Think Progress

Debunking Bush’s Whoppers On Pork

By Guest on Apr 14th, 2007 at 3:09 pm

Debunking Bush’s Whoppers On Pork»

President Bush has tried to justify his planned veto of Congress’ Iraq withdrawal legislation by complaining about the non-Iraq related funds included in the bill.

American Progress senior fellow Scott Lilly, who served for years as Clerk and Staff Director of the House Appropriations Committee, debunks Bush’s rhetoric:

CLAIM: Bush opposes spending in the emergency supplemental that is “unrelated to the war.”

FACT: Bush’s own supplemental request to Congress contained millions in non-war related funds.

Contained in Bush’s request were funds for federal prisons, Kosovo debt relief, flood control on the Mississippi, nutrition programs in Africa, educational and cultural exchange activities around the world, disease control in South Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, and salaries for U.S. marshals.

The request spread additional funding across seven major departments of the federal government. Such items were not only contained in the White House request for this year’s supplemental but have been part of nearly every supplemental the president has signed since the beginning of the Iraq war. One quarter of the money in last year’s $94 billion “Iraq” supplemental was directed at a variety of domestic programs.

CLAIM: The funds added by Congress were largely “pork barrel projects.”

FACT: The overwhelming majority of non-Iraq spending is for vital needs, including upgrading medical care for Iraq veterans, U.S. operations in Afghanistan, children’s health care, and emergency funds for agricultural disaster areas.

Of the $21 billion that the House of Representatives added to the president’s original request, $3 billion was subsequently requested by the administration, leaving a difference of $18 billion between what the president requested and what the House provided.

What is remarkable is that so little attention has been directed at why the president refused to request funds for the large majority of these items and why he and his allies in Congress continue to oppose their inclusion in the supplemental.

Among these items is $3.4 billion for upgrading medical care for returning Iraq war veterans. These funds would be aimed at cleaning up Walter Reed and upgrading other military and veterans medical facilities, many of which are as bad as or worse than Walter Reed. These funds would also go toward greatly expanding the capacity to diagnose and treat post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury in both military and veterans medical facilities.

The bill also includes $1 billion for enhancing U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and $1.4 billion that was not requested but is urgently need to fill a shortfall in funds needed to pay the Basic Allowance for Housing to military families through the end of the current fiscal year. In addition, the bill addressed a number of pressing domestic needs not included in the president’s proposal. These include: $1.25 billion for improving port security in line with the recommendations of numerous experts, including the Rudman-Hart Commission; $1.25 billion for better bomb-detection equipment in our airports; and $1 billion to purchase vaccines needed to protect us from a global pandemic.

Moreover, a number of federal programs are running out of money and will have to shut down or reduce services between now and October if funding is not provided in the supplemental. These include the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which will require $750 million to be able to cover expected shortfalls in 14 states, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which needs $400 to operate through the end of the year.

Another $400 million was added to prevent the termination of a long-standing federal program that provides payments to rural school districts–in which a major portion of the land is held by the federal government and therefore not subject to property tax. More than 700 counties across 40 states would be affected by the termination.

The bill also provides $500 million for federal wildfire suppression efforts. The emergency reserve funds for this program are largely depleted because 2006 wildfire season was the most expensive on record. None of these funds can be used until or unless currently available funds are exhausted.

The Rovian noise machine has managed to deflect virtually all reporting on the supplemental away from whether Congress was correct in proposing to strengthen our military presence in Afghanistan, improve the quality of medical care to returning veterans, prepare for pandemic flu, secure our ports, or prevent impoverished elderly citizens from having their utilities shut off. Virtually all reporting on the measure has centered on a small fraction of the funds added by Congress, those provided for agriculture disaster assistance. In fact, the White House has spent most of its time attacking only a few small items within the $3.7 billion provided in the bill for farm disaster assistance.

The agriculture package in total equals about one-fifth of the increases proposed in the House version of the supplemental. Whether or not disaster assistance should be provided has been a source of heated controversy between the administration and Congress since before the Democratic takeover of both houses last November. It was in fact a major sticking point in the completion of last year’s supplemental.

These are the facts. In 2005 over 80 percent of U.S. counties were designated as agricultural disaster areas. In 2006 over 60 percent were thus designated. Extreme weather conditions have resulted in severe crop losses in many areas and funds to mediate those losses have been exhausted. Significant numbers of farmers believe that they will not be able to obtain sufficient credit to continue operations between now and the fall harvest. The $3.7 billion represents a heavily scaled-back version of the original demands of farm state members of Congress for help.

The White House has not directed attention at the bulk of the funding in this proposal, which would go to the large numbers of farmers who have suffered serious losses in producing crops such as wheat, corn, and soybeans. Instead, administration officials have derided assistance to the smaller numbers of producers of crops such as spinach, fish, and peanuts.

All of these programs combined represent a tiny portion of the farm disaster assistance and only 1 percent or 2 percent of the additions that Congress made to the supplemental. In each instance the facts are at considerable variance with the White House’s characterization of the programs.

Two examples are the $25 million for spinach producers and the $5 million for aquaculture. Contrary to what has appeared in print so far, both items are aimed at providing partial relief to producers who were damaged as a direct result of public health actions taken by the federal government. After e. coli was identified in some shipments of fresh spinach, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked producers in three counties in California to initiate a voluntary recall of all shipments. The FDA had no authority to force a recall. Ultimately it was determined that spinach from only one producer was contaminated, but the combined losses for producers who voluntarily recalled or withheld shipments of non-contaminated spinach exceeded $100 million.

Similarly, in October of last year the U.S. Department of Agriculture became concerned that a virus affecting fish in some aquaculture operations in the Midwest might spread and affect other fish populations. The USDA moved to limit shipments, including shipments of fish that were perfectly healthy. Many producers of healthy fish were hit with heavy losses as a result of that action.

The issue in both instances is whether producers should bear the entire burden of this loss or whether the federal government should cover a portion of it.

There is also more to the $74 million peanut storage proposal than the White House has to date wanted to discuss. That provision is in fact little more than a continuation of a program to assist peanut farmers in reducing crop spoilage that was signed into law by President Bush in the 2002 farm bill and expired in 2006. When signing the bill in May of 2002, Bush said:

“Farming is the first industry of America–the industry that feeds us, the industry that clothes us, and the industry that increasingly provides more of our energy… The success of America’s farmers and ranchers is essential to the success of the American economy.”

CLAIM: The non-Iraq spending in the supplemental was added merely to buy votes in opposition to the war.

FACT: If the intention was to buy votes, it was a miserable failure.

While no one is likely to know all of the demands and assurances that are given with respect to the passage of any legislation, there are several things that are clear regarding the agricultural disaster assistance contained in this supplemental.

The first is that demands for its inclusion were made by farm-state members months before the Appropriations Committee began putting a package together. Second, the contents were almost entirely crafted by the House Agriculture Committee, which was not responsible for the passage of the supplemental; the decisions about the contents were determined before decisions on the Iraq language were finalized; and the difficulty the leadership might face in winning final approval of the language was fully recognized.

Finally, if the inclusion of these provisions was an attempt at vote-buying, the effort was a colossal failure. The peanut provision characterized as overly generous by the White House captured only three of the 12 votes cast by the Georgia delegation on the final package.

Whatever assurances may have been offered to wavering members during the final vote-counting, they appear to have focused almost entirely on concerns about the war. Certainly this was nothing like the grand “pork auction” conducted by the Bush White House during July of 2005, in which numerous members on both sides of the aisle were contacted by administration officials and offered as much as an additional $50 million in highway bill earmarks if they would change their votes and support the administration’s Central America Free Trade Agreement.

You can read Lilly’s full report on the supplemental HERE.




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123 Responses to “Debunking Bush’s Whoppers On Pork”

  1. madstork123 Says:

    So, what you are saying is that Bush lies.

    Big suprise there


  2. tarazan Says:

    Did Bush read the budget..? !


  3. VerbalKint Says:

    They lie. And their supporters don’t just accept it that they lie. Their supporters celebrate it. Their supporters are by and large morally deficient humans.


  4. Tobey Tall Says:

    You forget the Folie and garden fountains for Bushes Texas ranch and also His new south American residence where he wants a new annex on the house plus 5 million for spending money for his dog


  5. valiant venus Says:

    You’ve got to admire the chutzpah of Congressional Dems, and the Speakette in particular. Crying and whining about the cost of the war, Dems load up the latest supplemental war funding bill with $20 billion in pork. Defending the PORK, Dems shriek, “We neeeed it for Katrina etc. ” Fine - write a supplemental bill to further aid Katrina victims, etc.


  6. Mark @ News Corpse Says:

    Couldn’t this begin the headline for just about any article about Bush?

    “Debunking Bush’s Whoppers On…..”

    There’s just so much with which to fill in that blank. ~ News Corpse.
    .


  7. shane Says:

    Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 3:21 pm

    It’s only considered “pork” when it’s for unnecessary projects used to get votes. Did you read the article or do you just have to spew something mean and that’s the best you could come up with.

    Glad do see you’re working so hard for your pay you neocon, Nazi whore.


  8. Raven Says:

    There are many federal agencies with spending freezes in effect, at this moment.
    These are domestic agencies.
    Department of Agriculture is taking a big hit as is the Department of the Interior in general.


  9. trueblue Says:

    What I don’t understand is why Pelosi
    (or some chosen spokesperson),
    doesn’t go to the media with Bush’s own pork?

    Why can’t they do a pre-emptive strike by saying that they have to wade through his pork-laden bill?


  10. valiant venus Says:

    “Glad do see you’re working so hard for your pay you neocon, Nazi whore.”
    Comment by shane

    To quote a favourite propagandist “Projecting much?”


  11. WaltTheMan Says:

    shane,
    Re: Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 3:21 pm

    I don’t think that was the real VV. The poster obviously is dumber than a rock. VV is dumb as a rock.


  12. Shane Says:

    What I don’t understand is why Pelosi
    (or some chosen spokesperson),
    doesn’t go to the media with Bush’s own pork?Comment by trueblue — April 14, 2007 @ 3:31 pm

    I don’t think the media reports anything favorable about Democrats any more.

    They either report right-wing approved talking points or they report Imus, Anna Nicole and Duke lacrosse news.


  13. enaud Says:

    Pelosi makes the neocons, and bushies look really bad. Their only recourse is to lie and smear. She has chapped their ass good and they don’t like it. Their lies and smears are going nowhere. After 6 years of incompetence, ineptitude, and gross neglect, their credibility is zero.


  14. Zooey Says:

    I don’t think that was the real VV. The poster obviously is dumber than a rock. VV is dumb as a rock.
    Comment by WaltTheMan

    That was our VV. She’s losing her grip on the shreds of reality she’s still able to recognize.

    VV supports the lies of this administration, which makes sense because VV’s entire existence is a lie.


  15. Shane Says:

    Comment by WaltTheMan — April 14, 2007 @ 3:46 pm

    teehee
    Thanks for catching that fine line of distinction. I still stand by my assertion that VV and this imitator are neocon, Nazi whores though. And that goes for Jake, Captain Kirk, Patrick1 and the rest of them.


  16. Briseadh na Faire Says:

    By following Bush’s proceedure of packing domestic spending into emergency supplemental bills, Bush and Congress can balance the budget this year!

    In fact, they could even show the budget in a massive surplus, and justify cutting even more taxes!


  17. valiant venus Says:

    Walt- Compared to your self-proclaimed genius, EVERYONE is dumber than rocks and you…thanks for contributing another non-argument. (It’s not often I get to make fun of a bona fide genius.)


  18. Zooey Says:

    They either report right-wing approved talking points or they report Imus, Anna Nicole and Duke lacrosse news.
    Comment by Shane

    My mom was saying how tired she is of seeing those stories, and I really can’t blame her. Then she started saying how we could get out of Iraq if the media would just report more of the positive things happening in Iraq — Fox viewer! I asked her how many of our troops have been killed in Iraq, but she couldn’t tell me. I told her the current number, and told her our troops are getting blown up at a faster clip than ever before. She’s a good lady, she’s just blinded by Fox. She’s learning to use the computer, so I gave her some good news sites, and begged her to stop watching Fox.

    **hoping**


  19. trueblue Says:

    I don’t think the media reports anything favorable about Democrats any more.

    They either report right-wing approved talking points or they report Imus, Anna Nicole and Duke lacrosse news.

    Comment by Shane —–

    It seems a sad truth, Shane.

    Edward R. Murrow must be spinning in his grave…


  20. Raven Says:

    Yo, pres, I’ll have de pork whopper on de bun, king Bush!

    And git on it..


  21. Devil's Advocate Says:

    Ignore VV. The creature has obviously not read the article or done any research on the supplemental spending bill. It just comes here to spew WH and GOP talking points. Starve the trolls!


  22. Zooey Says:

    Walt- Compared to your self-proclaimed genius, EVERYONE is dumber than rocks and you…thanks for contributing another non-argument. (It’s not often I get to make fun of a bona fide genius.)
    Comment by valiant venus

    Bless your heart. Please learn the difference between argument and observation.


  23. GooseEgg Says:

    Comment spewed by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 3:21 pm

    Speak to the topic, retch! Do you deny that “Bush’s own supplemental request to Congress contained millions in non-war related funds”.


  24. Jimbo Says:

    CORRUPT
    I
    SAY
    CORRUPT

    JACKY KNOWS
    SANDRA KNOWS
    TIM KNOWS
    THOMAS

    CORRUPT

    TELL
    THOSE
    POLITICAL
    PARASITES
    LEECHES

    JUST
    TO
    STAY
    AT
    HOME :)


  25. Lesly Says:

    Could Think Progress bloggers please research the claims of this WSJ article?

    Democrats promised reform and instituted “a moratorium” on all earmarks until the system was cleaned up. Now the appropriations committees are privately accepting pork-barrel requests again. But curiously, the scorekeeper on earmarks, the Library of Congress’s Congressional Research Service (CRS)–a publicly funded, nonpartisan federal agency–has suddenly announced it will no longer respond to requests from members of Congress on the size, number or background of earmarks. “They claim it’ll be transparent, but they’re taking away the very data that lets us know what’s really happening,” says Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn. “I’m convinced the appropriations committees are flexing their muscles with CRS.”

    Indeed, the shift in CRS policy represents a dramatic break with its 12-year practice of supplying members with earmark data. “CRS will no longer identify earmarks for individual programs, activities, entities, or individuals,” stated a private Feb. 22 directive from CRS Director Daniel Mulhollan.

    When Sen. Coburn and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina submitted earmark inquiries recently, they were both turned down. Each then had heated conversations with Mr. Mulhollan. The director, who declined to be interviewed for this article, explained that because the appropriations committees and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were now preparing their own lists of earmarks, CRS should no longer play a role in the process. He also noted that both the House and Senate are preparing their own definitions of earmarks. “It is not appropriate for us to continue our research,” his directive states.

    […]

    That is sophistry. The House rule making earmarks public, which was passed in January, doesn’t apply to earmarks for fiscal year 2007, the year Mr. Coburn wanted his report on. There is no Senate rule, and a proposed statute defining earmarks hasn’t become law. OMB’s list of earmarks applies only to fiscal year 2005.

    And in any case, CRS works for Congress, so it is bizarre for it to claim work being done by the executive branch as a reason to deny members information it was happy to collect and release in the past. When I asked a CRS official if the new policy stemmed from complaints by appropriations committee members, she refused to answer the question, citing “confidentiality” concerns.

    ut other CRS staffers are happy to talk privately about the political pressure members often exert, despite Mr. Mulhollan’s new directive that all employees inform management within 24 hours of any contacts with the media. “The director operates out of fear members will get upset,” says Dennis Roth, a CRS labor economist who is president of a union representing 250 CRS workers. “The groundhog doesn’t want to see his shadow, so he stays in the dark hole so he won’t.”

    “There is real anxiety members will complain if CRS says something is an earmark when the new appropriations committees say it isn’t,” says another CRS staffer. He notes CRS “caught hell” last year with its report finding that more than 95% of all earmarks in fiscal year 2006 bills weren’t written into law and thus not legally binding.

    The concern now is that free-spending appropriations committees will use the new CRS gag rule to define earmarks downward. “We need CRS to continue its reliable reporting so we can save the taxpayers money,” says Sen. DeMint. Earmarks aren’t chump change. CRS calculated they amounted to $64 billion in 2006, and in the past they’ve often been given out as “sweeteners” to convince members to vote for mega-ticket bills.


  26. valiant venus Says:

    Zooooette - Nice of you to want to “help educate Mom”. But seriously, she probably didn’t want to mention although you have made some questionable choices in life, she doesn’t have a REAL reason to trust YOUR “knowledge” over her own. That said, as a good conservative Mom, she loves you very much and is proud you are back in school - finally!


  27. valiant venus Says:

    Dear Goose - I am against ALL supplemental Iraq/Afghanistan bills containing non-military spending, whether they are from Dems or Repubs. But as the bias of TP showcases “conservative” bashing, I thought a bit of balance would be helpful for gullible pacifists….


  28. valiant venus Says:

    #24 - JimBOB - Drinking and drugs on the job again?


  29. Sharon Says:

    Ah yes, another late start for the troll population..LOL..It take’s awhile to crawl out from under the bridge….Never forget.”We can’t fix stupid”….Blessings


  30. GooseEgg Says:

    Horked like a bile covered fur-ball by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:13 pm

    So your problem isn’t w/ non-military spending in the “Dem” Iraq Suplemental, then?! Your problem is w/ any non-military spending in the war funding. Then why not say this, rather than attacking one side or the other?


  31. Zooey Says:

    Zooooette - Nice of you to want to “help educate Mom”. But seriously, she probably didn’t want to mention although you have made some questionable choices in life, she doesn’t have a REAL reason to trust YOUR “knowledge” over her own. That said, as a good conservative Mom, she loves you very much and is proud you are back in school - finally!
    Comment by valiant venus

    You aren’t seriously going after my mother, are you Mighty F*ckwit? You really don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, and you’d do better not going there. I don’t need the likes of YOU telling me anything about your delusions of my relationship with my mother, or about who my mother is.

    My mother has gone through 100 times more adversity in her life than you could even begin to think about, let alone handle.

    You’d know something about “questionable” choices, wouldn’t you? Afterall, your whole life is a lie and we all know it, and yet you persist in spouting off about your make-believe life. That takes a lot of nerve, and very little character.

    I’m sure your dear mother shakes her head everytime she thinks about the disgrace to humanity you have become.

    Don’t bother trotting out the old “My parents are dead” routine. You do nothing but lie.

    Go back to your sick life.


  32. pgw Says:

    “Mississippi Senators’ Rail Plan Challenged
    War Bill Includes Millions to Move Just-Rebuilt Line
    By Jonathan Weisman
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Tuesday, April 18, 2006; Page A01

    Mississippi’s two U.S. senators included $700 million in an emergency war spending bill to relocate a Gulf Coast rail line that has already been rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina at a cost of at least $250 million.

    Republican Sens. Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, who have the backing of their state’s economic development agencies and tourism industry, say the CSX freight line must be moved to save it from the next hurricane and to protect Mississippi’s growing coastal population from rail accidents. But critics of the measure call it a gift to coastal developers and the casino industry that would be paid for with money carved out of tight Katrina relief funds and piggybacked onto funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”


  33. Shane Says:

    **hoping**

    Comment by Zooey — April 14, 2007 @ 3:57 pm

    You are a good daughter. We have to save as many people from Fox News propaganda as we can. It’s easy to tell who the Fox Newsies are though, just wait from the ridiculous falsehoods to flow. Their either Fox Newsies or neocon Nazi trolls or both like Virulent Venereal.


  34. Raven Says:

    The trolls do seem to be creatures of the “Friday night syndrome.”
    If I had to come up with such crap for a week straight, I might feel the need to kill some brain cells as well………..


  35. Jimbo Says:

    #24

    JIMBO DUDE DOES NOT PARTICIPATE IN POLITICIZED ASPECTS OF
    SOCIETY SUCH A BRIBES FROM BREWERIES AND NEITHER DO I
    PARTICIPATES IN ANY FORM OF DRUGS

    JIMBO DUDE ONLY SPEAKS THE TRUTH THAT TOTALLY CORRUPTED THINGS
    THAT COMPLAIN ABOUT WORKING 2.5 OUT OF 5 DAYS SHOULD JUST STAY
    AT HOME

    AND IF ETHICS REFORM WAS A REALITY CONGRESS WOULD MAKE THOSE THINGS STAY AT HOME, STRIP THEM FROM ANY FARTHER POLITICAL LEECHING

    BUT DUDE……

    IT’S
    RIGGED
    MAN
    RIGGED… LIKE YOU DIG DUDE DIG

    ALSO, UPSTAIRS EVERYTHING IS FINE… I AM PERFECTLY NORMAL
    NOTHIN LOOSE NOR MISSING, WHAT YOU SEE IS I AM ULTIMATE

    HEAVENLY
    AWESOME
    COOLNESS

    SO COOL… ALOT OF TIMES I BLOW PEOPLE AWAY DUDE

    LIKE

    DUDE
    DIG
    DUDE
    DIG :)

    ALSO JIMBO DUDE ALWAYS SPEAKS THE TRUTH

    ROCK
    SOLID
    INTEGRITY
    DUDE

    DUDE
    DIG
    DUDE
    DIG? :)


  36. Zooey Says:

    That said, as a good conservative Mom, she loves you very much and is proud you are back in school - finally!
    Comment by valiant venus

    You presume too much to think you know anything about my mother.

    My mother raised me to think for myself and learn from my mistakes, which I have done over the years. I am a decent person, and my mother respects my political leanings, even if she doesn’t agree with them 100%.

    Your mother raised a vile creature, who lies at every turn, has contempt for her own sex, and reviles humanity. I’d say your proud conservative mother loves you, but I have doubt since she damaged you so severely.

    Don’t even think of playing the “My parents are dead” routine.

    B*tch.


  37. Jimbo Says:

    TELL THOSE TOTALLY CORRUPTED

    L
    E
    E
    C
    H
    E
    S

    AND ALL THEIR PARASITES THAT GO FOR PORK JUST TO STAY AT HOME

    AND
    DO
    US
    BOTH
    A BIG FAVOR… REFORM ETHICS ON PORK DUDE

    AND MAKE THEM STAY AT HOME, THE POLITICAL

    POLITICAL

    HOODLUMS
    PARASITES
    LEECHES

    PORK =
    SWINDLING


  38. Shane Says:

    Drinking and drugs on the job again?

    Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:15 pm

    Maybe you should try it instead of the constant bulimic vomiting. It might improve your disposition. It couldn’t make you any less intelligent. Obviously you can’t find your ass with both hands or a new channel other than Fox.

    Why don’t you take that vomit encrusted finger and look for some facts instead of more propaganda.


  39. Zooey Says:

    Sorry about the double post — everyone except VV.

    VV deserves 10 times the double post.


  40. Zooey Says:

    Thanks, Shane.


  41. Jimbo Says:

    #37

    as i stated dude… i donot participate in any legal or illegal
    chemical modifications upstairs

    dude… i am pefectly normal

    rock
    solid
    integrity and truth dude……..

    i know… i’m so heavenly awesome
    a lot of time i blow people away dude

    nope…. all i am is just SO COOL
    so honest
    so much integrity dude
    i always speak the truth dude

    just tell those corrupt political parasites/leeches to just stay at home
    so the ones of integrity can just do their job


  42. Shane Says:

    That said, as a good conservative Mom
    Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:10 pm

    Oh look and “oxymoron” from “the moron” how ironic.

    It’s not your fault you know nothing about good mom’s since I’m sure your’s has wanted to drown you since you started spewing. And then there’s the jokes you make about your dead baby not exactly “mom of the year” stuff.


  43. Jimbo Says:

    i forgot….

    that
    includes
    dudes
    AND
    dudettes ;)


  44. tarazan Says:

    #5 Valiant…the 20 billions that you accused Democrats of adding to the budget and called ‘pork’ represent small sums of money compared to the total budget….

    We spend 10 billions dollars in Iraq every month..

    You have not also proven that the 20 billions goes under ‘Pork’…


  45. valiant venus Says:

    “You aren’t seriously going after my mother, are you Mighty F*ckwit?”

    Absolutely not - I’m certain your Mom is a lovely woman - in fact, the only one of us who chides YOUR mother is YOU. (Perhaps the way you have “gone after” my husband and kids leads you to think the same about others. You poor thing!)

    Maybe others have gotten an idea of you relationship with your mother because of WHAT you have come out and written…..

    “My mother has gone through 100 times more adversity in her life than you could even begin to think about, let alone handle. ”
    With you for a daughter, I have no doubt.

    Toooodles…….(off to Little League…..)


  46. Zooey Says:

    Jimbo,

    You really are heavenly awesome. :)


  47. PaulB Says:

    Let’s deconstruct VV’s first comment, shall we?

    Crying and whining about the cost of the war

    No, actually they haven’t been, other than to point out the simple truth that we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars, thousands of our own lives, and tens to hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives more than the Bush administration claimed would be spent when it sold the war.

    Furthermore, the Congressional Democrats have made a quite simple and perfectly valid request: put the war on budget. There simply is no excuse any more for the war to not be in the budget, instead of these silly little games that the Bush administration has been playing with supplemental budget requests.

    Dems load up the latest supplemental war funding bill with $20 billion in pork.

    And, once again, you are flatly incorrect, by the strict definition of the word, “pork.” Contrary to your simpleminded view of the world, “pork” does not mean “any government spending.” It doesn’t even mean “any government spending I don’t like.” It means unnecessary government spending, usually specifically tailored to help the reelection prospects of specific Congresscritters.

    So go ahead, VV: show us the “pork” in this spending bill. There may be such, but it sure ain’t $20 billion. Moreover, your claims ring hollow when you consider how significantly reduced the pork is in this bill as compared to previous bills passed by Republican Congresses and signed by an uncomplaining George W. Bush. There is hypocrisy here, but it ain’t on the Democratic side of the aisle.

    In short, you posted mindless partisan drivel, devoid of facts, and you got called on it. And you’ve been whining ever since, much to the amusement of everyone else here.


  48. Shane Says:

    I am against

    Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:13 pm

    You are against anything not approved by Rove and Cheney. You give a shit about supplemental spending just like anybody gives a shit about you.

    What are you today Christian, Jewish? Mother? The other day you told a poster that you and “your husband” (haha) are both veterans who have served already. What a joke!

    The only thing we believe you are is a trailer trash, neocon Nazi traitor who puts Republicans before the country.


  49. Raven Says:

    toodles, oh smog shrouded hot molten ball of sulperous spew.

    (Hey all you other Little League Moms, watch out, here she comes, and she’s primed so full her teeth are floating………..)


  50. Zooey Says:

    (Perhaps the way you have “gone after” my husband and kids leads you to think the same about others. You poor thing!)

    YOUR husband and children do not exist. Why do you persist in trying to put this crap over on us?

    My mother DOES exist. Maybe in Mighty Ass World discussion is “chiding,” but nowhere else.

    “My mother has gone through 100 times more adversity in her life than you could even begin to think about, let alone handle. ”
    With you for a daughter, I have no doubt.

    I hate to think of your poor mother. At least I produced actual grandchildren, raised them as decent live men, and sent them into the world where they are making a positive difference. Does your mom buy imaginary Christmas gifts for her little imaginary darling grandchildren? Does she put imaginary flowers on your imaginary dead child’s grave? Does she hang her head in shame everytime you open your vile mouth?

    Little League, my ass…..


  51. Shane Says:

    Toooodles…….(off to Little League…..)

    Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:44 pm

    How convenient the Venom Valium uses her imaginary “children” to run out of here. Who do you think you’re fooling with your alleged “real life.”


  52. Temper Tantrums Says:

    Just look at the money that was approved for Iraq. By the trillions. By the zillions. Hell we have have money ear-marked for a Iraq Party via Bush. This money is re-cycled just waiting for the democracy to show its face, in the next 100000 years. It is a line item in the budget, passed last year.


  53. Shane Says:

    Comment by Zooey — April 14, 2007 @ 4:51 pm

    The other day VagrantVenom claimed she bakes cookies and pretzels to send to her brother serving in Iraq while complaining about her whining sister inlaw complaining about his extended service.

    And did you see when she said her and her “husband” are veterans. The only thing we can believe about her is that she has an active imagination. Probably from all the time she spends staring at the toilet in that trailer.
    Well at least she’s gone.


  54. kyrocky Says:

    Can anyone help?

    I used the links to go to Scott Lilly’s post, where he had a link to Bush’s request. I wanted to see what pork Bush did have in his request. However, the link took me to a 23 page pdf of the request that looked to be a military related. Where is the pork? Can someone provide a link to the complete supplemental request from Bush that itemizes his “pork”?

    Any assistance would be appreciated.


  55. pgw Says:

    “The only thing we believe you are is a trailer trash, neocon Nazi traitor who puts Republicans before the country.

    Comment by Shane ”

    she has a very peculiar way of spelling certain words [neighbour, favour, colour, etc.] for someone who’s supposed to be an american hero


  56. Tobey Tall Says:

    Bush and his own Porky Pies


  57. Zooey Says:

    Well at least she’s gone.
    Comment by Shane

    She’s never gone. Ugh.

    Yeah, I saw the comment about the whiney sis-in-law. The Hag has no feeling for anyone. I feel sorry for the sis-in-law (if she exists) having to put up with the Hag.

    Can you see the Hag baking cookies!? Ha! I asked her how many children she had baked into pies.

    VV has trotted out the veteran story before, when she was MA. Oh yeah, both she and her “husband” were officers! Quite a feat to have completed college, military service, and law school — all by the time she 22 years old. Uh huh.


  58. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    Dear Goose - I am against ALL supplemental Iraq/Afghanistan bills containing non-military spending, whether they are from Dems or Repubs. Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:13 pm

    Yet you save all of your venom for LIBRULS doing this, and you complain that’s an excuse for veto, despite bush also doing it.

    That’s called a ‘psychotic break with reality’, something an Anorexic like you lives their life from.

    But as the bias of TP showcases “conservative” bashing, I thought a bit of balance would be helpful for gullible pacifists…. Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:13 pm

    But as the bias of you showcases “liberal” bashing, you come here and avoid the balance that TP delivers by defending Bush’s hypocrisy. That’s understandable from a gullible war monger like you that thinks it’s OK for your religion to wage, war, but when others do, you call them a religion of “pieces”.

    You’re a hypocrite, a fool, and a terrorist in that black hateful heart of yours.


  59. Proud Dem Says:

    Why can’t they do a pre-emptive strike by saying that they have to wade through his pork-laden bill?

    Comment by trueblue

    hehehehe
    It’s Osama pork-laden.


  60. Zooey Says:

    hehehehe
    It’s Osama pork-laden.
    Comment by Proud Dem

    Does that comment make you a heathen, or just blasphemous?
    Where’s Daryll when I need him….?

    :-D


  61. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    You’ve got to admire the chutzpah of Congressional Dems, and the Speakette in particular. Crying and whining about the cost of the war, Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 3:21 pm

    Yeah, a TRILLION dollars spent in the process of creating a Religious Theocracy in Iraq that’s sympathetic to Al Qaeda seems awfully silly to get upset about.

    I admire the chutzpah of you lunatic right wing nuts in defending such a clearly failed policy though. It sure does take a lot of b*lls to defy reality and live in a delusion that way. Or then again, maybe it just takes going off your meds.

    Dems load up the latest supplemental war funding bill with $20 billion in pork. Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 3:21 pm

    Pork? Or spending that gets blocked otherwise?

    I can see how you would hate spending 20 billion on your fellow Americans, when you can spend a TRILLION on your fellow fanatics and terrorists. You’re one f*cked up lunatic b*tch.

    Defending the PORK, Dems shriek, “We neeeed it for Katrina etc. ” Fine - write a supplemental bill to further aid Katrina victims, etc. Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 3:21 pm

    Yet here you are only criticizing Dems for “pork”, when as this thread points out the President himself (one if the big criticizers of pork), littered his own spending requests with them.

    Sorry, Mighty Anorexic, but that makes your party a set of Hypocrites, and proves that your party leadership doesn’t have a problem with Pork. They have a problem with Pork that doesn’t benefit them personally.

    You really are a st*pid little terrorist c*nt.


  62. WaltTheMan Says:

    #17 - VV,
    Sorry, I did not respond sooner. I had a 15 minute slot at CERN and I do not give those up. The data just finished coming in. Those 4 Gigahertz satellite downloads are so slow. Back to subject - just when did I claim I was a genius?


  63. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    Walt- Compared to your self-proclaimed genius, EVERYONE is dumber than rocks and you…thanks for contributing another non-argument. (It’s not often I get to make fun of a bona fide genius.) Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 3:53 pm

    You making fun of others intelligence, and lack of contributing argument brings about the only response worthy of you.

    Project much?

    You aren’t intelligent enough to take notes for a lawerETTE, let alone be one, you st*pid miserable c*nt.


  64. Shane Says:

    she has a very peculiar way of spelling certain words [neighbour, favour, colour, etc.] for someone who’s supposed to be an american hero

    Comment by pgw — April 14, 2007 @ 5:05 pm

    Was thinking the same thing myself today.


  65. Zooey Says:

    I had a 15 minute slot at CERN and I do not give those up. The data just finished coming in. Those 4 Gigahertz satellite downloads are so slow. Back to subject - just when did I claim I was a genius?
    Comment by WaltTheMan

    **SMACK!!**


  66. Zooey Says:

    Was thinking the same thing myself today.
    Comment by Shane

    She’s pretentious.


  67. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    With you for a daughter, I have no doubt.
    Toooodles…….(off to Little League…..)
    Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:44 pm

    Your mother must have died from regret from raising such a miserable piece of sh*t. Just think, to survive the concentration camps of Nazi Europe (or was that your grandmother, your story always changes, so it’s easy to forget what the latest version is), only to raise a fully formed Nazi H*llB*tch that has now become a Christian. Just think, you should have told your grandmother to stop wasting her time and convert to being a Christian - that way she could have become a Nazi like you are, and avoided all of the tragedy of having to start over in the US. Talk about a disappointment, you are the very definition of disappointment for anyone that’s Jewish, Christian or rational! St*pid miserable c*nt.


  68. Koolaid Killsus Says:

    This site really ought to be called, Think Moonbat. Keep deluding yourselves. It’s like an Amway meeting. You all pump yourself up with BS, and run out to spread the word, all the while, thinking that everyone else is dumb enough to believe your ignorant pitch. A bunch of little Goebbels.


  69. Sharon Says:

    VVGFU, .The most interesting little tidbit lies I noticed were the fact she has claimed to be jewish and christian and yesterday claimed her husband was a retired marine….Taking all the lies and insults into consideration I think M.A.?V.V is now jake as well..Lot’s of simalaraties with these reich winged nut cases…..

    Back on the budget, I hope the congress hold’s the line and make’s bull shit sign what he get’s and STFU.I am so very tired of him getting all this air time to spew his lies….It is time for we the people to start winning and be able to bring our troop’s home..Blessings


  70. Briseadh na Faire Says:

    valient venus - another child left behind…. sad… so sad…


  71. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    VVGFU, .The most interesting little tidbit lies I noticed were the fact she has claimed to be jewish and christian and yesterday claimed her husband was a retired marine….Taking all the lies and insults into consideration I think M.A.?V.V is now jake as well..Lot’s of simalaraties with these reich winged nut cases….. Comment by Sharon — April 14, 2007 @ 5:31 pm

    It all smacks of Coulter’s “How to talk to Liberals” b*llsh*t to me. Aphrodite lists Coulter’s books on her myspace page, and yesterday Jake made the same b*llsh*t statement Coulter makes about blowing up the NYTimes building.

    Back on the budget, I hope the congress hold’s the line and make’s bull shit sign what he get’s and STFU.I am so very tired of him getting all this air time to spew his lies….It is time for we the people to start winning and be able to bring our troop’s home..Blessings Comment by Sharon — April 14, 2007 @ 5:31 pm

    Congress is in the stronger position, and the only thing this administration has going for them is the right wing noise machine and the MSM’s laziness and capitulation to the masters up top. That didn’t help them enough in 2006, and so far it doesn’t look like it’s enough this time.

    This whole attack on Pelosi she’s handled very well considering the fierce level at which the MSM has funnelled inappropriate and unfounded attacks at her. She was on Leno the other night, and she was such a dignified and poised politician compared to this bunch of lunatic nutjobs like Venus and her fake p*n*s.

    The more I see Pelosi in action, the more I admire her as a person and as a politician. She really does have that wow factor of leadership. Considering what a good old boy network Congress is, her ascent is truly a remarkable testament to her abilities. That’s why women hating self loathing freaks like Venus are so funny. They can’t tolerate a ‘woman’ who can have such leadership, and still be very much a woman. Their idea of a strong woman is Thatcher or Coulter, both of whom are one hormone shot away from growing their own ph*ll*s.


  72. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    This site really ought to be called, Think Moonbat. Comment by Koolaid Killsus — April 14, 2007 @ 5:30 pm

    Haven’t you gotten the latest Koolaid yet? See the problem with moonbats isn’t that we drink koolaid (that’s what you jim jones religious types do) - it’s that we’re indecisive and can’t think as one. The koolaid implies that everyone is in lockstep, and to level that charge against liberals is REALLY FUNNY, and nothing more than a projection of your own inadequacies.

    Keep deluding yourselves. Comment by Koolaid Killsus — April 14, 2007 @ 5:30 pm

    Project much?

    It’s like an Amway meeting. Comment by Koolaid Killsus — April 14, 2007 @ 5:30 pm

    You mean like Republican conventions, and all of the t-shirts and other acts of “commerce”?

    You all pump yourself up with BS, and run out to spread the word, all the while, thinking that everyone else is dumb enough to believe your ignorant pitch. Comment by Koolaid Killsus — April 14, 2007 @ 5:30 pm

    You’re describing your right wing websites that don’t allow dissent, like yours.

    A bunch of little Goebbels. Comment by Koolaid Killsus — April 14, 2007 @ 5:30 pm

    Sorry to correct you, but Goebbels was a conservative, and in fact he was a hero to Leo Strauss, the founder of the Neocon movement that now runs your administration. That’s why your little act of propaganda here, is so hilariously hypocritical. It is either the act of a little Goebbels, or a useful idiot that’s been duped. Either way, sigh, we feel pity for you.


  73. Marie Says:

    This is fine. Many of us knew some of those details, but probably not all of them. Most Americans don’t know anything of those details, but only hear that the Dems larded up the bill with “pork.” The media reports it as such - end of report.
    Where is the synopsis of these appropriations in the media? What newspaper printed this information for public awareness?
    Which 24/7 news program devoted two or three minutes of this information in the morning broadcast and in the evening broadcast to fit in with the busy schedules of most Americans?
    We all know the answer.

    American people are like mushrooms - kept in the dark and fed shit.
    Better to focus on the latest episode of American Idol or devote hours upon hours to Anna Nicole’s baby. Yes, let’s devote 8 straight days to the Imus affair (while a dozen other hate-filled bigots go unaffected).
    Meanwhile, let’s not tell the public what’s happening in DC that will really have an effect on them and their families today and tomorrow.


  74. Briseadh na Faire Says:

    52 -

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/ omb/ budget/ amendments/ amendment_3_9_07.pdf

    Page 2 of the pdf:

    State-Owned Enterprises (factory restarts) – $100 million to help re-start state-owned factories and return unemployed Iraqis to work.

    Page 3:

    This transmittal proposes $110 million to support Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism through development of the regions bordering Afghanistan known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. In addition, the amendment would support the Frontier Corps.

    Page 7:

    To support higher priority emergency Global War on Terror needs, this revision would remove $436.3 million from the pending supplemental request for the Regional War on Terror, reflect the most recent reduction in fuel prices, and a re-estimate of funds necessary to grow the size of the permanent force. (emphasis added)

    Page 11:

    This proposal would authorize a new Medical Support Fund to improve the effectiveness of efforts to transition returning servicemembers’ from deployment in support of the Global War on Terror to a successful return to productive military service or civilian society. This proposal also requests $50 million to be available through September 30, 2008.

    Page 12:

    This amendment would provide a total increase of $360.0 million to support the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Iraq ($150.0 million) and the Task Force to improve Business and Stability Operations in Iraq ($100.0 million), and provide economic assistance to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan ($110.0 million)….In addition, these funds would provide special pay and benefits for 129 deployed civilians, personnel hired to backfill these civilians, travel, and training.

    To promote economic development and enhance security in Pakistan border areas, $110.0 million will be transferred to the Department of State to assist Pakistan’s efforts to develop the autonomous FATA along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

    Page 22:

    From funds made available in this title for the Department of Defense, not to exceed $71,500,000 may be used, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to provide equipment, supplies, and training for the Pakistan Frontier Corps to enhance the ability of those forces to conduct counterterrorist operations along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

    Page 23:

    Section 8005 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 109-289; 120 Stat. 1257), is amended by striking “$4,500,000,000″ and inserting [”$8,000,000,000″].
    This provision would provide the Department with increased flexibility in reallocating base resources in the future. [In otherwords, Bush could reallocate up to $8 Billion without Congressional approval nor oversight]

    The pdf from the White House site does not give a line-item of the entire budget request from Bush, but the above items are, shall we say, enlightening.


  75. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    Yes, let’s devote 8 straight days to the Imus affair (while a dozen other hate-filled bigots go unaffected).
    Meanwhile, let’s not tell the public what’s happening in DC that will really have an effect on them and their families today and tomorrow.
    Comment by Marie — April 14, 2007 @ 6:01 pm

    The romans called this ruling by “Bread and Circuses”. They kept the population fed with free bread and entertained at the coliseum, so they wouldn’t focus on the issues of the day.

    Today we get fed (Fast Food) and entertained (Infotainment) so we won’t know that the crooks (supported by fringe lunatics like Venus that hope to someday reap the Coulter rewards for loyalty and enabling of their criminal behavior) get away with robbing the treasury.

    Very little changes, they just rename the institutions.


  76. Raven Says:

    An Amway meeting is about as neo-con as can get.
    I’m a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
    Ada, about 15 miles away, is the headquarters of Amway.
    There may be a few cars yet from the 70’s with the bumper sticker which reads “Amway Is Not Our Way”…..
    I have watched Grand Rapids become the hub of Republican driven developement which has turned the downtown into the Michigan equivalent of the “Green Zone.” Don’t even think about going down there unless you have a lot of money.
    Mass transit was not a part of the urban renewal. If you take the Amtrak into G.R., you have to endure the train backing into a siding, pulling forward onto another siding, so that the train can back into the old, run down tiny station, which is so small most passengers actually disembark onto the street.
    Dick De Vos, the head of Amway, just lost (by a landslide, the Michigan governors race. His wife is an absolutey horrendous harpy, and was Fat Boy John Englers campaign manager. John Engler, who promised to only serve two terms, served three, and gutted the state, racking up a huge deficit which the second term Democrat Jennifer Granholm is heroically dealing with. Michigan is a very sad place right now.
    Dick Devos’ brother in law is Eric Prince, radical Christian founder and head of Blackwater, USA, the largest private army in the world. Halliburton’s private goon squad.
    Amway played a foundational role in the creation of Blackwater.

    So, to put it succinctly, F%ck your Amway meeting…..


  77. SilentPatriot Says:

    This is why ThinkProgress is an invaluable resource. I knew the right was over-exaggerating the extent to which pork riddled the spending bill, but it’s nice to see this meticulous breakdown put everything into perspective and context. Lest we forget that the outgoing Republicans punted nine spending bills in the lame duck session which required the Democrats to add all this extra funding. Now we only need the media to accurately report the story. I won’t hold my breath, though.


  78. Sharon Says:

    BnF, Thank You for the budget addition…Wow! Enlightening indeed…..Blessings


  79. Bruce Gorton Says:

    That said, as a good conservative Mom
    Comment by valiant venus — April 14, 2007 @ 4:10 pm

    Which is to say, a mother who brags at having lost a child, and having one of that child’s siblings “Comfort” her by saying the kid at least didn’t grow up to hold differing political leanings to you.

    Yeah, we all know what kind of mother, no scratch that, person you are VV. A sick, twisted hag who frankly should, if she has children, not be allowed within 200 miles of them.


  80. Bruce Gorton Says:

    Note: If the previous post does come out, that I am not getting at you Zooey, or your mother, who though incorrect is probably a nice person.

    I am getting at VV, who I view as somewhere beneath contempt and slightly above execution, if only because I feel she serves a purpose in reminding us that there really are people out there that stupid, callous, and downright psychotic, and no they aren’t all in jail.


  81. Briseadh na Faire Says:

    and no they aren’t all in jail.

    Comment by Bruce Gorton — April 14, 2007 @ 6:44 pm

    ~some of them hold high positions in the Bush White House.


  82. Zooey Says:

    Note: If the previous post does come out, that I am not getting at you Zooey, or your mother, who though incorrect is probably a nice person.
    Comment by Bruce Gorton

    I understand that, Bruce. Thanks. :)

    My mother has been very ill for many years, and it was easier for her to fall back on her old conservative views. Now that she is at a point of relative health, she seems more interested in exploring the things going on in the world, but gets caught up in the “flash” of Fox.

    Nothing is ever as black and white as it is in the world of MA.

    Yes, my mom is a very nice person. :-)


  83. Marie Says:

    #73,
    Thanks for that. I will remember “Bread and Circuses.”
    SSDD.
    There is nothing new under the sun.


  84. Badger Says:

    Why don’t we solve ALL of our problems by borrowing all the money we need from China, and hiring Blackwater to Win in Iraq?


  85. ann Says:

    Bush’s biggest pork project is Karl Rove.


  86. darby1936 Says:

    That pork in the supplemental is chump change in today’s budget and would be well worth it if the Dems were able to override Bush’s veto. We are spending over 5 billion a week in Iraq. That is pork of the worst sort because its ultimate goal is to kill people.


  87. Shane Says:

    Pork-barrel legislation
    Appropriations of public funds by Congress (or other legislative assemblies) for projects that do not serve the interests of any large portion of the country’s citizenry but are nevertheless vigorously promoted by a small group of legislators because they will pump outside taxpayers’ money and resources into the local districts these legislators represent. Successful promotion of such pork-barrel legislation (often through skillful logrolling) is very likely to get the legislator re-elected by his constituents. Classic examples of such pork-barrel legislation include Federal appropriations bills for dams, river and harbor improvements, bridge and highway construction, and job-training centers, as well as legislation designed to prevent closure of obsolete or unneeded military installations, prisons, VA hospitals and the like.

    Again, necessary spending is not pork. People should be able to rebut when Republicans keep calling this overdue funding pork.


  88. Merlin Says:

    No. 66. Koolaid Killsus

    You ranted:

    This site really ought to be called, Think Moonbat. Keep deluding yourselves. It’s like an Amway meeting. You all pump yourself up with BS, and run out to spread the word, all the while, thinking that everyone else is dumb enough to believe your ignorant pitch. A bunch of little Goebbels.

    Yes, well I’m glad to know that you take your name seriously. So, I ask you why you want to come over here to stink up the place while you wait to die?
    And you know what, my smelly little troll, If I wanted to come up with a perfect explanation of what BushCo, its enablers and the Evangelical wingnuts are doing, it would be your defecation written in unnecessary bold letters that scream at people. I wouldn’t change a word. Thanks for projecting your position! I will use it against you when necessary.

    Now I do understand why you have to scream at people. No one ever listens to you do they? Maybe there is a lesson to be learned from this bold defecating you do. Maybe you need a little self therapy, and if that doesn’t work, see a therapist.


  89. Liberty Lover Says:

    It was the children’s health care provision that puts the bill over the top in Bush’s mind…let the children pull themselves up by their bootstraps…What? no bootstraps, you say? They are poor and barefoot? No problem, they should buy their own boots first, then pull themselves up by them.


  90. JPark Says:

    #66 Clever. Now say something substantial.


  91. goehl Says:

    What I don’t understand is why Pelosi
    (or some chosen spokesperson),
    doesn’t go to the media with Bush’s own pork?Comment by trueblue — April 14, 2007 @ 3:31 pm

    I don’t think the media reports anything favorable about Democrats any more.

    They either report right-wing approved talking points or they report Imus, Anna Nicole and Duke lacrosse news.

    Comment by Shane —

    Could not agree more… this is the root and core of our problem.
    What fascist times we live in.


  92. Jimbo Says:

    GOLLY GEE………….

    ALTHOUGH SOMEWHAT OFF THE SUBJECT
    AND SOMEWHAT ON THE SUBJECT

    I JUST TOOK A LOOK A CREW REGARDING THE WHITE HOUSE EMAIL SYSTEM
    AND AGAIN THERE IS A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE WITHIN THE WHITEHOUSE BECAUSE THESE TOTALLY CORRUPTED THINGS INCLUDING GONZALES ARE TOTALLY VIOLATING HIGH LEVEL WHITE HOUSE LAWS

    INFACT CREW FARTHER STATES THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY A SERIOUS SCANDAL OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND THE SCANDAL IS BEING UNDERCOVERED

    GREAT…….. WE HAVE CRIMINALS IN THE WHITE HOUSE ENGAGIN IN A HUGE SCANDAL

    DISGUSTING AIN’T IT

    DEPT OF JUSTICE
    TOTALLY CORRUPT
    WHITE HOUSE
    TOTALLY CRIMINAL IN NATURE AND TOTALLY CORRUPT

    LITERALLY
    A
    BUNCH
    OF
    HOODLUMS


  93. Kmareka.com » Linkin’ Log (for 04-15-07) Says:

    […] Debunking Bush’s Whoppers On Pork—From Think Progress, a thorough refutation of the Bush administration’s claim that the […]


  94. Marie Says:

    The media have been instructed by the White House to report negatively on the Democrats.
    That the so-called journalists and their employers have complied with this dictatorial command is a great assault on the freedom and democracy of America, and is castration of the cowardly press.


  95. big papa Says:

    People should be able to rebut when Republicans keep calling this overdue funding pork.

    Comment by Shane #85

    Shane,

    …in Bushiva and L’il Dick’s DUHmerica…

    …unless you’re spending money forthe benefit of…

    …Halliburton, Bechtel, and Blackwater…

    …you’re wasting money…


  96. gorn by any other name Says:

    Zooey sez:

    “I asked her how many children she had baked into pies.”

    Ha! I wish I could come up with stuff like that. Priceless.

    BTW, of enduring shame to me is that my dad had proclaimed GWB to be a “genius” and “the best president the US has ever had”, during the first year or so of his presidency. He also espoused that fruitcake Californians were getting what they deserved when the Bush-sanctioned criminals at Enron and other companies were figuratively raping grandmothers via unregulated and non-compete energy pricing.

    Now, my dad was the best person I ever knew and very smart, but for some reason he was drinking the koolaid from Rush and friends and somehow became clouded by the propaganda (or maybe that’s “jettisoned by” the propaganda).

    Happily, as time went on, he gradually and grudgingly saw the light. In the months before he died, he came to recognize just how wrong his judgment had been in trusting the right wing propaganda machine. In the end, he’d come fully back to his senses. If he were still alive, I believe he would be relishing the reality of the WreckPublican party eating destroying itself from within like Goya’s “Saturn devouring one of his sons”.

    This gives me cause for hope that the majority of Americans are in the process of making the same mental adjustments, after a decade-long detour via the dark side.


  97. Happy Guy Says:

    CORRUPT ESTABLISHMENT

    http://www.examiner.com/ a-675671~Congressional_junkets_picking_up_steam.html

    So much for Pelosi’s pledge about waste and fraud. ROTFL


  98. Vic Anderson Says:

    But by now, of course, we all know the Bushists are unequivocal mirrorspeaking miserepublican LIARS!


  99. The Impaler Says:

    It would be impossible for FACTS about who proposed what in the bill since the Democrat majority changed the rules as to the timing of the release of information regarding who and why the attachments where added, this is another example the Democrats trying to hide knowledge from the public, just like Sandy Berger, the Dems are attempting to steal power from the executive branch to create their own proletariat style of government, they must be stopped at all costs.
    So Sayeth the Impaler!


  100. Dickless Cheney Says:

    I think we are all against “pork” in legislation. It would be cleaner to have each bill pass on its own merits… however, “pork happens.” This article does a good job of explaining why each item is tacked onto the bill BUT let us not kid ourselves… BUSH attacking the pork is only one of his excuses for attacking the Dems. If there were no pork, he would be attacking the DATE. If there is anything not Bush-requested, the boy king will pout. “Pout happens.” %^(

    HOPEFULLY the Dems will hold their ground— force the im-potantate to veto bills. Force the GOP to put-up or shut-up on the subject… I think the Dems will themselves be surprized by the number of GOP-sane senators who are only inches from jumping the aisle.


  101. Dick Cheney Says:

    Be careful…. the Democrats are trying to steal power from the PRESIDENT, and give it to one of the other branches of government. Be careful…. any moment now there will be oversite from congress. If our government starts that way, we could eventually end up with three branches of government— and you know how dangerous that would be.


  102. Mr. Bush Goes To Hell Says:

    Actually, the Kool-Aid and Goebbels are found here:

    http://www.freerepublic.com

    Don’t try to disagree with them, no matter HOW MUCH of a Nazi azzhole-licker of Bush you may be….

    They will block you PERMANENTLY.

    There’s FREE SPEECH here.

    Try to even send feedback to Rush, Coulter, Malkin.

    They tolerate NO DISSENT and have ALL the Kool-Aid, so go there…

    See you Nazis in hell (cause I’LL be THERE),


    Mr. Bush
    MURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
    COXUCKER PUNK TRAITOR TO THE USA


  103. Mr. Bush Goes To Hell Says:

    #94–

    This article links to the DC Examiner. The article is by Charles Hurt, former Washington “Moonie” Times editor.

    I tried to post on their article, told the TRUTH about BUSH not properly armoring the troops, and it was removed in about 3 minutes.

    So much for YOUR bullzhit article.

    If you can’t comment, like you can HERE, and have a DISSENTING OPINION, you have PROPAGANDA, which is what the article and

    the :DC Examiner” is…

    See you in hell, Nazi (cause I’LL be THERE),

    Mr. Bush
    MURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
    COXUCKER PUNK TRAITOR TO THE USA


  104. Mr. Bush Goes To Hell Says:

    #96–

    Yes, hide the TRUTH.

    Like Bush passing Executive Order 13233, which blocked release of Reagan and Daddy Bush’s papers,

    which would have told about Iran/Contra, MANY of whose CRIMINALS are part of THIS Bush TRAITOR’S administration.

    When we get a Dem president in 2008, the TRUTH is GOING TO BE REVEALED.

    And Bush and Cheney WILL be in irons for the REST of THEIR LIVES…

    Until God sends the WAR CRIMINAL MURDERERS to hell, where they belong…

    See YOU in hell (cause I’LL be THERE),

    Mr. Bush
    MURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
    COXUCKER PUNK TRAITOR TO THE USA


  105. wm dailey Says:

    hay maybe congress should send president bush a bill with a time line but

    a “small capitol gainstax cut maybe 2%. bet he’d sign it


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