One Way to Recoup That $87 Billion

Charge wounded soldiers for their hospital meals. From Stars & Stripes:

Troops wounded in combat in the nation’s war on terrorism are being handed more than just discharge papers when they leave military hospitals — some also are getting a bill.

At a daily rate of $8.10, hospitalized troops, including those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, are being charged for their meals.

They don’t really do this, do they?

“I was amazed. I couldn’t believe it when I heard it,” said Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, who has introduced a bill to repeal what he calls an “offensive” law.”

Thumbs up to Young for spending some of his own money on the problem:

To make a point about their objection, Young and his wife, Beverly, recently paid the $210.60 hospital from the National Navy Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., for a Marine Corps reservist who lost part of his foot during a recent deployment in which, according to Young, a 10-year-old Iraqi dropped a grenade in the staff sergeant’s Humvee.

Does George Bush lack any feeling even for his pawns?

Feds Fed Up with Being Shown Up

So they’re taking it out on ABC:

In a clash between security and the First Amendment, federal authorities are threatening criminal charges against ABC News reporters who smuggled harmless depleted uranium into the country for a second time during an investigation of border inspections.

Of course, there’s no security issue at stake here, except for the total absence of security. But doesn’t ABC know that embarrassing the Bush administration gives comfort to our enemies?

Only the Smokers Shall Survive

If Al Qaeda executes this nefarious plot (according to D.C., anyway):

“References to nicotine and solanine [found in potatoes] appear in numerous terrorist training manuals and documents seized in Afghanistan,” the FBI said in its weekly bulletin to law enforcement agencies, which was sent out late Wednesday. “The most likely technique for nicotine or solanine poisoning would be food, beverage or water contamination; however, nicotine can also be absorbed through the skin and mouth and the digestive and respiratory tracts.”

Is Michael Bloomberg trying to weaken New Yorkers’ resistance to terror?