REPUBLICANS SPENDING LIKE DRUNKEN SAILORS

Longtime White House correspondent turned columnist Helen Thomas attacks the new wave of pork barrel spending:

Under White House pressure, Congress passed an $820 billion spending bill last week that meets the demands of media giants, big business and myriad lawmakers seeking to impress constituents with election-year booty.

The special-interest lobbyists had a heyday.

The legislation funds 11 Cabinet-level departments and dozens of federal agencies, as well as Medicare, Medicaid and highway subsidies, for the federal year that began last Oct. 1.

But it also contains $11 billion for more than 7,900 special pet projects for states and home districts. In Capitol Hill jargon, these projects are "pork," all at taxpayer expense.

Earlier today, my father informed me that President Bush had proposed an increase in spending for the National Endowment for the Arts: I don't think I understand conservatism anymore.

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