"Shredding Soars"- A Bush-Land mystery

The following story definitely falls in the category of "interesting, if true"--and it looks plausible that it is true, since the information apparently comes direct from US government sources. Nor does it seem entirely surprising, given that we're talking about the most obsessively secretive and shamelessly high-handed Presidential administration in recent memory. (You do have to wonder, though--do they really have that much to hide, or is this just institutionalized paranoia getting out of control?) Still, I suppose it's possible that the explanation may turn out to be more complicated than it looks at first glance.

--Jeff Weintraub
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Radar On-Line
December 14, 2007
John Cook
D.C. CONFIDENTIAL
Bush Secret Shredding Soars













Behold, the Bush Administration in chart form: Federal spending on paper shredding has increased more than 600 percent since George W. Bush took office. This chart, generated by usaspending.gov, the U.S. government's brand spanking new database of federal expenditures, shows spending on "contracts for paper shredding services" going back to 2000. Click here for the full, heartbreaking breakdown. In 2000, the feds spent $452,807 to make unpleasant truths go away; by 2006, the "Cheney Effect" had bumped that number up to $2.9 million. And by halfway through 2007, the feds almost matched that number, with $2.7 million and counting. Pretty much says it all.