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'Pig Book' names congressional porkers - CNN.com
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'Pig Book' names congressional porkers - CNN.com

Politics – Citizens Against Government Waste releases annual pork spending report Some of the biggest pork projects, according to the group, include a Lobster Institute Group targets Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel Democrats were behind 5,199 projects, while Republicans were behind 3,408

Tags: Pork projects, pork, Democrats, Dems, Republicans, GOP, Cochran, Rangel, Citizens Against Government Waste

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A watchdog group critical of pork barrel spending released its latest findings Wednesday targeting the top Congressional "porkers."

A government watchdog group released its annual report Wednesday on Congressional pork barrel spending.

Some of the biggest pork projects, according to the group, include a Lobster Institute; the Rocky Flats, Colorado, Cold War Museum; and the First Tee, a program to build young people's character through golf.

Members of Congress requested funds for all these pet projects and thousands of others last year, according to the latest copy of the annual "Pig Book" released by Citizens Against Government Waste.

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Researchers at Iowa State University want to study the Brazilian rain forest. To expedite their study, their congressional delegation has had tens of millions of dollars appropriated to BUILD A MODEL OF THE BRAZILIAN RAIN FOREST IN IOWA.

We would have saved a lot of money if we had bought every professor and every student involved a plane ticket to Brazil and paid for their stay in the finest hotels available.

Some of these projects are just nuts.

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After they build the model of the rain forest, will they send in little bulldozers to raze it?

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LOL : )

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No, ma'am. What they're building has full-sized trees and plants, with an artificial atmosphere and man-generated weather. It's called a "biosphere" and it will probably eat up hundreds of millions of dollars before they're through playing with it and send for a bulldozer.

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You can find the entire Pig Book here:

http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=re...

There are links for the Senate and House - by dollar amount or Alphabetical list of names

There is also a link to the actual report as well as a link to tell your Representative and Senators today to sign CCAGW's Earmark Reform Pledge!

To date the following have signed the pledge:

Senators Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)

Reps. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), John Campbell (R-Calif.), Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Tom Price (R-Ga.), Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), and John Shadegg (R-Ariz.).

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nostalgia, Thanks for the website, I need to check out the pork here in Texas!

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Great link!

Thanks Nostalgia

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Interesting article, thanks engineer! Our Congressional leaders need to have some lessons on how to manage within a budget, that does not allow for any extras!

We need to put a freeze on Congressional pay raises, until they get a balanced budget, get rid of half the debt instead of spending money on pork, spend it on the debt!

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Am I missing something? We are borrowing BILLIONS of dollars and paying MILLIONS of dollars in interested but no one is willing to give up their pet projects because 'my project is important to the people of (insert state here) where as YOUR project is just a waste of money."

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You got it.

Its kind of like - MY candidate is better than YOUR candidate.

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It seems at least McCain is willing to give up pet projects.

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Which ones?

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None as he doesn't have any...

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McCain's only pet project is Iraq and we're spending billions

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If you're going to hang that on McCain you have ot hang that on anyone in congress that voted to go as well both dem and repub.

Sorry try again.

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Others are trying now to bring them home, but the GOP lobby prevents the Dems from doing anything effective. Iraq is McCain's pet project. The worst one for the US!!

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"We are borrowing BILLIONS of dollars and paying MILLIONS of dollars in interest"

The Federal Reserve is a fiat money creating con game. unbacked money is created out of thin air by this group of private bank, which then "loan" the money to the Treasury and charge interest. We pay for the con in inflation and then pay again in interest.

I have often wondered if JFK's plan to issue Treasury Notes to replace Federal Reserve Notes was the real reason for his demise.

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Here are some interesting related stories:

Earmarks were subjected to increased scrutiny resulting from new disclosure measures passed last year. For the first time, 11,146 of the projects have the names of their sponsors attached but exposure to sunlight hasn't stopped lawmakers from steering projects into their home states and districts.

While most of the bills saw such declines, a notable exception was the appropriations bill for energy and water, whose earmark totals more than doubled.

Appropriations bill for energy and water, whose earmark totals more than doubled

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/03/pork

House GOP Seeks Earmarks Moratorium as Republicans Top List of Winners

House Republicans failed Wednesday to force a vote on an earmark moratorium and creation of a joint select committee to study the member projects during a debate on reauthorizing global AIDS funding.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=1&d...

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Medicare and Social Security:

Medicare will pay out more than it receives in taxes this year, but it will continue to receive significant interest income. By 2010 outlays will exceed income.

Both programs have dedicated funding sources from payroll taxes. The programs have been accumulating large surpluses in anticipation of the retirement of the baby-boom generation. Those surpluses have been borrowed by the Treasury and spent on other programs - defense, education, transportation and interest.

The SS trust fund could pay all currently promised benefits until 2042 without any changes. After 2042, only 78% of benefits could be paid without changes.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/trustees-...

I'd be willing to bet that Congress will ask for another commission to study the problems. Never mind that several commissions have already studied and reported recommendations!

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Candidates earmarks or pork barrel spending(2007):

Obama-$92 million

Clinton-$340 million

McCain-$0

Funny thing is the two dem candidates are preaching aginst cutting back on the same thing they are guilty of abusing.

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One war monger, two drunken sailors. Nothing will change except the debt. Congratulations CFR you win again.

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Isn't pork spending just a nice way to say vote buying?

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I don't totally buy into the McCain=warmonger thing.

I know, I know 100 YEARS IN IRAQ!!! HE SAID IT!!!

But if you look at the actual question and McCains FULL answer you get something different out of it:

"We've been in Japan for 60 years. We've been in South Korea for 50 years or so."

and

"That would be fine with me, as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/...

"The U.S. (with allies) occupied Kuwait in 1991 and has remained there with a major military presence for 17 years. We debate dozens of foreign policy issues in this country. I've yet to hear any serious person of either party call for a pullout from Kuwait."

He doesn't like war or want it, but he does realize at times it is a sad neccesity.

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War Monger, He could withdraw from Iraq and SURGE out presence in Kuwait or Saudi Arabia or Turkey or Afghanistan or all four in order to keep Iran at bay but empire building is more important.

Iraq is not a "good" war as in the cause is not a just cause.

And we have enough overseas bases.

McCain ( George II) is the ultimate pork barrel spender.

Apparently he's been saving up for something really big

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Actually he'd be (George III) but whatever.

I don't believe any of the countries you listed have, in the past few decades; invaded their neighbors, launched SCUDZ into Israel, violated numerous UN sanctions, shot at OUR pilots, OUR countrymen and gassed hundreds of thousand of their own people.

IMO the real blame should fall on George I for not finishing the job the first time.

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You seemed to have missed the point.

Since we already have bases in the above mentioned countries, all in close proximity to Iraq and Iran, we don't need to build another one in Iraq. With regard to saddam's transgressions on the world stage, none of your reasons were cited as cause to invade Iraq.

Those reasons were (chorus) WMD's and Al Quaeda terrorists, both of which have been disproven repeatedly.

WAR MONGER

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newbie, you're the first I've seen on nutscape to actually report what he said. Congratulations to you for being truthful about his comment.

We've had troops all over the world my entire lifetime ...

I think we still have troops in Bermuda.

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Thanks!!!

People like to do that with politicians, use half quotes taken out of context to demonize a person(both repub and dem).

Like how McCain called that college kid a jerk. If you actually watch the ENTIRE clip, you see not only was McCain joking, the kid and the entire audience knew he was joking as well.

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True ... nothing offensive meant at all.

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That would be fine with me, as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed.

The problem with that is these people have BEEN fighting for centuries and they WILL BE fighting for centuries.

McCain has also said "we can't leave as long as the violence is escalating." And then in the NEXT breath says "That would be fine with me, as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed."

These two position are 180 degrees out from one another.

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'Pig Book' names congressional porkers - CNN.com

Solve the problem, Vote the Pork Pigs out of office...

Else, Work Harder and send More of Your hard Earned Money to Washington... They know how to Waste it...

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I just did some quick math and realized that the number of pork projects averages about 16 or 17 per congressman. WOW!

And this is after they are trying to do better. How can that many projects be fully understood by the congressman supporting it?

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Thats alright , the Bush Admin will just offer more tax cuts so that we will all forget about congressional spending.

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