Skin the poor, stuff the rich—“In the largest criminal tax case ever, accounting tax titan KPMG admitted to running fraudulent tax shelters for rich clients and settled with prosecutors for $456 million. The scheme, which took place from 1996 to 2002, churned out $11 billion in phony tax losses.”—USA Today.

Only a few openings for sweepers?—In Springfield, Illinois, rights groups are protesting the hiring policy at the Abraham Lincoln museum and library. With a staff of 107 there are seven minorities.

More crimes to cover up?—Last year, the government spent $7.2 billion stamping 15.6 million documents as “top secret,” “secret,” or “confidential.”

Fighting ‘terrorism’—In England, cops expressed perfunctory regret for their treatment of a great-grandmother. Eileen Kearsey, 79, was routed out of bed at 4:00 a.m. and jailed for 13 hours. She said she was treated like a suspected terrorist—grilled, fingerprinted, and a DNA sample taken. Finally she was released. She was arrested because two months ago, a complaint was made by a neighbor.

At best—“Students likely to stay in debt till 35”—Headline, The Times, London.

Thought for the week—Washington reports that the number of people living in poverty rose by 1.1 million to 37 million last year. It was the fourth consecutive year poverty has risen.  
 
 
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