Earmarks part deux

This is a second attempt to publish this post.

"All politicians will stand for what they think the voters will fall for."

I came across more government spending the other day and it’s worth some space on this blog. Earmarks, yes that again. If you’re not upset after reading this, you’re either dead, or my senator. (How you doing Bill?)

The devil is in the details and I got the details from my friends over at Citizens Against Government Waste. When you get some free time click over and spend a few minutes/hours, but first take your high blood pressure medication. They just released the 2008 pig book and you’re gonna feel filthy after reading that swine.

Let’s name some names. (I love the First Amendment.)

Rosa De Lauro (D-Ct) requested and received $1,229,334 for mosquito trapping and research.

Wouldn’t a $50 case of bug-bomb kill’em and we wouldn’t have to research them? Problem solved. Put the balance back into the budget.

Harry Reid (D-Nev.). He pushed through $1,117,125 for Mormon crickets.

I didn’t know it took over a million dollars to find out the faith of a cricket. For 10 bucks, I’ll look for the crickets in white shirts and black ties….. And if their on bicycles, they’re Mormon crickets. Problem solved. Put the balance back in the budget.

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) He’s over a million in pork projects. One is for $97,314 on maple research.

What’s a bottle of syrup coast, 4 bucks for the good stuff? So it takes $97,310 to say…… That tastes good. Give them 5 bucks, and put the rest back into the budget.

Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) I’m going to write his name one more time. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) before I tell you what he pushed through, think about how much money you make in a year. Now think about $211,509. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) wanted the olive fruit fly researched. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) represents people living in California, hence the Calif. by his name…. $211,509 is going to Paris, France to study the olive fruit fly. Not California, not the United States, but good old America loving France. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) have you no shame sir?

(This bugs me so much; I don’t even feel like a snappy comment.)

$460,752 by two representatives and four senators, (un-named) for hops research. Hops is the main ingredient in beer.

For the price of a paper cup follow Ted Kennedy in the senate men’s room. There’s your research, put the rest back into the budget.

Here’s a good one, $148,950 by senator’s Max Baucus and John Tester (D-Mont.) for the Montana Sheep Institute.

Why do I feel the wool is being pulled over my eyes?

Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) This guys a piece of work. He got over 146 million for 63 projects in his home state. A ton of government programs for a state… Unbelievable.

Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) over 19 million for his state, in that nearly 3.5 million to save the seals… This country is falling down around our knees, but we got to save the seals!!!

Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) One of his 2.8 million dollar projects is $846,000 for a Father’s Day Rally. I ran in a Father’s Day race one time and it cost me 25 bucks.

Barack Obama (D-Ill.) The candidate for change just give the people of Chicago an aquarium to the tune of 1.6 million. Maybe his words of hope and change mean, we hope he changes his mind.

I won’t go into more detail, but the list is mind boggling. The list includes government funding for a golf program, a sailing school, lobster study, helping the oysters, opera houses, Presidential libraries (which are supposed to be privately funded) and on and on. 17.2 billion to be exact.

Here’s a fun fact. If you spent one dollar a second, it would take you 32 years to reach a billion dollars. Now times that by 17, and you’re at 544 years. So think back to 30 years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, right up till now. That’s how long its taken to reach 17 billion seconds. And our congress just spent 17 billion in a blink of the eye.

This earmark thing is nothing new. Just on a whim, I googled “Earmarks in the year 2002” and here’s what I found.

You and I allocated by proxy $273,000 to help combat teenage “Goth culture.”

We spent 1.5 million for a statue of the Roman god Valcan in Birmingham, Alabama.

The town of Moscow, Idaho was given a grant of 1 million dollars for “Intelligent Transportation.” The town has a population of 22,000.

Someone we voted for approved $50,000 to found a tattoo removal program.

This one’s a drop in the bucket, but it all adds up. Someone thought it necessary to spend $26,000 to study how thoroughly Americans rinse their dishes.

Now I love Elvis as much as the next guy. But we gave $4,572 to Las Vegas Helicopters. They perform airborne weddings officiated by an Elvis Presley impersonator.

I couldn’t google another year, I was too embarrassed by what this country has become.

A few senators tried to halt this non-sense (McCain is one of them), but it was defeated by 71 senators who like to spend our money. If your senator is on this list, I urge you to shoot him/her…an email, and tell him/her what you think. I’m not one to think a letter writing campaign will work (they never do). But I will write Sen. Nelson (D-Fl.) a letter, and he will receive this letter along with this blog post.

The only way to stop this is at the ballet box. But don’t count on that. We’d rather vote for American Idiot Idol, than someone who blows through 17 billion with the comfort of knowing we don’t care.

It’s upsetting and troubling to see someone or something you love with a problem. I love this country, but it has a problem and needs intervention. It’s no different than a drunk needing rehab, our nation is intoxicated and needs tough love.

Up next, my intervention with the United States of America.

If anybody sees a senator or congressman, tell’em they’re wanted in the Principals office.

That’s how Ron sees it.