The Larry Kane Report

We’ve been talking about this story for a year and a half. The Democrats have been in power in Congress for ten months, but from this perspective, the
investigation of overcharges and corruption by our nation’s contractors in Iraq is not moving fast enough. If corruption and over-billing is an epidemic, then Congress should shut it down.

First of all, there is no question, from a series of government audits, that the stories reported a year ago of maybe several billion dollars in overcharges by the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, are right on target. The exact figure is unknown. Now , there are assorted reports of other contractors and sub-contractors allegedly using their war zone as a serious money pit.
The Democratic oversight committees are moving slowly on these investigations. There have been no direct actions. Even the Pentagon’s own Inspector General has confirmed the wrongdoing.
Losing lives in a controversial war is tough enough, and then there’s the miscalcalculations of the government but people profiteering from this war is
the ugliest chapter.

Democrats have been holding hearings for too long. It is time for action or recommendations for a criminal investigation.

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So, in a 165-game season, games 163 to 165 were not so great. So, in the most demanding sports town in America, there is a letdown. But get over it, because as I said  in a previous column, the Phillies are real winners. Share the moment. I’ll explain why.

Psychologists and urban planners like to talk about shared experiences, events that bring people from different communities and backgrounds together. Some of them are crises, others nuisances like snow storms, And then there are the happy moments of thrill and sometimes dissapointment surrounding professional sports teams that unite large urban and suburban areas. The Phillies season, unpredictable and most times filled with adventure and electrifying roller coaster rides through victory and defeat, was an ulitimate shared experience, memorable and serving to connect the unconnected in our vast metropolis. That, in itself, was the worth the price of admission.

Sometimes, shared experiences can be sad, like a national or local tragedy. Others, like snowstorms., put us all in the same predicament. And then there are the good news stories that get people to join in collective joy in the blaze of victory and collective sighs in the agony of defeat. That’s what the Phillies season was all about, even though end came too soon. But we still had the regular season and its safe to say that no six months have been as electrifying around here since the Eagles got to the Superbowl.

These kinds of shared experiences bring people from diverse geography and background together and on that scores the Phillies of 07 were an extraordinary success.

One final note: Thousands of people who didn’t who didn’t know the difference between strikes and balls, and curve balls and fast balls, got caught up in the fever.  It was more than jumping on the bandwagon. It was a rare COLLECTIVE display of civic pride.

I have only one regret about the Phillies season. I was embarrassed by the people who threw down their rally towels and booed the team as the second defeat against the Rockies was playing out. A public display of anger against a team that did so well is disgraceful.

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Senator Larry Craig of Idaho gets the award for arrogance. If he worked in any other job except as U.S. Senator, he would have been toast, as they say in the broadcast business. Now that a judge refuses to vacate his guilty plea, the Senator says he will stay in the Senate. breaking his pledge to resign. All this, of course, poses super risks for the GOP, already devastated by the planned retirement of four popular Senators next year.

Frankly, you wonder some times whether top politicians can control their egos. Craig “resigned” after admitting to pleading guilty to a charge relating to a restroom encounter. The question remains: Why did he plead guilty if he felt he was not guilty? In our legal system, we get to pick a lawyer and our innocence is presumed until proven otherwise. In this case, Senator Craig didn’t even choose those options.

His sexual preference is not an issue here, although one wonders if the person on the other side of the stall was more interested in proving sexual preference than in nailing a suspected solicitor of sex. In an age of increased murder rates, you would have to ask the Minnesota authorities why they were so keen on toe touching when hardened criminals are shooting up the streets of the Midwest and Great Plains.

Those are questions for another time.

The question right now is why the Senator hasn’t kept his promise to step down and whether the Senate, slow to censure and expel, will not act to force him out.

He has a few supporters but men and women in high places must do what is right. If the Senate can’t figure out a way to force him out, it will be a new chapter in the double standards of our system of justice.

Bottom line: Senator Craig pleaded guilty.

The Senate should act sooner than later.

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It is legacy time, and the Child Health bill veto by President Bush, guarantees that this issue will haunt the President years after he leaves office.

The bill is designed to cover the gap for millions of children, not eligible for Medicaid, but with incomes a little too high to seek government relief. If a compromise is worked out, there could be a chance to get help to the nearly six million children involved. Don’t count on it.

The bill had widespread Republican support, and Republicans are angry at the White House. This will be one of the most powerful weapons that Democrats will use againt GOP candidates next year. It will be potent, and could cause major defeats in close races.

The White House has a legitimate argument that the bill may be too expensive, but where was the spirit of compromise that you expect from leaders who are bold and visionary?

I would like to know who is giving advice to Mr. Bush, and if any of these advisers haved learned the political sensitivities of dealing with issues affecting children.

As I said, it is legacy time and the people who manage the Bush White House are throwing fuel into the fire of controversy and the repeated charges of incompetent leadership against the current leadership on Pennsylvania Avenue.

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I don’t always agree with his viewpoint but over the years I’ve respected John McCain for his courage and his guts to speak his mind. But lately I have concerns about his judgment. His comments that he would prefer a Christian President and that the nation was founded on Christian principle were surprising. They came under attack by both Christian and Muslim groups. That’s to be expected.

The fact is that American is a largely Christian nation. But it is also a nation built on the principle of religious tolerance, and acceptance. The Senator was no doubt seeking the support of Evangelicals who have always had a tough time with his independence. Frankly, he’s too sharp to get involved in this kind of pandering, and he’s too classy to make a statement that will infuriate non-Christians.

I haved a view that is generally a minority viewpoint among the news professionals I talk to. By and large, I feel Americans want religion to be absent fro the 2008 race. Romney, Guiliani, Thompson, Clinton, Obama and Edwards have all injected religion into the contest. And now we hear from John McCain.

The only candidate who refuses to pander to religious groups is Joe Biden. It is ironic that he is also the most qualified person to be President. Although he is personally religious, Biden understands the Constitution and the desire of voters to place individual competence over personal preferences.

John McCain should take a cue from his Senate buddy and keep religious out of his campaign speeches.

I would hate to see him lose his dignity in this contest. He has done so much for his country to let that happen.

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