Another election benefit: Iraq inspector general office reprieved

By Lee Russ

Saturday, December 09, 2006 at 04:08 PM

The Republicans' insulting and underhanded effort to put the Iraq inspector general out of business, so that office can't publicize any more of the billions and millions that have been pissed away in Iraq, has ended.

Congress just approved a bill that would extend the life of that office "until 10 months after 80 percent of the funds appropriated for Iraq relief and reconstruction have been spent."

Wonder of wonders, Duncan Hunter, the Repub most responsible for killing the IG office in the first place, by slipping "an obscure provision into a huge defense authorization bill that would force the inspector general's office to begin shutting down almost immediately," changed his position on the issue.

And Bush reportedly intends to sign the law.

Could there have been any clearer sign than the killing of the IF office that the Repubs essentially represent the sleazy end of the spectrum?  Who needs an IG among friends, ey?

And who says that there is no difference between the Dems and Repubs?

Now if the group of people calling themselves Congress could just get off their collective duffs long enough to do something about the absurd undercollection of royalties from the energy companies. (At least the Dems have announced their intention to investigate this; let's hope it's a more honest investigation than the one into who knew what about Mark Foley's sexual obsessions).

Not to mention:

++The ever-growing corporate options scandal
++The use of offshore entities to avoid taxes
++Pharmaceutical companies charging Americans more for drugs than they charge people in other countries for the same drugs
++Multi-national corporations manipulating their profit and loss statements to show higher profits in low-tax countries, and lower profits in high-tax countries
++Allowing industry associations to virtually write the rules for oversight of their industries

My fingers are getting are tired now.