Halliburton pulled record profits last year. And the year before. And the year before that.

Mad profits. Obscene amounts of money.

Does Vice President Cheney own or has he received stock in Halliburton? Dunno. I don't have the time or the resources to try & track down his disclosure forms or tax returns, public record or not.

If someone cares enough to investigate and it's discovered that they did receive no bid contracts that could & should have gone to other companies, and profitted directly from that work...and as a result, so did the VP, well that should be addressed.

I am well aware that no bid contracts can be a nefarious agreement between "buddies" and can be struck to eliminate fair competition, but they also can take place between parties that understand the quality of work and fairness of price, and willingness & ability to mobilize and get the job done in a minimal time frame.

I admit to skipping the bidding process and just calling a contractor that I've done work with before & just telling them "I need you to do a job...get over here as soon as you can. And ballpark me a figure just so I know." Should I invite three parties to bid so I can be assured of a fair price? Yes. Have I been burned by going with a low bidder? Absolutely. When it is something that requires immediate action...I skip the bidding and go with a good source.

That having been said, I don't know which is the case...only that each scenario can happen.

__________________
Though I am different from you,
We were born involved in one another.

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

Complete surrender should not just come at moments in which one faces overwhelming odds, but in the calm when it seems one is personally in complete control of one's life.