Money to burn

Anyone surprised?

Homeland Security Contracts Abused
Report Finds Extensive Waste

by Griff Witte and Spencer S. Hsu; Washington Post staff writers

The multibillion-dollar surge in federal contracting to bolster the nation's domestic defenses in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has been marred by extensive waste and misspent funds, according to a new bipartisan congressional report.

Lawmakers say that since the Homeland Security Department's formation in 2003, an explosion of no-bid deals and a critical shortage of trained government contract managers have created a system prone to abuse. Based on a comprehensive survey of hundreds of government audits, 32 Homeland Security Department contracts worth a total of $34 billion have "experienced significant overcharges, wasteful spending, or mismanagement," according to the report, which is slated for release today and was obtained in advance by The Washington Post....

Here's the rest.

Thirty-four billion dollars. Just consider briefly what could have been accomplished with that money. Pick your pet issue, and imagine that dough being devoted to solve it.

Again, it's time this agency was immediately dismantled. It was a bad idea, badly executed (unless the idea all along was a) to keep the country cowed by fear and b) to line the pockets of Dubya's cronies -- in which case, thumbs up on a job well done!).

Never has this country seen the ineptitude and corruption we've experienced that we've experienced under this administration. It's a stain on the nation, and future generations will surely look back and shake their heads when considering this era, wondering in the hell it is that we haven't run the whole bunch of liars, thugs, and thieves out on a rail.