Where's the Missing $12 Billion We Sent to Iraq???

In the early days of TV there was a show called the $64,000 question. Well, this is a $12 billion dollar puzzle. Congressman Henry Waxman has called attention to this mystery. Here's an excerpt from an article about it on Bloomberg.com:

Representative Henry Waxman, kicking off hearings on government contracting, questioned former Ambassador L. Paul Bremer today on what happened to as much as $12 billion in unaccounted-for cash spent when he was in charge of rebuilding Iraq.

A report from Waxman's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said the money represented more than half of Bremer's budget from May 2003 to June 2004. The report described contractors being told to bring big bags to collect shrink- wrapped bundles of money and one episode where a Bremer staff member was allegedly told to spend $6.75 million in a week.

``We have no way of knowing if the cash that was shipped into the green zone ended up in enemy hands,'' Waxman, a California Democrat, said at today's hearing. ``We owe it to the American people to do everything we can to find out where the $12 billion went.''

Is there a dowser in the audience?

New Congressman Introduces Bill to Apologize for Slavery

"It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time," Newly elected Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen told Memphis Online's CommercialAppeal.com in a telephone interview Monday night. "I thought about it as an issue to address now that I’ve come to Congress. I felt during Black History Month was just an appropriate time."

It's a fine idea for the US to issue an apology, but I like what Democratic strategist Morris Reid said on Paula Zahn's CNN show about this last night:

REID: I just think it's an empty promise. I don't want a -- I don't want a sorry. You know what I would rather the Congress did? Fund public education and make sure people had universal health care, you know, make sure we had good schools. That's the -- that's the real issue here. African-Americans feel like they have been neglected, they have always gotten a second -- been a second-class citizen. Don't give me an empty promise. Give me what I want, which is a good education, health care, and -- and safe schools and a safe community. That's more important to me than an empty promise that's going to be watered down, that's going to be politicized, and just going to cause more division.

Tell FL Democrats Which Candidates You'd Like to See

Florida Democrats' website has an online survey where people can indicate which presidential candidates they'd like most to see in the state. Although most people reading this don't live in Florida, this is something that might exist in your area. If not, you could suggest it or create it.

Kucinich on Obama; Kucinich as the Man for Peace

In a recent Newsweek interview, when asked:

What about the candidates, like Barack Obama, who—granted—wasn’t in a position to vote against the war, but who spoke out against it?

Dennis Kucinich said:

"That’s fine, except for one thing. He’s voted 100 percent to fund it. If you’re opposed to something, you don’t vote to give it money. And a single speech is not hundreds of speeches. It’s not real leadership. If someone wants to talk about the war, then they better have real credentials for it. And those credentials have to include working to defeat funding for the war. There’s no other person in this race who’s done that. There’s no one else who’s taken a stand for peace that I’ve taken and I think that’s what the American people are yearning for."

I like what this person posted as a comment to the Newsweek piece:

Posted By: Corky Quakenbush (2/26/2007 at 11:25:56 PM)
Comment: This man is the only person with the guts and integrity to want to establish a Department of Peace. The National Intelligence Estimate declassified last year pointed to poverty as the root cause of terrorism. Isn't it about time that we attend to the causes of terrorism rather than by attempting to force the rest of the world to "do it our way?" Please vote for this man! Just think what good the $400 billion wasted on the war in Iraq could have done in helping people have better lives. Happy people are not suicide bombers!

Al Gore's Documentary on Global Warming Wins Oscar for Best Film

Yay! Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth won the Oscar for best documentary. If there's still anyone who thinks global warming is a myth, this honor will hopefully motivate them to take a second look.

There were rumors that Gore would announce his candidacy for president, and that was the subject of a joke Gore made on stage.

Laurie David, the wife of Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David, is an activist to stop global warming and the co-producer of Gore's film.

After the Oscars, a reporter interviewed Laurie, whose husband stood alongside her looking bored.

Reporter (to Larry): How many times have you seen the movie?

Larry (deadpan): I've seen it 14 times. She drags me everywhere. I can't stand that movie.

(Laurie laughed)

Reporter asked them who they're looking forward to seeing at the after-Oscar parties.

Laurie: Oh, that's an interesting question. (to Larry) Who are we looking forward to seeing?
(Laurie continued) We're looking forward to seeing our friends. Oh, Sheryl Crow. She and I are going on a bus tour together.

Reporter (to Larry): Are you going too?

Larry: She drags me everywhere.

Laurie (smiling): I'm dragging this marriage to the edge. I bring him everywhere with me.

Newsweek's Political Blog Uses Talking Heads Song's Form

This blog is purportedly about politics and tries to keep a sense of humor. Warning!: This particular post is more about style than substance, although it does refer to an article that's about politics.

Voila: Newsweek's blog posting about Tom Vilsack's decision to drop out of the presidential race (and so early!) has a first paragraph whose construction parallels that compelling old Talking Heads song Once in a Lifetime. Is there some subtext to that blog post?

Join Henry Kissinger, George Shultz and Me...

Former Republican Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz are asking George W. Bush to take the lead in a world free of nuclear weapons. Gee, this is as heartwarming and unexpected as Montana's recent announcement that they plan to do away with the death penalty.

I hope you'll join me in signing The Union of Concerned Scientists' petition to reject funding for George W. Bush's alarming plans to develop new nuclear weapons.

Here's what I wrote:

The world needs to add conflict resolution classes to all schools, K-12, so we can stop this awful, childish, animal-brained escalation of horrendous weaponry.

But until that happens (and I so pray for it) we need to do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to stop George W. Bush from lending his support to the development and production of new nuclear weapons. This is just outrageous! Too many people in this world have gone stark raving mad.