If you like pork-for-Katrina swaps, you'll love the stupid-for-smartass swaps of First Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, "the man of a thousand one-liners," dubbed by The Christian Science Monitor "the Rudy Giuliani of the Gulf Coast." A black Cajun who talks the talk, he's the man in charge of the military's response to Hurricane Katrina, "credited with changing the character of the relief effort from a mad scramble to an increasingly orderly and effective rescue and restoration." His blogospheric "numbers" shot through the roof yesterday -- "a new catchphrase has been born, raved Vodka Pundit -- when he pointed out to a member of the press "You are stuck on stupid." Transcript and audio at Radio Blogger and video at The Political Teen [via InstaPundit] .
"A grassroots Internet campaign and a handful of House GOP conservatives have refused to give up on the idea that spending cuts should be found to defray the estimated $200 billion federal price tag for hurricane relief," says a Wall Street Editorial this morning [subscription only], adding that "in the Senate, John McCain is proposing a similar pork-for-Katrina swap":
The Internet campaign picks up on the idea of revisiting the earmarks in the Highway Bill. A Web site called Porkbusters (www.truthlaidbear.com/porkbusters.php) helpfully lists these projects by state and directs readers to the appropriate Representatives and Senators to ask what they would cut. Around the country a flood of letters to local newspapers has echoed the theme.
Pretty cool. They mention Rep. Ron Lewis's "Dear Colleague" letter [published by blogger Mark Tapscott yesterday and blogged here] asking for a one-year moratorium on all non-defense earmarks for fiscal 2006 and continue:
Other suggestions include across-the-board spending cuts at federal agencies of 2.5 cents on the dollar and delaying the introduction of the Medicare drug benefit by a year. We should be hearing more today when members of the House Republican Study Committee -- led by consistent spending hawks such as Mike Pence, Jeb Hensarling and Jeff Flake -- announce "Operation Offset" and a list of specific options to find savings in the budget.
It looks like officials are taking Gen. Honoré's advice to not get stuck on stupid as Rita, now a Cat 4 storm with 135 mph winds, bears down on Galveston and other areas of southeastern Texas. Evacuations underway, with local mayors urging neighbor to help neighbor. Our thoughts are with our blog friends in Houston. Stay safe. We know YOU will not get stuck on stupid.
So much for pork-for-Katrina swaps. Back to stupid-for-smartass swaps. Michelle Malkin is justifiably fed up with GW's appointment of a political crony to head up the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and The Wall Street Journal is fed up with the White House's spending habits:
The startling bottom line on Bush administration profligacy is this: At $22,000 per household, federal spending is at an inflation-adjusted post-World War II high and set to go still higher soon as the Baby Boomers start drawing Medicare and Social Security. Reforming those entitlements will be tough enough. And voters will have good reason not to want to entrust that task to a party that can't even admit the wastefulness of bridges to nowhere in the wake of the new century's worst hurricane.
Wake up, Mr. President, and smell the pork.
Technorati tag: porkbusters.
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