An Incentive to Buy High—If the General Services Administration is the government’s “Office Depot Catalog,” as attorney Victor Kubli describes it on page 1 of this issue, the Industrial Funding Fee is an enticement for vendors listed in the catalog to gouge the government. The fee funds the agency, which receives no appropriation to operate. […]

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Military-Industrial Complicity “At the end of the day, what does this represent to the taxpayer? … A net loss. This is a contractors’ private club. … This is about them taking care of themselves.” —A National Guard source speaking anonymously “Their solution was to make it up,” Victor Kubli said. “That’s right, make it up.” […]

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Cuccinelli In Court—In the September 1 issue we referred to the scientific critique that Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli included in a broad subpoena of the correspondence of climate scientist Michael Mann. In denying the subpoena, a circuit court judge in Virginia made it clear that he’s not buying Cuccinelli’s science. “The court has read […]

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Reprising Molly Ivins “You could stand on the corner in Austin and spit across three Congressional districts because of what DeLay did.” —Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin quoting Molly Ivins   Austin, Texas I thought I had walked into the wrong courtroom. The electronic bulletin board that lists criminal defendants read: “DeLay, Thomas Dale.” The former […]

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Redefining Terrorism—Long before right-wing opportunists began using the building of an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan to inflame public passions, federal law-enforcement was focused on a less conspicuous address. The “prayer house” on 1257 Siskiyou Blvd. in Ashland, Oregon, was owned by the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation of Oregon, a Muslim charity that in 2001 was […]

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