Michael Williams hosts the Second Annual Spherewide Short Story Symposium–Halloween Edition.

then we’d know God is punishing recall voters. But since he’s a Republican, I’m not sure who’s to blame.

This morning C-PAN’s Washington Journal featured Ed Schultz, a progressive Fargo, North Dakota radio talk show host whose program is about to be syndicated nationally by Jones Radio.
I don’t know the ins and outs of the radio syndication business, but what are the odds his show will be popping up amongst the < sarcasm>diverse< /sarcasm> political spectrum that is Knoxville talk radio? One percent? Two percent?
[For those of you unfamiliar with this market, it’s the kind of place where they broadcast taped editions of the conservative favorites they’re unable to run at their live times because of conflicts with yet other conservative shows.]
I guess if I ever want a change of pace I’ll have to shell out for satellite radio.

A just-released report by The Center for Public Integrity entitled “Windfalls of War” examines the give and take relationship between politically-connected corporations and the U.S. government war machine: corporations contribute campaign funds to office seekers (most notably the Bush/Cheney ticket) and in return get lucrative government contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq:

More than 70 American companies and individuals have won up to $8 billion in contracts for work in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two years, according to a new study by the Center for Public Integrity. Those companies donated more money to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush�a little over $500,000�than to any other politician over the last dozen years, the Center found.

This stems not only from the money link between contractors and politicians, but is also due to the revolving door between the public and private sector:

Nearly 60 percent of the companies had employees or board members who either served in or had close ties to the executive branch for Republican and Democratic administrations, for members of Congress of both parties, or at the highest levels of the military.
. . .
The Center’s investigation focused on the three agencies that awarded most of the Iraq and Afghanistan contracts in 2002 and 2003�the Pentagon, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. It found that nearly every one of the 10 largest contracts awarded for Iraq and Afghanistan went to companies employing former high-ranking government officials or individuals with close ties to those agencies or Congress.

On its face, this raises plenty of suspicions. But it gets even worse. The contract-awarding process has been so disorganized that apparently no one knows what’s going on:

The results of the Center’s six-month investigation provide the most comprehensive list to date of American contractors in the two nations that were attacked in Washington’s war on terror. Based on the findings, it did not appear that any one government agency knew the total number of contractors or what they were doing. Congressional sources said they hoped such a full picture would emerge from the General Accounting Office, which has begun investigating the postwar contracting process amid allegations of fraud and cronyism.
. . .
Because of inconsistent and scarce information, the total value of contracts awarded for reconstruction work in Iraq and Afghanistan may be greater than what is publicly known. The Center found that there was no uniformity across the government in how contract values were reported. For example, the amount listed for an individual contract either represented only what had been paid to date on a multiyear contract, or a minimum and maximum dollar range of the contract, or, in some instances, a single figure, without any specification as to whether it represented a first payment, a first-year total, or a multiyear total. In some instances, the Center could determine nothing about what a particular contract cost or entailed because neither the company nor the government agency responsible for it would divulge that information.

This all reeks the stench of tax dollar waste. Accordingly, General Accounting Office investigations are underway:

GAO sources told the Center that the agency is conducting two separate probes of contracts awarded for work in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first covers all civilian contracts for Iraq reconstruction involving appropriated funds and stemmed from requests by two Democratic congressmen, who complained of cronyism in the contracting process. That report is expected to be completed in late 2003 or early 2004. A second probe involves a handful of multibillion-dollar, multiyear military contracts that cover work in both countries. The primary focus of that probe will be the Army’s LOGCAP (Logistics Civil Augmentation Program) contract held by Kellogg, Brown & Root and one held by Johnson Controls Co., which created Readiness Management Support LC to manage AFCAP, the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program. GAO officials estimate the second probe will take about a year to complete.

Given the political connections in play here, one might rightly be skeptical that these will get to the bottom of this matter.

A second solar storm hit earth Thursday. One effect of these flares is an increased level of geomagnetic activity, which produces the northern lights.
I’m probably a night or two late to be doing this, but I just made a trek to the Resonance space observatory (the front yard) and looked for northern lights. No sign of any, though with all the surrounding city lights I might not have seen them anyway.
Did anyone in Volunteer land happen to see any northern lights this week?
For what it’s worth, I gather that this NOAA site provides data indicating where viewers are likely to see the aurora. But if you’re like me, you may find the information a bit confusing at first glance.