follow the money

Go, read some of this.

It makes me sick, but not much surprises me anymore.

I ask what discoveries Stiglitz found the most disturbing. He laughs, somewhat mirthlessly. “There were actually so many things – some of it we suspected, but there were a few things I couldn’t believe.” The fact that a contractor working as a security guard gets about $400,000 a year, for example, as opposed to a soldier, who might get about $40,000. That there is a discrepancy we might have guessed – but not its sheer scale, or the fact that, because it is so hard to get insurance for working in Iraq, the government pays the premiums; or the fact that, if these contractors are injured or killed, the government pays both death and injury benefits on top. Understandably, this has forced a rise in sign-up bonuses (as has the fact that the army is so desperate for recruits that it is signing up convicted felons). “So we create a competition for ourselves. Nobody in their right mind would have done that. The Bush administration did that … that I couldn’t believe. And that’s not included in the cost the government talks about.”

Then there was the discovery that sign-up bonuses come with conditions: a soldier injured in the first month, for example, has to pay it back. Or the fact that “the troops, for understandable reasons, are made responsible for their equipment. You lose your helmet, you have to pay. If you get blown up and you lose your helmet, they still bill you.” One soldier was sued for $12,000 even though he had suffered massive brain damage. Some families have had to buy their children body armour, saving the government costs in the short term; those too poor to afford it sustain injuries that the government then has to pay for. Then there’s the fact that it was not until 2006, when Robert Gates replaced Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defence, that the DOD agreed to replace Humvees with mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) armoured vehicles, which are much more able to repel roadside bombs; until that time, IEDs killed 1,500 Americans. “This kind of penny-wise, pound-poor behaviour was just unbelievable.”

Elections are coming up, y’all.

Neenex battle of the sexes

Me: examine all of the facial tissue offerings for several minutes, comparing price per each with such features as aloe or antibacteria crap; eventually picking one that is not too expensive but not too scratchy looking.

Two days later the dog eats the entire box.

She: Grabs a box with Ratatouille on it. Instant hit with the kids.

run on, sentences

Another month behind me, more miles beneath my feet.

pitter, patter

A couple of notes. I’m running lots of short runs right now, but that’s cuz I’m following Hal’s spring plan. What I’m most proud of is actually doing all these runs, as tempting as it is to stay in bed in the morning and go “it’s only a couple miles, I can skip it.” Instead, I’ve gotten moving. And it isn’t so bad.

(yeah, right, it was 32 degrees yesterday. That’s freezing, people! )

Another thing is that thanks to his 4 times a week schedule, I feel stronger and less tired when I do run. I have the beginnings of actual leg muscles, now. I don’t remember that before.

And why do I think so much about ‘before?’ Because I’ve lost a ton of fitness. In October I ran 57 miles. This month I’ve managed 40. Now, that’s more than January, and almost as much as January and December combined, which is a Good Thing. But last February I ran 59 miles (fifteen runs) and in April I ran 14 times for just shy of 80 miles. So, in my mind at least, I have a lot of room for improvement. There’s no way I can do the 8, 10, or 12 mile runs I was doing less than a year ago. Five miles is a lot right now.

And in case you’re keeping track ala the t-shirt, I’ve run 26 times so far in 08; so my ratio is about 26 to 1. Not something I’m particularly proud of…