Federal spending in 2005: $2.154 trillion
Federal budget deficit in 2005: $0.318 trillion
Total pork spending in 2006: $0.029 trillion
Does anybody else see the problem with making pork a priority, at least if one is serious about significantly reducing either the budget deficit or the size of government?
If anything hurts this party, given the state of the Democrats today, it’s going to be that we slam each other to the ground trying to climb on our respective high horses of True Republicanism. I’ll let the religious right police their own, and for my part I’ll make this reminder to the small government wings of the party: ending pork will not shrink our government or the deficit appreciably, so cut the hyperbole and find something substantive to work on that doesn’t involve regular potshots at our Congressional majorities.
Source for spending and deficit: CBO. Source for pork spending amount: CAGW.
I’ve been tired the last few days, and haven’t managed too keep up with the Dodgers well. Apparently they’ve kept on losing, though have stayed in first thanks to matching Padres losses.
I hope this isn’t another massive downswing…
Via Robert A. Hahn, it seems that UN troops acted as a Hezbollah intelligence service, broadcasting Israeli troop movements for them. Says The Weekly Standard:
UNIFIL–the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, a nearly 2,000-man blue-helmet contingent that has been present on the Lebanon-Israel border since 1978–is officially neutral. Yet, throughout the recent war, it posted on its website for all to see precise information about the movements of Israeli Defense Forces soldiers and the nature of their weaponry and materiel, even specifying the placement of IDF safety structures within hours of their construction. New information was sometimes only 30 minutes old when it was posted, and never more than 24 hours old.
Meanwhile, UNIFIL posted not a single item of specific intelligence regarding Hezbollah forces. Statements on the order of Hezbollah “fired rockets in large numbers from various locations” and Hezbollah’s rockets “were fired in significantly larger numbers from various locations” are as precise as its coverage of the other side ever got.
No wonder the IDF was having trouble winning the war! Israel needs to warn the new French-led forces, though, that if they try this again, they’re going to be treated as they deserve to be: as enemy agents at war. And mean it.
Well, not in November, but as soon as we can give the seat to another Republican, California CD 45 needs change. I recently received some mail from Rep. Mary Bono that shows to me a complete disconnection from the principles of 1994, which were what caused me to vote for her and her late husband to begin with.
This mailing, which says that it is a “PUBLIC DOCUMENT • OFFICIAL BUSINESS” and that “This mailing was prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense,” is nothing but a self-contradictory campaign ad. On page two she has the nerve to say this:
Ensuring Fiscal Discipline
In an effort to control federal spending, I was pleased to vote in favor of the Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006. The measure gives the president increased authority to remove unnecessary or wasteful earmarks from spending bills. Congress must stand for fiscal discipline and reform. I am pleased that this measure will increase transparency and accountability in federal spending and discourage wasteful and unnecessary spending.
While on the back page, which is prominent in the original, folded-up mailing, she starts singing a different tune. I can’t bring myself to type up all this pork, so here’s a scan instead:
Two million dollars for Salton Sea research? Give me a break. At least Rep. Lewis got his constituents in Banning a swimming pool for a tenth of that! The Salton Sea is barely in our district! It’s mostly down south in Imperial County.
Anyway, does Bono really think that any members of Congress will call their own pork anything but “responsible” just as she calls hers? What a joke. Does anyone in Riverside County, California want to challenge this RMSP spender in the next primary? Please?
Apparently the International Astronomer’s Union has declared that Pluto is now the Dwarf Planet Pluto of Anaheim or something.
This whole thing is stupid. “Planet” isn’t at all a useful scientific definition. No benefit is gained by this arbitrary classification vs just keeping the OLD arbitrary classification intact. If any government money goes to the people who have been fighting this whole issue, we ought to revoke the amount spent on this stupidity.
Jacques Chirac’s foreign policy is a miserable failure. Tony Blair’s Iran policy is a miserable failure. So is what’s left of what Gerhard Schröder was up to. Diplomacy has failed in Iran because there is no credible threat of force to back up the will of the free world.
If only western Europe had helped out in Iraq, maybe Iran would be undergoing the same process Iraq and Afghanistan are now. But no, the corrupt anti-Americans had to side with the murderous dictator in Iraq, so now another murderous dicator in Iran is continuing to develop nuclear weapons.
What a rip-off.
This is lousy umpiring tonight, period. First off, Julio Lugo gets kicked out without even looking or speaking to the umpire. Nowadays merely expressing any displeasure with yourself will get you thrown out, apparently. Whoops, as I’ve written this, now Brad Penny and Grady Little have been been thrown out.
Penny got hit on the leg on a comebacker earlier in the game, and Little came out to check if he was healthy. A couple innings later, Little comes out to talk to Penny. This being a game between first and second place teams, Padres manager Bruce Bochy comes out and argues that Penny has to be replaced (which the Dodgers were not ready to do, having only just gotten Elmer Dessens starting to warm up).
Little was already mad, Penny’s already been mad, and when teh umpires conferred and decided to force Penny out, Little argued and got tossed. Then when the umpires came to get the ball from Penny, he argued and got tossed.
Must be nice for San Diego to get everything going their way like this. At least for the Dodgers, this all took 10 minutes, so Dessens got some time to get warmed up.
You got your cease fire, and now it’s falling apart. If you don’t act decisively, you’re going to turn your breather into a defeat.
Let’s go!
Kobe Bryant will appear on the cover of Sony’s NBA ’07 video game. Kobe was considered perfect for a game in which one player controls an entire team.
Yeah, we all know Kobe is that important to his team. You’ll notice other guys like Paul Pierce doesn’t get these jokes, though. Hmm, I wonder why that might be? Could it be they’re not as GOOD?