The Biggest Scam Ever

No,I am not talking about Bernie Madoff. His $50 Billion Ponzi scheme is small potatoes compared to what this scam is (although Madoff has certainly established himself as a future commissioner of Social Security). This sting dwarfs all of the other forms of theft cumulatively. But you have to admire the audacity of this theft.
Any good con man knows that they have to keep the designated target of their theft on their toes, driven by two things: Fear and greed. And that is how the Obama stimulus plan was sold to us. Remember how Obama was saying that immediate action had to be taken, that any delay would prove disastrous? So much speed that out elected leaders had no chance to read the final bill and had to vote on it based on trust. Fools.
But now, the list of items that are included in the "stimulus" are starting to come out. For instance:
* $8 billion for high-speed railway (including an earmark for an Los Angeles to Las Vegas MagLev)
* $1 billion for the “FutureGen” not-ready-for-primetime near zero emission plant in Illinois
* $53.6 billion for the “state stabilization” slush fund
* $1.3 billion for Amtrak
* $24 million for USDA buildings and rent
* $176 million for renovating Agricultural Research Service buildings
* $290 million for flood prevention activities
* $50 million for watershed rehabilitation
* $1.4 billion for wastewater disposal programs
* $295 million for administrative expenses associated with food stamp program
* $1 billion for the 2010 Census
* $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges and libraries
* $650 million for the DTV converter box coupon program
* $360 million for construction of NIST buildings
* $830 million for NOAA research and facilities
* $2 billion for Byrne JAG program
* $10 million to combat Mexican gunrunners
* $125 million for rural communities to combat drug crimes
* $1 billion for the COPS program
* $1 billion for NASA
* $300 million to purchase scientific instruments for colleges and museums
* $400 million for equipment and facilities at the NSF
* $3.7 billion to conduct “green” renovations on military bases
* $375 million for Mississippi River projects
* $10 million for urban canals
* $5 billion for weatherizing buildings
* $2 billion to develop advanced batteries for hybrid cars
* $3.4 billion for fossil energy research (possibly including an earmark for FutureGen)
* $5.1 billion for environmental cleanup around military bases
* $5.5 billion for “green” federal buildings
* $300 million for “green” cars for federal employees
* $20 million for IT upgrades at the Small Business Administration
* $200 million to design and furnish DHS headquarters
* $210 million for State and local fire stations
* $125 million to restore trails and abandoned mines
* $146 million for trail maintenance at National Park Service sites
* $140 million for volcano monitoring systems
* $600 million for the EPA Superfund environmental cleanup program
* $200 million to clean up leaking underground storage tanks
* $500 million for forest health and wildfire prevention
* $25 million for the Smithsonian Institution
* $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
* $1.2 billion for “youth activities” (for “youth” up to 24 years old)
* $500 million earmark for NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD
* $1 billion for Head Start
* $32 million for home-delivered nutrition services
* $160 million for volunteer programs at the Corporation for National and Community Service
* $500 million earmark for the SSA National Computer Center in MD
* $220 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. and Mexico.

Now, can anyone spot an item in this list that couldn't have waited for the normal budgetary process? I didn't think so. No, the reasons that these items are in this emergency spending is because they never would have been passed through the regular appropriations process. Add to this spending the mortgage foreclosure boondoggle, and we are talking about an amount of money that is darned near unimaginable.
And to think that our own Max Baucus is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. I would be curious to know if Max approved these items, and if he did, why?
Well Max? What about it? Did you approve these items or not?