Following on the heals of the House, it appears the Senate thinks adding pork to legislation will help fight muslim terrorists.

Here is what our United States Senate deems “emergency needs” for inclusion in a bill designed to appropriate funds for the war against terrorists:

$100,000,000 for the 2008 political party conventions.

$95,000,000 for dairy producers.

$24,000,000 for sugar beets growers.

$20,000,000 for, in part, insect infestation control in Nevada, thanks to Majority Leader Harry Reid.

$13,000,000 for “ewe replacement and retention”.

$3,500,000 for the Capitol’s guided–tour program.

There’s also funds for a tree assistance program, including, specifically, Christmas trees.

Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) offered an Amendment “to prevent the adding of extraneous earmarks to an emergency war supplemental” and it was voted down faster than a hairlip on American Idol. 49 of the 59 voting against the Amendment were Democrats (including Lieberman and Sanders).

1. I am thoroughly disgusted with the amount of the money that is spent on political party conventions. While most other pork projects are not preferable, they usually hold some form of public benefit.

   The political party convention spending is outrageous. I hate how closely the two major parties have woven their way into the government. At an organizational level, they are really no different than any other private group. That they are awarded such heaping amounts of money from the public by way of the government is disgusting. If they want to have the big parties and events they hold, they ought to pay for them the way other private organizations should by raising the money themselves rather than collecting handouts via forced taxation of the public.

   Both parties are guilty of pork spending. When the Republicans controlled Congress they spent on projects in their own states to help their chances of maintaining/growing their majority. I really wish there was a strong, viable movement that cut this type of spending back in a truly bipartisan fashion. And once that was accomplished, I’d gladly support legislation to disentangle the two parties from the government and force them back to what they really should be, private political organizations, rather than what they’ve made themselves into as public government organizations.

   Comment by forrest — 12:26 pm
   

2. Forrest,
   I think we finally found something on which we can agree. It’s a catch-22 problem though, as those who would have to reform the system are the ones screwing it up in the first place.

   The ironic thing is that they justify the appropriation for the conventions is needed to “help defray the costs”. Defray them from whom? It’s just taking from one account and putting it in another… and we’re funding all the accounts, anyway.

   Comment by Texas Rainmaker — 12:45 pm
   

3. […] Liberals passed ‘The Largest Tax Increase in History’ as reported at Hegemonic Pundit. James Whittington exposes Liberal longings for their glory days of mixed media martial arts in ‘Democrat Deja Vu’. Texas Rainmaker BBQ’d Liberals providing ‘More Pork for Islamic Terrorists’. Ed, at Captain’s Quarters showed us the Liberal’s Ms. Pelosi ‘Feeding Foes and Starving Friends’ as she led the House to condemn our ally Turkey for 100 year old actions and then left to visit the Islamists in Syria for a while. All this in just one week. Unfortunately, there’s even more if I wanted to take the time. […]

   Pingback by The Sound of Opportunity Knocking … « ConservaBlogs.com — 5:20 pm
   

4. […] …and 535 members of Congress want to waste the rest. […]

   Pingback by Texas Rainmaker » Tax Day is Upon Us… — 11:40 am
   

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