100 stimulus projects that give taxpayers the blues

[Wild Cobra]

100 stimulus projects that give taxpayers the blues (http://coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=e1e0624e-d02a-42d4-9dbb-f5b9f21b3572)

No. 5... Isn't that the Train Station used in Pettycoat Junction? Been too many years to remember for sure. Anyone?

Stimulus Slammed: Republican Senators Release Report Alleging Waste (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/summer-recovery-slammed-stimulus-waste-report-released/story?id=11309090)

[coyotes_geek]

There's wasteful spending in every spending bill congress passes. Why should we have expected something different from the stimulus?

[Wild Cobra]

There's wasteful spending in every spending bill congress passes. Why should we have expected something different from the stimulus?
If you opened the report, you'll see some of these are ridiculous things to spend money on. But yes, this report is also a partisan attack.

[George Gervin's Afro]

If you opened the report, you'll see some of these are ridiculous things to spend money on. But yes, this report is also a partisan attack.

Why doesn't the GOP just pledge to not ask for any money for their respective states/district?

[Wild Cobra]

Why doesn't the GOP just pledge to not ask for any money for their respective states/district?
And break campaign promises like democrats always do?

[George Gervin's Afro]

And break campaign promises like democrats always do?

Just pledge that no tax money will be coming to thier home state/district?

That would take some cojones..

[Wild Cobra]

Just pledge that no tax money will be coming to thier home state/district?

That would take some cojones..
No it wouldn't. Making campaign promises that you don't expect to honor is the commonplace for politicians. It's not cojones that it would take, but stupidity. This could not be ignored by the people when they don't follow through.

[coyotes_geek]

If you opened the report, you'll see some of these are ridiculous things to spend money on. But yes, this report is also a partisan attack.

I did open the report. And yes, there are ridiculous things in there that money is being spent on (the antartic meteor hunters being my personal favorite). But you can find similar similar examples in every spending bill that congress passes. So what's the point here? Am I supposed to be any more outraged over wasteful spending in the stimulus bill than I am over wasteful spending in every other appropriation bill?

As for whether or not it's a partisan attack, it's a simple enough question to resolve. Just find out how many of those 100 projects were proposed by democrats and how many by republicans. There's no denying that both parties love their pork. So if the dem project / rep project count is roughly proportional to the makeup of congress I'll take that as a sign that this report really was authored with the honest intention of calling out wasteful government spending. If that count comes back where essentially all of the projects were pushed by democrats, then it's blatantly obvious that the intent was to be a partisan attack.

[Wild Cobra]

I did open the report. And yes, there are ridiculous things in there that money is being spent on (the antartic meteor hunters being my personal favorite). But you can find similar similar examples in every spending bill that congress passes. So what's the point here? Am I supposed to be any more outraged over wasteful spending in the stimulus bill than I am over wasteful spending in every other appropriation bill?

We should all be outraged. We should all be informed voters.

If the media really was for doing what is right rather than supporting their favorite party, we would be a well informed citizenry, and not reelect those who vote for such things.

[Marcus Bryant]

So we're supposed to worry about partisan boob bait like this and ignore real egregious bullshit like a $700 billion blank check given to Wall Street, which was pushed for by an allegedly "conservative" administration? Or however many years of an allegedly "conservative" GOP controlled Congress ensuring the country was indebted to the ChiComs for eternity? Fuck you.

[Wild Cobra]

So we're supposed to worry about partisan boob bait like this and ignore real egregious bullshit like a $700 billion blank check given to Wall Street, which was pushed for by an allegedly "conservative" administration? Or however many years of an allegedly "conservative" GOP controlled Congress ensuring the country was indebted to the ChiComs for eternity? Fuck you.
LOL...

Who says Bush was a conservative? He was only on some items. Not all. Go back to the vote. It was mostly democrats who voted YES on it. In fact, republicans killed it on the first go around.

[coyotes_geek]

We should all be outraged. We should all be informed voters.

If the media really was for doing what is right rather than supporting their favorite party, we would be a well informed citizenry, and not reelect those who vote for such things.

"We" like our pork too and it has nothing to do with the media..........


So we're supposed to worry about partisan boob bait like this and ignore real egregious bullshit like a $700 billion blank check given to Wall Street, which was pushed for by an allegedly "conservative" administration? Or however many years of an allegedly "conservative" GOP controlled Congress ensuring the country was indebted to the ChiComs for eternity? Fuck you.

Well said.

[Marcus Bryant]

LOL...

Who says Bush was a conservative? He was only on some items. Not all. Go back to the vote. It was mostly democrats who voted YES on it. In fact, republicans killed it on the first go around.


He's as conservative as you are, and certainly not in any libertine direction.

[boutons_deux]

Spending money domestically, even wastefully, doesn't even begin to compare with $Ts wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan (oh yeah, few 100K lives wasted, too).

btw, 250K untreated Gulf War vets are diseased and dying with toxins from their own munitions and activities.

Compared with how many US soldiers did Saddam's army maim and kill?

America is self-fucked, and unfuckable.

[Wild Cobra]

He's as conservative as you are, and certainly not in any libertine direction.
My God...

You are fucking stupid... Libtard...

[Marcus Bryant]

Wow. Impressive comeback.

[jack sommerset]

"NO MORE EARMARKS, YEAHHHHHH, LOOK AT ME, I AM THE CHOOSEN ONE, NO MORE WASTEFUL SPENDING, BLAME BUSH, I'M A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, I WAS HAND PICKED BY GOD TO RUN THIS COUNTRY, YEAHHHHHHHHH, NO MORE EARMARKS, NO MORE EARMARKS, NO MORE EARMARKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Barry Obongo

[Marcus Bryant]

Oh no, WC's retarded half-brother has logged on.

[jack sommerset]

Oh no, WC's retarded half-brother has logged on.

Wow, impressive!

[George Gervin's Afro]

"NO MORE EARMARKS, YEAHHHHHH, LOOK AT ME, I AM THE CHOOSEN ONE, NO MORE WASTEFUL SPENDING, BLAME BUSH, I'M A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, I WAS HAND PICKED BY GOD TO RUN THIS COUNTRY, YEAHHHHHHHHH, NO MORE EARMARKS, NO MORE EARMARKS, NO MORE EARMARKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Barry Obongo


Wild Cobra-No it wouldn't. Making campaign promises that you don't expect to honor is the commonplace for politicians. It's not cojones that it would take, but stupidity. This could not be ignored by the people when they don't follow through.

Uh oh Jack...

[jack sommerset]

Uh oh Jack...

What, you jacked off all over yourself again :jack

[George Gervin's Afro]

What, you jacked off all over yourself again :jack

Semen on your mind jack

[spursncowboys]

Just pledge that no tax money will be coming to thier home state/district?

That would take some cojones..
Do their constituents' grandchildren get to opt out of paying for it?

[spursncowboys]

marcus bryant = david brooks.

the conservative that no other conservative agrees with.

[Wild Cobra]

Here's an idea I would love to advocate.

1) A record of you vote is made.

2) Any increased spending voted for by a member of congress you voted for, is equally paid for by those who voted for that candidate.

3) Any decreased in spending is equally distributed among those who voted for the members of congress passing such measures.

Other ideas based on these ideals.

What do you all think? Would this reduce government spending and waste, or not?

[ElNono]

Here's an idea I would love to advocate.

1) A record of you vote is made.

2) Any increased spending voted for by a member of congress you voted for, is equally paid for by those who voted for that candidate.

3) Any decreased in spending is equally distributed among those who voted for the members of congress passing such measures.

Other ideas based on these ideals.

What do you all think? Would this reduce government spending and waste, or not?

I think no politician would vote for such a law...

[Wild Cobra]

I think no politician would vote for such a law...
No kidding.

Do you think it would reduce spending?

[ElNono]

No kidding.
Do you think it would reduce spending?

Does it matter? It's not going to happen.

If we're into imaginary spending cuts, we just can simply propose to freeze spending at 5% of the GDP and save a ton of money. Not going to happen though.

[Wild Cobra]

Does it matter? It's not going to happen.

If we're into imaginary spending cuts, we just can simply propose to freeze spending at 5% of the GDP and save a ton of money. Not going to happen though.
No game in you today huh?

[Marcus Bryant]

marcus bryant = david brooks.

the conservative that no other conservative agrees with.

I don't particularly care for Barack or the crease of his pants and I'm certainly not a "conservative," at least as it is defined today as supporting unlimited wars and unlimited deficits under the guise of tax cuts, as well as the usual nativist boob bait for the Joe Bobs of the world. There's nothing really conservative about conservatism as it is practiced today. It's merely a traditionalist veneer on an activist, militarist state. The rhetoric about welfare and entitlements is particularly amusing, considering how many putative conservatives are draining the public treasury while castigating welfare queens or what not.

Brooks' views diverge from mine on plenty of issues. That it's seen as a problem that one may not hold the politically correct conservative view on every issue speaks volumes about what American conservatism has become.

[ElNono]

No game in you today huh?

To be honest, I would rather read actual practical ideas for reducing spending, instead of fairy tales. But that's just me.

[Winehole23]

Brooks' views diverge from mine on plenty of issues. That it's seen as a problem that one may not hold the politically correct conservative view on every issue speaks volumes about what American conservatism has become. Reverence for state power and reflexive identification with the majority has replaced the traditional conservative skepsis of the same. If you don't swim with the crowd, you're ostracized as a fossil.

Of course, there are much worse fates than being shunned by the neo-jacobins currently running the movement clubhouse.

[Winehole23]

(Being snubbed by SnC for lacking conservative bona fides is bit like getting reproached for one's bad looks by a gastropod. Faintly amusing, faintly pathetic.)

[coyotes_geek]

Here's an idea I would love to advocate.

1) A record of you vote is made.

2) Any increased spending voted for by a member of congress you voted for, is equally paid for by those who voted for that candidate.

3) Any decreased in spending is equally distributed among those who voted for the members of congress passing such measures.

Other ideas based on these ideals.

What do you all think? Would this reduce government spending and waste, or not?

Just pass a balanced budget amendment. It's much simpler.

[spursncowboys]

supporting unlimited wars and unlimited deficits under the guise of tax cuts,

why revert to old cliches? Also why have taxes high when we are going in defecits, by the trillions every year? Either way, we are in the hole. I utcould see if politicians were cutting budgets and entitlements. smoke and mirrors

wh: a little bitchier than normal eh.

[TeyshaBlue]

why revert to old cliches? Also why have taxes high when we are going in defecits, by the trillions every year? Either way, we are in the hole. I utcould see if politicians were cutting budgets and entitlements. smoke and mirrors

wh: a little bitchier than normal eh.

They're cliches for a reason.

And MB's post is spot on. There probably aren't 5 classical conservatives on this board.

[spursncowboys]

what about classical liberals