KBR, let's call it a scandal, not a "flap"

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times led with the headline:

"Ex-Army official says he lost post in KBR flap"

Flap is slang for: "uproar, commotion, scandal," (Concise Oxford Dictionary). "Flap!" Read the story. You decide if it should be called a "flap" which carries a soft connotation, as if the event is marginal, or a "scandal" which carries a condemning connotation pointing to corruption linking the administration to the military.

Facts from story:

• Official fired for doing his job, by his account. Comment: Whistle blowers get tarred these days instead of celebrated and protected.
• Official refused to approve more than $1 billion in charges to KBR until the Houston company provided credible spending records--reported by New York Times. Comment: KBR was a subsidiary of Halliburton where Vice President Dick Cheney previously served as chief executive. Further comment: When will the American people accept that a criminal class has been running its government?!
• KBR money would have gone to the troops. Comment: An army man explaining the firing of Charles M. Smith (a hero to us) explained: "Blocking the payments could have eroded services to the troops." Comment: A text book example of "double speak" the language of the government used in George Orwell's book 1984.
  

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