The Halliburton Ads-Thanks Corporate America

[LiviaOlivia]

February 23, 2004
WHITE HOUSE LETTER
In Season of Campaigns, Halliburton Joins In
By ELISABETH BUMILLER

The chief executive of the Halliburton Company, Dave Lesar, never imagined that he would be the star of his own television commercial. But there he is, on the airwaves in Washington and Houston, assuring viewers that his company has billions of dollars in contracts to rebuild Iraq and feed American troops "because of what we know, not who we know."

The unnamed "who" is, of course, Vice President Dick Cheney, Halliburton's chief executive from 1995 to 2000. Mr. Cheney's ties to the huge oil services, engineering and reconstruction company have become a favorite Democratic attack line in the 2004 campaign.

<snip>

Mr. Lesar, who said he did not discuss the commercials beforehand with Mr. Cheney — "absolutely not, we make our own decisions" — would not go so far as to call the vice president a liability for the company.

But, Mr. Lesar said, "we are in the middle of an election cycle, he is part of the election cycle and therefore we are getting a level of scrutiny that in my view is unprecedented in the history of corporate America."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/23/politics/23LETT.html




The arrogance of Halliburton and BushCo is breathtaking. These TV
commericals(along with the Wal Mart ads)have induced nausea
and anger in me. But now I look at them as great campaign ads exposing
the gangsters that occupy the White House and the "above the law"
corporations. Thanks corporate America for the free TV time.

[Jack The Tab]

1. I love it!! Please, keep telling people this line, Mr. Halliburton CEO

Please, keep that connection between your behemoth and the snarling Dick Cheney FRESH in peoples minds.

[Sgt. Peppers]

2. Slime runs down hill

and over to the congress!

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. a level of scrutiny ... unprecedented in the history of corporate America.

Therein lies the problem. We've allowed this special sector of Americans to go without any scrutiny. They live for short-term results without any thought to what their actions will do to society in the long run. And because the bottomline is all anyone is looking at, all the other corporations in America follow the leaders in their industry. Bad habits trickle down. It's time for us to get control of this situation. We are nothing more than enablers if we allow them to continue operating in the same manner.

[nodictators]

4. Lesar seems to have forgotten...

...that Halliburton had or has allegations re...

• several no-bid, cost-plus contracts from Bush-Cheney
  
• two employees who, they said, ran a $6 million scam
  
• overbilling for fuel to the tune of $61 million
  
• billing for thousands of soldiers' meals that were NEVER served
  
• Dick Cheney continuing to receive "deferre pay" while VP

[Woodstock]

5. They've been airing these ads on The Daily Show

Halliburtons commercials are so trite and sappy, it's like a continuation of one of those sacharine takeoffs TDS does. They must know we are laughing at them. Jon Stewart actually mocked the commercials in one segment. There was an actor playing a soldier who got news his baby was born. Stewart says something like, You know what this means? If we say something bad about Halliburton, that means we hate freedom AND babies!