One wonders if Boeing's move to Illinois was not part of a quid pro quo for Hastert's pushing the refueling tanker lease to approval. It would be nice to hear from some knowledgable whistle-blower who has the documents to prove it.

Ted Stevens of Alaska did the same thing in a defense bill two years ago. he pushed the Senate into a lease of Boeing aircraft, rather then the lease-purchase arrangement the DoD wanted in the first place, costing taxpayers an additional 3 to 4 BILLION more then was neccessary. It looks like the same game, with Hastert taking the lead. Stevens and Hastert are repugnant hypocrites playing games with national defense and our tax dollars. This all an accounting trick to bypass "procurement" rules and accounting toward the federal debt in addition to BIG TIME PORK. Its a con-game where they get to wave the red-white-and-blue and tell voters about how they beefed up defense, see look at all the bucks we spent-we're pro-defense and anyone that tries to stop us is a pinko liberal. Howard Dean was right, America is broken and needs to be fixed, but it won't happen when thugs like Hastert and Stevens with the help of corporations like Boeing conspire to circumvent congressional laws/procedures and rules of ethics. Boeing isn't evil, they have myopia, they see as far as their quarterly earnings. Evangelicals are contantly calling for a spiritual renewal of America, how about an ethical renewal. I'd love to see Kerry-Edwards call on America's corporations to take their money and influence pedaling out of the political process, to do what is best for America in the long term. They cab sight this banana republic-like corruption as a good example.

The lease only angle sounds right. Boeing's way of making us pay for their planes. And the elases are probably those glorious cost-plus that always go up...

Imagine that, Boeing planes, train our military to fly them, when they get out Boeing has a trained worker waiting in the wings!

Eventually they'll lease more planes than they have, so Boeing can rent the people who fly the plane along with the leased plane! Costs plus of course. With waivers for FAA pilot hours due to 'Nat'l Security concerns'. And liability clauses. If a Republican kills a driver drivin' drunk it's 'murica's fault...

Hastert's first office was due to diebold in a shaved close race...follow the money trail. Mussolini revisited.

Or, um, to put it better, "The Business of America is business". Uncontested Bidness at that...

1. Timely
   
2. Strategery
   
3. Webb wins
   
4. Huh?
   
5. Bunnypants in Bagdad
   
6. Outage
   
7. Filthy Lucre Watch
   
8. Playing the numbers
   
9. My letter to Countdown
   
10. Jefferson's Nigerian Scams