oh my gawwdd i cannot believe that something like this would happen, this is absolutely shocking that greedy private contracters would steal money. oh my gawwd and they have been sooo trustworthy thus far.

Considering what we're spending on this war, yeah we have a right to transparency. Who's getting rich off this?

transparency: yes. it's one thing to keep strategic information under wraps, but that culture of silence has spread too far to every element of this war... but when it comes companies making boat loads of money from a war, yeah i think it's time we heard some of the details. after all, every taxpayer in america has been dumping money into this nightmare for the past 5 years. i think we all have a right to see the balance sheets.

Darn, how can I get in on the money train.

23 billion dollars used to sound like a lot of money, but when you figure that the government has stolen 600 billion from us for their stupid war...
IMO it's ALL profiteering. In history and econ textbooks of the future, Cheney will go down as an evil predator.

Well if you believe that more bad news is going to hurt the troops than no it shouldn't be lifted. It should wait until the war is over. If you believe in justice no matter which way the wind blows than yes it should be lifted.

As for these corporations this is precisely why we need government oversight. I know the right keeps touting free up the corporations and release government controls and it will be good for the economy. Well it may be good for our economy but it is no friend of ethics.

hypno - I just wanted to ethics and law are two completely different things. (not saying you said otherwise). Businesses should always be held accountable to the law.

I understand sy but the law is a double edged sword it can be navigated for good or ill depending on ones ethics and intent.

Businesses should be ethical as well.

I wasn't saying they shouldn't.

and to hypno - touche.

Just send Haliburton a bill. I'm sure it's laying around their office somewhere.

Just throwing this out there. These are the people we want to be in charge of our health care system?

Yes UnDave these are the people we want in charge of our health care system.

Don't for one minute suggest to us that human error is some how worse than calculated manipulation by HMO's. At least with error the system weeds it self out and we can correct the problem. However, when you have an organization with directed intent to milk us for all we're worth at the expense of our health you're darn tootin I'll go for the human error thank you very much.

But the intent of the health care system isn't to "milk you for all you're worth".

is too.

is not.

The health care provided by HMO's has a leash around its neck and that leash is controlled by profit. When their profit is affected our health care is affected and the only winner is and always will be the HMO. While some Americans receive great health care if they can afford it most are left with the scraps. I would rather have a system were everyone received good health care.

We also need to promote prevention rather than remedy. This is an area where the pharmaceutical companies are lining their pockets.

I always found it funny how we're so critical of other countries social medical systems saying their not as good yet many of them have a population with longer life expectancies.

I agree that we need to promote prevention, rather than remedy driven care. I also agree that Health Care is a for profit company. HMO's are designed to lower health care costs, but at the expense of freedom to choose.

What drives health care costs? Insurance premiums (for malpractice et al), wages, and research and developement. I gladly pay more knowing that my country is the leader in medical advances. I would like to see something done about decreasing the malpractice insurance that doctors have to pay.

"I always found it funny how we're so critical of other countries social medical systems saying their not as good yet many of them have a population with longer life expectancies."

Yes, those countries may have slightly longer life expectancies, but it's because of the R&D that the US has done that has helped give them the life expectancies they enjoy.

LOL! You just want us to be #1 no matter what UnDave. Let me tell you a little secret in some areas we're #2.

I agree, like in the area of controlling loudmouths from the midwest

I'm not sure if anyone here is specifically advocating a UK-modeled health system, but if they are, NOOOOOO!!!! I spent almost two years over there and I swear it was the last straw of my centrist politics. There is a reason that there are companies over there offering "medical holiday packages" to come to the U.S. for health care. The NHS is the most inept government agency I've ever dealt with and the horror stories I've heard second-hand are more than enough to convince me it's something I want nothing to do with.

But aside from all that, I would say that TRAUMATIC medical emergencies are handled far better than in the American health care system.

Just my two cents on the matter...

it confuses me that this country has never grasped the idea of balance. its either all or nothing, government cant run anything right and private companies are only concerned with numbers, not true health care. why not figure out a way to balance the two?

The problem is some people don't like capitalism. These people don't understand that some people are going to fail, and there isn't a safety net for them.