LALARRY

My Pick For Best Line By a Politician This Week

I am certiainly no fan of LA's Congresswoman Maxine Waters, but she definitely got in the best quip during new Fed. Governor Ben Shalom Bernake's first appearance on the Hill:

Addressing Bernanke, California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters said, "We're going to miss Mr. Greenspan. No one talks like him."

"And we don't want you to," she quickly added.

Latest Development in L'Affaire D'Cartoon

A Danish paper publishes a cartoon that mocks Muslims.
An Iranian paper responds with a Holocaust cartoons contest -
- Now a group of Israelis announce their own anti-Semitic cartoons contest!

Amitai Sandy (29), graphic artist and publisher of Dimona Comix Publishing, from Tel-Aviv, Israel, has followed the unfolding of the “Muhammad cartoon-gate” events in amazement, until finally he came up with the right answer to all this insanity - and so he announced today the launch of a new anti-Semitic cartoons contest - this time drawn by Jews themselves!

“We’ll show the world we can do the best, sharpest, most offensive Jew hating cartoons ever published!” said Sandy “No Iranian will beat us on our home turf!”

The contest has been announced today on the www.boomka.org website, and the initiator accept submissions of cartoons, caricatures and short comic strips from people all over the world. The deadline is Sunday March 5, and the best works will be displayed in an Exhibition in Tel-Aviv

One early entry

imo If you are a MOT and don't know whether to laugh or get po'd that's the whole point.

Only a Bizarro World Cheerleader Could Come Up with This One

National Review’s Jonah Goldberg sees an opportunity for the vice president to turn the accident to his political advantage: “If I were a Cheney advisor, I would tell him — er — ask him to go on one of the Sunday shows. The interest in the shooting would soak up much of the interview time and since he has to talk about it anyway, this would make him seem responsive and open without having to spend a lot of time on the tougher and more politically unpleasant issues like war, Katrina etc.”

No It Couldn't Be: A Bush Nominee That Works In the WH, Has Close Ties to the Repub Party and Is Poorly Qualified for the Job

Questions Are Raised on Bush Pick for Fed

By Brendan Murray and Matthew Benjamin Bloomberg News MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2006

WASHINGTON Most of President George W. Bush's nominees to the U.S. Federal Reserve have earned accolades from across the economic and political spectrums. And then there is Kevin Warsh, a 35-year-old White House aide. The nomination of Warsh - a lawyer by training who would become one of only two members of the Fed's seven-member board of governors without a doctorate degree in economics - has been greeted by criticism and bewilderment by some former Fed officials and economists. They cite his political connections and inexperience and say the White House could have found a better-known, more qualified choice. "Kevin Warsh is not a good idea," said a former Fed vice chairman, Preston Martin, who was named by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. "If I were on the Senate Banking Committee," whose approval is required for Fed nominees, "I would vote against him." ... .... The other nominee, Randall Kroszner, 43, is a University of Chicago professor and a former Fed visiting scholar with a doctorate in economics from Harvard. "Kroszner is a distinguished academic," said Edward Gramlich, a former governor who left the Fed in August. "The other one, Kevin, I don't know." If Warsh and Kroszner are confirmed, Bush will have appointed all seven members of the Federal Reserve Board. "Kevin has spent a lot of time observing and being in the financial markets," said Friedman, also a former chairman of Goldman Sachs. "You want someone who understands the economy, with the frictions in it. Life doesn't always work like the models." Warsh, if confirmed, would be the youngest member on a panel where the average age is 58. .... and ...surprise !!: Campaign disclosures show that Warsh gave $1,000 to Bush's 2000 election campaign and $1,000 to his 2004 re-election bid. Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, a granddaughter of the cosmetics pioneer Estée Lauder. His father-in-law, Ronald Lauder, was U.S. ambassador to Austria under Reagan and has donated $104,000 to the Republican National Committee since the 2000 election campaign, according to records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a research group in Washington. but he does look sharp in a tux, married well and travels in only the best of circles (pictured at left with the cosmetics heiress/wife at the party described below in washington life magazine) Bloomberg Party Hottest Ticket in Town Guests and party-crashers lined up on the rainy red carpet around midnight (all but those VIP’s, who sailed past the line) to get into Washington’s hottest afterparty of the year on May 1, following the annual White House correspondents’ dinner. The Bloomberg party, hosted by New York-based Bloomberg News, attracts politicians, celebs and correspondents and a lot of paparazzi. No wonder— in addition to actors Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver and Drew Barrymore, famous faces included New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, Al Franken, as well as numerous Washington celebutantes. Bloomberg Party Hottest Ticket in Town. Guests and party-crashers lined up on the rainy red carpet around midnight (all but those VIP’s, who sailed past the line) to get into Washington’s hottest afterparty of the year on May 1, following the annual White House correspondents’ dinner. The Bloomberg party, hosted by New York-based Bloomberg News, attracts politicians, celebs and correspondents and a lot of paparazzi. No wonder— in addition to actors Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver and Drew Barrymore, famous faces included New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, Al Franken, as well as numerous Washington celebutantes.

Bush Admin Methodology: 1. Reach Conclusions 2. Commission "Analysis" to Support Your Conclusions

I must admit I missed this one yesterday and overlooked the direct pipeline from the WH to the WSJ editorial page.

That well worn system of research and analysis used in the runup to the invasion of Iraq has made its way to the economic policy sphere:

WP:

Cheney Says New Unit Will Prove Tax Cuts Boost Revenue

By Nell Henderson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 11, 2006; A11

Vice President Cheney said Thursday night that the verdict is in before the Bush administration's new tax analysis shop has even opened for business: Tax cuts boost federal government revenue.

That assertion won applause from his audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference, but it is a long-standing source of debate among many economists and tax experts at a time of rising federal budget deficits....

Cheney said some forecasters have underestimated the degree to which tax cuts would stimulate economic growth and tax revenue.

"It's time to reexamine our assumptions and to consider using more dynamic analysis to measure the true impact of tax cuts on the American economy," Cheney said, explaining why Bush has proposed the new Treasury Department division. "The evidence is in, it's time for everyone to admit that sensible tax cuts increase economic growth and add to the federal treasury."

Got it, It's time to use a different mode of analysis to show our conclusion ,since the evidence is already in. Mr. VP, ever hear of the scientific method ? It usually means you perform the analysis before you reach the conclusion.

Treasury officials said yesterday that the president's proposed Division on Dynamic Analysis -- with a handful of employees and a $513,000 budget -- would go beyond the government's old "static" methods of analyzing proposed changes in tax policy only in terms of their direct effects on certain affected taxpayers. Instead, "dynamic" analysis looks at how tax changes cause consumers and businesses to behave differently in ways that affect the overall economy's growth

Hmmm.. a new government group assigned to reach different conclusions than the government's old "static mode of analysis.

Now that doesn't all sound like this does it:

That is what happened when the Bush administration repeatedly called on the intelligence community to uncover more material that would contribute to the case for war. The Bush team approached the community again and again and pushed it to look harder at the supposed Saddam-al Qaeda relationship -- calling on analysts not only to turn over additional Iraqi rocks, but also to turn over ones already examined and to scratch the dirt to see if there might be something there after all. The result was an intelligence output that -- because the question being investigated was never put in context -- obscured rather than enhanced understanding of al Qaeda's actual sources of strength and supportThat is what happened when the Bush administration repeatedly called on the intelligence community to uncover more material that would contribute to the case for war. ...

....The issue became even more time-consuming as the conflict between intelligence officials and policymakers escalated into a battle, with the intelligence community struggling to maintain its objectivity even as policymakers pressed the Saddam-al Qaeda connection. The administration's rejection of the intelligence community's judgments became especially clear with the formation of a special Pentagon unit, the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group. The unit, which reported to Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, was dedicated to finding every possible link between Saddam and al Qaeda, and its briefings accused the intelligence community of faulty analysis for failing to see the supposed alliance.

Above quote isFrom the Foreign Affairs article by Paul Pillar, former head of the Middle East secion of the CIA

and who was the major champion of Douglas Feith's intelligence skunkworks performing less "static" analysis in the Pentagon basement...none other than VP Dick.

I know, I know, you must have heard this one a thousand times already...this is truly bizarro world led by the guy who couldn't shoot straight.

Now I Understand

Several analysts have questioned whether the mere revelation of the existence of a wiretap program aimed at al Qaeda operatives (as opposed to details and methodology) actually compromised national security. After all even a third level flunky for Tony Soprano would assume that law enforcement is listening in on him.

So it was nice for Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to clear things up:(NYT)

While testifying about the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked to explain how the program had been damaged by the disclosure of its existence in the press.

Senator Joseph Biden suggested that Al Qaeda operatives have most likely been aware for some time that the government is trying to intercept their phone calls.

Mr. Gonzales agreed. "You would assume that the enemy is presuming that we are engaged in some kind of surveillance," he said. "But if they're not reminded about it all the time in newspapers and in stories, they sometimes forget."

makes sense to me (not !)

Yes This is A Real Article

I had to print this entire article because if i only printed excerpts i would be accused of making it up. I only added the colors bolds and one parenthetical comment.

THE FIGHT FOR IRAQ

Some Iraq Rebuilding Funds Go Untraced Investigators Have Yet to Pursue U.S. Contracting Money That May Be Missing By SCOT J. PALTROW Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL January 17, 2006; Page A4

WASHINGTON -- More than 18 months after the Pentagon disbanded the Coalition Provisional Authority that ran Iraq, neither the Justice Department nor a special inspector general has moved to recover large sums suspected of disappearing through fraud and price gouging in reconstruction.

Earlier audits by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction -- a post Congress created in late 2004 -- found that oversight of contractors by the Authority was so lax that widespread abuse was likely. An audit in April 2005, for example, found "significant deficiencies in contract administration," which meant that "there was no assurance that fraud, waste, and abuse did not occur in the management and administration of contracts" the U.S. awarded with Iraqi oil money administered by the United Nations.

Nevertheless, there hasn't been a concerted effort to trace what happened to the money and make recipients pay back any ill-gotten gains. The inspector general's office said it doesn't plan to ask the Justice Department to file lawsuits or to conduct widespread audits of individual contracts to look for fraud.

Instead, it says, it is using its limited resources to pursue higher priorities, including investigating charges of bribery to win some Iraqi work and auditing current controls on the spending of redevelopment aid.

The Coalition Provisional Authority, which existed from shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003 until June 2004, was allocated more than $38 billion in U.S. and Iraqi funds. It spent $19.7 billion of U.N.-administered Iraqi oil money.

Authority officials rapidly doled out the money, including $12 billion from the U.N. fund paid in cash, as they scrambled to restore vital services and impose order in Iraq. Concerns that contracts weren't being sufficiently monitored led Congress to create the office of the special inspector general and vest it with powers to investigate money misspent or unaccounted for by the Authority. President Bush named as the special inspector general Stuart Bowen Jr., who had been the Authority's own inspector general.

The U.S. has been under pressure to better account for funds spent in the early days of Iraqi reconstruction. A U.N. monitoring board has pushed the U.S. to return Iraqi money that might have been misspent under no-bid contracts awarded by the authority. Meanwhile, a group of Congressional Democrats has pressed the Defense Department and other agencies to track down and recover overpayments to contractors.

Some officials who were associated with the contracting, in the Pentagon and in Iraq, have defended contractors' practices in the country, citing the chaos of wartime. They say contractors were doing their best to perform quickly amid trying circumstances(.no kidding) Paul Bremer, who ran the Authority, wrote in response to one critical audit that it unfairly assumed that "Western-style budgeting and accounting standards" should apply "in the midst of war."

Still, some in Congress have advocated tough action against contractors, noting that the government's main legal means to recover money is the False Claims Act, passed during the Civil War to recoup gains from contractors who had gouged the Union Army for essential supplies.

Under that act, the Justice Department's civil division has the authority to sue contractors that defraud the government, and to seek treble damages. But Justice hasn't initiated any such suits involving Iraq-related work, a spokesman said. The civil division also hasn't joined any suits filed by private-sector whistle-blowers who claim they know of fraud or abuse, although lawyers familiar with such suits estimate that at least two dozen are pending.

One problem is that any attempts to recover money through the courts could prove challenging, say former lawyers for the Justice and Defense Departments. The Pentagon put the Authority in place as a temporary government, but no law or regulation established it. As a result, debate persists over whether it was an international entity or an agency of the U.S. government and subject to U.S. law.

Also, there could be scant evidence for such lawsuits because U.S. officials in Iraq didn't keep extensive records, and often didn't track whether contractors performed the work they were paid to do.

It isn't clear how many contracts the Authority issued, in part because the inspector general's office says it hasn't located many of the contracts. But among those awarded large ones were Fluor Corp., Parsons Corp. and Washington International Group. One question facing the government is whether to seek recovery of funds paid to the largest contractor, Halliburton Co.'s KBR unit, which was awarded multibillion-dollar no-bid contracts beginning shortly before the U.S. invaded Iraq to rebuild oil fields and provide logistical support to the U.S. military.

A series of 2004 audits by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the Pentagon's contract-auditing arm, found expenses of $1.48 billion unsupported by adequate documentation on KBR's two largest contracts, which were valued at a total of $9.5 billion.

In a recently disclosed letter, the audit agency said it has passed on findings about Halliburton to the Justice Department, to consider whether a criminal investigation is warranted.

But the audit agency's calls to withhold some payments from Halliburton have been resisted by Pentagon units that awarded the contracts. The Army Corps of Engineers disclosed in November 2005 that it was going ahead with a $1.5 billion payment to Halliburton for work on Iraqi oil fields, including $124 million for costs the defense-department auditors had challenged as questionable. It also paid Halliburton nearly $38 million in bonuses allowed under a contract formula for good performance.

A Halliburton spokeswoman said the company "has continued to cooperate with audit agencies and our customer throughout this process. Audits are part of the normal contracting process."

She added, "The costs questioned are just that -- questioned costs. The auditors have raised questions about the support and the documentation rather than questioning the fact that KBR incurred the costs. Many of DCAA's questions have been about the quality of supporting documentation for costs that KBR clearly incurred. Therefore, it would be wrong to say or imply that any of these costs that were incurred at the client's direction for its benefit are 'overcharges.' "

A spokeswoman for the Defense Contract Audit Agency said that as of the end of the government's 2006 fiscal first quarter, it had "performed 1,373 audits in support of Iraq reconstruction contracting activity." She said these audits weren't designed specifically to look for fraud but added that the auditors are required "to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the contractor submissions and supporting data are free of material misstatement."

In addition to seeking fund recovery, the federal government can intervene in suits filed under the False Claims Act by individuals who maintain that they know of misused money. Each case must be filed under seal until the Justice Department decides whether to intervene; if it doesn't, the individuals may pursue the cases on their own. Individuals can receive 15% to 20% of funds recovered if the government intervenes, and up to 30% if it doesn't.

The Justice Department won't disclose how many whistle-blower suits have been filed against contractors in Iraq. But the only Iraq-related False Claims Act case on which the Justice Department so far has announced a decision, it declined to intervene.

That case was filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., by two individuals who alleged that Custer Battles LLC, of Fairfax, Va., overcharged the government for expenses on work in Iraq. The company was awarded contracts totaling $38 million -- partially paid with $4 million in cash -- to provide security at Baghdad Airport, and later to help guard distribution of new Iraqi currency, although the tiny concern never had provided security services before.

The Justice Department declined to say why it decided not to back the case -- filed by a former Custer Battles employee and an employee of a subcontractor -- citing department policy. Robert T. Rhoad, a lawyer for Custer Battles, denies wrongdoing by the company, and said he was optimistic that the case would be dismissed. After suspending Custer Battles from receiving new contracts because of the fraud allegations, the Air Force in Sept. 2005 reinstated the company, declaring it eligible again for contracts. An Air Force spokeswoman said contracting regulations require it to reinstate a company after a year if the Justice Department hasn't taken action or requested that the ban be extended.

Now This IS a Sign of The Decline of American Civilization

I don't know about Brokeback Mountain indicating American culture is in the toilet. But I'm sure this DOES indicate that it is indeed the case: (LAT)

For 10 hours, E! Entertainment Television will offer viewers an unprecedented look at Monday's Golden Globes red carpet madness, with its four new hosts: anchor Ryan (does the man sleep?) Seacrest, who will control traffic, as he put it, from a "tower perch"; ...

After the Golden Globes are awarded, E! will air a live, post-show special from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Not to be forgotten is the six hours of "countdown" coverage from noon to 6 p.m.

I know, I know the Alito confirmation hearings will be over by monday and people need something to watch.

"People at the network are looking at it as an opportunity to say something about pop culture," explained (fashon designer Issac) Mizrahi,

true indeed

Want more ? Our venerable LAT which has been laying off journalists in bureaus around the world has started a special "red envelope" section of their website about the endless "awards" shows. It also appears occasionally in print. That's part of their plans to build up their coverage of air headed celebrities and what they wear. Just in case you're not getting enough of that elsewhere. I guess they'll bring their own special flavor of regurgitating what publicists give them to the table.

No to be outdone the NYT has a "Red Carpet" (which one has the "original ideas") section of its website as the journalistic race to the cellar continues. I guess the move is an effort to beef up it's jounalistic rep after Jayson Blair and Judith Miller. Hey, it's hard to get "who designed your dress ?" wrong. Especially when the actress' and designers' pr flacks called you 5x to tell you,

And who needs to send a photographer to Iraq when you can stay in a hotel in Beverly Hills, jump out of bed and take shots like this with no trouble. Who wants to look at ugly Arabs when you can gaze at the bps at left.

one last thing, what the hell is Hollywood Foreign Press Association (sponsor of this shindig)

Our Energy Policy In Action

EPA May Alter Test of Fuel Economy

The plan would slash estimates for many vehicles by 20% in cities and 15% on highways.

By John O'Dell
Times Staff Writer

January 11, 2006

Federal regulators Tuesday proposed a new method of estimating fuel economy for cars and trucks starting with 2008 models, heeding calls from consumers and environmentalists who have complained that current mile-per-gallon figures don't reflect everyday driving.

The new system would mark the first change to the Environmental Protection Agency's mileage test procedure in 20 years and is likely to cut highway fuel economy estimates for many models by 15% and by 20% for city driving...

...Despite the lower mileage ratings, Johnson said the EPA test results would not be used to determine whether automakers complied with federal laws requiring their passenger vehicle fleets to have an average fuel economy of 27.5 mpg for cars and 21 mpg for light trucks.

That's because the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program is run by the Transportation Department and uses different requirements to determine vehicles' fuel economy, he said.

There you go, the EPA finally acknowledges what everyone knows, that the mileage numbers they give are way higher than reality. But those numbers won't be relevant to the mileage rules which govern our oil consumption and our dependence on folks like the Saudis, Iranians, and Venezuelans.

Oy Vey Jack A

A great summary from the WP:

Some nuggets about Jack A(bramoff), the "orthodox" jew with strong ties to the Christian right

• $100 mln + in lobbying fees from Indian Tribes achieved through routine massive padding of bills
• Key allies Tom DeLay, Grover Norquist (advocate of minimal govt), Ralph Reed (christian right wing leader), several other Rep lawmakers, a couple of whom have already "returned"  the contributions Jack gave them.
• Jack A owned 2 kosher restaurants in DC and used a charity purportedly established to benefit inner city kids to fund, among other things a DC area Jewish Day school he founded (attended by his kids) and a sniper school for West Bank settlers
• Jack A is under indictment in a multimillion dollar fraud deal in Florida as well as an investigation of a gangland style slaying of an ex business competitor.
• Hired the Rabbi brothers Lapin (David and Daniel) as consultants for his lobbying and school for six figure fees. The Rabbis are darlings of the religious right Daniel is "rebbe" to self righteous, pompous, talk show blabbermouth Michael Medved. He left his Venice CA pulpit under a cloud of controversy as several congregants lost big money investing in one of his business ventures. The Rab is now in Seattle.

Jack A is very close to copping a plea, astonishingly he claims he is broke. That means Fed investigators want to go for the really big fish --members of Congress.

This will be very big...stay tuned.