No vacation time for Donnie Boy - and 10 more political clips

Biggest US Fraud Ever?

The Bush administration handled so many things badly, can this report from Raw Story be a surprise?

The US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), the Army's criminal Investigation Command and the Justice Department are investigating US soldiers and officials in the alleged misuse of a portion of the $125 billion initially sent to Iraq for reconstruction shortly after the fall of Saddam.

Monday, The Independent's Iraq correspondent Patrick Cockburn reported the inspectors believe misuse may account for over $50 billion, exceeding the scope of Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme and making it potentially the "greatest fraud in US history."

"In one case, auditors working for SIGIR discovered that $57.8m was sent in 'pallet upon pallet of hundred-dollar bills' to the US comptroller for south-central Iraq, Robert J Stein Jr, who had himself photographed standing with the mound of money," wrote Cockburn. "He is among the few US officials who were in Iraq to be convicted of fraud and money-laundering.

Big-Business or the People?

As a certified liberal with my political beliefs formed in my formative years - a liberal church that taught that the Golden Rule was the most important lesson to be taken from the Bible - and a stint as a young-man facing the draft during the Vietnam War era - I simply do not understand those that put selfish interests and big-business above the needs of people. But those people are out there - forming their political beliefs in some other fashion - believing that ensuring the survival and success of big business at the expense of mankind is of paramount importance.



An article in the Washington Post recently highlights the issues that support for wealth and big business raise...

More than 900 cases alleging that government contractors and drugmakers have defrauded taxpayers out of billions of dollars are languishing in a backlog that has built up over the past decade because the Justice Department cannot keep pace with the surge in charges brought by whistle-blowers, according to lawyers involved in the disputes.

The issue is drawing renewed interest among lawmakers and nonprofit groups because many of the cases involve the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rising health-care payouts, and privatization of government functions -- all of which offer rich new opportunities to swindle taxpayers.