War! Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely profits! Say it again ….

Life during war time is good for the economy. Or at least part of the economy — the defense contractor part. While the war in Iraq notches up in cost toward the trillion-dollar mark, some of the biggest names in defense spending are logging record profits.

You don’t believe me? Visit the Perpetual War Porfolio. This Web site tracks a portfolio of five stocks publicly traded on the Dow Jones Stock Exchange: Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Alliant Techsystems. According to the site’s creator, Dack Ragus, “The stocks were selected on the basis of popular product lines, strong political connections and lobbying efforts, and paid-for access to key Congressional decision-makers.”

The site lists influential political supporters as well as how much these patriotic companies pay their lobbyists. Since the site’s inception Dec. 2, 2002, the value of the PWP has increased 35.84%. By contrast, the Dow has increased only 18.08% over the same period.