Speaking of cronimals, the Bush Administration has been soft on companies doing business with terrorist sponsoring nations, far softer AFTER 9/11 than before, according to AP reporter Matt Kelley:
Despite the Bush administration's pledge to battle terrorist financing, the government's average penalty against companies doing business with countries listed as terrorist-sponsoring states fell sharply after the Sept. 11 attacks, an Associated Press analysis of federal records shows.
The average penalty for a company doing business with Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan or Libya dropped nearly threefold, from more than $50,000 in the five years before the 2001 attacks to about $18,700 afterward, according to a computer-assisted analysis of federal records.
What's interesting about this article is that Halliburton shows up yet again. Perhaps they will be the mother lode of cronimals this four years. Better yet are the cronimals here:
Nineteen executives or directors of companies fined by OFAC for dealing with state sponsors of terrorism were top campaign fund-raisers for Bush.
Halliburton, of course, is continuing to be under investigation. The next Halliburton probe looks to be about bribery in Nigeria.
Edit:Just for giggles, here's Karl Rove:
Not to get totally snarky and without reason, but the use of "architect" to describe Mr. Rove has been eating away at me. It's been all I could do to start shouting "Albert Speer" loudly at the television. But that would be kind to Rove, as Albert Speer was always labelled the "good Nazi." Perhaps I should remain pleased that this picture makes Mr. Rove look a bit like bullwinkle, or maybe a really really nerdy kid on his way to a sleepover.
Hmm, I guess that Albert Speer reference wasn't a source of huge giggles, was it. So sue me.
