A Waste of $20 Million

It is truly amazing how the U.S. taxpayers' money is being wasted by the Bush Administration. It is even more amazing that such actions come from Republicans who claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility. The Washington Post reports that U.S. military leaders in Baghdad have put out for bid a two-year, $20 million public relations contract that calls for extensive monitoring of U.S. and Middle Eastern media in an effort to promote more positive coverage of news from Iraq. The proposal reflects Donald H. Rumsfeld's concern that the media does not cover positive aspects of Iraq. This is further evidence of the Administration's fantasyland mentality that if they say things are good they actually are. I know $20 million is a drop in the bucket of the federal budget but couldn't that money be better spent on helping victims of Hurricane Katrina, improving inner city schools, feeding the hungry, or supplementing the scientific and medical research budget of the National Institutes of Health.