Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Bacon links

Today's column, "A kosher guide to pork and politics," was inspired by Thursday's Senate passage of the war bill.

The bill included such "war" expenses like money for "housing and levees devastated by Hurricane Katrina, heating subsidies for low-income families, the space shuttle program, the Food and Drug Administration, biomedical research, roads and bridges, federal prisons, grants to local police departments, aid to rural schools, suppression of wildfires and preparations for the 2010 census," as reported in The New York Times.

Here are some other interesting links:

* Citizens Against Government Waste is a private group that chronicles government spending. You might not think all the spending the group lists is waste, however, like medical research projects and such. But the group is really good at following the money. It is the site which came up with the $22 million salmon.

* I borrowed a phrase from a past blog post.  It might illuminate the Freeman's political leanings (or not).

* As unbelievable as this may sound,  The Hill's "Senate panel approves Iraq war funding bill" has the line, "It could be the end of crab meat.” The story was first highlighted by CAGW's blog, "Swineline."


* New York State has its own tracker of government earmarks, "Project Sunlight."
It doesn't stop pork, but at least you know where it comes from and who or what gets it.