<“Attorney General John Ashcroft was blissfully unaware of any threat of terrorism. On Sept. 10, 2001, he let the Bush administration's budget office know that he did not endorse an FBI request for $58 million for 149 new counterterrrorism field agents, 200 additional analysts and 54 additional translators. He also proposed a $65 million cut for a program that would have made grants to states and local governments for counterterrorism equipment and training. After Sept. 11, Mr. Ashcroft proposed $2 billion for counterterrorism measures. He apparently had a change of heart.”

Gee, think anything happened on the 11th that would make him change his mind? Didn't notice anyone else in Washington screaming for increased espionage funding before Sept. 11 either. If you can find a Democratic politician, many of them in possession of the same early intelligence information as Ashcroft, who stood up before Sept. 11 to call for more funding for the FBI and CIA, please point them out.

What the complete non-sequitor on Dynegy has to do with that is more than I can see, unless there's an anticapitalist quota that the columnist feels he has to fill.