Well, the fellow who uncovered that party, as well countless other examples of waste, inefficiency, largesse and all around incompetence at the agency, was the Inspector General for Homeland Security. His name was Clark Kent Ervin. Documenting waste, fraud, and abuse is of course what inspectors general do. Apparently, Ervin did his job too well.

Ervin was a recess appointment by President Bush and had worked in the Bush 41 administration as well as for President Bush when he was governor of Texas. Ervin's documentation of DHS waste and abuse apparently violated that sacred loyalty President Bush seems to value so much. He has not been renoniminated for his position, and neither the White House nor his sponsoring senator, Susan Collins of Maine, will say why.

Ralph E. Luker - 12/29/2004

This seems to me to be a big story -- or, at least, a story worthy of big coverage. One corrective, tho, Senator Collins was not his "sponsoring senator." She chairs the Senate committee which would ordinarily have held hearings on his confirmation.