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March 22, 2007
$20 Billion In Pork for Iraq Bill
by Jack Lee
We just tossed out a bunch of Republicans for doing this and here come the Democrats, thus providing a strong hint it's more a flawed system than flawed party's. It's estimated that the Defense Appropriations Bill, which will include a time-line for withdrawl and benchmarks, will also include about 20 billion in pork spending. The pork includes temptations to lure key Republican legislator support. But, wasn't it the Democrats who spent the last couple of years complaining Republican spending, pork and deficits?
Bush has yet to veto a spending bill and Dems are betting he’ll sign the Iraq appropriations bill with all it's pork, like money for peanut storage in Georgia, spinach growers in California, menhaden in the Atlantic Ocean and even more office space for the lawmakers themselves is included in what has ballooned into a $124 billion war bill! ! The bill includes $74 million for peanut storage, $25 million for spinach growers and $100 million for citrus growers.
"We have provided all of the money the president requested- and more," boasted House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer.
Bottom line: The bill with all it's timeline stipulations and benchmarks would in essence make Nancy Pelosi the defacto commander-in-chief for managing the Iraq war.
Posted by Post Scripts at March 22, 2007 09:36 AM
Comments
Yep this bill is full of unrelated PORK spending but the House bill is also all HEADLINES and BS according to this MSNBC story. First the headline:
“Pelosi on brink of big win with Iraq funding test”
Pelosi’s big win my foot!
The exceptions that make this bill silly occur near the bottom of page 1:
The supplemental spending bill would continue to pay for the U.S. mission in Iraq and would authorize that mission at least for 12 more months and possibly longer.
The bill tries to limit the length of deployment of Army soldiers to 365 days in Iraq and of Marines to 210 days. But it permits President Bush to waive those restrictions.
It also permits U.S. forces to be kept in Iraq beyond the bill's August 2008 exit target date if they are training Iraqi soldiers or if they are engaging in missions to kill or capture members of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations.
Posted by: Tina at March 22, 2007 10:13 PM
"Pelosi’s big win my foot!"
Tina, I think if this bill passes, as is, it's a negative for the system and for the president.
Here's why:
Pelosi would be the benefactor as Madame Speaker because the perception is she's calling the shots in Iraq (no pun intended).
I resent the extortion/pork used to purchase cooperation and I have a really big problem with Congress setting any sort of ground rules, timetables and/or benchmarks.
As Bill O'Reilly said, for Congress to set this tone "It is like 535 generals micro-managing the war."
I hate passing ANY new laws, (we got enough) but if Congress can't reform or resist the temptation for pork, then THERE ARE OUGHTTA BE A LAW...that says a bill must stand alone and be voted up or down without the addition of pork, especially when it's used as bribery!
Posted by: Jack at March 23, 2007 09:34 AM
Jack, You're right on all counts and I didn't mean to imply the bill isn't bad news...it is exactly what we expected them to do. Thanks to the good people who thought we needed "change" or wanted to "teach a lesson" the left is empowered and they will probably do even more.
The bill is the kind of deceitful weany carp they always pull...and on it's face it is a lying peace of trash. The exceptions they put in it allow them some cover and they know no one will notice, they get to pay off certain people with PORK, they get to appease the "peace" flakes and they get to demonmstrate power. I don't blame them particularly...they are who they are.
The President in the mean time will not sign the stupid bill...he is angry...so am I.
My point was only to show the bill up for the deceitful anti-American-anti-troop piece of...I cannot go on, I will just end up using inappropriate language...be back when I'm calm.
Posted by: Tina at March 23, 2007 05:26 PM
Ok...now I can focus again:
a bill must stand alone
If we could get this accomplished it would go a long way toward making the dirty tricks go away. It might force some real debate.
As long as Americans ask government to address all problems and challenges this change is unlikely to happen...there isn't enough time in the universe, front to back, to get it done one isssue at a time.
Posted by: Tina at March 23, 2007 05:35 PM
"As long as Americans ask government to address all problems and challenges..." Yes, and therein lies the problem!
Government should have a very limited role in our daily lives, but instead we have thousands of intrusive, restrictive, confusing laws passed every year that are piled on top of the tens of thousands of other obstructive, intrusive laws we've past in previous years. It's government runamuck and we need to stop it!
Both the Federal and State government is fast reaching a point where they both need to be reformed and reduced from the top down to bring clarity, confidence and real democracy back to the people. This bloated, lethargic, costly, freedom robbing, redtape monster we have created needs to go!
When we can't even secure our own border and control immigration, one of the most basic and solemn responsibilities of government, you have to know we have a big problem with the system.
Posted by: Jack Lee at March 24, 2007 08:46 AM
but instead we have thousands of intrusive, restrictive, confusing laws passed every year that are piled on top of the tens of thousands of other obstructive, intrusive laws we've past in previous years.
If I had a few million bucks laying around, dreaming big, I'd hire a team of legal eagles to find out how many are in conflict with each other...and especially the Constitution...and blow the whole mess out of the water. Same with tax law. It's so complex even the people who are supposed to understand it cannot be absolutely certain they are interpreting it right.
Posted by: Tina at March 24, 2007 02:55 PM