And While Rome Burns...

60 Minutes had a bit last night on the waste and fraud lining profiteers' pockets in Iraq. The Washington Post points out that the Feds are granting "royalty relief" to the poor beleagured oil companies: They can drill on federal land for free. But health-care programs that actually save lives are being cut:

The spokesman for the American Heart Association said he cannot fathom why the administration has recommended eliminating a $1.5 million program that provides defibrillators to rural communities and trains local personnel on how to use the machines to restart hearts that go into cardiac arrest."Coronary heart disease is the number one killer in the United States," Nadkarni said. "This is actually something we can arm ourselves with."

Bush Budget Would Cut Popular Health Programs