You're in good hands with Halliburton.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/4/103744.shtml

Maybe we should outsource government. Perhaps the private sector would run things more efficiently. Welcome to McAmerica, would you like to supersize your order for only 29 cents?

People of America: Here is what you must do.

You must form a corporation of the people. You must authorize and fund it to 'buy' the ports of America. This corporation of American people must do this and must do all the things that the elected legislators and government will not do to represent and protect your interests. You must create a 'monster' to battle the other corporate 'monsters' that have taken over the government and prevented it from ever representing or protecting you again. The 'Corporation of the American People' is the only hope you have. It is a straightforward, legal solution which need not threaten but which can come to control the government. At that point it can become the new American Government. There is no other way, I hope that you can understand, to regain the now-lost dream of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Adopt the Constitution and Bill of Rights as the mission of the Corporation of the American People, allow the people to directly vote, and use the power of many people, following the law as any corporation must, to gradually gain control of your future again. Unless and Until you do, the future is no longer yours but, instead, belongs to the other corporations which merely have the missions of securing more wealth for the people who created and sustain them, and some of which have come to gain control of the government itself in pursuit of this goal, a goal which requires the control and subversion of the government itself.

I think that it is accurate that the citizens of the United States are "hostile" to Arab nation investment in our critical ports, national resources, corporations, and government. Our government, however, is totally on board with those concepts because they pay well, to the government officials. Why the citizens should care about that is beyond me. Our government is actively participating in the downsizing of its citizens' economic and social opportunities. It does not serve us. It does not concern itself with anyone other than corporate interests and corporate execs and their inbred trust fund babies.

Personally, I think we could downsize our government to a fraction of its current size and nobody would notice. Any branch of federal or state government that does not directly provide valuable service to individual citizens could vanish and who'd notice?

Corporations are not persons. International corporations are not citizens of this nation. Corporate execs are pathological psychos who are as patriotic as parasites. Maybe you're seeing the beginning of a movement to take the country back from those useless entities?

Thanks Ben your idea is one that though it sounds far fetched could have some merits. I am especially intrigued with the idea of a fair and direct vote it is long since time for a direct democracy.

We who were against the war from the beginning were called traitors by Bush and his staff. What do you call a president who gives control of our ports to the enemy? Dduring the second world war, if our president had wanted to give our ports to the Japanese or Nazi's he would have died a terrible painful death. I think our senators did right by rejecting it. As for Bush saying,"Trust Me," not likely ever again.

Sorry, Ben, I have to disagree with you on this proposal. If you place the ultimate responsibility in a real honest-to-God democracy such as you envision you will end up very quickly with a theocracy. The bare majority will change things so the far-fright churches are in control. Non-believers might be sent to orientation camps to teach them that the way to salvation is through bowing down to Jesus. Unbelievers might be sent to gas ovens because it's the only way to save them.

OUr country may not be perfect, but when you go doing crap like that you are gonna end up DEEP in the crap.

And, while I am not sorry to see Dubya come away from this ports deal with a black eye, the plain truth is that the only thing wrong with this whole thing was that they spin doctors were all out on the golf course. From a moderate viewpoint, the Dubai PW thing was just a change in talking heads, with the possible exception that the Bushies didn't do enough to safeguard some secondary security issues -- the main thing I could think of would have been plans to the ports themselves. And any fool can find them on the Net or go over to the port and have a look around for himself. Betcha a fiver I can find a google-map picture of all of those ports within five minutes, sufficiently detailed to show a terrorist where to place a mine for the optimum disruption.

The bottom line is that Dubya has spent 4 and a half years preaching to us to hate and fear anyone who speaks Arabic. So when this comes along the knees jerk spontaneously and unhaltingly, and Dubya gets kicked in the face. Not sorry to see the impact, mind you, but where the hell are all of these people on the issues that really matter. If I were REALLY cyncial I would posit that Rove engineered this whole thing to get people's attentions away from other things that are impeachable offenses, like using NSA to spy on people without a warrant. But I am not cynical and I would never suggest anything like that. Not me!

Ted: I guess you skipped over the part about adopting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as the charter of the Corporation of the American People. What makes you think that a movement based on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights will fail, and that people using the Constitution and Bill of Rights as their guide will bury all of the American people in deep crap?

It is clear that the people who have taken control of the government are tightening their stranglehold on it. They have openly hijacked the last two elections. What makes you think that the people and corporations which have seized control of government of the American People actually are doing anything but marshaling the power of the government to secure their continuing control of it in the future?

Your plan to do nothing is a cowardly surrender. Trying to scare us by saying that the American people will create a worse tyranny than the one in effect now is shameful. All power does rest in the hands of the people. That's what America is supposed to be. Your fear mongering is a useless ploy to capitulate to the special interests that have seized the American government.

Dale McFeatters, I am afraid you are wrong on several points. First in your assumption that Bush was “blindsided”, he was not, he simply believed, in his royal arrogance, that he could do as he pleased and that he could shove this matter on the public by acting macho.

Second, the public was not “misinformed.” The public is well informed of the fact that this Administration and our politicians do not have its interests in mind and it finally was served an issue they could rally around and sent a “look out we’re coming after you” message to Washington.

As to your proposition that we need “foreign aid,” that’s absolutely ridiculous. This nation has the talent; the resources, the energy, the know-how and the work ethics to self sustain and compete against any other country no matter what our neo-intellectuals may profess.

The multinational managers that see future profits in the large consumer markets of Asia, of course, oppose that approach and have “misinformed “ the public as to our self-sufficiency and have actively done what they could to make America dependent on foreigners by gradually doing what they could to eliminate our manufacturing structure, where real wealth is created. Making $6.50/hr at Toys R Us is not what skilled Americans will put up with for long.

The People have grown tired of the lies and the exploitation and have fired their first salvo at the globalization advocates. Americans have recognized the Dubai port and similar deals as a “sell out of their way of life” by our corporations and our politicians.

Correspondingly the sleeping giant called the Middle Class has awaken and indicated that “it won’t take it anymore” and since they hold “all the real power” in this Democracy, they will demand a more equitable future with their interests being, as they should be, the first priority in Washington.

Politicians better listen!

probably no chance of this anyway, but if 3/4 of the state legislators all passed the same bill cant they pretty much override these traitors?

I don't think the Dubai concern was really about handing over our ports to a foreign government. I think it just came about because of the wire tapping authorizations. People are just tired of the lies this president can tell and how he feels that he is above the law. If Bush's cronies had taken the correct procedure and let Congress investigate as the law states, then Congress would have given the green light. They always do.

YES, The Dubai Ports World deal did end badly all the way around, except as stated for the politicians running for something in either 06 or 08.

But here in my opinion is what I find most reprehensible about the entire thing

I have little doubt that there is a segment of the American populace who absolutely dispises Muslims and Arabs. We've all heard them called "ragheads" at least once in our lifetime.
It's been and is essentially the same as all blacks used to be to the southern plantation owners when slavery was alive and well in the Southern States. Then it was the blacks and civil rights in the not so long ago past. Then of course "Yankees" are in some circles in the south to this day despised. A lot of stereotyping by the people that is JUST PLAIN STUPID.

The sad part is that most of those doing it have no idea why other than that's either how they were brought up or to look good to peers. Guess what, I am willing to bet you that 90% of those folks who simply cannot stand Arabs and Muslims are located squarely in the remaining support that the Bush Administration has left. That, IMO is one reason why this deal went badly.

A second that hacked everyone off was the secrecy with which it was conducted and the contract made.
IMO this was simply going to be another huge moneymaking plan for the Carlyle group or someone else maybe several someones' hooked into this administration somewhere.

Scrutiny was not a good idea because scrutiny might just have exposed the real deal and plan for what it was really all about. AND IT'S STILL GOING TO HAPPEN.

So Bush then who was not told about it (supposedly) threatens his VETO before he even has the details. That sure as hell didn't help.

Then ROVE or someone high up in the administration once the investigation is about to start two days in makes a call to Dubai and says give it up. Again sounds to me like this was the real conversation.

Good lord we'll get creamed if this gets into an investigation. You voluntarily reliquish the plan, your idea and we'll back door it back to you through an American Company. Welcome to Halliburton, how may I help us !!

One other point. Arab leaders do NOT do themselves any favors by staying on the sidelines and or silent when the type of turmoil going on in their neighborhood is like it is.

BUSH does NOT want to find Bin Laden or Zarqawi or Zawahiri because then there would not be a case for the rule by fear, Patriot Act or NSA spying that is currently going on. It allows this administration to rule and do things that are totally against anything that America stands for...or perhaps we should say once stood for.

AS long as they are out there this administration can get anything it wants through the congress that never reads and the Americans who don't care.

THOSE ladies and gentlemen are the very sad FACTS: