Politics: LaHood makes pork alert list
From the Pork Alert Website:
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of the House version of the Fiscal 2009 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Act. The top five porkers are CJS Appropriations Subcommittee member Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) with $9.95 million; CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) with $9.7 million; CJS Appropriations Subcommittee member C.A “Dutch†Ruppersberger (D-Md.); with $8 million; CJS Appropriations Subcommittee member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) with $7.9 million and House appropriator Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) with $7.7 million.
The following are among the most egregious examples of pork-barreling in the bill:
- $1,350,000 for planetarium costs: $900,000 by House appropriator Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.), and Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Danny Davis (D-Ill.) for planetarium equipment; $250,000 by House appropriator Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) for the Lakeview Museum Planetarium; and $200,000 by CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) for the County College of Morris Planetarium.
Yeah, yeah, I know. If it’s spent in another state (or in another part of the state) it’s pork. But if it’s spent here, it’s a case of our congressman bringing some of our precious tax dollars home. And if you don’t “bring home the bacon,” you’re tainted as an ineffective legislator who lacks clout. But all the other congress members are corrupt tax-and-spenders.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
