Or, as Oyster calls it, Crony Capitalism On Stilts. At least they have stilts. Isn’t it past time to stop monkeying with people’s lives in order to Win The Bid?
AP: Corps Asked To Explain Pump Contract
While it may not be a violation of federal regulations to adopt a company’s technical specifications, it is frowned on, especially for large jobs like the MWI contract, because it could give the impression the job was rigged for the benefit of a certain company, contractors familiar with Corps practices say.
Matt “Local Pumps Research Hero” McBride: Copy. Paste. Repeat.
There was no detailed discussion of the technical merits of lineshafts over hydraulics (which are substantial), the long experience of major lineshaft manufacturers, or why the particular style of pump was even an issue. After all, the question on the table in May, 2006 (and all throughout 2006) was how to get more pumps out to the floodgates. Why it would matter whether the pump was driven by a direct drive or a hydraulic drive was irrelevant, and pretty anti-competitive.
… What I’m saying is that the argument of hydraulic vs lineshaft seems to be a setup to make a particular company look good. It shouldn’t matter what the drive arrangement was, and the bid solicitations shouldn’t have made any mention of how the pumps would be driven. As long as the pumps hit the flow and head performance requirements, what else mattered? That is, why not open up the process to everyone, rather than narrowing it to a field of about three companies?
… It is that total lack of transparency that is tremendously galling. For most of 2006, long before the public was aware there were problems, the [Army Corps of Engineers] New Orleans District was totally aware of what was going on, but they never let any of us know. And even today they put out their bland reassurances. Their credibility has always been in the toilet, but at this point I’d say it’s been flushed into the river.
Wouldn’t you agree that this is a much bigger story today than Robin Jarvis’s resignation? What is going on over at the T-P?
The T-P is the PR rag for the city – “If we were to print this story on the front page with as big and bold headlines as we had for the Virginia Tech massacre, people might pack up their bags and leave. We can’t let New Orleans know what’s really going on … or we will in three months when we figure out the importance of the story for ourselves.”
Douchebags.