We're a few steps behind Virginia,' said Valerie Burnette Edgar, spokeswoman for the Maryland State Highway Administration."

Wait.... it gets better.

From same article:

"State officials said that Fluor Enterprises Inc. and Transurban Group will pay to build the lanes, which could open in 2010. They will also operate and maintain them. State and company officials said they haven't worked out how the firms will recoup their investment, but a likely scenario is that they will receive revenue through 2065. State officials added that there would be a cap to prevent 'obscene' profits."

So...... what in the heck's Fluor Enterprises?

Just go to www.fluor.com/ias and see what all they have their hand in.

Hmmm.... I wonder.... who is this Fluor guy?

Peter J. Fluor. Director since 1984; Lead Independent Director; Chair of Organization and Compensation Committee and member of Executive and Governance Committees. Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, January to July 1998. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Texas Crude Energy, Inc., an international oil and gas exploration and production company since 2001; formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of Texas Crude Energy, Inc. from 1980 to 2001; joined Texas Crude Energy, Inc. in 1972. Mr. Fluor also is a director of Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and a member of the advisory board of J.P. Morgan Chase Houston, Houston, Texas.

From www.nogw.com

(Great site by the way; highly recommended)

Fluor Corp, which donated $275,000 (£175,000) to the Republicans and $3500 (£2200) personally to George Bush, has ties to a number of intelligence and defence procurement officials. These include Kenneth J Oscar, former acting assistant secretary of the army and Bobby R Inman a retired admiral, former NSA director and CIA deputy director.

Nice

This researching stuff is quite enlightening.


Another director at Fluor Enterprises is a lady by the name of Suzanne H. Woolsey. I finally figured out what caught my attention about that name. She's former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey's wife. He's served under 4 presidents in various aspects.

Neither husband nor wife will win outstanding citizen awards.....

Following information comes from The Washington Note:


August 08, 2004
WOOLSEY'S WEB: STRUCTURAL CORRUPTION & IRAQ


F. ROCHE JR. HAS AN ILLUMINATING PIECE TODAY in the Los Angeles Times on the clan Woolsey -- exposing some of the Iraq contract connections of Suzanne Woolsey, the former CIA Director's wife. In January 2004, she became a director of Fluor Corporation, which has $1.6 billion in Iraq related contracts. She also serves as a director of the Institute for Defense Analyses which also has war interests, and received modest compensation for that role according to the article.

James Woolsey serves as Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton with at least $89 million in Iraq defense contract interests. Roche's article also points out that Suzanne Woolsey is also affiliated with Paladin Capital Group, a venture capital firm where her husband serves as a principal and director.

A reader of The Washington Note entry on Woolsey tipped me off to James Woolsey's Paladin connection last week -- and I was somewhat stunned by the brazen language of the "Paladin Homeland Security Fund" that Woolsey helps direct. I realize that many intelligence and military officials make natural fits for defense related firms when they leave public service -- but I think that big, inappropriate lines get crossed when individuals help fan wars, in which people die, and financially benefit from the result. A recusal from war profits should be standard for talking heads and policy commentators when it comes to sending American men and women into harm's way.

Here is the "statement of concern" for the Paladin Homeland Security Fund:

The end of the Cold War has proven not to be the end of global conflict. Today, conflict often manifests itself in a new form of guerilla warfare: terrorism. This form of conflict extends vulnerabilities beyond military institutions to civilian populations and commercial infrastructure. As the emergence of sophisticated communication and information networks blurs many of the past separations between government and industry and between domestic and global interests, security needs transcend traditional borders between nations and between governments and industry. The events and aftermath of September 11 highlight the need for both governments and industry to address these security concerns. As a result, recognition of the need for homeland security products and services to address these threats is growing. The nation and the world now look to find new ways to take advantage of the shared concerns between governments and industry and to develop new methods to collaborate for security and for technological and economic benefit. These concerns, together with the changes in the global business environment, offer substantial promise for homeland security investment.

Roche's article hits the bull's eye on the increasing web of interests between those who blur the lines between their public and private roles, something we heard a lot about regarding Richard Perle -- but Woolsey adds much more texture to this trend since he was the first to allege the still unproven connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.

Roche writes:

The Woolseys' overlapping affiliations are part of a growing pattern in Washington in which individuals play key roles in quasi-governmental organizations advising officials on major policy issues but also are involved with private businesses in related fields. Such activities generally are not covered by conflict of interest laws or ethics rules. But they underscore an insiders network in which contacts and relationships developed inside the government can meld with individual financial interests.

It's infuriating. God, I hope people watch tomorrow.