No kickback for you, GOP
-Headline of the day-
"GOP 'discouraged' at lack of telecom donations to reward immunity support."
Talk about making the corruption obvious. Republican insiders are pissed that telecommunications companies aren't rewarding the party for backing the amnesty in Bush's FISA retooling. Instead, the company's are backing what looks like a sure winner -- the Democrats.
According to one lobbyist, there's "growing frustration" among GOPers "that a lot of these guys getting screwed by Democratic leadership are continuing to load their coffers." The problem, of course, is that corporations don't give campaigns money because they're interested in good government -- they see it as an investment. With Republicans heading toward another electoral ass-whuppin' in November, spending a lot on GOP campaigns would be the same as flushing money down the toilet.
Pity the poor Republican, even the invisible hand of the market slaps him upside the head. (Raw Story)
-Where's a cop when you need one?-
An investigation by the Iraqi Interior Ministry found that "15-20% of the names on police payrolls there no longer corresponded to active-duty officers." This means that between 15-20% of Iraqi police officers who are drawing a paycheck don't actually exist.
According to the report, "The excess money for salaries sent by the federal government in Baghdad often ended up in the hands of other police officers, said Army Brig. Gen. David Phillips, the top U.S. adviser for police training."
With police like these, who needs criminals? (USA Today)
-Speaking of blowing money...-
Nobel winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is publishing a new book. The title: The Three Trillion Dollar War.
Not surprisingly, the book lays out the cost of the Iraq war and finds a $3 trillion price tag. That's $3,000,000,000,000 and, yes, those are twelve zeros. Think that's a lot? That's the low estimate.
According to the report, "When other factors are added — such as interest on debt, future borrowing for war expenses, the cost of a continued military presence in Iraq and lifetime health-care and counseling for veterans — [Stiglitz and co-author Linda Bilmes] think that the wars' costs range from $5 trillion to $7 trillion."
Seriously, wouldn't it have been cheaper just to buy Iraq? (McClatchy)
