Diary (December 17, 2020)
Online diary of Karl Jones for Thursday December 17, 2020.
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Diary
Border wall pork barrel
CNN (20 May 2020) — Company touted by Trump wins billion-dollar border wall construction contract
A construction company that has been repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump and his allies has been awarded a major border wall construction contract valued at more than $1.2 billion, a US Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday.
North Dakota company Fisher Sand and Gravel was awarded the contract for "border barrier infrastructure" on May 6, the spokesperson said.
The Arizona Daily Star first reported the Fisher contract, which has not been announced by the Defense Department or Customs and Border Protection.
News of the deal comes as the company's December border contract -- worth $400 million -- continues to be reviewed by the Defense Department inspector general in response to a request from Congress. House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said at the time that a series of actions "raise concerns about the possibility of inappropriate influence" on the decision to award the firm a contract.
"I am requesting that you review the award of this contract to ensure that the bid submitted by Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. met the solicitation standards and that USACE made the award in accordance with federal procurement law and regulations," Thompson wrote at the time, referring to the US Army Corps of Engineers. While the President has publicly touted Fisher, the company has a history of red flags -- including more than $1 million in fines for environmental and tax violations. A decade ago, a former co-owner of the company pleaded guilty to tax fraud and was sentenced to prison.
- [1] @ CNN
Living on volcanoes
A hungry man feels no future.
Think about people living on the slopes of active volcanoes. All around the world, countless thousands of people live on the slopes of active volcanoes.
From the comfort and safety of my little house in Ely, it's easy to think, "Fuck me, who would live on the slope of an active volcano? You would have to be crazy! Go! Get the hell out of there!"
And yet there they are, people living on the slopes of active volcanoes.
I can only conclude that those people have no options — they are *stuck* on those volcanos.
- Comment @ Facebook