Earmarks in the New Bailout Bill
October 1, 2008Jeff Emanuel at RedState points out some crazy things going on in the new four hundred plus page bill:
New tax earmarks in Bailout bill
- Film and Television Productions (Up to $15,000,000.00; Sec. 502)
- Wooden Arrows designed for use by children (Sec. 503)
- 6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)
Tax earmark “extenders” in the bailout bill
- Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308)
- American Samoa (Sec. 309)
- Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310)
- Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311)
- Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312)
- Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315)
- Railroads (Sec. 316)
- Auto Racing Tracks (317)
- District of Columbia (Sec. 322)
- Wool Research (Sec. 325)
Mark Steyn discusses it:
When this thing first came up, a lot of us felt like the Mister Average Joe guy at the start of a conspiracy thriller who gets a call saying the place is gonna blow, you got 30 seconds to get outta there, jump out the rear window, and get into the unmarked car with the fellows in reflector shades.
“Whu..? Why? Er, lemme think…”
“Clock’s ticking, pal.”
Now it turns out the once-in-a-lifetime save-the-global-economy emergency-measure has got time for all the business as usual. Well, which is it? I’m willing to be persuaded of the merits of a bill for “wool research”, or the merits of a billion-trillion-gazillion-dollar bill to save the planet from economic meltdown. But the same piece of legislation cannot plausibly contain both. …
If this is an emergency, hold the wool research. If it’s an emergency that’s got time for wool research, let’s chew it over for another few months.
This is ridiculous. People who aren’t on blogs all day will never know about this. During the next debate, McCain should read this list and watch as Obama looks around perplexed.
Trust, But Verify 
earmarks have no place in any bill. it is legal extortion of the worse kind. scumbags in congress and senate stealing from the electorate.
These earmarks are the PERFECT example of the scumbags in Washington. Someone should heavily publicize Nancy Pelosi’s husband’s stock value ($17 million in stock in Star-Kist)in American Samoa, and how he will benefit from HER EARMARK. 75% of American Samoans work for Star-Kist. Surprise, surprise. Someone ought to push her and all the other scumbags into the Potomac. Poor Potomac! the sludge would no longer allow the river to be navigable.