from today's (Sept. 22, 2005's) on-line SLATE magazine's news summary: >The Washington Post says that in a break with tradition, the gambling industry will be allowed to take part in the tax breaks to be offered in the "Gulf Opportunity Zone." "The casinos don't need this," said one local economist. "If they are [eligible], that would be a complete waste of money." The WP actually has a better story buried—and barely mentioned—within its story: So-called opportunity zones have been tried before in the region, with questionable results. Western Mississippi has had one since 1994, and one economist said it has "had zero impact." ...
>The Post flags a GAO report concluding that the Pentagon's accounting books are so FUBAR the military doesn't know much it's spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. Really. Here's how the government report puts it: "Neither DOD nor Congress can reliably know how much the war is costing and details of how appropriated funds are being spent." The story is stuffed onto A23. That's better than the other papers, which put the public report nowhere that [this columnnist] sees. The Pentagon has been losing billions for years. Does that make it a non-story?...< -- Jim Devine "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
