DID KANYE WEST TAKE HIS MEDS TODAY? - The dumb question we're asking as terrorists in Afghanistan steal up to a BILLION DOLLARS of US education aid in Afghanistan so they can KILL our troops

We could talk about the billion dollars you just lost, but you want to talk about Kanye West.

The United States has spent $1 billion in your tax dollars to build and support schools in Afghanistan. The project is supposed to help educate and liberalize the country, moving it away from fundamentalist ideologies that are closely associated with terrorism. An investigative report finds that a billion dollars and several years later, these schools either do not exist, or are poorly run. Most Americans have no idea the program even exists.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Did you know about this program? A billion dollars spent to educate Afghan kids, vanished into the hands of unknown actors overseas?

You probably haven't heard. The sad fact is this headline must compete with Kanye West and his mental health. Forced to choose, most Americans prefer to read about Mr. West instead of their billion dollars. No wonder the political class has no respect for the average American.

So that everyone can get their Kanye West update, we'll include it here. Here's what you need to know about the man: Kanye West continues to act like a nutcase. You're welcome. Now, let's talk about something that affects you, even if you don' think it's much. 

Three dollars. That's how much each American is on the hook for educating kids in Afghanistan. And the princely sum is spread out over several years. Viewed that way, a billion dollars does not seem like much of a burden. And if the expenditure protects us from terrorism, all the better.

As it turns out, the American people have been fleeced, and that's how they do it. By conning you out of a few dollars here, or a couple bucks there, the impact of their fraud can always be minimized. After all, who cares how a few dollars are spent? We spend more than that on a single cup of coffee.

The principle of the thing matters. Getting away with it in this case means those responsible may repeat their felonies. How much money do we let them steal before we say no? More importantly, who's stealing the money?

These are questions raised following an investigative report by Buzzfeed into the "ghost schools" of Afghanistan.

Buzzfeed interviewed more than 150 people, and visited schools across Afghanistan. At the end of their work, they found that of all the American money spent to educate children in Afghanistan, virtually none of it has made a difference.

For the report, Buzzfeed spot checked 50 schools. They found that ten percent of them never existed. The money to build them simply vanished, probably embezzled. In the schools that did exist, conditions were dilapidated. Photos show virtually squalid conditions, broken windows, play yards filled with standing water.

Enrollment was far below what was being officially reported, and only 40 percent of the girls that were supposedly enrolled were actually enrolled.

Of course, government funding and donations continue to pour in, but for whom exactly?

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey has called for an investigation into the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and how its money is being spent. How is the agency being monitored and why haven't these abuses been found? Some of these schools have been transferred to the Afgan government, but why haven't they been maintained? Why hasn't USAID ensured their maintenance? 

There are plenty of questions, but no answers. This is upsetting because the American taxpayer has sent over a billion dollars in aid to educate Afghan children and the money has gone unto a black hole. How do we know the money isn't going to supply the Taliban or Al Qaeda, or even the Islamic State?

Even worse, what's happening now is only one case in a much wider crisis. Most Americans have no idea how their tax dollars are spent. There are no simple reports or easy-to-read updates. To discover the truth requires classic investigative journalism, a rare commodity these days. And even when the truth has been printed, most Americans are apathetic, preferring instead to read whether or not Kanye West has been taking his meds. We lose our minds over Starbucks coffee cup design, when we should be losing it over a missing billion dollars, some of which will be used to attack and kill our sons and daughters overseas.

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