Scouting Around

Scout at First Draft has done a lot of work on all of the issues surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. This week it was DHS cronyism. When January 2009 finally gets here and there is a change of administration, the Department of Homeland Security is going to be cut back to its third level managers, because there are no civil service people in the top two levels, everyone is a political appointee. In his effort to break unions, the Shrubbery has politicized every department in government, appointing ideologues and partisans to professional positions for which they are not qualified. There is no one available to “watch the store” during the transition period.

Scout’s second piece is on the insurance companies that whistle-blowers are claiming transfered a good deal of their liability to the government Flood Insurance program.

Federal Judge Orders Dept of Justice to Enter in Insurance Companies Katrina Fraud Case or Show Cause:

One would think this should be a DoJ case given it involves alleged widespread fraudulent practices by the insurance industry in response to Katrina claims which resulted in taxpayers, via the National Flood Insurance Program, picking up a chunk of the industry’s tab. Also note the NFIP went bankrupt and insurance companies posted record revenues and profits post Katrina.

Understand that a Federal judge wants to know why the Department of Justice isn’t interested in investigating the apparent theft of millions of tax payer dollars by insurance companies. Of course reasonable people are beginning to suspect that the DoJ has become a political action committee for the Republan Party and the insurance lobby makes large contributions.