Politicians grab billions of dollars

To the editor:Recent letter writer K.P.S. Kamath fell for the news media slant that the $4 billion in cash sent to Iraq in the early stages of the war that cannot be accounted for is biggest outrage of the day.

I am not defending this except to say we were and are in a war, and sometimes the best day-to-day records are not kept for a variety of reasons and should be investigated.

However, the $4 billion is paltry in comparison to politician theft. One example is the Big Dig in Boston projected to cost $2.8 billion in 1985 and as of 2006 has cost the taxpayers $14.6 billion and counting due to the shoddy work requiring ongoing repairs of leaks and causing risks to motorists. Another example is Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia (the king of pork), who pulled $3 billion of taxpayer money to his state from 1991 to 2006. In 2005, Byrd pulled $399 million in pork, $219.58 per capita versus the national average of $33.08.

Kamath should be more ashamed of our corrupt senators and representatives than fighting a war to protect our freedom.

BILL PALMER, Bakersfield, Calif.