Frist Fritters Away Money in the Market

A campaign fund Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) controls is in serious trouble. It was invested in the stock market and has lost nearly $460,000 since 2000. Now there's not enough money in the fund to cover a bank loan the account took out. And these guys want to invest your Social Security withholding. (WashPost)

MoveOn Looks to MoveAhead

MoveOn.org, the left leaning 527 committee, is mapping a new course after the Bush reelection. Its $30 million campaign to unseat the President failed. But a week after the election, 18,000 members were already planning new strategy. (AP via ABC)

Reading up on the Iron Triangle

E-mails are shedding new light on the "Iron Triangle" -- the relationship between the Defense Department, the various military branches, and Congress. The Boeing tanker scandal is at the heart of e-mails examined by the Washington Post. They show people focused on preserving their careers rather than what the $30 billion deal would have meant to taxpayers. (WashPost)

More Forces for Iraq

US military expansion in Iraq will put the biggest number of troops on the ground there since the invasion. More than 10,000 service men and women already in Iraq will see their tour extended -- some for a second time. Another 1,500 fresh troops are on their way. November tied as the deadliest month so far in Iraq for American forces. The Defense Department expects things to get more violent in the run up to January's elections. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Who Needs the CIA

Start your own spy agency. A Canadian inventor is combining satellite images, GPS gadgetry, and links to online webcams to let anyone be an armchair spy. All you'll need is a computer on the Internet. (Reuters via Yahoo!)

The Hottest Ticket in Town

The $125 tickets to the Bush Inaugural Ball were sold out in 40 minutes flat. They're going on ebay for as much as $1,550 a pair -- $6,100 for a set of eight. But that's nothing compared to what the corporate sponsors are spending. The American Chemistry Council, British Petroleum, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Tyson Foods, Union Pacific, and Wells Fargo all shelled out $50,000 each. At least 23 other sponsors gave $25,000 apiece and 34 more gave $10,000 each. Oddly, all have something they want from Washington. It helps to pay for the President's party to help get him on your side. (AP via Yahoo!)

The Cost of War

A single brigade from Fort Carson, Colorado is facing combat death rates in Iraq that could eclipse all other Fort Carson based units combined. And that may be a sign that things will get worse before they get better for troops fighting in Iraq. At the same time, combat death rates in the Iraq War are relatively low for such an extended fight. (MSNBC)

Packing More Troops into Iraq

The Pentagon confirms it's beefing up forces in Iraq before the election. Reports earlier this week said the number of US troops in Iraq would go up before Iraqis go to the polls in January. The Army now says two battalions of the 82nd Airborne are among those shipping out. (CBS)

Still on Duty

It's a big shift for the military. Wounded warfighters who once would have been cut loose as civilians are staying in uniform. Wounded soldiers, Air Force amputees, still have a place in a military facing manpower shortages. (WashPost)

Cats and Dogs -- Under the Same Roof

When a Provo, Utah family tried to adopt a kitten -- they were told it was against the law. Seems they already had a dog living in their house. Provo has a law on the books that bans dogs and cats cohabitating in the same house. The City Council has decided to get rid of the law. (KSL-TV)

A Call for Quits

The US Senator leading the probe into the UN Oil-for-Food scandal wants UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to resign. Sen Norm Coleman (R-MN) made the call in an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal. (CNN)

What a Buck'll Buy These Days

The dollar don't buy many euros these days. And what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? A good -- and more importantly -- easy to understand explanation's at Boston.com. (Boston.com)

Straight from the Kabul 400

The Pentagon's using NASCAR technology to protect helicopters in Afghanistan. Chopper windshields cost $3,000 to $5,000 apiece. Your tax dollars pay to replace them when the prop wash whips pebbles through them. NASCAR racers use a $100 laminate on their windshields to protect them from cracks. The military's slapping the stuff on Chinooks and Blackhawks -- and think that'll save you some money. Maybe they could save some more by slapping sponsor decals all over the helicopters. I'd like to see the #6 "Viagra" Blackhawk. (DoD Press Release)

Topping the Ridge at Homeland Security

Tom Ridge's successor as Secretary of Homeland Security has his work cut out for him. Afterall, how do you top that color coded threat index and all the talk about stocking up on duct tape? Let's not forget how they've cracked down on fake Rubik's Cubes. Three years after 9/11, the Department still has trouble just communicating with itself -- a sign the biggest reorganization in the federal government since WWII ain't fully organized yet. Among potential successors: ex-FEMA boss Joe Allbaugh and Ridge's right-hand man Asa Hutchinson (a longtime Bush family friend). (CBS)

False Reports

Insurgents in Iraq watch CNN. So the Pentagon's used CNN -- and other broadcast outlets -- to spread false information. It's an ancient practice among warriors to confuse the enemy. It raises new ethical questions for journalists. (LAT)

The Unreported War Casualties

Nearly half -- 45% -- of the troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were married. The casualty numbers from the frontlines don't tell the toll taken on the homefront. The Pentagon has tried to soften its approach to telling survivors of a death. But there's only so much you can do for the casualties at home. (USAToday)

The Pentagon's Banned in Boston

Harvard Law School is back to banning the brass from recruiting on campus. The law school has a disagreement with the military's ban on homosexuals in the military. (Boston.com)