Archive for the ‘Pork Barrel Spending’ Category
Angry Santas
It’s that time of year. Every child knows that Santa is watching his or her every move. He’s making a list and checking it twice. He’s going to find out who has been naughty or nice.
This year, there is a new kind of Santa in every city and town across America. These Santas are not watching the children. These Santas are watching our lawmakers in Washington. They remember the unwanted present (Obamacare) that arrived last Christmas Eve and they are determined to do whatever it takes to return it. Read the rest of this entry »
What’s that smell coming from D.C.?
If you are going to clean out a refrigerator, you start with the part that smells. In Washington, it’s pork, not in the frig, but on Capitol Hill. This pork, otherwise known as an “earmark,” is a project that is slipped into a bill by a lawmaker that circumvents the merit-based or competitive process and serves a narrow or special interest.
An infamous one that shows up almost every year is “wood utilization research.” We’re spending $4,841,000 on new ways to use wood (trees) this year. Has anyone heard of paper bags? I’ll give it to you for free and you can save taxpayers $4.8 million. That’s a perfectly good use for wood. However, many cities now are trying to ban paper bags in order to save trees! The irony of it all!
These projects add up. Citizens Against Government Waste has documented 109,952 of them worth $307.8 billion since 1991. Read the rest of this entry »
Political Earthquake in Utah
When an earthquake hits, once the shaking stops, those still standing breathe a sign of relief. The uneducated assume the danger has passed and go on about their business. The wise, head for an outdoor clearing or seek appropriate shelter knowing full well that the first tremor can be a foreshock of a much bigger earthquake to follow.
On Saturday, a political earthquake occurred in Utah. Senator Robert Bennett, an 18-year veteran and a member of the Upper Chamber’s Republican ruling elite, lost his bid for another six-year term, when he was denied his party’s nomination at the state convention in Salt Lake City.
It’s hard enough to defeat an incumbent congressman in a primary and next to impossible to defeat a sitting senator! Was this the “big one” in 2010, or simply a harbinger of things to come? Read the rest of this entry »
Senate put on Tea Bag Alert
A warning went out earlier this month from the Sergeant at Arms to Chiefs of Staff, Staff Directors, Administrative Managers and Chief Clerks in the United States Senate. It was short and to the point.
Suspicious Characteristics Mailing (Tea Bags)
The Senate Post Office has recently seen an influx of envelopes containing tea bags addressed to Senate offices. The envelopes have been irradiated, X-rayed, opened and tested by the Senate Post Office and have been cleared and deemed safe for delivery. However, it is possible some of the envelopes may have loose tea inside.
If you have any questions or concerns about this mailing
you may contact the United States Capitol Police Threats Assessment Section at 4-1495.
Yes, thanks to your efforts the Senate has been put on a tea bag alert! Read the rest of this entry »
After the Tea Party
Congratulations to all who participated in the nation-wide tea party protests.
Yes, you were heard, but in order to have a lasting effect, there must be a follow through.
If there had been no follow through after the 1773 protest in Boston Harbor – no addition protests, no convening of the First Continental Congress, no Revolutionary War – there would be no United States of America. Read the rest of this entry »
