We need a word for it

There has to be some word that conveys a level of effrontery far beyond “gall,” “brass,” “nerve,” and “chutzpah.” We need a concept that is capable of referring to Saddam Hussein’s practice of shooting political opponents and then charging their relatives for the cost of the bullets. And we need this concept right now, in order to refer to U.S.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s assertion that “he would ask BP to repay the salaries of any workers laid off because of the six-month moratorium on deepwater exploratory drilling imposed by the U.S. government after the spill.”

I have a better idea: How about having the U.S. government compensate BP for any damages it may have caused by offshore drilling if the government has in any way made it impossible or disadvantageous for the company to drill on land.

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