Tuesday, Jan 29th - Hero: the President

Something wonderful happens to a President in his last year in office. He becomes the person he was when he was campaigning. The person you voted for.

*Disclaimer - the exception is Bill Clinton, who spent his last year in office being impeached and bringing tabloid shame to our country, well that and letting Bin Laden go...

President Bush's State of the Union address last night was inspiring. I really hope some of what he's laid out will happen. I hope the House and the Senate will allow it.

Today, there is an executive order being sent to Congress that will do away with earmarks for funding that are added AFTER bills are signed:

"Bush warned lawmakers he would flourish his veto pen if Congress does not rein in the number of congressional earmarks — money set aside for pet projects — that make it into law without a vote.

As many as 95 percent of earmarks are inserted after Congress has voted on appropriations measures, and the pork is never seen by most lawmakers. Bush called on Congress during last year's State of the Union to cut the number of earmarks in half, but Monday night he chided lawmakers for failing to do so.

"So this time, if you send me an appropriations bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, I will send it back to you with my veto," Bush promised. "If these items are truly worth funding, the Congress should debate them in the open and hold a public vote."

To that end, Bush was scheduled in the afternoon to sign an executive order called "Protecting American Taxpayers From Government Spending on Wasteful Earmarks."

Also this week, the House should pass the stimulus bill. This is the tax rebate bill that would put $600 in the pocket of every working American, plus an extra $300 per child you have.
Let's just hope that our Senate doesn't screw it up by trying to add in extra funding for their pet projects...

From his speech:

"The temptation will be to load up the bill. That would delay it or derail it, and neither option is acceptable. This is a good agreement that will keep our economy growing and our people working. And this Congress must pass it as soon as possible," Bush said.

Our country needs something like this so bad. We really need to give our President the ability to do line-item vetos.

You want to get really frustrated? Go google your Senator and look at some of the bills they have voted on in the past year. You will find some really great bills out there for things like fixing public housing projects to where they aren't in danger of falling down, or aren't full of asbestos, etc. But the bill was vetoed. Why? Because some idiot 'attached' a line item to fund a research project on why cockroaches prefer white bread crumbs to wheat bread crumbs...

We live in a rich country, folks. You want to know why we can't afford to give housing and food to all of our poor? Take a little gander into the ridiculous spending items Congress and the Senate pass. It will make you gag. Seriously. We should have trillions in our surplus, and not a single person hungry or homeless. No one should be without healthcare or a job. We have plenty of money for all of that. The problem is that we send most of our money out of the country and then give billions for ridiculous pet projects.

Peace, Love, and GOD,
Tracy