Lincolnite

Priorities seem a little skewed here.

What, isn’t it worth $866,000 to control the flies in our stables? 😉

That’s a whole mess of fly swatters!

I was a little turned off by Ben’s thesis, as presented by the LJS, that earmarks are needed. I still think way too much of it is fluff.

I can see wanting to bring home stuff for the district. I see roads and bridges and other infrastructure as needs. I see adequate fire and police protection as needs. Most of the other stuff is “wants,” which we simply cannot afford in this environment, or just plain “BS,” which we absolutely cannot afford.

I’d like the president to have the power of a line-item veto, and to actually use it.

Why is Creighton - a private, Catholic university - getting any money at all?  $95,000 for construction, renovation, etc?

What happened to grant money and alumni donations? Some of this stuff is good and will also help the whole job thing. But really?

$652,000 - Salt Creek and Tributaries. Hagel.

Hopefully he doesn’t intend to send $652,000 down the creek. Ha.

Some of that may come in the form of a grant. This legislation might just be funding specific projects.

If I told you they perform abortions there, would it make you feel better?

Since Obama campaigned against earmarks, I fully expect him to veto this budget. 

Not really.

(I pretty much tuned out all that “earmarks” noise last year so maybe I’m just ignorant.)

Back in the good old days(tm) pork was what you called things like the Alaskan bridge to nowhere - spending that helped a district bring in the dough but was pretty much indefensible in any other way.

Things like the Interstate Highway system were not pork.  Taking care of the nation’s elderly with Medicare/SS was generally not called pork, except maybe by the Birchers.

Considering the amount of livestock raised in the state, I’d think that controlling stable fly would be a good thing - but it’s pork?

Wastewater treatment is a public health issue - but it’s pork?

You see where I’m going… unless I’ve mis-understood the introduction to this article, all the items listed above are pork.  I guess I’m just asking if that’s really the consensus.

Lincoln’s water supply comes from downstream from our wastewater treatment plant.  Seems like that should be a more significant line item than, say, paving a little more of the lawns in the Country Club neighborhood.

Obama promised to scrutinize earmarks and make them more transparent. McCain promised to eliminate earmarks. Obama won the election.

Good points, all.

For me, an approximate definition of pork is earmarks that direct federal money to projects that are really the responsibility of state or local governments. Take Antelope Valley, for example. Why should federal dollars support Lincoln’s effort to dig a big ditch and build a new road? Funding that project is our problem, not anybody else’s.