Bridge to nowhere

The political prostitutes in congress did it again. By this time most have heard of the bridge to nowhere that was to be built in Alaska. As a result of all the negative publicity that pork has been cut by congress. At least the proposal to build the bridge. However was the money allocated to be returned to the treasury? No, it will be given to the state of Alaska to use as they will. Up to and including the said bridge.
It boggles the mind.

The Congress From Nowhere




Published: November 18, 2005
Say this for the sad-sack Republicans in Congress: they really know how to get things done when it comes to meaningless face-saving legislation.

The House's biggest accomplishment in recent days may be its decision to scratch those two notorious Alaskan bridges to nowhere, a $442 million chunk of highway pork that made a national laughing stock of the lawmakers - supposedly financial conservatives - who stuffed it into the budget.

The retreat provides a definitive example of the legislative hypocrisy now gripping Congress. It won't actually save money because the funds will be shifted to Alaska's general transportation kitty for who-knows-what disposal. Actually taking unnecessary money away from the home state of a powerful Republican senator is a lift far beyond the lawmakers' capacity.

As if to make the point, the Senate was simultaneously refusing to reform the nation's scandalous antiterrorism financing. Senators narrowly on guard for parochial self-interest killed the House's plan to fix the skewed formula. Talk about pork. The financing formula fairly oinks at the terrorist threat as it shortchanges high-risk cities and ports and rewards rural states with more antiterror funds per capita than California, Texas and New York. The House proposal, co-sponsored by John Sweeney and Peter King, Republicans of New York, and Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat, would cut back on patently unthreatened areas while still allowing each state a minimum of 0.25 percent of the total funds for first responders and other antiterrorism operations.

Senate parochialism carried the day in the secret horse-trading over assorted parts of the Patriot Act's renewal. As a result, the original law will prevail, with its guaranteed minimum of 0.75 percent. In practice, this formula has proved to be not a ceiling, only a starting point for negotiating still more wasteful funds for sparsely populated states.

Bush administration officials and the independent 9/11 commission have warned of the risks in maintaining the current formula. But lately Congress's idea of homeland security has been political posturing. The House has been wallowing through its great "budget hawk" melodrama - making a show of slashing Medicaid spending for the poor while quietly preparing still more tax cuts for the rich. Meanwhile, the Senate has passed resolutions on Iraq aimed at making it very clear that whatever happens, the members up for re-election should not be held responsible.

No one expects any profiles in courage, or even difficult decisions, from this House and Senate. But putting local political pork above the protection of major terror targets is just pathetic.

au1929 wrote:

The political prostitutes in congress did it again. By this time most have heard of the bridge to nowhere that was to be built in Alaska. As a result of all the negative publicity that pork has been cut by congress. At least the proposal to build the bridge. However was the money allocated to be returned to the treasury? No, it will be given to the state of Alaska to use as they will. Up to and including the said bridge.
It boggles the mind.

And until we figure out a way to keep our representatives from spending money on ridiculous projects such as this, it will keep happening. I have said many times, it makes no difference what political party they are affiliated with, they all spend our money foolishly way too often, just to be able to say look what I got for you.

The political prostitutes in congress in action. How do you like it. remember only you the voting public can make a change