Coming Soon: Cash for Appliances

This administration will never learn, will they? After the hideous "Cash for Clunkers" program, it seems that the wonderful folks at Government House are set to implement the same program. This time, it'll be major appliances instead of junk cars.

The "Cash for Appliances" program will get the rebate funding from $300 million of the $787 billion allotted by BHO back in February. The intent of the program is to get people to buy more energy-efficient household appliances while, in theory, stimulating the economy and creating jobs. Yeah...Detroit really took off after the "Cash for Clunkers" program, eh?

Rebate programs would be administered by the states with the blessing of the federal government. A survey of some of the largest states shows that California is planning to begin its program in March, New York in February, Pennsylvania in the spring, Illinois in January and April.

Under the program, Virginia is expected to receive $7.5 million, Maryland $5.4 million and the District $568,000, but the requirements and rebates have not yet been disclosed, although initial estimates have some potential rebates pegged at $50 to $100.

The federal government is also requiring states to disclose how many jobs will have been created by this evil twin of "Cash for Clunkers." Under the current figures, California, potentially netting $35 million, estimates that a whopping 350 jobs will be created under the implementation of the program. They estimate that for every $92,000 spent, ONE job will be created. My theory would be that it'll be a government job.

The home appliance market has been in a steady decline for the past three years. Do you think people are going to go out and immediately buy a new fridge or wait until the government is handing out money? If you said that the unintended consequence of this idiotic idea is going to further depress an already declining market, go to the head of the class.

"Cash for Clunkers" blew through $3 billion within the first week. How many days will it take for the government to go through a mere $300 million? And when that money runs out, how much more is going to be thrown at a failed idea? I guess it'll be time to fire up the presses again at the Treasury Department.

What needs to happen is peaceful, civil disobedience. The American people are sick and tired of the over-the-top wasteful spending on ideas that don't work and further push us down the economic hole we're in. The time is fast approaching where we will be required to ask ourselves "At what point do I resist?"

Stimulus Waste and Our Borders

Since Obamacare seems to be on life support (we hope), I've said in recent comments elsewhere that illegal immigration will be the next big issue to voice our opinions on. Let's face facts: We're slowly being invaded. Those who live along the southern border of this country and those of us who can read between the lines when Obama called us "demagogues" would probably agree with that statement. It isn't a military-style invasion, but the results would be the same as though the entire Mexican Army came fully armed across the Rio Grande.

When the $787 billion stimulus package was passed, Obama promised to put people back to work and jump start the economy. Since then, there have been millions in stimulus money lost to fraud, abuse, and pure stupidity.

Tom Coburn (R-OK) filed a report detailing wasteful projects that were funded by the American taxpayers when the stimulus bill was passed. I'll be doing a series on the top ten wasteful projects in other posts soon. Some you may have heard of, but some you may not.

Recently, according to Judicial Watch, a couple of news reports have surfaced with even more evidence of waste. Break out the barf bags, folks.

The first report found that approximately $1 million went to 4,000 jailed convicts. Among those receiving a $250 stimulus check were murderers and rapists who did not qualify for the check issued by the Social Security Administration. The SSA had also mailed out stimulus checks to approximately 10,000 DEAD people as well as fugitives and deported aliens. No wonder the program is broke! I've stated before that the closest thing to eternal life is a government program, and Social Security is a shining example of that. I guess Charon has upped his fee for crossing the river Styx and the cost of keeping your cellmate at bay has risen.

A separate report has also uncovered political influence being used in determining where stimulus money has gone with regards to our borders. Despite a promise of transparency, the report has stated that some of the border stimulus projects that have gone through DHS were done under a cloak of secrecy. Is anyone surprised?

Whitetail, Montana (population 71), has a checkpoint along the Canadian border that sees about three (3) travelers a day but will receive $15 million in stimulus funds to build a checkpoint station the size of a Hollywood mansion. How did this happen? Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Jon Tester (D-MT) pressed Janet Napolitano for the money arguing that it would create jobs and improve infrastructure. Approximately $63,000 worth of goods passed through the checkpoint last year. The project was low on the priority list that DHS is supposed to submit every year of repairs that need to be made to checkpoints. The Obama administration has carried on a tradition started by George W. Bush of using subjective standards to bump certain projects ahead of others, and Whitetail falls under that category. Ah...the game of political prostitution at its finest.

Janet Napolitano's home state of Arizona is set to receive stimulus funds for the busy Nogales checkpoint though it was not a major priority on the DHS list. The price tag? $199 million. Five times more than any other checkpoint will get. JaNa bragged about lobbying to get the project moved ahead on the list while she was governor of Arizona during the Bush administration. Stimulus provided the money. But I'm SURE there were no political favors, right? I mean, it's not like it was used as a political payoff to take the DHS Secretary's post, eh? That would never happen under the most transparent administration in history!

Securing our borders HAS to become a priority. It's bad enough that we are fighting the enemies from within, but we really shouldn't have to battle those coming from across the borders illegally. Unfortunately, Washington has chosen political favor over the security of this great nation.

Oh...and the Laredo, Texas, checkpoint that serves more than 55,000 travelers and 4,200 trucks a day? Despite being a very high priority on the DHS list, it will receive not one penny of stimulus money for repairs. Hmmm... if Texas was a blue state...

The Fattening of the Piggies

Citizens Against Government Waste released their preliminary report on the Senate version of the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. It never ceases to amaze me just what these bureaucrats will do with our money.

Pork Alert: Senate Agriculture Appropriations

(Washington, D.C.) - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of the Senate version of the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. In total, there are 296 projects worth $220.7 million. Subcommittee leaders claimed more than their fair share of the $220.7 million in earmarks, with Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) taking $12.3 million for 11 projects and Subcommittee Ranking Member Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) receiving $11.5 million for 12 projects. Their combined total accounts for 10.8 percent of the total amount in the bill.

The following are examples of some of the pork that was added to the bill:

• $4,841,000 for wood utilization research in 10 states by 13 senators. This research has cost taxpayers $95.3 million since 1985. One would think that at this point, all the uses of one of the world’s most basic construction materials would have been discovered.
  
• $1,037,000 by Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Susan Collins (R-Maine), Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) for potato research at Oregon State University, the University of Idaho, Washington State University, and the University of Maine. According to foodreference.com, the average American consumes more than 16 pounds of french fries each year.
  
• $1,000,000 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for Mormon crickets in Nevada. On February 27, 2009 Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) mocked this earmark on his Twitter page, writing, “$1 million for Mormon cricket control - is that the species of cricket or a game played by the brits?”
  
• $300,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) for shrimp aquaculture at the University of Southern Mississippi.
  
• $120,000 by Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) for conservation internships through the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association. The Wisconsin Ag Connection, a website that is dedicated to helping the agriculture industries in Wisconsin, stated that these funds “support an internship program to give college students embarking on natural resource careers real world experience.” Unpaid interns everywhere are outraged over this funding.

In a time when we are continuing to tighten our belts, this stinks to high Heaven. It's bad enough to do it in good economic times, but to do it now is political suicide.

I'm traveling down that "No Incumbents" road REAL fast!

The $100 Million Challenge

Remember a while back Dear Leader asked that government agencies cut their spending by a total of at least $100 million? The White House released the 20-page report yesterday showing where the cuts have been made.

With all of the spending that has been going on, this will be about as effective as peeing over Niagara Falls. Nonetheless, I do applaud the fact that government agencies are scaling back just as the rest of us common folk have had to do.

One thing to remember is that had Barry NOT called for these cuts, they would've been spending the money on what some would call wasteful projects (myself included). My comments will be in purple. Some of the cuts that have been made are:

• The Department of Agriculture’s US Forest Service expects to save $1.8 million in FY 2009 by ceasing to re-paint newly purchased vehicles; (Why would you paint NEW vehicles?)
  

• Numerous agencies will save money by improving energy efficiency and promoting more economical use of resources like water and paper. The Department of the Interior, for example, expects to save almost $1.3 million in utility bills and operating costs by FY 2010 by retrofitting buildings owned by the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service; (Don't break one of those new lightbulbs. The Sierra Club will have a cow!)
  

• The Department of Justice will save an estimated $4 million in FY 2010 by requiring personnel to make their travel arrangements online, rather than relying on travel agents; (Welcome to the world of technology. What took you so long?)
  

• The Navy expects to save over $10 million in FY 2009-10 by modifying maintenance procedures for submarines to reduce costs and focus on the highest priority work; and

• The Department of Education plans to increase its reliance on in-house resources for planning events and conferences. ED will require all D.C.-based conference with attendance of 250 people or less to take place in one of the Department’s two buildings – saving upwards of $65,000 a year. They will also eliminate a contract with outside providers to conduct Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act training to education community stakeholders. Instead, ED will be using existing staff to conduct the training, saving $70,000 for FY 2009. (Using existing resources to save money? What a boffo idea!)

One of my favorites:

Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services: meetings APHIS cancelled a meeting in Australia, saving an estimated $36,000 in travel and per diem. (They were going to Australia for a meeting of domestic issues on our dime. Ain't that nice? They're now thinking of teleconferencing.)

The report lists a total of 77 projects estimated to save $243 million. The rest of the report can be viewed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/blog/admin_savings_appendix_--_final.pdf.

Now if only the First Family would take a lesson and quit with the lavish vacations!

The Pork Never Ends

Citizens Against Government Waste has just released a report on pork stuffed into the Senate version of the fiscal year 2010 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. 308 projects are costing us $199.1 million. Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has $58 million for 30 projects and Subcommittee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) added $3 million for 11 projects, for a combined total of $61 million. That is 30.6 percent of the $199.1 million in the bill.

Here's some of what we're getting for our money:

1. $11,190,000 by 20 senators for 25 projects under the Historic Preservation Fund, including: $250,000 by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) for restoration of the Blount Mansion in Knoxville and $200,000 by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) for the State Theatre in Sioux Falls.
2. $4,000,000 by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Alcatraz Island). According to her website, the project is a “valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will provide the public with an opportunity to visit this historic building in a refurbished state, which contributes to the national priority of preserving historic buildings.” Earmarking $4 million during an economic crisis on building preservation is not a national priority.
3. $1,820,000 by Senate appropriator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) to acquire more land for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The earmark will be used to purchase 1,000 acres of fragmented land contiguous to the trail from owners who expressed interest in developing their land. Instead, the federal government will buy the land and leave it undeveloped.
4. $1,200,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) for rat eradication at the Palmyra Atoll Natural Wildlife Refuge. That money can buy 600,000 rat traps.
5. $1,000,000 by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) for the Chesapeake Bay Gateways. The Chesapeake Bay Gateways receive 10 million visitors annually. This earmark could be covered by charging each visitor 10 cents, which would take the burden off taxpayers.
6. $1,000,000 by Senate appropriator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) for the Sewall-Belmont House in Washington, D.C., which holds private events, offers catering, and is visited by tourists who are encouraged to leave donations.

These people REALLY, REALLY, REALLY need to go!!! They need to get the message loud and clear that we have had it up to our eyeballs with all of the wasteful spending that goes on in BOTH parties. The economy is in bad enough shape, and Obama wants to add to it with his socialized healthcare, and yet these people keep spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave.

As for me, I plan on keeping track of what each of these greedy government wonks wastes our money on. Remember these posterior orifices at re-election time!!

Cap and Trade: Big Names and Big Bucks Part 4

Okay. Now that life has slowed down a bit for the day, I can get back to this.

*=co-sponsored [PD]=presidentially-directed

Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $500,000

• City of Ceres, CA - East Service Road sanitary sewer extension -- $500,000

Diane Watson (D-CA) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $500,000

• City of Culver City, CA - storm water improvements -- $500,000

Xavier Becerra (D-CA) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $500,000

• City of Los Angeles, CA - Elysian Park water recycling project -- $500,000

Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $400,000

• City of Ridgecrest, CA - wastewater treatment facility infrastructure -- $400,000

Mike Honda (D-CA) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1.3 million

• *City of San Jose, CA - San Jose Redevelopment Area sewer main rehabilitation -- $300,000
• *US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Sacramento, CA - South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project (USGS) -- $ 1 million

Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1.3 million

• *City of San Jose, CA - San Jose Redevelopment Area sewer main rehabilitation -- $300,000
• *US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Sacramento, CA - South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project (USGS) -- $ 1 million

Ken Calvert (R-CA) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1 million

• City of San Juan Capistrano, CA - ground water recovery plant expansion and regional distribution facility -- $500,000
• Western Municipal Water District, Riverside, CA - Arlington Desalter Biodenitrification -- $500,000

George Miller (D-CA) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $750,000

• City of Vallejo, CA - Mare Island sanitary sewer and storm drain improvements -- $750,000

John Larson (D-CT) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $650,000

• The Mattabasset District, Cromwell, CT - wastewater treatment facility upgrades -- $500,000
• Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford, CT - Harriet Beecher Stowe Center Preservation -- $150,000

Ron Klein (D-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1 million

• *City of West Palm Beach, FL - water infrastructure improvements -- $500,000
• *Florida Trail Association, Gainesville, FL - Florida National Scenic Trail -- $500,000

Robert Wexler (D-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1 million

• *City of West Palm Beach, FL - water infrastructure improvements -- $500,000
• *Florida Trail Association, Gainesville, FL - Florida National Scenic Trail -- $500,000

Andrew Crenshaw (R-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1 million

• Jacksonville Water and Sewer Expansion Authority, Jacksonville, FL - septic tank replacement -- $500,000
• US Forest Service, Washington DC - Osceola National Forest, Pinhook Swamp Wildlife Corridor -- $500,000

Jeff Miller (R-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $220,000

• Santa Rosa County, Milton, FL - Navarre Beach water clarifier -- $220,000

Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1 million

• *South Seminole and North Orange County Wastewater Transmission Authority - wastewater structure improvements -- $500,000
• *Florida Trail Association, Gainesville, FL - Florida National Scenic Trail -- $500,000

John Mica (R-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 3 -- Total: $ 1.5 million

• *South Seminole and North Orange County Wastewater Transmission Authority - wastewater structure improvements -- $500,000
• National Park Service, St. Augustine, FL - Castillo de San Marcos National Monument -- $500,000
• *Florida Trail Association, Gainesville, FL - Florida National Scenic Trail -- $500,000

C.W. Bill Young (R-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1 million

• *City of Clearwater, FL - wastewater treatment facility improvements -- $500,000
• *Florida Trail Association, Gainesville, FL - Florida National Scenic Trail -- $500,000

Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $500,000

• *City of Clearwater, FL - wastewater treatment facility improvements -- $500,000

Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $ 500,000

• *City of Homestead, FL - water utility upgrades -- $500,000

Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $500,000

• *Florida Trail Association, Gainesville, FL - Florida National Scenic Trail -- $500,000

Kendrick Meek (D-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1 million

• *Florida Trail Association, Gainesville, FL - Florida National Scenic Trail -- $500,000
• City of Opa-Locka, FL, Public Works Division - wastewater infrastructure improvements --$500,000

Allen Boyd (D-FL) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $440,000

• City of Quincy, FL - inflow and infiltration improvements -- $440,000

Sanford Bishop (D-GA) -- Number of Earmarks: 2 -- Total: $ 1 million

• Fort Valley Utility commission, Fort Valley, GA - wastewater reclamation facility -- $500,000
• *City of Atlanta, GA - sewer system infrastructure improvements -- $500,000

David Scott (D-GA) -- Number of Earmarks: 3 -- Total: $ 1.5 million

• *Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, Atlanta, GA - multiple water and wastewater system improvements -- $500,000
• *City of Atlanta, GA - sewer system infrastructure improvements -- $500,000
• *Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Athens, GA - Georgia Streambank Restoration -- $500,000

Phil Gingrey (R-GA) -- Number of Earmarks: 1 -- Total: $500,000

• *Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, Atlanta, GA - multiple water and wastewater system improvements -- $500,000

More on the way soon!!!

Stimulus Pork: Cars, Crap, and Canned Food

From cnsnews.com comes this article that will make your head hurt and your blood pressure rise. Bungalow Bill pointed out the one incidence of waste in one his posts yesterday, but here are more.

Obama Stimulus Spending Includes Rental Cars, Outhouses, and ‘Sediment Removal’ Tuesday, July 21, 2009 By Matt Cover

President Barack Obama (AP Photo)

CNSNews.com) – Among the 3,266 entries in a government database detailing to-date spending under the Democrats' stimulus law are expenditures for concrete outhouses, “deli-sliced” turkey, and hotel bills.

Passed in February, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARA) – also called the “stimulus package” -- was sought and signed into law by President Obama, who declared at the time, “We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time.”

Among the more than 3,000 projects, purchases, and grants made with stimulus money obtained through the Federal Procurement Data System, some of the projects that have contributed to keeping the American dream alive include:

- $2.2 million to the Seneca Foods Corporation in Marion, NY for “fruit, canned;” the same company received another contract worth $196,797 also, for “fruit, canned”

- $4.8 million for “frozen, sliced ham”

- $5.3 million for “deli-style turkey breast” from the Jennie-O Turkey company

- $5.5 million in “canned fruit” from the Del Monte Corporation

- $16.8 million in “canned pork” from Lakeside Foods Inc

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack explained that food purchased with stimulus money went to help the needy, which also stimulated the economy.

“While the principal purpose of these expenditures is to provide food to those hardest hit by these tough times, the purchases also provide a modest economic benefit,” Vilsack said in a statement Monday.

Obama defended the broader impact of stimulus spending, saying that the ARRA was intended to “rebuild” the country better then he found it.

“[O]nce we clear away the wreckage, the real question is what we will build in its place. Even as we rescue this economy from a full-blown crisis, I have insisted that we must rebuild it better than before,” Obama said June 11.

Among the many things that have been built with stimulus money so far are:

- $971,711.42 to “replace pond liners” at the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery in Cole Harbor, N.D.

- $193,077 for a “double-vault toilet building” at the Hoyer Campground in Spokane, Wash.

- $487,944 for “toilet buildings and vaults” in the Pike and San Isabel National Forests

- $254,000 for “pre-fabricated restroom facilities” in Atlanta, Ga.

- $17,110 in hotel bills at a Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va., for the Employment Standards Administration’s annual “Prevailing Wage Conference.”

- $1.8 million for the “renovation of Slate Hill Barn and Hay Shed” in Front Royal, Va. According to the database the money was requested by the Smithsonian Institution.

Defending the stimulus from Republican critics, President Obama said the Recovery Act was doing exactly what it was intended, adding that the many projects already being funded would shield the country from the brunt of the recession.

“In a little over 100 days, this Recovery Act has worked as intended,” the president said. “We also knew that it would take some time for the money to get out the door, because we are committed to spending it in a way that is effective and transparent.”

Other things the government has spent money on are:

- $326,304 for “roadside vegetation removal” in the Six Rivers National Forest in Eureka, Calif.

- $928,194.50 to nine different firms to provide an “increased level of effort for dtv [digital television] installation”

- $25.3 million for the National Institutes of Mental Health to study schizophrenia

- $65 million for NASA’s James Webb telescope project

- $20 million for “sediment removal” at the EPA’s Iron Mountain Mine Superfund site

- $6,066.18 to buy “three laptop computers” for the National Fish and Wildlife Service

- $4,250 for “short-term vehicle rental” from Enterprise Rent-A-Car in order to “run errands” in Kings Canyon National Park in King’s Canyon, Calif.

- $840 to “disassemble” one desk and “properly reassemble and relocate” 2 other desks in Reston, Va.

Obama claimed that the stimulus wasn’t done yet, saying that it really wasn’t designed to kick in until late 2009 and early 2010.

“In the months to come, thousands more projects will begin, leading to additional jobs,” Obama explained. “But, as I made clear at the time it was passed, the Recovery Act was not designed to work in four months - it was designed to work over two years.”

This is just wrong on so many levels, but the one that jumped out at me while reading was $5.5 million in “canned fruit” from the Del Monte Corporation. Who do we know who has a HUGE stake in Del Monte? Hmmmm..... If you said "Nancy Pelosi", go to the head of the class. Tell me that's not payoff for political favors!

I'm rapidly becoming of the mindset "Screw them all." Maybe a clean slate is what this country needs.

The Piggies Just Keep Getting Fatter and Fatter and Fatter...

Yesterday, Citizens Against Government Waste released their preliminary report regarding the Senate version of the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

It's amazing what a bureaucrat will find to spend someone else's money on.

Pork Alert: Senate Agriculture Appropriations

(Washington, D.C.) - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of the Senate version of the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. In total, there are 296 projects worth $220.7 million. Subcommittee leaders claimed more than their fair share of the $220.7 million in earmarks, with Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) taking $12.3 million for 11 projects and Subcommittee Ranking Member Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) receiving $11.5 million for 12 projects. Their combined total accounts for 10.8 percent of the total amount in the bill.

The following are examples of some of the pork that was added to the bill:

• $4,841,000 for wood utilization research in 10 states by 13 senators. This research has cost taxpayers $95.3 million since 1985. One would think that at this point, all the uses of one of the world’s most basic construction materials would have been discovered.
  
• $1,037,000 by Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Susan Collins (R-Maine), Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) for potato research at Oregon State University, the University of Idaho, Washington State University, and the University of Maine. According to foodreference.com, the average American consumes more than 16 pounds of french fries each year.
  
• $1,000,000 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for Mormon crickets in Nevada. On February 27, 2009 Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) mocked this earmark on his Twitter page, writing, “$1 million for Mormon cricket control - is that the species of cricket or a game played by the brits?”
  
• $300,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) for shrimp aquaculture at the University of Southern Mississippi.
  
• $120,000 by Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) for conservation internships through the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association. The Wisconsin Ag Connection, a website that is dedicated to helping the agriculture industries in Wisconsin, stated that these funds “support an internship program to give college students embarking on natural resource careers real world experience.” Unpaid interns everywhere are outraged over this funding.

I will continue to keep everyone informed as to how your money is being spent in a time when we all could afford to keep more of it.

I'm starting down the "No Incumbents" road REAL fast!

RED ALERT: Tonight's Menu....PORK!!

I guess this has kinda become my calling for now. I'm working on earmarks put into the cap and trade mess, but I had to table that for a preemptive strike.

The Senate version of the FY2010 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act is going to be coming up for debate and a vote. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has uncovered some projects stuffed into this legislation that are suspicious to say the least. While we definitely need to fund DHS, tell me if some of these don't have a rotten smell about them.

Buckle up, kids!!

• $50,500,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Senate DHS Appropriations Subcommittee member Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Senate appropriator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) in their states. The Senate bill appropriates $132 million to the NDPC without the earmark; Nev., N.M. and Texas already have $23 million for NDPC programs.
  
• $43,300,000 by Senate DHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.): $39.7 million to construct the Advanced Training Center (ATC) and $3.6 million for an Operations Systems Center’s operating expenses; both are located in West Virginia. The Civil War Librarian blog reported that on May 31, 2008, Sen. Byrd visited the ATC’s new firing range, and told a crowd of more than 300 that “Today, the efforts of hundreds of people are spread before us like a blessing.” The blog noted that Sen. Byrd was “proud” that he secured $123 million in design and construction funds for the ATC since 1999, as well as $26 million from Customs and Border Protection. Byrd received one of “many rounds of applause” when he said “That ain’t chicken feed.”
  
• $20,865,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) for the Southeast Region Research Initiative in Tennessee.
  
• $10,000,000 by House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) for the National Institute for Hometown Security (NIHS). According to the Institute’s website, “NIHS is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. NIHS was organized in 2004 through the leadership of Kentucky Fifth District Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers. Congressman Rogers suggested organizing the higher education institutions of Kentucky to more effectively compete for research funds and projects aimed at improving homeland security. The Kentucky Homeland Security University Consortium resulted from his efforts. NIHS is the administrative manager for the Consortium.” In other words, Americans are paying $10 million so these institutions can be more effective at getting more of the taxpayers’ money.
  
• $900,000 by Senate DHS Appropriations Committee member Jon Tester (D-Mont.) for an Emergency Operations Center in the city of Whitefish, Montana. In 2007 Whitefish had a population of 5,849; the earmark equals $153.87 for every resident.

The number of projects decreased by 79.6 percent, from 113 in fiscal year 2009 to 23 in fiscal year 2010, while the dollar amount dropped by 31.9 percent, from $229.6 million in fiscal year 2009 to $156.2 million in fiscal year 2010.

Call your senators. Tell them the earmarks go or they do. This nation can't afford their pet projects.

The White House: European Vacation Cost Won't Be Released

Since 1995, Congress has required that salaries paid to staffers in the West Wing of the White House be made public. This doesn't include White House kitchen or maintenance staff, nor does it include the private chef that flies in from St. Louis to bring deep-dish pizza. All these "official business" family vacations are not included either.

You'll be pleased to learn that it is costing you and I $1,448,500 per year for the staff that Michelle Obama FEELS she needs to execute her duties as First Lady. In comparison, Laura Bush's staff had a budget of $561,325 for annual salaries. What the hell ARE the duties of the First Lady??? Hosting luaus and barbeques at the White House on our dime? And does that warrant almost $1.5 million a year to put together? I can put together a gathering on far less than that! And it'd be fun, too.

Let's not forget the family vacations the Obamas seem to take on a regular basis when Daddy O has "official business". Last month, Michelle and her homegirls went sightseeing in Paris while they were in town for the 65th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion. We paid for a huge staff, numerous aircraft, and a motorcade of about 20 cars for the Paris and London sightseeing tours. Right now, they're in Russia while Barry is taking nukes off the table to let the world know "Come hit us again!" This month, the First Family is planning a trip to Martha's Vineyard. Ain't that nice?

CNS is reporting that "the White House will not reveal the cost to taxpayers of the European vacation that first lady Michelle Obama and the president's two daughters, Malia and Sasha, took last month." Why not? Let me 'splain it to yinz.

A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from April 2007 provides guidelines for estimating what the first lady’s passenger flights alone cost in public money. That would not include the cost of the cargo flight, the Secret Service personnel or the cost for meals and lodging of the agents.

The report cited White House Military Office estimates from fiscal year 1998 that said the first lady’s passenger plane costs between $2,958 per hour to operate, while the Air Force estimates it to cost about to $10,789 per hour.

A flight from Washington to Paris would be seven hours and 30 minutes, according to Air Routing International, a company that guides corporate flight planners. A flight from Paris to London would be 40 minutes, and a flight from London to Washington would be seven hours and nine minutes.

If these flight hours are multiplied with the cost per hour estimates in the CRS report, the air travel cost would range from $22,185 to $80,917 for the trip from Washington to Paris. From Paris to London, it would range from $1,952.88 to $7,120.

The return trip from London to Washington would range from $20,706 to $75,523. The varying estimates are based on whether the White House Military Office estimates are used or the higher U.S. Air Force estimates are used.

Combined, the first lady’s air travel cost would have been $44,843.28, under the White House estimate or $163,560.50, under the Air Force estimate, but these estimates are for fiscal year 1998 dollars.

Adjusted for inflation to 2009 dollars, the cost to taxpayers of the Washington-to-Paris-to-London-to-Washington air travel would have ranged from $58,834.02 to $214,591.38, according to the inflation estimates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Costs associated with these trips, however, generally involve much more than the operational costs of the specific passenger aircraft,” the CRS report says. “When the president travels abroad, several passenger and cargo aircraft accompany Air Force One. When the vice president or first lady make such a trip, a single cargo aircraft accompanies either of them.”

Rules distinguish official and unofficial travel by the first family and administration officials. Official business would include the president meeting with foreign leaders, while unofficial business would include the president traveling to campaign for a candidate of his party or a first family vacation.

“The travel polices of specific administrations concerning the reimbursement of expenses for unofficial travel generally are not publicly available,” the CRS report said.

This takes real cojones. To take vacation after vacation after vacation while the rest of us are watching every dime we spend is elitism at its finest. They don't want the public to know because the seeds of discontent are already sprouting, and once it takes firm hold, it'll be like trying to stop a runaway freight train with a piece of cardboard.

Just think! We've only got 3 years 6 months and 12 days of this crap to go!

Outbreak on Capitol Hill

It seems that an outbreak of "porkitis" has reached pandemic proportions in our nation's capital.

The Washington Examiner revealed Friday yet another earmark stuffed into the Interior-Environment appropriations bill. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) is the author of this one. If it passes the Senate and gets signed by Dear Leader, this is where some of your money is going.

It seems that Ms. DeLauro attached a $150,000 earmark to the 2010 bill for renovations on The Sterling Opera House in New Haven, Connecticut. The problem? The venue has been empty since 1965 and not used as a theater since 1945. Kind of like money for the John Murtha "Airport to Nowhere". Disgraceful.

New Haven's unemployment rate is at a 17-year high at 8.4%, but Ms. DeLauro feels that renovating the Sterling Opera House will "generate tremendous interest in the arts." Yeah...and Obama MIGHT produce the official birth certificate.

How will people afford to attend swanky events at the opera house if they don't have a job, Ms. DeLauro??? You are an economic nitwit. And that's a statement coming from one.

Ms. DeLauro's Washington phone number is 202-225-3661.