Reuters: Top News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Members of the U.S. Congress and their aides took free trips worth nearly $50 million paid for by corporations, trade associations and other private groups between January 2000 and June 2005, according to a study released on Monday.

Politicians argue they would not know hurricane Katrina was bad, or that the Iraq war was happening if it weren't for these trips paid for by the contractors seeking bids for government contracts to elongate the Iraq War and the rebuilding of Katrina's path states to maximize their profits years down the road. Cut them some slack, how else are they supposed to separate the tax payers of the future from their hard earned dollars? -- David R. Remer, PoliWatch.Org.