The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is the federal agency responsible for all U.S. government international broadcasting, including Voice of America and U.S. broadcasts into countries like Iran and Cuba.

President Bush appointed “staunch conservative” Kenneth Tomlinson to the board of the BBG in 2001, and nominated him to serve as Chairman in 2004 2002. Today, a State Dept. inspector general’s report was made public showing that Tomlinson has abused his position and effectively defrauded taxpayers. Among the lowlights, Tomlinson:

– used BBG resources to support his personal horse racing operation;

– requested the hiring of a personal friend as a contractor without the knowledge of other board members or staff, and signed invoices providing almost $250,000 in compensation even though the contractor provided no written reports or other supporting documentation required by the contract;

– requested and received compensation that exceeded the maximum allowed by law;

If this story sounds familiar, it is. Tomlinson resigned last year from the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting after the CPB inspector general found Tomlinson had used “agency money to hire consultants and lobbyists without notifying the agency’s board,” among various other offenses.

Today, Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) wrote President Bush urging him to immediately remove Tomlinson from his position. (Read the full letter HERE.) Hopefully Tomlinson has the decency to resign first.

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Global warming, of course, is a serious economic problem. According to a new report released today by the World Bank, it’s also a problem that threatens economic growth worldwide.

The range of economic impacts of global warming is astounding. From the World Bank summary:

The report says that the consequences of such changes include decreased water availability and water quality in many arid and semiarid regions; an increased risk of floods and droughts in many regions; reduction in water regulation by snow and glaciers in mountain habitats; decreases in reliability of hydropower and biomass production in some regions; increased incidence of vector- and waterborne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and cholera; increased heat stress mortality; increased damages and deaths caused by extreme weather events; decreased agricultural productivity with almost any warming in the tropics and subtropics; adverse impacts on fisheries; and adverse effects on many ecological systems.

The World Bank stresses that we are already suffering from the economic impacts of climate change. According to the report, “in the absence of adaptation, the annual costs of climate change impacts in exposed developing countries could range from several percent to tens of percent of gross domestic product (GDP).” Worse, “much of this damage would come not gradually and incrementally through the years but in the form of severe economic shocks.”

Global warming deniers frequently focus on the cost of doing something about about the problem. But they never mention the cost of doing nothing.

For much more on global warming, check out Climate Progress — our new sister blog dedicated to the issue.

on the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Your window into today’s hard news.

President Bush says “the foundation of our economy is solid, and it’s strong.” That’s true, for some: corporate profits have now climbed to their highest share of GDP since the 1960′s.

But new Census Bureau data show the real state of the current economy. The Bush record on combating poverty and insuring more Americans is an undisputed failure.

More on the new census data HERE.

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“President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday challenged President Bush to a televised debate and voiced defiance as a deadline neared for Iran to halt work the West fears is a step toward building nuclear bombs,” Reuters reports. “The White House said Ahmadinejad’s call for a presidential debate on global concerns was a ‘diversion’ from international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.”