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Have you seen the little piggies, crawling in the dirt?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by basso, Apr 3, 2008.

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  1. basso

    basso Member
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    <embed src="http://www.metrolyrics.com/scroller/scroller.swf?lyricid=16948&border=2&bordert=80&bgfont=0xC0C0C0&bg=http://www.metrolyrics.com/scroller/bgpic/bluedisco.jpg&filter=0x000000&filtert=25&txt=0xFFFFFF&fontname=arial&fontsize=11&speed=2" quality="high" bgcolor="#006666" width="180" height="210" name="scroll" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /><br /> - <a href="http://www.metrolyrics.com/beatles-lyrics.html" title="Beatles Lyrics">Beatles Lyrics</a></embed>

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/pig-book.html

    [rquoter]New Pig Book says Hillary Clinton's tops in pork spending, Barack Obama's 2nd, but John McCain had none!

    The nonpartisan taxpayer watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste is out with its newest Pig Book, an overwhelming detailing of all 11,610 pork barrel projects inserted in the current fiscal year's appropriations bills by individual members of Congress.

    These semi-secret spending measures cost taxpayers New York Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on the phone no doubt arranging another legislative earmark that makes her the biggest pork barrel spender of the remaining White House candidates, according to the newly released Pig Bookan extra $17.2 billion this fiscal year alone. This is the first year legislators have had to attach their names to these measures.

    That's B for billion dollar$. In extra spending. That typically didn't go through the usual legislative committee screening. A huge increase over the previous year.

    And guess which one of the surviving presidential candidates likes pork the most? And the least?

    According to the Pig Book ("The Book Washington Does Not Want You to Read"), New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is our new grand national oinker among presidential contenders for most pork barrel spending. She inserted a whopping 281 individual spending projects into bills for the benefit of New York interests at the cost of taxpayers everywhere.

    That totals $296.2 million.

    The new national hero, on the other hand, for not inserting one penny of pork barrel spending is the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. As a longtime staunch opponent of such earmarks, McCain may be expected to raise the subject of such special spending if Clinton becomes his Democratic opponent in the fall's general election.

    He may also bring it up if his opponent is Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who may be a freshman senator but still isn't shy about inserting special earmarks into legislation cataloged by the taxpayer group's annual report. He accounted for 53 special earmarks, totaling almost $97.4 million.

    This includes about $402,000 for a juvenile delinquency program at the Shedd Aquarium and $383,000 for another ethanol research plant.

    Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who still technically is in the GOP race, has campaigned against large government seeping into the lives of American citizens. However, according to the Pig Book, that didn't keep him from proposing eight pork-spending bills totaling $22 million, including nearly $4 million to alter a Galveston bridge. [/rquoter]
     
    #1 basso, Apr 3, 2008
  2. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    Good. New York needs more federal funding given the amount it contributes to the economy and to federal coffers.
     
    #2 SamFisher, Apr 3, 2008
  3. weslinder

    weslinder Member

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    Pork is a red herring. It's worthwhile to get rid of pork and identify the porkers, but it's a relatively minor issue right now. McCain wants to spend $100BB in Iraq for the next few years, and $30 BB/year in Iraq for the next hundred years. Obama is committed to maintaining the bases in Iraq at $30 BB/year and wants $100 BB/year in subsidies to the healthcare industry. Clinton wants it all: full commitment in Iraq, $130 BB/year in healthcare subsidies. Bush signed off on $110 BB to rebuild New Orleans, and many gripe that it's not enough. According to CAGW, for all of Congress, we'll budget $17.2 BB in pork this year. That's $17.2 BB too much, but it's still a drop in the bucket.
     
    #3 weslinder, Apr 3, 2008
  4. weslinder

    weslinder Member

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    Ron Paul has drawn some flack for this, but I have heard his explanation in person. If anyone in his district wants to petition the Federal Government for anything, he'll bring it to the floor. If he doesn't think it's Constitutional and worthwhile, he votes against it.
     
    #4 weslinder, Apr 3, 2008
  5. rimrocker

    rimrocker Member

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    And it's truly non-partisan. Otherwise, Alan Keyes would have never served as President.

    Their funding from ExxonMobil, Philip Morris, and RJR Nabisco (Altria) ensures they remain a non-partisan watchdog, working only on behalf of all Americans.

    That their name crops up in Abramoff investigations is, I'm sure, just an unfortunate misunderstanding.

     
    #5 rimrocker, Apr 3, 2008
  6. mc mark

    mc mark Member

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    Oh my...

    How embarrassing
     
    #6 mc mark, Apr 3, 2008
  7. gifford1967

    gifford1967 Member
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    Ouch.
     
    #7 gifford1967, Apr 3, 2008
  8. basso

    basso Member
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    other than attempting to smear CAGW by association, do you have a point? are you in favor of wasteful pork barrel spending?
     
    #8 basso, Apr 3, 2008
  9. pippendagimp

    pippendagimp Member

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    Frankly I'm tired of all these Obama-related threads already......7 on the front page from Basso alone! :p
     
    #9 pippendagimp, Apr 3, 2008
  10. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    battle of attrition
     
    #10 pgabriel, Apr 3, 2008
  11. generalthade_03

    generalthade_03 Member

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    Typical Lefties... you tax us to death then spend all of our money! Honestly, if any one has even half or at least a quarter of a brain would recognize that "LIBERALISM IS A MENTAL DISORDER".
     
    #11 generalthade_03, Apr 3, 2008
  12. rimrocker

    rimrocker Member

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    My point is that you attempted to smear the Dem candidates by quoting a questionable (and that's being extremely gracious) source.
     
    #12 rimrocker, Apr 3, 2008
  13. Rashmon

    Rashmon Member

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    ..and now I finally understand what that new-fangled term "owned" really means.

    basso, thanks for giving rimrocker this opportunity to educate this old guy on the new internet lingo.

    This also provides a whole new way of refering to "non-partisan."

    For example, Muqtada Al Sadr is a non-partisan watchdog for Iraqi muslims.
     
    #13 Rashmon, Apr 3, 2008
  14. basso

    basso Member
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    so the report on their support for pork is inaccurate?
     
    #14 basso, Apr 3, 2008
  15. rimrocker

    rimrocker Member

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    You know, one of the problems with mental disorders is that people can't recognize they have them, or if they can, they are incapable of changing.

    Given that, your post is ironic.
     
    #15 rimrocker, Apr 3, 2008
  16. rimrocker

    rimrocker Member

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    I'm sure their methodology is ironclad and unassailable.

    That the group announced the 2008 Pig Book with a group of totally nonpartisan speakers... Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), and Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Tom Price (R-Ga.), and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)... furthers my belief that they speak the truth.
     
    #16 rimrocker, Apr 3, 2008
  17. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    With a name like Citizens Against Government Waste, it must be true!


    An accurate review might be helpful, but I'm not sure if there is one in Washington.
     
    #17 Invisible Fan, Apr 3, 2008
  18. Mulder

    Mulder Member

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    "Awww, Dr. Michael Savage is a genius! Polly wants a cracker."

    [​IMG]
     
    #18 Mulder, Apr 3, 2008
  19. bucket

    bucket Member

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    Is that where those annoying squiggles came from?
     
    #19 bucket, Apr 3, 2008
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