BRINGING HOME THE BACON

Congressional pork is on the rise once again. In figures that just came out for 2005, Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) has once again established himself as the undisputed "King Of Pork".

Sen. Stevens secured for his state $1044.43 per resident of your tax dollar. Second place went to Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) at $339.29 per resident, and 3rd place belongs to Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) at $262.54 per person. In contrast, North Carolina was in last place at $25.05 per capita.

So what exactly is pork? Pork is extra money that is slipped into "must pass" spending bills to benefit a particular Representative or Senators' State. These are commonly called "earmarks" on Capital Hill.

Why do our elected officials use these "earmarks" ... because we want them to. Many complain about all the "pork" in the spending bills, but we keep re-electing those that bring home the bacon. After all ... it's only "pork" when some other Senator is doing it, when our Senator does it ... he's looking out for us.

In 2005, the total amount of "earmarks" was nearly $19 Billion ... since we are running a deficit, we are paying interest on that spending. How is that looking out for us?

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THE WHITE FLAG OF COURAGE

I've let this go for the last couple of days ... but it just seems to be stewing in the pit of my stomach ... so here goes:

Just who the h-ll does Harry Reid think he is, declaring the war in Iraq lost? If we lost ... just who won? Was it Al Quada, the Sunni insurgents, the Shiite insurgents, the Baathists or some other group? Newsflash Harry ... it isn't over till it's over, and telling our brave men and women that are bleeding and dieing over there that they have already lost is not in the best interests of the United States. The phrase, "aide and comfort to the enemy" keeps coming to mind. Senator Reid, you are a disgrace to the office that you hold and should resign immediately ... but we know that you would never do anything that honorable.

Congressional legislation, that the President will veto, would set a time table for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. When was the last time we gave our enemies a schedule when we would retreat from the battle field? This is insane!

The problem seems to be that the Democrats have put too much time and invested too much credibility into making the war, "Bush's folly". Anything other than embarrassing defeat in Iraq would make the Democrats look bad, so that is what quite a few of them are striving for ... our defeat. I don't know of any time in history (including the Viet Nam era), when politics have played such an evil role in a war. There are of course exceptions (Joe Liebermann comes immediately to mind, though there are more), in the Democratic party that absolutely want to win the War On Terror. Unfortunately they are being smothered by the Reid/Pelosi wing of the party. These patriots need to cross party lines on votes regarding the security of this nation ... they can go back to the Democrats on social issues, and maybe they will generate enough good will to have their Republican colleagues vote for some of the things on their agenda ... and maybe Washington can get something done ... who am I kidding?

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LEGACY

It seems a growing trend among the super-rich is giving their money to charitable foundations.

Helen Walton, the widow of Sam Walton died last week and has bequeathed her share of Wal-Mart (worth about $16.4 billion dollars) to the Walton Family Foundation. The Foundation is a large supporter of public school reform and backs charter schools and private school vouchers.

First, Microsoft founder Bill Gates started the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation with a gift of $11.5 Billion dollars, then Berkshire-Hathaway mogul Warren Buffet pledged most of his $31 billion dollar fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1.5 billion dollars annually) and now this from Helen Walton.

What has brought about this huge generosity? Is it an attempt to give something back to the world? Is it an attempt to specify where their money is spent by giving it to the charity of their choice rather than giving it to the government in taxes? Or is it a little of both?

Whatever it is, the world is grateful and hopes the trend continues.

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PRIORITIES

It has been several days since the tragedy at Va Tech. We are hearing from both sides about how we either have to control/abolish access to hand guns or arm the faculty and certain students to prevent another tragedy.

I would like to point out an ongoing tragedy on college campuses. Prior to last week, the average number of homicides on college campuses were 22 a year ... the average number of alcohol related fatalities were 1700 per year. With the notable exception of groups like MADD, no one is up in arms about this very disturbing statistic.

Why is it that our elected officials are not debating this issue, but are quick to either defend or demonize guns. Could it be that the alcohol industry donates to both parties and the NRA for the most part only donates to Republican officials?

I am all for limited gun control ... extensive background checks, 3 day waiting periods, a limit to how many rounds a clip can hold, etc. I am even more in favor of stiffer consequences for DWI and selling alcohol to minors, and illegal possession of alcohol by a minor.

I do however understand the passion some people have about gun control. I guess if you have had a family member or friend killed by a gun, you have a right to hate them. I just feel that with 250,000,000 guns in the United States, if a criminal wants one ... he will get one. Law abiding citizens should be able to defend themselves against the criminal element that doesn't care about gun laws.

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THEY'RE AT IT AGAIN

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas plan to picket funerals for the 32 victims of the Va Tech shootings. The church has picketed dozens of funerals of troops killed in Iraq, brandishing idiotic signs like "God Loves A Dead Soldier".

I witnessed these lunatics outside Ft Bliss during a military funeral ... and if these are supposed to be Christians ...

I digress, Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell is warning protesters that they will be arrested if they interrupt the funerals. Good for you Bob ... it's about time that someone stood up to these holier than thou cretins.

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C YA SANJIYA

Finally, to the consternation of vote for the worst dot com and Howard Stern, Sanjiya Malakar was voted off American Idol last night. Unbelievably, this headlined the news this morning. So how does something as inconsequential as a TV show become this cultural juggernaut, and why do so many people want to see it fail? Well let's look at those who want to see it fall by the wayside ...

Vote for the worst dot com says it wants to see Idol fail because of the audition process. Contestants of moderate to above average skills do not get to see the judges, being replaced by ones who are really bad and could lead to higher ratings for the show.

Howard Stern is a shock jock that would just like to ruin other people's fun and joy. American Idol is a show that the whole family watches together. In fact it is probably the only night that my family enjoys a meal together ... something that is sadly lacking in many families today.

Other networks hate Idol because the higher the ratings Idol gets, the lower their shows get. In fact, the other networks have given up even competing with Idol, choosing to put re-runs up against it. I thought for a while that ABC's Dancing With The Stars would try to go up against the Goliath of Idol, but after a couple of weeks, they moved their results show to after Idol.

Now, what, you may ask, is a post about American Idol doing on what is for the most part a political blog? Well, this attempt at sabotage is merely a reflection of what is going on in Washington. Republicans try to sabotage any good things that the Democrats try to do (IE: increased minimum wage) and Democrats try to block Republicans in anything they do (war financing, oil exploration).

Unfortunately, unlike Sanjaya Malakar, the American public has no wish to vote the scoundrels in Congress out of office. When polled, Americans seem to like their Representatives but hate Congress as a whole. Seems they love their Congressmen for the pork and jobs that they bring to their districts ... and hate other Congressmen for doing the same thing. It is time for Americans to stop acting like selfish little children and vote for the people who will do what is best for all Americans. This will probably never happen ... but we can always hope.

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IT'S ABOUT TIME

Well, the Supreme Court upheld a law banning the procedure known as "Partial Birth Abortion". My question ... what took so long?

Whether you agree with abortion or not, this is a ghastly procedure that would be more at home in Hitler's concentration camps than in American hospitals and doctors offices. This procedure is used to abort late-term pregnancies (third tri-mester) and is usually done by inducing labor, then shoving a needle into the skull of the fetus as it crests. The needle is swished around the inside of the skull destroying the brain and the fetus is born dead, just a mass of medical waste. It is amazing that the pro-choice movement would fight so hard to keep this as an available procedure for women. Though I would never consider abortion as an option for myself, I do believe that that is a choice that people need to make for themselves. That choice should include counseling about options, information and all the available choices. It should not include this barbaric option.

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HONORING A HERO

Often, we just look at the bad things in life and never search for the silver lining. In the Virginia Tech massacre, finding any kind of positive is almost impossible.

That one positive is 75 yr old Liviu Librescu. Professor Librescu, an Israeli immigrant and Holocaust survivor, held the door to his classroom closed while the gunman fired bullets through the door. When the shooter forced his way into the classroom, the professor jumped in the way, putting himself between the gunman and his students. Professor Librescu's actions allowed most of his students to escape out of the classroom windows. Because of this one man, young lives were spared and fewer parents will have to endure the nightmare of burying their children.

In my opinion, it is no coincidence that this hero is part of what has been called, "the greatest generation". I hope that the members of Generations X and Y have taken note. I fear it is too late for us Boomers to understand what sacrifice for the greater good is all about.

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JUSTICE DELAYED ...

Finally we see justice for the true victims of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case ... the accused. Reade Seligmann, Collin Finerty and Dave Evans were vindicated yesterday when the last of the charges against them were dismissed. Why it took over a year to come to this is beyond me, and beyond a lot of other citizens too. District Attorney Mike Nifong has much to answer to in this case and though prosecutors have immunity from most litigation and criminal proceedings for things done in the course of their jobs, we can all hope that at the least he will be dis-barred for his actions.

The victims of the travesty were many. First the accused that have been publicly ridiculed for over a year and have had their reputations dragged through the dirt. But there are other, future victims out there. What about all the future "real" rape victims that will now have their stories held with more dubiousness than before? How about tainted jury pools that acquit a rapist because the shadow of prosecutorial misconduct causes them to err on the side of the defendant (and what about this guys' future victims)?

Can anyone tell me why the accuser in this case isn't in jail right now?

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DON IMUS

O-kay ... For those of you who have chosen to totally tune out the world this week, Don Imus, radio and TV personality, has been suspended from the air for 2 weeks as punishment for his semi-racist comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball Program.

His comments were in poor taste to say the least, and if they were uttered by any serious news reporter or politician would definitely be considered racist. But let's look at the source. Before Howard Stern, Imus was the first "Shock Jock". Is anyone really "shocked" that he would say something like this? Imus has made a living out of insulting just about every ethnic and religious group out there and will continue to do so ... I mean if you were being paid millions to make an ass out of yourself, wouldn't you continue to do so?

A consummate actor, Imus went on the Reverend Al Sharptons' radio show and apologized for an hour. I actually started believing him ... till I remembered who he was. Still, Al Sharpton wants Imus fired for his comments.

Reverend Al, c'mon now, the man screwed up, and he apologized. Isn't forgiveness a Christian Value that you espouse? He doesn't need to be fired, if enough people are turned off by his "free speech", it will be reflected in the ratings and he will be gone. Haven't people forgiven you about the Tawana Brawley Hoax that you helped perpetuate? Reverend, someone that you say you admire once said, "He who is without sin cast the first stone".

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WAKE UP DEMS

Well the Democrats have been in charge of both Houses of Congress for about three months now and let's review their accomplishments ...

Now that that's done, let's review what they haven't accomplished. Minimum wage legislation is stalled, a supplemental military funding bill is doomed to being vetoed because of an excess of pork and provisions that amount to a coup d'etat of the executive branch's power to conduct war, they have not rolled back subsidies to big oil (though they are trying to add subsidies to peanut and spinach farmers), in fact they have not done anything constructive in their first 100 days ... let alone their first 100 hours.

Nancy Pelosi seems to be more interested in playing Secretary of State instead of Speaker of the House, shuttling between Israel and Syria to deliver important messages that are a complete fabrication of her rather dull imagination.

Democrats, the American people put you in charge for the most part because they were tired of the politics as usual that they were getting from the GOP. So what do you do? You give them the same political bullshit that the Republicans did.

All the American people want is a government that works. That means both parties need to get about the business of the People and stop trying to score political points at every opportunity ... otherwise look out for more wholesale changes in 2008.

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