Economists say cost of war could top $2 trillion. GW Cheney Inc. has professed it would cost 1/4 this figure. Given how trustworthy and straight-shooting this administration has been regarding just about everything (note sarcasm), which cost estimate do you think will be closer to the truth?

Poll finds most in US reject secret snooping. The item mentions Bush using as his defense that fast-aging "We're at war" excuse for his decision to ignore the law and do anything he wants. Can someone tell me when this "war" will end, approximately? What event will occur to signify it's over? Is it realistic to even think the threat of terrorist attack will ever be out of the question, making this "war" a permanent effort and mindset? If you haven't figured it out, this excuse is a crock of sh*t; only the most naive and foolhardy citizen(s) will continue to fall for this red-herring.

Washington Post:

On one side of the machine, a hose vacuumed the pockets of large corporations, wealthy individuals and legions of lobbyists on K Street, all instructed by DeLay to contribute only to Republicans. Out the other side, at some later date, came legislation of interest to many of the donors. Inside the machine, twisting its knobs and pulling its levers, was DeLay -- who was unabashed about his pay-to-play philosophy and relentless in enforcing his political rules.

LA Times:

Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz, documents recently obtained by The Times show. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his role in the collapse of a Texas savings and loan that cost taxpayers $1.6 billion. The investigation was ultimately dropped.

The effort to help Hurwitz began in 1999 when DeLay wrote a letter to the chairman of the FDIC denouncing the investigation of Hurwitz as a "form of harassment and deceit on the part of government employees." When the FDIC persisted, Doolittle and Pombo — both considered proteges of DeLay — used their power as members of the House Resources Committee to subpoena the agency's confidential records on the case, including details of the evidence FDIC investigators had compiled on Hurwitz.

Then, in 2001, the two congressmen inserted many of the sensitive documents into the Congressional Record, making them public and accessible to Hurwitz's lawyers, a move that FDIC officials said damaged the government's ability to pursue the banker.

The FDIC's chief spokesman characterized what Doolittle and Pombo did as "a seamy abuse of the legislative process." But soon afterward, in 2002, the FDIC dropped its case against Hurwitz, who had owned a controlling interest in the United Savings Assn. of Texas. United Savings' failure was one of the worst of the S&L debacles in the 1980s. Doolittle and Pombo did not respond to requests for interviews last week.

And the christian right supports this guy (notice the recent silence from that side re DeLay).... Enough to make you flee the church.