Blood Money

[demnan]

Across the street from where I work is a branch of Kellogg Brown & Root. One of our former employees went to work there and still has friends in my company. One of these friends intimated to me that the benefits were much better at KBR than at our small contract company (this was the President of the company's son, by the way). I told him, "so you want to work for total evil, you want to work for Cheney? I'd much rather work for your mother." He laughed, I guess I have a reputation as a Democrat here and he knows how much I admire his mother.

But this leads me to a more serious discussion. Are employees of KBR and Lockheed Martin and any of these contractors benefitting from the war in Iraq receiving Blood Money? I think so. I hate to think how I would feel if I were working for a Defense Contractor right now, instead of the good old FAA. And I've worked for them before, heck, I've worked for the Navy before as well. I never felt bad about working for the military when I felt we were run by a just administration. (I did feel a little squirrelly about it under Reagan).

Remember in the Sopranos when Carmella goes to a therapist and he says, "I will not take your money, I don't take blood money" (referring to the mafia). He was so moral and clear on this decision. So please weigh in on how you feel about this issue.

[punpirate]

1. The people who are profiting from this...

... are the senior officials of the company and the major stockholders.

Ordinary people are seduced by marginally better benefits or salary.

They choose not to think about the implications of what they're doing. That is an ethical choice for them that others might not be willing to entertain.

I believe that the people of Halliburton and its various divisions directly associated with war enterprises are merely expediting the accumulation of war profits to those few people benefitting in large measure from war.

Others may think differently.

But, I remember the words of a guy from Kansas with whom I once worked: "Ah've quit better jobs `n this."

I don't know, but maybe he was talking about doing the wrong thing for money.

Cheers.