Via the Carpetbagger, this tidbit:
As TPMm readers know well, House Appropriations chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) is under federal investigation for possible improprieties in how he oversaw Congress’ spending of $900 billion annually. Yesterday, we reported that Lewis had dropped nearly $800,000 in legal fees to defend himself against the probe.
This evening, Congressional Quarterly reports (sub. req.) that in a round of calls Monday evening, Lewis fired 60 investigators who had worked for his committee rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, effective immediately. As in, don’t bother coming in on Tuesday.
The investigators were contract workers, brought on to handle the extraordinary level of fraud investigations facing the panel. Sixteen permanent investigative staff are staying on, according to CQ.
What a great idea- and one the Republican party seems to love. Considering our answer to the problems in Iraq is to blame the media for reporting the problems, our solution to global warming is to attack the statisticians and climatologists, this shouldn;t really be surprise. Clearly, the best way to stop the corruption problem is to stop investigating it.
I think Rep. Lewis is on to something- Bush could really help out the struggling Republican Congress this election by solving our nation’s crime problem with one flick of his wrist- FIRE ALL OF THE NATION’S POLICE. Because, after all, it isn’t a crime if you don’t get caught.
SomeCallMeTim
OT, but I wasn’t sure if you’d seen Kevin Tillman’s letter. For whatever reason, I thought you’d want to see it.
Lee
I see a threadjack in the making….
wow, that is an excellent letter.
Do we get to vote what goes on the front page?
/votes Yes
srv
They were all coming out with books anyway.
Pb
“The more laws and edicts are imposed, The more thieves and bandits there will be.” — Tao Teh Ching
jim
More blaming the mess on the messenger…
Jon H
And we can declare all our personnel in Iraq to be midwives. It’s not a military surrender if you withdraw a bunch of midwives, is it? I say thee nay.
capelza
So Lewis says there’s nothing sinister going on? Boy, when I worked for the Feds (BLM..I was a “babe in brown”) we got at least a teensy bit of notice that our job was ending. I didn’t see a reason he gave for the immediate and unexpected firings.
I hope the MSM picks this up…
Tsulagi
As far as the post topic…what you said.
As far as the Kevin Tillman letter…WHAT HE SAID
How long before the Bush patriot warriors slap another Purple Heart bandaid on their beer guts to fart out a response?
Todd
John, Lewis can do that because he takes the special elixer kool-aid currently served in the House that turns pols into Buddy the Neo-Nutty Professor.
Mike S
Last night Jon Stewart was talking about the GOP excuse that all of these scandals were popping up just before the election. His response was something along the lines of ‘they have a point. All of these scandals ARE popping up in the news AFTER they happened.’
srv
Oh, here’s another way to think about it. The John Cole’s of the Right rail about how republicans aren’t true enough to conservative values like small government. So when a republican finally starts cutting government, y’all whine about it.
Krista
Kevin Tillman’s letter gave me goose-bumps. It needs to be printed on the front page of every newspaper in America and the U.K.
docg
I am told by a reliable source that Jerry Lewis just wants to give all of that money to his Kids next Labor Day. (Drum roll) . . .Hiyooo
Zifnab
Clearly partisan hackery at its worst. Doesn’t Kevin Tillman know that the liberal MSM and the Democrats killed his brother? I wonder how much George Soros paid for this letter.
JWeidner
Liberal MSM? Soooooo 5 minutes ago.
It’s obviously the Clinton’s fault.
SeesThroughIt
Exactly. Clearly, the Tillmans were Al Qaeda operatives dressed up as US soldiers.
Seriously, though, that is a hell of a letter. It definitely needs to be displayed as prominently as possible as often as possible.
Andrei
Hey Darrell… go ahead… I dare you to call Kevin Tillman a liberal moonbat sissy “Bush Lied People Died” liar.
Go for it. I dare you. I double dare you.
Gold Star for Robot Boy
Not even Big D will go that far… but Darrell will dismiss this as just one soldier’s yawping. Just as it’s easy to ignore Murtha, or that soldier/politician in Ohio, or handfuls of former generals. No matter the evidence presented to Darrell that Bush is ruining the military’s faith, while also ruining its fighting strength, it’s not enough to convince him. Because Darrell and our president share the belief that if they believe something it is right and always shall be. Amen.
Gold Star for Robot Boy
Corrected.
TenguPhule
At this point I simply look forward to President Hillary’s stormtroopers conducting mass firing squads in DC.
Randy
Yawn. There’s people out there trying to kill us, we’re at war, and the big deal around these parts is that Jerry Lewis fired a few dead weight staffers. If you think Pelosi won’t be just as bad, you need to lay off the sauce.
Beej
Has anyone seen anything about Lewis’s firing of the contract staffers anywhere in the MSM? I spent a couple of hours this afternoon trying to find it somewhere, anywhere, on CNN and MSNBC. Nothing. Did I just miss it?
TenguPhule
If we’re at war, all the more reason to out the Republicans profitting from it and treat them in the time honored method of dealing with war profiteers. With a bullet to the head.
Mike S
Another coward speaks. Did you type “they’re trying to kill us…” from under your desk while changing your shorts?
The only people left in the GOP are pussies.
Randy
Uh, no, Mr. Foley.