Pig (Congress)man, Ha Ha, Charade You Are…

Citizens Against Government Waste has released its annual Congressional Pig Book, which details in all its lardy goodness the stomach-turning volume of pork-barrel spending in these United States. From the intro:

This year's list includes: $13,500,000 for the International Fund for Ireland, which helped finance the World Toilet Summit; $6,435,000 for wood utilization research; $1,000,000 for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative; and $500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, N.C.

This year, there was good news and bad news. For fiscal 2006, appropriators stuffed 9,963 projects into the 11 appropriations bills, a 29 percent decrease over last year's total of 13,997. Despite the reduction in the number of earmarks, Congress porked out at record dollar levels with $29 billion in pork for 2006, or 6.2 percent more than last year's total of $27.3 billion. In fact, the total cost of pork has increased by 29 percent since fiscal 2003. Total pork identified by CAGW since 1991 adds up to $241 billion.

Go whole hog here.

Reason's Tim Cavanaugh drives off last year's biggest pork project, Alaska's bridge to nowhere, here.

Obscure headline allusion explained here.

Obscure tie-in to earlier post: Shouldn't the World Toilet Summit be held in Belgium, what with all the chocolate, beer, and Smurfs?

Comments

[Piotr Brzezinski]

Fantastic headline...

[Jersey McJones]

Yes, very Floydian.

One would think that the GOP mastery of gerrymandering would have been enough to secure a majority for the long haul - but no! They had to bring home more pork than Ted Kennedy coming home from a luau - AND - break every election law and ethic in the book, all osetensibly to retain there power. Why? Paranoia, perhaps? Look at Nixon (and I hate to say it, but I'd take him over every president we've had since him and I'm a progresive liberal!). His reelection was in the bag, yet his paranoia got the best of him (well, really it was his loyalty - or was it?). The GOP proves the old adage (that I just made up) - the more they wrap themselves in the Bible and the Flag, the more they weather the both of them.

JMJ

[Larry A]

Even though Alaska led the nation with $489 per capita ($325 million), it was less than half of Alaska?s 2005 per capita number of $985. The runners up in 2006 were Hawaii with $378 per capita ($482 million) and the District of Columbia with $182 per capita ($100 million)

Yeah. it was just the Republicans.

[Evan]

Here's a pretty fucking sickening comparison...

[kyleg]

I now may rest in peace, knowing what awaits me in Sparta, N.C. Thank you, US government.

[AML]

I used to pass through Sparta quite a bit. Three traffic lights, a Hardees and a courthouse sums it up quite nicely. And, oh yes, the high school. Proud home of the Sparta Trojans. I don't think that anyone there sees the irony.

Soon to have a world famous teapot museum.

[Pig Floyd]

I didn't find that headline at all obscure. Now open the priest hole, and eat your meat.

[SmokingPenguin]

Money! It's a hit. Don't gimme none-o-that fiscal restraint bullshit.
I'm in the first class legislating set, and all my constituents need a new Corvette.

[Ira Weatheral]

Obscure? This is one of the few headlines that I knew the source before reading the comments.

Guess that's what I get for hanging in the park back in the 80s, listening to Floyd and partaking in interstate commerce.

[Kris]

I like this from the "Praise for CAGW and the Pig Book" secton.

"Those peckerwoods don?t know what they?re doing. They don?t. They?re not being
realistic."

"The King of Pork" Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.)
National Public Radio, July 19, 2001

"All they are is a bunch of psychopaths."

CAGW "Oinker" Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)
Associated Press, December 26, 1999

[dead_elvis]

Belgium is of course perfect for a toilet/urinal summit for this famous reason:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannequin_pis