Wartime Sacrifice

House and Senate negotiations over the $80 billion Iraq war bill were delayed yesterday "after leading senators refused to attend, angry that the House will not accept the many pork-barrel and special interest items that the Senate has inserted into its version of the bill."

Speaking of pork, yesterday Citizens Against Government Waste released its 2003 Pig Book, which reports a 12% jump in pork-barrel projects compared to last year. That's 9,362 projects totaling $22.5 billion.

Here are a few appropriations to think about with April 15 around the corner:

* $4 million for the International Fertilizer Development Center

* $250,000 to implement the National Preschool Anger Management Project

* $350,000 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio

* $750,000 for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The complete searchable Pig Book is available here.