I wish I had the resources to do this research on my own. Does anyone out there inthe blogiverse know how many pork projects (Democrat or Republican) have already received stimulus money? I am curious to know if politicians are able to get the funds to their porky pet projects quickly while actual ‘supposed’ stimulus dollars lie in wait somewhere.
Anyone? Beuller?
Calling all moderate Americans. WAKE UP! I can’t save or even influence the far lefties that have no clue about reality, but I can try to those of you in the middle ground.
Look back over the “failed eight years” that the left and Obama loved to whine about. Make a list of the accusations pointed at Bush and Cheney. What was he accused of? EVEN IF, for the sake of argument, you take the truther side and agree with their crazy assertions, what Obama is doing is exponentially worse, more restrictive, more invasive and more dangerous than ANYTHING that the Bush administration was accused of.
The Obama Administration has now expressed the need to restrict free speech, not only of lobbyists and insiders, but of “anyone else exerting influence on the process. We concluded this was necessary under the unique circumstances of the stimulus program.” Who wrote that quote? Norman Eisen, who works for Barack Obama as Special Counsel to the President on Ethics and Government Reform. Ed Morrissey had this to say:
Remember when the Left took to the streets to declare dissent “patriotic” during wartime? I didn’t have a problem with dissent then, but apparently the Left has a curious definition of “patriotism”. Now, suddenly, the federal government can silence their critics at will, not to protect critical national-security programs or keep from undermining a war effort, but to protect a Democratic president intent on seizing control of private industry across a wide swath of the nation. Suddenly, that kind of dissent threatens America.
Seriously speaking, when will the media and moderates that voted for Obama wake up and realize that this man is truly dangerous for America? Once upon a time liberals stood up for free speech. Remember the 1960s? What the hell has happened to the Left?Let me leave you chewing on this:
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of “liberalism,” they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”
Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948
This graph tells us what most rational people already knew about the Stimulus. IT WASN’T NECESSARY. Billions of dollars, OUR dollars, were thrown down an obvious drain.
Congress wants to vote on a more than thousand page bill that was handed over late last night. Assuming it will take one-minute per page to read, it will take more than 15 HOURS to go through the bill page by page. Yet we are told to trust that Congress is doing the right thing by voting today?
Here are some of the items in the bill:
- $100 million for the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program
- $200 million to the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Program
- $300 million for “Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution Programs”
- $900 million for the IRS for the “Limitation on Administrative Expenses”
- $1 million for the Railroad Retirement Board for administrative costs
- $2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Act
- $50 million for Health and Human Services to carry out injury prevention programs
- $1.1 billion for studies on the effectiveness of different medical treatments — $200 million to upgrade labs and facilities for the Department of Agriculture “to improve workplace safety and mission-area efficiencies”
- $10 million for urban canal inspection
- $16 billion to pay for student financial aid
- $1 billion to pay for the U.S. Census
- $600 million to pay for a fuel-efficient federal auto fleet
- $650 million for the Digital Converter Box Program to help the constantly delayed transition from analog television
- $485 million to the Forest Service for “hazardous fuels reduction and hazard mitigation activities in areas at high risk of catastrophic wildfire”
- Up to $1 billion for “summer activities” for youths as old as 24
- $40 million for the occupational research agenda
- $3 billion for the Centers for Disease Control wellness programs and vaccinations
- $410 million for Indian health facilities
- $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstrations
This list makes up more than $30 BILLION in non-stimulus spending. There’s plenty more in there, but the point should be clear. Democrats, following the advice of President Whisperer Rahm Emanuel, is packing this urgent bill with pet projects and payback to constituents. (Remember, he’s the Obama staffer that said “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”) President Obama flat out lied to America earlier this week during his press conference when he said there was no pork in this bill. . (And no, hippy, Bush didn’t lie about the war. Bush AND Congress approved our military actions based on the information at hand at the time.) President Obama lied, lied, lied.
Making matters worse, Chuck Schumer had the umittigated gall to say that the “American people really don’t care” about all those “little tiny, yes, porky amendments” that the “chattering classes” have exposed. Oh, and Schumer wants to bring back the Un-Fairness Doctrine to silence the free speech flexing of the political right.
This is not a stimulus package, it is a wish list, and Nancy Pelosi should be ashamed.
