Friends in High Places can Save you $120 billion

Speaking of people dying of lung cancer... you may have heard about the DOJ's decision to reduce the penalties it was seeking in its fraud and racketeering case against tobacco companies -- reduce them by more than 90%.
I've been idly watching the story, waiting for the smoking gun (so to speak) to appear. Voila!
The lawyers in charge of the case were not responsible for the move, and they actively argued against it. However, they were overridden by Associate Attorney General Robert D. McCallum.
McCallum "is a close friend of President Bush from their days as fellow Skull & Bones members at Yale University and was also a partner at an Atlanta law firm, Alston & Bird, which has done legal work for RJ Reynolds Tobacco, one of the defendants in the case."

Ebay

Up to $267. Keep it going, keep it going. There are now bids on all but 3 of the auctions. The one with 7 watchers now has 13 watchers and a couple bids. But the winner in being-watched has 18 watchers. Yes, this is boring, but I'm rubbing my little hands with avarice glinting in my eyes.