From FEMA rip-off to Howard Dean musical!!!

From American Progress:

Think Fast

A controversial Sept. 2005 government memo suggests that in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA authorized private insurance companies to overbill the taxpayer-funded federal flood program "while shorting people on their wind damage payments."

The escalation is now complete. "The full contingent of new U.S. forces being sent to Iraq...was completed by Friday, with 28,500 additional troops now posted in the country." Five U.S. soldiers died yesterday.

"Senate leaders agreed on Thursday to revive a stalled immigration overhaul," announcing an effort "to overcome conservatives' objections" by immediately setting aside "more than $4 billion to beef up enforcement of immigration laws."

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), "dogged by a federal probe of political corruption in Alaska, disclosed Thursday that he has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to review his latest financial disclosure report." Ethics reviews of lawmakers' financial reports "are unusual unless they are under a legal cloud."

The Supreme Court struck a blow against unions yesterday, ruling that states may "force public sector labor unions to get consent from workers before using their fees for political activities." Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said a Washington state law requiring such consent "does not violate the union's First Amendment rights."

"The increased demand for 'green' vehicles is spilling over to the rental car counter," as Hertz and Avis rental companies announced plans to add thousands more hybrid vehicles to their fleets.

"The Justice Department is investigating whether British defense giant BAE Systems, which supplies Bradley fighting vehicles to the U.S. military and is becoming a major player in the U.S. defense industry, paid bribes to win contracts in Saudi Arabia, Chile and elsewhere."

"The military's mental health system has 'fallen significantly short' of meeting the needs of troops and their families, according to a year-long task force study released Thursday." The report also notes that the "Pentagon must immediately start recruiting to fill a mental health staff 'woefully inadequate' to deal with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder."

And finally: Yeeeaaaarrrrrggghhh!!: The Musical. An "unlikely subject may be headed for Broadway this fall: Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign. Last week, Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal did a private reading of 'Farragut North' (written by playwright and former Dean campaigner Beau Willimon) about the presidential hopes of a charismatic, unorthodox candidate and his staff."

Wrap...