Read the Stimulus! Update: The No-Blago Clause
posted at 1:50 pm on January 26, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
My friend Rob Neppell at Truth Laid Bear and Kithbridge has literally made a career out of building on-line tools to break down barriers between people and organizations, and he’s done it once again with Read the Stimulus. Rob has transformed the 1,588 pages of legislation and committee reports into a searchable website designed to shine a light on the Congressional porkfest. What had once been an inaccessible and forbidding mountain as daunting as Everest now becomes accessible to those motivated to find the pork, waste, and outright fraud in them thar hills.
Let’s see what an Army of Davids can do. Get your search fingers warmed up and see what ridiculous items you can find in this bloated attempt at nationalization. Put the links and descriptions (I’ll need both) in the comments section, or e-mail them to me at stimulus-at-notonedimemore-dot-org so that we can start displaying them here at Hot Air. John McCain said that he wanted to make people famous for their pork and political aggrandizement, and maybe we can still do that.
And we should thank Rob for his tireless work on behalf of Porkbusters and other sunshine efforts. If you ever need a consultant for building an Internet presence, be sure to reach out to Kithbridge and support one of the good guys.
Update: We have our first winner, at least in terms of entertainment. I wonder who inserted this clause into page 14. Roland Burris? (h/t: HA commenter Yo)
SEC. 1112. ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE OF APPROPRIATE USE OF FUNDS. None of the funds provided by this Act may be made available to the State of Illinois, or any agency of the State, unless (1) the use of such funds by the State is approved in legislation enacted by the State after the date of the enactment of this Act, or (2) Rod R. Blagojevich no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illinois.
Blowback
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No bill should be allow to leave Congress that won’t fit on an 8 1/2″ X 11″ sheet of paper.
Maxx on January 26, 2009 at 1:54 PM
Thanks Rob,
McCain only exposes Republicans so little for him to do here, no Republicans allowed or consulted!
dhunter on January 26, 2009 at 1:56 PM
Maybe I’m just jaded and find this interesting:
yo on January 26, 2009 at 1:56 PM
A single 8.5×11 sheet. to be precise.
lorien1973 on January 26, 2009 at 1:57 PM
My goldfish says:
Preferrably one that says:
This space intentionally left blank.
lorien1973 on January 26, 2009 at 1:57 PM
There are 56 words in the “Lords Prayer”. There are 272 words in the “Gettysburg Address”. There are 1,328 words in the “Declaration of Independence”, and, 4,400 words in the Constitution.
This mess has over 1,500 pages in it. Just when was this written? Has this been an ongoing document for years? Has any one read the entire thing or understand all that is in it?
Tommy_G on January 26, 2009 at 2:01 PM
HMMM
Where would the economy be today if the 350 billion was given back to the people who paid the taxes?
355 Billion divided by the 100 million tax payers.
Home sales would have skyrockted.
Car sale would have gone through the roof.
All the while taxes would increase drasticly?
Where did it go? To the ones that contribute to the Freakin Dam O Craps.
Time for another Tea Party! Also tar and feathering.
Buy more AMMO!
Rick007 on January 26, 2009 at 2:05 PM
The whole thing is one giant earmark.
tarpon on January 26, 2009 at 2:05 PM
On the plus side, the list of rules to import cabbage is like 40,000 pages. So it’s an improvement. I suppose.
lorien1973 on January 26, 2009 at 2:05 PM
I found this very telling of the demorats..
they are eating their own..
This says it all.
“None of the funds provided by this Act may be made
4
available to the State of Illinois, or any agency of the
5
State, unless (1) the use of such funds by the State is
6
approved in legislation enacted by the State after the date
7
of the enactment of this Act, or (2) Rod R. Blagojevich
8
no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illi9
nois. The preceding sentence shall not apply to any funds”
boy did he piss of pelozi and the dems..
To actually have legislation on our own books
that specifically says you dont get any money
until you FIRE the govenor
because he made uis mad at him
i think is unprecidented..
These democrats arent americans
their NAZIS..
using their own power to punish or reward those who they like or dont like.
my lord their insane..
jcila on January 26, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Oh yea local taxes would invrease also.
Rick007 on January 26, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Wow, the Blago clause… for an unindicted Governor, would have the founding fathers rolling in their graves…
Due Process?
Presumption of Innocence?
Collective punishment?
Wow… just… wow…
Romeo13 on January 26, 2009 at 2:07 PM
searching for ‘dam’ reveals the truth of this legislation…
…dam projects…dam safety projects
gatorboy on January 26, 2009 at 2:07 PM
The thread has been godwin’ed already? Man.
lorien1973 on January 26, 2009 at 2:07 PM
That would be Mark Kirk, aka the guy who would like to replace Burris in the Senate. It got him some free publicity for his Senatorial campaign on all the local stations in IL.
Illinidiva on January 26, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Careful.
You are on shaky ground by referring to not receiving federal funds as “punishment”. This is the kind of thinking that give people standing to demand entitlements as rights.
Count to 10 on January 26, 2009 at 2:11 PM
Why would he insert a state’s “personal” problem into a Federal level bill?
What if Blagojevich was found “innocent”?! (Yeah there’s still the other clause where they vote themselves the funding)
But this nonsense, this PURELY PARTISAN POLITICAL NONSENSE, has no place in this (or any other) bill.
Skywise on January 26, 2009 at 2:13 PM
I wondered the same thing. I guess now we know what the dems in Congress have been doing for the past 2 years when they did nothing to prevent getting here in the first place.
cntrlfrk on January 26, 2009 at 2:13 PM
Sorry, but crap like this annoys me.
amerpundit on January 26, 2009 at 2:16 PM
yea , like 8 billion f-ing dollars to provide every damn trailer park in the nation with high speed internet(porn)
WTF the porn bailout
UNREPENTANT CONSERVATIVE CAPITOLIST on January 26, 2009 at 2:17 PM
No bill should be allow to leave Congress that won’t fit on an 8 1/2″ X 11″ sheet of paper.
Maxx on January 26, 2009 at 1:54 PM
What about the font size?
artist on January 26, 2009 at 2:19 PM
lets see
tons for admin costs for each department
but the real crap starts about halfway down
Dep of agriculture 44 million for facilities
Dept of agriculture 29 million for research buidlings
Dept of agriculture 245 million for IT modernization
thats a lot of money to upgrade their it department.
Watershed rehabilitation 50 million
Rural community program am i reading this right
5 billion 838 million ??
rural housing insurance fund 22 billion but 18 billion is for unsubisdized loan guarantees and the other 4 billion direct loans
I cant believe this CRAP..
loans and loan guarantees for open access broadband in2
frastructure in any area of the United States: Provided
3
further, That at least 75 percent of the area to be served
4
by a project receiving funds from such grants, loans or
5
loan guarantees shall be in a rural area without sufficient
6
access to high speed broadband service to facilitate rural
7
economic development, as determined by the Secretary of
8
Agriculture:
they want to spend billios to make sure farms and rural areas get High speed internet access??
These IDIOTS are Running this country?
These morons should not be allowed to even have access
to a private piggy bank..
Absolute frigging morons..
Now for the welfare stuff
100 million for WIC
50 million to distribute Food bought for WIC program
This thing is endless..
I will need to put this into excell or access
and figure it all out..
but so far i havent seen anything that really shows how this will create jobs..
boy this is ridiculous
another 350 million for salary and expenses for NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
ADMINISTRATION SALARIES AND EXPENSES
1 billion for wireless
1.85 billion for broadband deployemt?????
Wait a second another 650 million for the digital to analog converter program
Why NOT just BUY every person in america a new
52″ flat screen tv and then pay for the cable tv??
This is insane
jcila on January 26, 2009 at 2:20 PM
That is unacceptable. Blago has not even been tried yet.
mindhacker on January 26, 2009 at 2:21 PM
They won’t give up the charade.
Badger40 on January 26, 2009 at 2:22 PM
Telephone. Email. Letters. Whatever it takes, we need to inundate DC with outrage to stop this madness.
Vashta.Nerada on January 26, 2009 at 2:24 PM
*
Training for Primary Care Physicians and Nurses Recovery funding: $600 million A key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary health care providers – family medicine, internal medicine, pediatricians, dentists, and nurses. Funding for health professions training for these disciplines has withered in the past decade. The $600 million provided will double annual funding for training primary care doctors and dentists, as well as double support for nursing programs such as nurse scholarships, nurse faculty loans, and advanced nursing. The increased funding will also increase the number of health care providers that can be supported through the National Health Service Corps program.
amerpundit on January 26, 2009 at 2:24 PM
That second part should be blockquoted, too.
amerpundit on January 26, 2009 at 2:24 PM
I find this kind of interesting. They’re appealing to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 in funding their Broadband Internet For All initiative. Maybe FDR isn’t even dead?
The Rural Electrification Act is specifically “for the purpose of furnishing and improving electric and telephone service in rural areas”.
Page 38
Rural Electrification act
pifactorial on January 26, 2009 at 2:25 PM
Ok i need a few days to put this all into a spreadsheet
i have to go to work now
Unlike liberals or congress
i actually have to work to pay my bills..
So far i havent found anything that will actually create more than a few thousand jobs..
why not just hand out the money and give everyone in america a few thousand dollars to pay off their credit card bills..
Oh yea thats because the irs is so screwed up they were unable to even send out the first stimulus payments without screwing the system
but i did get my 6 dollars (actually it hasnt been depoisited yet)
I wonder how much the government SPENT trying to
first figure out my taxes
sending out multiple mailings telling me they screwed up
and i still havent even seen the 6 dolars yet.
Oh yea i called them too
I told the nice gentleman who answered too tell his boss
if they cant run the irs network
if they cant figure out how to send out the checks
I would re-do their entire network
since obviously nothing works at the irs..
jcila on January 26, 2009 at 2:25 PM
Someone please explain to me how this fits within the bounds of the enumerated powers of Article 1, Section 8.
Seriously, $1,000,000,000 for some high-speed Duracells?
Send_Me on January 26, 2009 at 2:25 PM
This is hilarious. Now the govt realizes you actually have to aggressively manage forests.
Why don’t they just sell some timber rights & let private companies clean up the accumulating fuel in the forest?!
Badger40 on January 26, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Oh my.
I searched for my name and came up EOF. I suppose I won’t be on the promising end of this stick.
ericdijon on January 26, 2009 at 2:29 PM
Badger40 on January 26, 2009 at 2:33 PM
United States Housing Act of 1937. More FDR resuscitation. Is this common practise?
Page 224
United States Housing Act of 1937
pifactorial on January 26, 2009 at 2:33 PM
That’s OK with me. I think I should get more for having a science degree.
But I think the NEA is going to howl.
= pay for un=work should be the NEA’s motto.
Badger40 on January 26, 2009 at 2:41 PM
What we really need is for the government to give every household in America $500,000.00 so we can pay off the National Debt.
Oh wait…
Maxx on January 26, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Can anyone tell me why anyone would want an electric car? This is a serious question. Where is the extra power when it would be needed? When passing another car and realizing that you didn’t give yourself enough room to get around him and need some serious boost in speed.
Secondly, aren’t batteries designed on a chemical process. So, you have a crash, where does all of this battery acid go and who cleans it up?
cjs1943 on January 26, 2009 at 2:52 PM
more and more money for the jews who control the global financial system
Xolom on January 26, 2009 at 2:53 PM
lol not written by me sorry guys
Xolom on January 26, 2009 at 2:54 PM
$150M for the Smithstonian
cnredd on January 26, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Isn’t this an outright attempt at usurping the states’ sovereignty? Why send more money through the wasteful grinder of D.C. only to send it to states or localities? (Who gets what will be determined, of course, by Uncle Sam).
This is a horrible bill, through and through. Some of the enforceable energy compliance requirements are totalitarian.
hillbillyjim on January 26, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Is this hope or change? Does Oprah know about this? Blago would say #&%#**&*!
izoneguy on January 26, 2009 at 3:04 PM
I will support Obama only after he resigns and moves to Kenya.
izoneguy on January 26, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Saw that too. $150 million just doesn’t seem like enough to get worked up about anymore, though.
…What a scary time this is.
pifactorial on January 26, 2009 at 3:25 PM
I guess all the roads and bridges have been fixed already.
cool breeze on January 26, 2009 at 3:25 PM
I’m gonna try doing a random needle drop on this and see what kind of fish I shoot.
Heck there could be lot’s of fun filled activities here. Drinking games, Bailout Jeopardy, Name that Fictitious Pork, Limericks . . .
HarneyPeak on January 26, 2009 at 3:33 PM
Actually they have a clause in there for
No gambling, casinos or other games of change..
How racist of the democrats they just excluded so many indian reservations
jcila on January 26, 2009 at 3:38 PM
No, you won’t. And sadly, neither will a lot of us.
As the Great Glenn Harlan Reynolds says: ‘…it’s a redistribution of wealth from the politically unconnected to the politically well-connected.’
I’m thinking of buying some long-term stock in Tar and Feathers shares.
Chaz706 on January 26, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Hey.. don’t diss on my Congressman there. I’d much prefer Republican Mark Kirk to be my Senator than the bozos who are currently there now, so I’m all for him posturing. It really isn’t going to affect anything because Blago will likely be gone before the stimulus is passed.
Illinidiva on January 26, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Didn’t find the dollar amount, but the chills should be priceless.
HarneyPeak on January 26, 2009 at 4:25 PM
Another urgent national priority which justifies borrowing millions and sending the bill to our children and grandchildren.
cool breeze on January 26, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Honestly i have never heard of such a childish thing
Democrats are acutally abusing the legislative process
to threaten others with a funding cutoff
If they dont oust blagovich..
ahh our elected leaders learend well
From kruschev!!!
jcila on January 26, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Thank Obama and Congress the next time your stuck in line at the grocery store behind some morbidly obese person paying for their shopping cart full of junk food with food stamps.
cool breeze on January 26, 2009 at 5:01 PM
would somebody pleeeeese explain this to me
its in the add-ons
UNREPENTANT CONSERVATIVE CAPITOLIST on January 26, 2009 at 8:01 PM
just f-ing great,now nobody has to go get a job until the end of the year, or until they extend this out even farther……and
SEC. 2002. INCREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
4 BENEFITS. we will pay you more to sit on your ass
UNREPENTANT CONSERVATIVE CAPITOLIST on January 26, 2009 at 8:08 PM
great, they just rewrote unemployment benefits to include……..
is this reparations?
UNREPENTANT CONSERVATIVE CAPITOLIST on January 26, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Can anyone tell me why anyone would want an electric car? This is a serious question. Where is the extra power when it would be needed? When passing another car and realizing that you didn’t give yourself enough room to get around him and need some serious boost in speed.
Secondly, aren’t batteries designed on a chemical process. So, you have a crash, where does all of this battery acid go and who cleans it up?
cjs1943 on January 26, 2009 at 2:52 PM
—–
Backwards.
Batteries are not necessarily batteries, the modern prototype electric cars don’t use lead/acid “car” batteries. They use LiIon (Lithium Ion) (in the case of the Tesla (http://www.teslamotors.com)) which are also in your cell phone.
In the event a crash cracks the case, it’s a chemical spill, but powder form rather than liquid, i.e. diesel. The danger isn’t acid, but destructive discharge of all that stored energy. Using Jaws of Life the wrong way on a Prius may turn a fire and rescue guy into a crispy critter….
As for why someone would want to own an electric car, well, Tesla is making a small fortune, and there are still Citicars on the road. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citicar) There are enough Green True Believers out there who don’t seem to get that electricity does NOT come from fairy dust…
That said, if I could get a fully electric car that’s as heavy, and loaded with safety features as my current Camry, I’d seriously look at it. For a daily drive, it’d be fine.
Mew
acat on January 26, 2009 at 10:36 PM
This insanity has to be stopped cold. Should it pass and be signed into law, we’re screwed.
-Dave
Dave R. on January 27, 2009 at 12:20 PM