The Fat Lady Is Singing

The 108th Congress is winding down, just having passed a massive spending bill that virtually no one has read and no one knows much about. Did any of you see the size of the bill, copies of which sat unread on the desks of senators while they had their chance to speak? The stack of paper on each desk looked like it was about 14 inches tall. Supposedly every bill is read three times in the course of deliberations before a vote. But this bill could never have been read. It is the "fattest legislative hog" ever seen. Despite record deficits, lawmakers are much more concerned with feathering the nests of their favorite projects back in their home states.

We'll be swimming up a river of red ink for quite some time.

Click on the blog title above to read 20 of the most egregious earmarks in the bill, including:

• $25,000 for curriculum development for the study of mariachi music (NV)
• $45,000 for A+ for Abstinence program (PA)
• $225,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation (SC)
• $250,000 for Asparagus Technology and Production (WA)

If this were a Saturday Night Live skit, we could laugh, but there is nothing even remotely humorous about this. Our Congressional members should be hanging their collective heads. Are they? Not as far as I can see. They are just chomping at the bit to get out of town for Turkey Day. Disgraceful.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. There was also a $2 million provision for the re-purchase of the presidential yacht Sequoia. Beyond the pale.