Take Action: $170 Million More in Military Aid to Israeluncomfortably numbJuly 4 - 2:03 pmIt’s bad enough that Congress passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008 two weeks ago, spending $165 billion more on our country’s illegal war on and occupation of Iraq well into 2009. To add insult to injury, after closely reading the bill, we discovered that Congress snuck in a last-minute earmark for $170 million in military aid
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Pet Projects or Legitimate Spending'Granby 01033July 4 - 10:17 amFrom a distance, it's easy to criticize someone else's earmark. $50,000 for a dance festival' $25,000 for a town's anniversary' Are these wastes of money' The Globe seems to think so. (What else to make of the headline "Lawmakers feeding pet projects: Bacon comes home to every corner of the Commonwealth"'). For every bridge to nowhere, money flows to deserving projects and disadvantaged communities. Pork is often in the eye of the beholder.One item calls for $200,000 to be disbursed to the Boston Symphony Orchestra so the renowned group can renovate and repair Tanglewood. There is $25,000 in s
Letter Re: The Reactive Culture, or 20 Years of Greater DepressionSurvivalBlog.comJuly 3 - 11:52 pmDear Jim,
America, and modern industrial democracy, is a reactive culture. We wait for
disaster to strike, then we talk about it, vote, and throw money at it until
it goes away. That's what we've been doing since the deficit spending initiated
by FDR, socialist that he was. Now we've reached the end of deficit spending,
having exported our jobs, currency, and control of our economy overseas and
become a great big lazy balloon floating over the glass recycling bin at
the local dump. Gasoline, food, and other essentials are in a tight 18% inflationary
spiral and the
Thad Cochran in Tuesday's Sun Herald on John McCain's temperCotton MouthJuly 3 - 3:45 pmJohn McCain was a hard sell for Thad Cochran in the Republican primary. The Mississippi Senator made several pointed statements directed at John McCain. In the Boston Globe in January, Thad had this to say about Senator McCain."The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Cochran said about McCain by phone. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."Thad is one of the largest purveyors of pork in the Senate. John McCain's only economic policies of note are to extend the Bush tax cuts, and to end pork barrel spending. It is not hard to figur
STORIES OF THE DAY (Thursday, July 3rd, 2008)Louisiana Political News ServiceJuly 3 - 12:49 pm.. GOVERNOR JINDAL: 'I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER'Jindal's Veto Was Right ChoiceTIMES PICAYUNE EDITORIAL: Lawmakers Just Don't Get ItState Begins Fiscal Year Without BudgetJINDAL STOPS RACINOJindal Still Mulling Over Line Item VetoesCHRIS JOHN LOBBYING CLAUSE SLIPS IN DESPITE VETOWho's in the House, What's in the Senate...NEW TV SPOT IN 4TH DISTRICT RACE FOR CONGRESSLetter To The Editor: PASTOREK PAY, No-Bid ConsultantsGovernor To Predators: "My Message To Those Monsters Is" Stay Away From La.Nearly All Of La. Arts Council ResignsPORK PLATE: Federal Earmarks, Commonly Blasted As 'Pork Barr
My other candidate is a bikeGristmill: The environmental news blog | GristJuly 3 - 12:18 pmBy David RobertsGreat story in CQ this week on bike politics. Did you know that Obama met a few weeks ago with 160 cycling advocates and promised them his support' I didn't. The 600-pound gorilla in transportation politics is the 2009 negotiation of a new highway bill, which according to CQ "is already being touted as embodying the greatest overhaul of federal transportation policy since President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Interstate Highway Act into law half a century ago." It might behoove CQ to add, "if Obama wins." Just as McCain's "don't pick winners" energy
Huckabee’s PAC Endorses Alaskan PorkerARRA News ServiceJuly 3 - 12:48 amBill Smith, ARRA Editor: Charles Signorile, Constitutionally Right questioned the endorsement by Mike Huckabee of Alaskan Rep. Don Young.Mike Huckabee has just made a decision which could eventually lead to the end of his new PAC, even before it has begun. When Huckabee initially announced his plans for HuckPac, he left Conservatives with the impression he would only be supporting Conservative candidates, as opposed to those who just happen to have an ‘R’ after their name. Last week Huckabee gave us a stark reminder that politics mean more than principle as he announced his endorsement of
Hulshof vs. SpendingKY3 Political NotebookJuly 2 - 10:20 pmDO EARMARKS MATTER'In a one-on-one interview with Kenny Hulshof, the Notebook attempts to figure out why the Congressman now running for Governor voted for 4 earmarks Sarah Steelman is calling "wasteful." The aim is also to give him the opportunity to defend his record and hear about the merits and motives behind the four following projects. AT ISSUE: The Maine Lobster Institute, A Christmas Tree Exhibit, The San Francisco Urban Center, The Woodstock Concert HallThe conversation is divided into three separate clipsIn the first clip, the Congressman says that ultimately he voted against the b
Obama veep updatePolitics from a New Brunswick perspectiveJuly 2 - 3:53 pmBack in May, I wrote about my thoughts for the Obama veepstakes. The most likely candidate in my view was Wes Clark, who has probably knocked himself down the ladder a bit over the past few days making sensible but politically incorrect statements about John McCain's military service vis-à-vis qualifications for the presidency. Though some argue it may help him.In my view, it hurts him a bit, but Clark is still a compelling vice-presidential choice for Obama. I would move him down from the number 1 slot to 3rd or 4th (behind Nunn or Webb).This is however a name I didn't consider before tha
Desperation time for Democrats in 6th District raceTONY PHYRILLASJuly 2 - 1:36 pmThe Democratic Party is worried about holding on to its 2006 Congressional gains -- at least in Pennsylvania.Democrats won four Pennsylvania Congressional seats held by the GOP in 2006 by linking every incumbent Republican Congressman to George W. Bush. But two years of broken promises, uncontrolled pork spending and inaction on many issues has left Congressional Democrats vulnerable. Don't be surprised if Republicans take back at least three Pennsylvania Congressional seats in November.One district that has been a battleground for six years is again in the spotlight.The Dems have launched att
Beck, O'Scanlon and Casagrande Rip Corzine's Budget SpinMoreMonmouthMusingsJuly 2 - 11:38 amWar is Peace, Love is Hate, and Borrowing More is Borrowing LessSenator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (R-12) issued this top ten list of misinformation given out by the Corzine administration regarding the FY'09 State Budget:10. "This budget pays down debt."The budget increases debt for school construction by $3.9 billion without voter approval.9. "This budget has no tax increases in it."Slashing rebates and cutting municipal aid by up to 25% for many towns and then sending them increased pension and health care bills means property tax incre
Huckabee Doesn’t Get ItNixGuy.comJuly 2 - 9:13 amFiled under: Featured Stories, Mike Huckabee, Primaries, 2008 PresidentI've been sympathetic to Huckabee during the nomination, but that's over now. All of those who were warning that Huckabee was a flim flam who would lead the GOP in the wrong direction, hear this loudly. You were absolutely right, and while McCain is another wrong direction, Huckabee would have been no better.
This all stems from this blog post at The Next Right detailing Huckabee standing up for Don Young, the pork king of Alaska (and sadly, a Republican). It concludes:
Huckabee's followers understand enough about fiscal
Daily News Update - Wednesday, July 2, 2008Hoosier Political ReportJuly 2 - 7:40 amINDIANA WIRE
Judge throws out new Ind. law on explicit material
Obama spending resources in 'red' Indiana
Quayle respects Obama; McCain has uphill battle
McCain criticizes Obama's high court favorites
NORTHERN INDIANA
Gary Post-Tribune
Indiana schools targeted
Sheriff: Jail overcrowding a major worry
Hobart mayor to ask board to approve parking lot construction contract
Gas use down, but prohibited use continuing
EDITORIAL: Elected school board needed in Valparaiso
Times of Northwest Indiana
McCain: Throw the book at earmark spending
Lectern vanishes with Clinton campaign
Gas g
Huck ♥'s PorkersSlublog - Changing the World, One Rant at a TimeJuly 1 - 11:38 pmWhat do you mean by "your money'" Does not compute.
Crossin' that Bridge to Nowhere.Huck PAC, created by former Arkansas Governor and Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, has officially endorsed Congressman Don Young in his re-election bid for Alaska's seat in the House of Representatives.The endorsement was unpopular enough to force Huckabee to respond on his website. Looks like Young got this endorsement based on his "pro-family" votes and pure cronyism. Awesome.
Young is a terrible choice, and not just because he was the sponsor of the "bridge to nowhere." He's also been t
Pork Alert: Interior and EnvironmentDocutickerJuly 1 - 11:16 pmPork Alert: Interior and Environment
Source: Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of the House version of the Fiscal 2009 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. There are 247 projects (PDF; 600 KB), costing taxpayers $134.9 million.
Here are some outrageous examples of wasteful spending that