The American Spectator : Sandy Republicans Pig Out

Text Size

Sandy Republicans Pig Out

By Doug Bandow on 1.7.13 @ 6:08AM

Political extortion as humanitarian assistance should have no place in our politics.

Is nothing sacred? In Washington the answer is no.

As the last Congress sought to avoid the “fiscal cliff” and raced toward adjournment, the House refused to vote on a pork-ridden bill sold as aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. That triggered a splenetic outburst from Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who complained that the GOP stuck a “knife in the back of New Yorkers and New Jerseyites.”

It was an example of political extortion at its worst. In Washington political fraud rules. The $60 billion bill did not live up to its sales pitch. Much of it had nothing to do with helping hurricane victims. Complained Jon Fleischman of the Flash Report: “You would not believe how many billions of dollars in pork barrel spending has been stuffed into this legislation by appropriators in the upper chamber.”

For instance, $17 billion was for “Community Development Block Grants,” boondoggle spending that usually benefits political activists rather than average citizens. Alaska fishermen several thousand miles away from Hurricane Sandy would have gotten $150 million. There was $8 million for cars and equipment for the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice.

The Veterans Administration would collect $207 million for its Manhattan Medical Center. There was $2 million to repair a roof at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and $58.8 million for private forest restoration. Almost $11 billion was targeted for future public transportation construction and maintenance.

Another $41 million would go for work at eight military bases as far away as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. And $4 million for repairs at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The connection of all these projects to Hurricane Sandy was not immediately obvious.

If Rep. King and other northeastern legislators had simply wanted disaster relief money, they could have had it. If the bill had focused on disaster relief. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Ca.) observed: “They had the opportunity to have a $27-to $30-billion legit relief package, packed it with pork, then dared us not to vote on it.”

An unnamed GOP aide made the reasonable point that “we need to know more about the contents of the [second] bill before deciding on a path forward.” A short delay was the least Congress could do for taxpayers.

The new House immediately passed $9.7 billion in extra money for the bankrupt federal flood insurance program. A vote is expected mid-month on the rest of the package. Reported the New York Times: “The overall measure would provide money to help homeowners and small-business owners rebuild; to repair bridges, tunnels and transportation systems; to reimburse local governments for overtime costs of police, fire and other emergency services; and to replenish shorelines. It also would finance an assortment of longer-term projects that would help the regions prepare for future storms.”

Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) promised that the second measure would “strip out the extraneous spending directed to states not affected by the storm.” Of course, that money should never have been in the legislation. The new combined total is expected to run about $37 billion, well under the original measure passed by the Senate.

No one can have anything but compassion for those who lived through the worst of Hurricane Sandy and any other natural disaster. But that doesn’t give vote-seeking pols a license to loot the public for partisan gain. In fact, federal disaster “relief” is itself a disaster.

Observed the Wall Street Journal: “every disaster has become a Washington political opportunity. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is fully funded but does an incompetent job. Federal flood insurance encourages overbuilding in storm zones, so taxpayers pay first to subsidize the insurance and then to save the homeowners who overbuilt. And politicians use the public sympathy after any disaster as an excuse to throw even more money not merely at victims but for pent-up priorities they should be funding out of regular state and local tax dollars.”

It’s quite a racket. A 2006 Cato Institute study cited earlier studies which found that presidents declare far more disasters during reelection years and states with members serving on FEMA’s oversight committees collect significantly more disaster money. Overall, “nearly half of all disaster relief is motivated by politics rather than by need.”

Obviously, the government has some assets, such as the National Guard, which no private entity can match. But most of what FEMA does can be done better by others. For instance, when it comes to delivering supplies, companies like Wal-Mart have proved to be far more efficient than FEMA. Charities such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army more effectively address the deepest human needs, raising money across the nation to promote relief.

But even if politicians were pure as the driven snow and bureaucracies demonstrated extraordinary competence, disaster management still should not be turned over to them. While excoriating the GOP for delaying its vote, the president said “When tragedy strikes, Americans come together to support those in need.” Which is true. However, that doesn’t mean government should take control.

Page: 1 2 >

About the Author

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author and editor of several books, including The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington (Transaction).

Letter to the Editor View all comments (81) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.7.13 @ 6:28AM

And in the midst of the Sandy aid a question arises.

Christie went out of his way to admire Obama for doing a good job after Sandy. At the time Christie was kissing Obama's posterior, numerous articles claimed that FEMA was sitting on over 11 billion so there was no need to rush a bill through for more relief aid for Sandy.

Just three days ago USA Today ran an article stating only 1.7 billion had been distributed by FEMA in relation to Sandy. This was just one day before an additional 9 billion was approved for the Sandy aid.

Now Christie blasts John Boehner and King joins in the chorus for not rushing the 60 billion Sandy porkulus through Congress.

It all looks orchestrated to me so the states can get five times as much money which will not be accountable to any rules for the most part.

Why would this be necessary? Because all those Northeasterners decided to forgo Flood Insurance. Many will have their houses rebuilt anyway through low cost loans or outright giveaways although they never obtained flood insurance.
In the meantime there's a huge question. Why weren't the funds identified as ready and over 11 billion utilized and immediately?

It makes Doug Bandow's point that Christie and King are simply pigging out at the public's expense and further, the whole play on the public's emotions was staged and coordinated.

Christie is loved by the media for his alleged bipartisanship. Is it bipartisanship or is he just another professional political chameleon?

Joellen| 1.7.13 @ 7:29AM

Christie was never this "great" conservative that people have labled him.

Boehner was right to say lets review this bill before we ok it. ALL of them knew about the pork that was stuffed into it and None of them had to be reminded of the absolute waste that occured in New Orleans after Katrina.

Once again, RINO's are suckered by both the dems and the media and aide and abet in the exploitation of an event that costs that taxpayer untold amounts which will then be spent fraudently.

And if anyone thinks FEMA works, just open up the NY papers and everyday you read of just how ineffective they are! The only difference now is GW Bush is not President - it's the other guy - and so they all get that golden pass.

Cant say this enough - I despise our media!

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 7:35AM

Christie is, at times, entertaining...but that's about it

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.7.13 @ 7:38AM

Are you implying he's a fat clown?

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 8:53AM

No.

He's a Pig.

Peter King's a Fat Clown.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.7.13 @ 11:02AM

Thanks for getting my mind right.

Occam's Tool| 1.7.13 @ 11:13AM

Christie and King are both idiots. Debbie Schlussel, as usual, had them pinned for dissection long ago. Damn she's good.

JimH| 1.7.13 @ 12:23PM

This was not King’s first major bout of hypocrisy. Prior to his current role as trying to appear in the forefront of battling terrorism, he has a long history of support for the IRA.

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 3:42PM

i don't give a rip about his weight...but clown? oh, sure

Tom Kyba| 1.7.13 @ 11:04AM

Agree 100% with your last two paragraphs Joellen. Even though it's mentioned a lot on sites like this, I still think the MSM's culpability in these matters is grossly underrated.

Doctor Right| 1.7.13 @ 9:38AM

Christie is an OK Governor. A vast improvement over John Corzine, but that's a very low bar.

He's NOT a Conservative, and never has been.

Does he have designs on the White House? Who cares?? He may not even be Governor after this year.

C. Vernon Crisler | 1.7.13 @ 10:45AM

I see no difference between these Republicans and Democrats. They all are invertebrates, except for Christie who is a pig who helped Obama get reelected.

Von Mises Jr| 1.7.13 @ 11:21AM

Christie is not a political chameleon, he is a statist. One only need look at the "Development and Redevelopment Plan" that is Agenda21 that he will pass any day by Executive Order. That is not bipartisan. It is socialism.
You can find out all about Agenda21 by reading the Draft Plan talking of "Smart Growth," "Industry Clusters," "light rail and bike paths" and "scorecards" at http://www.state.nj.us/state/p.....inal.html. Just click on "Final Plan Proposed for Adoption" and you can find out how stakeholders such as NJTransit, Port Authority and DOT have more rights in your land than you. It also states that "decisions take place at levels above the State's authority" citing EPA and HUD but failing to directly mention the UN (yet).

Appleby| 1.7.13 @ 6:28AM

"But most of what FEMA does can be done better by others. For instance, when it comes to delivering supplies, companies like Wal-Mart have proved to be far more efficient than FEMA. Charities such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army more effectively address the deepest human needs, raising money across the nation to promote relief."

I have long ago come to the conclusion that if the Government gave the mentioned organizations 10% of the money they'd ordinarily appropriate, and stepped out of the way, the problems would be solved promptly, cheaply and without fraud or misadventure. However, the socialist's visceral hatred for Walmart (which is non union) and the Salvation Army (which is religious) undeniably prevents this method from being tried.

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 9:02AM

Can you Imagine if Abraham had to negotiate with GOD, in an effort to keep him from Destroying the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Supreme Court?

All right, LORD. I get it. There's not ONE of them worth Saving. I actually knew that going in. Thou truly arte All Wise.

What about Bo?

Could you at least spare the Dog?

Bob K| 1.7.13 @ 10:01AM

The Salvation Army does yeoman work!

Forget Walmart! They don't deal in charity. They get paid for what they do and they do it as efficiently as possible to maximize profits or they won't do it at all. They aren't a religious organization and won't accept this backwards "tithe" of 10% from the government for doing this charity work if there is no profit in it for them.

This is the same nonsense you see in e-mails advocating that Walmart take over the delivery of the mail.

Walmart would not "deliver" the mail. Count on it! You would have to go to their nearest Chinese Outlet Store to pick it up even if that means a 50 mile round trip drive! And that is a fact!

Boar Hunter| 1.7.13 @ 1:40PM

What a pathetic clown.

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 2:31PM

Coming from you?

That's a Compliment.

Does your Nurse know that you're on the computer?

Idiot.

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 4:13PM

moron...wal-mart, along with lowe's and home depot, were all setting up the logistics and getting supplies worth tens of millions of dollars where they were needed before the government so much as contributed a popcorn fart worth of effort

Aristocat| 1.7.13 @ 6:35AM

Are the taxpayers now liable every time somebody experiences a loss?

Darin| 1.7.13 @ 6:42AM

In short, yes. Individual responsibility and personal accountability no longer have a place in American society. Sadly, this reality makes me less-than-sympathetic to people in need. Rather than seeing someone and finding out how I can help them out, I've become a cynic and see them as a lazy bum looking for a handout because they refuse to take ownership of their lives. America used to be a country of men and women. We have become a nation of infants who cry when we get a boo-boo.

Al Adab| 1.7.13 @ 8:29AM

That has indeed become the current belief. What government will do is seek every opportunity to pass out the goodies to the people in an attempt to keep the plebs satisfied, quiet and if not happy, at least quiescent. They fear the public, rightly so, but continue to hand out dollars for every identifiable special interest in the name of doing something whenever there is a recognizable need.

There is one thing sacred in Washington, but it isn't liberty, its buying support and votes.

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 9:10AM

Think of the Drug Dealer.

When he first gets you as a Customer, he gives you a nice fat bag. Hell, he might even give you the first one for free. That brings you back a second time. And, then a third. And, before you know it, you can't imagine life, without it.

It's definately a Narcotic, and a Hyper Addictive one, at that. And, the only way out is Cold Turkey, which always comes, eventually, when President Pusher runs out of other people's money.

Tom Kyba| 1.7.13 @ 11:06AM

BIngo.

SUBVET| 1.7.13 @ 9:31AM

We need to pass TERM LIMITS to stop this waste.

Anyone seen a pig fly............

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 10:26AM

Maybe.

I just saw a plane go bye, and it's possible that Hillary was in it.

Ya never know.

Al Adab| 1.7.13 @ 11:56AM

Term limits are in place in my state for state officials. As one former official said, "it will just make them steal quicker." In fact it just creates more nest padding activity, more special interest legislation. Then of course after the limit hits, they seek other elected office. Any limit needs to include a prohibition of consecutive elected office. There is then the risk of losing good people, but they are few and far between.

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 6:47AM

However, the socialist's visceral hatred for Walmart (which is non union) and the Salvation Army (which is religious) undeniably prevents this method from being tried.
-----------------------------------------------
in the aftermath of Katrina, Wal-Mart spent many millions in relief, sending truckload after truckload of ice, drinking water, food, clothing, and other supplies to those affected, and did so for months; the trucking company i work for provided trucks and drivers in this effort, and we had our drivers on the scene while FEMA and the Louisiana state government were busy holding duelling press conferences and stumbling around with their thumbs up their arses; church groups were there, as with Sandy, almost immediately...here's what the Southern Baptist Convention, reviled by the Left, has done, as of !2/16/2012, in response to Sandy:

Volunteer Days 30,895
Meals Prepared 1,788,342
Chainsaw Jobs 594
Mud-out Jobs 1,019
Repair and Roofing Jobs 43
Showers 15,203
Laundry Loads 5,427
Gallons of Water Purified 10,201
Messages Sent 107

Appleby| 1.7.13 @ 7:15AM

My sister's church in Syracuse NY (a branch of the old Foursquare, now called The Vineyard) sent parties of laborers to help out on the ground of Hurricane Sandy. And my Mama was working at Walmart in Alabama during Hurricane Katrina, and she told of many truckloads of supplies -- and individual assistance to those who fled the wreckage down the major highway that ran past their Walmart) with nothing but what they could carry. These and many more examples of religion and private enterprise doing what we do best are almost completely ignored by Christie and the Government Piggies, whose sole mantra is "GOVERNMENT IS YOUR GOD."

Boar Hunter| 1.7.13 @ 1:58PM

Wal-Mart provided millions upon millions of dollars in relief to the victims of Katrina. They did so in a timely, highly organized, efficient manner, as a matter of their, preexisting corporate policy.

No one asked them to do it.

The government did not require it of them.

If they were what so many claim they are, would it not have been more profitable to simply board up their facilities and hire armed guards to protect their products from thieves until "the Government" lived up to it's obligation to the populace? You know...the same way Obama helped those during hurricane Sandy.

merlin| 1.7.13 @ 7:07AM

For liberals, every problem is a federal problem and every solution involves a federal program, federal control and taxpayer money. Morons. $16,000,000,000,000 left to our children and grandchildren is a capital offense.

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 7:37AM

First, genuine compassion is not compulsory. Giving away other people’s money is not being generous. Choosing whether to give and thinking seriously about how much to give to whom are important moral decisions. Placing responsibility for making such decisions on individuals is a form of character development. Said Benjamin Franklin: “When you are good to others, you are best to yourself.”
---------------------------------------
Lip/Progs are at their most generous when they are giving away someone else's money

JimH| 1.7.13 @ 8:02AM

If Boehner had just said he would not bring up a bill with more pork then a McRib then he could have reclaimed some of the respect he had lost. He did not. This to me means he was not looking for a clean bill. He was looking to determine which pork was for his friends and which was not.

Pecos Pete| 1.7.13 @ 8:44AM

Some PIGS are more equal than other Pigs.

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 9:13AM

And, prettier.

Some Pigs are prettier than other pigs.

I'm bored.

This is boring.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.7.13 @ 9:14AM

Ultimately, the reason most people go into politics is to tell others what to do and spend other people's money.

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 10:28AM

I thought that was why Women Married Men.

Drunken Sailor| 1.7.13 @ 12:53PM

Well that and a battery operated buddy can't mow the lawn or take out the trash.

Just kidding ladies.

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 2:33PM

Vagina Boob.

Drunken Sailor| 1.7.13 @ 2:49PM

I hear ya!

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 4:41PM

I know you do.

Anthony| 1.7.13 @ 8:55AM

Some fiscal cliff!!! Billions added to the fiscal cliff debacle. What total B.S.
Both parties are totally out of control. Peter King is just another two faced, double talking bullshitter and professional pol.
King talks a tough game but when there's money to be had for his district, the pig is right there at the troth.
That's the problem with professional pols, whose only concern is their "careers in Washington".
Until we rid ourselves of career pols, America will continue to decline. It may be too late already, perhaps revolution is the only solution.

Bill8472| 1.7.13 @ 8:59AM

Why are we still paying these people?

Joellen| 1.7.13 @ 10:03AM

More obvious question Bill - why are we still ELECTING these people?

Pelleas| 1.7.13 @ 10:21AM

"The Veterans Administration would collect $207 million for its Manhattan Medical Center."

To the JACK-ASS who wrote this article--FOR YOUR INFORMATION- The Veterans Hospital on 23rd Street and 1st Avenue has remained largely SHUTTERED ( as are MOST OF THE HOSPITALS on that long stretch of Hospital Row on 1st Ave (Bellevue/NYU Medical Center...) BECAUSE of the devastation from Sandy...

If you consider THAT "pork"-- than YOU are a PIG...!!!!

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 10:50AM

C'mon, sweetheart. Climb down off the Chandelier, and push the hem of your Ball Gown back down.

This is an Emergency Bill for HURRICANE SANDY VICTIMS. At least that's what they sold it as, and what's on the Title at the Top of the Page.

This isn't supposed to be a LAUNDRY LIST of Money for the Halfrican's Buds and Pals, like the Stimulus Package was. The People in these hard hit areas need stuff, desperately. And, like Night follows Day, President Grifter has kept the Faith where "Never let a Crises go to Waste" is concerned.

If the VA Hospital needs Bucks? Make a Separate Request for it.

If President Pissitaway wants to p*ss more of our hard earned Tax Dollars down some more Green Energy Rat Holes that his Biggest Money Bundlers use to Launder Campaign Cash? Let him submit a Separate Request.

Someone wants money, cause he's got a Cure For Cancer? SEPARATE REQUEST!

Why don't you want us to Stop all of the FREAKIN SPENDING.

I'll tell ya why you don't. You're Gay, and you don't have any Kids or Grandkids, and you never will. For you, life is a One Way Trip, and as such, you just wanna DO IT if it Feels Good, and you want everybody else to pay the freight, right up til you Drop Dead, with your head in the toilet of some Gay Bar Men's Room, in the City.

How's that?

Pretty Close?

Pelleas| 1.7.13 @ 11:32AM

..I sure HOPE AND PRAY that YOU don't have ANY kids, either, TLP...

For one--I CAN NOT imagine the WHORE who would let you nail her--

For two--ANY spawn of YOURS is the perfect arguement for euthanasia/forced sterilization/ abortion/-- the though of future TLP's walking the Earth is mind-chillingly disgusting

Alan's Girl| 1.7.13 @ 1:48PM

Wait, Wait, WAIT!! Why does abortion/euthanasia have to come into this? Great googly moogly! We are talking spending, not spawning! Someone puts up a comment that you disagree with & the first thing to come our of your mouth/keyboard is:
"ANY spawn of YOURS is the perfect arguement for euthanasia/forced sterilization/ abortion/--" ?
BTW, argument has only one "e" in it.

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 2:38PM

He's a GUY who thinks he's a GIRL.

Why would you think he knows anything, about anything else?

Pelleas| 1.8.13 @ 11:11AM

AND YOU"RE a "Guy" ( sort of...) who says that The Jews were murdered during The Holocaust, by God's "command"-- using Adolph Hitler as God's "chosen messenger"

WHY would ANYBODY think that this scumbag knows ANYTHING other than the smell of his own shit....??

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 3:47PM

"We are talking spending, not spawning!"
-----------------------------------------------------
whenever libtards talk about spawning, they expect Someone Else to do the spending...

Pecos Pete| 1.7.13 @ 4:19PM

AG: googly moogly! X3. (Another one stolen from El Coronel.)

You go Girl!

Joellen| 1.7.13 @ 6:04PM

All right Allan's Girl - what you said!

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 3:45PM

pelleas, you REALLY need to seek professional help, you're positively screeching!!!!!

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 4:44PM

He's a GIRL!

Of course he's Screeching.

Pelleas| 1.7.13 @ 10:28AM

..ALL THE BULLSHIT comments , here, about "personal responsibility" vis-a-vis individuals not having flood insurance, therfore "forcing" the rest of us to pay for their "lazy-ness" totally ignores the issues of the destruction of vast areas of the region's infrastructure---Hospitals/Roads/Schools/power-grids/etc...

WHERE THE FUCK do you suggest that the money comes for repairing damage to those things..????

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 10:55AM

Excuse me.

Hello?

Mr. N.B.?

Hellooooo?

Far be it for me to step on anyone's right to speak its mind but, C'mon. Are you kidding me?

I realize that It gets Hysterical, but what's the deal?

Tom Kyba| 1.7.13 @ 11:09AM

You have real problems with elementary logic don't you? WHERE THE FU** did you get your education?

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 11:21AM

He went to F. U.

Pelleas| 1.7.13 @ 11:23AM

as opposed to the Hitler-Youth College that TLP went to, where he learned that Hitler was appointed Messiah, to punish the Jews...eh??

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 2:40PM

Jeremiah: 15-16.

Now, go back to your lubed up Banana, and leave us NORMAL PEOPLE alone.

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 4:15PM

you're assuming paleass actually GOT an education...

Occam's Tool| 1.7.13 @ 11:16AM

Ummm...their own incredibly high taxes?

And maybe they could stop the pork for a while?

My concern for my fellow Jews from NYC and NJ is about a millimetre thick right now...

Pelleas| 1.7.13 @ 11:21AM

OT..

BELIEVE ME-- VERY FEW members of the Jewish Community in the Tri-state region , here, would ever consider the "Shanda fur der Juden" that YOU ARE ..one of our "fellows"..

OUR concern is how soon--and quickly- you will depart this planet.....

Drunken Sailor| 1.7.13 @ 12:55PM

so much for tolerance huh? You are a piece of work.

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 2:41PM

No.

He's a POS.

Drunken Sailor| 1.7.13 @ 2:50PM

Well yeah, but a really big one.

Amazing he hasn't been banned yet isn't it?

CJW| 1.7.13 @ 3:03PM

He is advocating aborting TLP's children, euthanasia, forced abortions (must like the China one child rules), and the death of our friend OT because he is not the "right kind of Jew". Sounds like hate speech...BAN HIM

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 4:47PM

Don't worry, CJW.

My boys are Happy, Healthy, and Beautiful, unlike Girl Boy's latest tryst through the Glory Hole.

spike59| 1.7.13 @ 3:48PM

Libtards are like that...vile, hateful, and prone to insane fits of violence

Alan's Girl| 1.7.13 @ 1:51PM

And now we make our move from "euthanasia/forced sterilization/ abortion" to death to the commenter?
So much for the First Amendment.....

Anthony| 1.7.13 @ 1:37PM

Gee Mr. Pelleass you ask where does the money come from for repairing vast areas of the region's infrastructure, how about out of the multi TRILLION $$ budgets that congress passes each year?
Oh wait, Obozo and Harry Reid haven't passed a budget in over 3 years.
No matter, we spend TRILLIONS on political bull crap for our whore politician's pet causes, but when vital services need money, there ain't any!!!
No biggie, when the shit hits the fan, it becomes a CRISIS that must be dealth with, and BINGO billions more spent.
But the people said we were going over the fiscal cliff!!! No fools, you all fell for it again.
As Obozo told Boner, "We don't have a spending problem"!!!
America, it's time to wake up!!!

loulou| 1.7.13 @ 10:36AM

I don't want ANY of my money that was confiscated from me by the IRA going to NY, NJ, or CT.
Let their governors tax the rich more to pay for the rebuild (if it should even be rebuilt).

Occam's Tool| 1.7.13 @ 11:17AM

Loulou: you mean the IRS, not the Irish Republican Army, right? Of course, both have been acting similarly, as of late...

TLP| 1.7.13 @ 2:42PM

Picky, picky, picky.

RJ| 1.7.13 @ 12:04PM

Good article, Doug.

The exploiters in government have a well-known motto - never let a crisis go to waste. They always tell us we don't have time to think about what is being done; we need to spend whatever they demand without question, thought or delay. I am sick of it. Too bad that Chris Christie seems to have joined the dark side of politics. Another example of the need to put one's faith in principles, not politicians.

cicero| 1.7.13 @ 3:55PM

Why is anyone surprised? The polititions play the scorpion to the taxpayers frog. That is who they are. The only solution is not to give them a ride. Do not open the budget cap. Do not increase taxation.
Way back when, Congr. David Crockett from Tennessee gave a pretty good summary of the situation when he voted against giving a pension to a Revolutionary widow (she was 18 when she married an octogenerian) that was not provided for in the law. He suggested that he understood the generosity of the good members, and suggested that they go into their own pockets. A mere $50.00 from each of them would have been enough to fund the pension they were trying to bestow. Of course, they quietly refused.

This illegal giving away of the peoples' wealth under the guise of national charity is absurd. It is not provided for in the Constitution, and but for the emergence of the regualtory state, is not provided for in any lawfully passed statute. The people must insist that it stop. However, after last November 6, I doubt that they will.

Pecos Pete| 1.7.13 @ 4:24PM

cicero: There you go again. Common sense and Constitutionality. I only disagree with "... I doubt that they will." I know that they won't. Free phones, for God's sake, are more important than Freedom and Liberty.

sickofit5| 1.7.13 @ 9:28PM

Somehow I get the impression that "Let them eat cake" must be part of the swearing in ceremony. Pigs. All of them.

CHAUSSURES FEMME AIR MAX LTD | 1.7.13 @ 10:32PM

Alaska fishermen several thousand miles away from Hurricane Sandy would have gotten $150 million. There was $8 million for cars and equipment for the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice.

Michele San Pietro| 1.9.13 @ 11:43AM

Governement shouldn't take control at all in such matters in my opinion.