Mission Accomplished
More corruption, waste and cronyism

You must credit the White House with ethical consistency. No matter what the area of governmental responsibility, this administration consistently finds a way to enrich its friends. The NYT highlights yet another No-Bid Contract --this one for modular classrooms in flood-ravaged Mississippi.

To the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the modular classrooms lined up next to the soon-to-be demolished former school show, as the billboard out front boasts, "Katrina Recovery in Progress."

But to critics, the 450 portable classrooms being installed across Mississippi are prime examples in their case against FEMA and its federal partner, the Army Corps of Engineers, for wasteful spending and favoritism in the $62 billion hurricane relief effort.

Provided by a politically connected Alaskan-owned business under a $40 million no-bid contract, the classrooms cost FEMA nearly $90,000 each, including transportation, according to contracting documents. That is double the wholesale price and nearly 60 percent higher than the price offered by two small Mississippi businesses dropped from the deal.

In addition, the portable buildings were not secured in a concrete foundation, as usually required by state regulations because of safety concerns in a region prone to hurricanes and tornados.

The classroom contract has already prompted a lawsuit from one of the Mississippi companies and a government investigation.

I guess next they will hire a consulting firm to determine how to revitalize small Mississippi businesses. Perhaps a subsidiary of Halliburton?