Vitter's Earmark Passes!!

[angrynight]

Readers of the BABlog are no doubt familiar with this post (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/10/16/senator-vitter-the-slimeball-must-be-stopped/).The Vitter ID earmark passed the senate despite our best efforts. Here is the actual senate record:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/?&dbname=cp110&sid=cp110Sdicm&refer=&r_n=sr107.110&item=&sel=TOC_850002&

It's a sad day in Louisiana.

[angrynight]

Readers of the BABlog are no doubt familiar with this post (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/10/16/senator-vitter-the-slimeball-must-be-stopped/).The Vitter ID earmark passed the senate despite our best efforts. Here is the actual senate record:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/?&dbname=cp110&sid=cp110Sdicm&refer=&r_n=sr107.110&item=&sel=TOC_850002&

It's a sad day in Louisiana.

It doesn't even look like it went to a vote for rejection from what I can tell

[hhEb09'1]

Here is the actual senate record:Which part are we looking at?

[angrynight]

Which part are we looking at?

Look for the Fund for the improvement of education, then scroll down until you reach a list of projects sponsored by senators, scroll to the right and look for the names of the senators rather than the name of the project. Look for Vitter in the amount of $100,000. The name of the project is

"Louisiana Family Forum, Baton Rouge, LA, to develop a plan to promote better science education"

An easier method is to just use your browser to find instances of "Vitter" or "Louisiana Family Forum, Baton Rouge, LA, to develop a plan to promote better science education ".

[Paracelsus]

Is this earmark just meant for the poor slobs living in LA? I'd presume so, given the piddling amount of $$ involved.

Not to worry everybody--my family has lived in LA for at least a century-and-a-half now, and it is well-known that a good portion of any Federal dollars provided for any cause will go towards lining some state official's pockets rather than towards the cause originally intended.

[angrynight]

Is this earmark just meant for the poor slobs living in LA? I'd presume so, given the piddling amount of $$ involved.

Not to worry everybody--my family has lived in LA for at least a century-and-a-half now, and it is well-known that a good portion of any Federal dollars provided for any cause will go towards lining some state official's pockets rather than towards the cause originally intended.

Actually, the money goes straight to these people. (http://www.lafamilyforum.org/)

:doh:

[Paracelsus]

Actually, the money goes straight to these people. (http://www.lafamilyforum.org/)

:doh:


These people are the Louisiana Family Forum, who state the following as their core principles:

Our Mission
To persuasively present biblical principles in the centers of influence on issues affecting the family through research, communication and networking.
Persuasively: in a manner that compels a change in thinking which results in action.
Biblical principles: foundational values derived from transcendent scriptural truth.
Issues affecting the family: factors that strengthen or diminish family structure, nurture or sustenance.
Centers of influence: church, business/industry, government, media, arts, law, medicine and academia.
Research, communication, networking: compiling and evaluating data from the most reliable sources; developing well-reasoned arguments disseminated through publications, broadcasts and speaking; connecting churches, pro-family organizations and influential professionals.


I call attention to the fact that this is a religious organization, specifically a Christian organization.

So much for the separation of church and state.

Not to worry, angrynight. Given the corruption that typically exists in these types of organizations (does anyone remember Jim Bakker and PTL??), this money will still probably go into lining someone's pockets.

[angrynight]

These people are the Louisiana Family Forum, who state the following as their core principles:



I call attention to the fact that this is a religious organization, specifically a Christian organization.

So much for the separation of church and state.

Not to worry, angrynight. Given the corruption that typically exists in these types of organizations (does anyone remember Jim Bakker and PTL??), this money will still probably go into lining someone's pockets.

Why is that of such little comfort?

[hhEb09'1]

An easier method is to just use your browser to find instances of "Vitter" Weirdly, I thought I'd tried that.

But now I'm glad I found the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, Austin, Texas, for the Presidential timeline project for $900,000, thanks to Harkin.

[jrkeller]

Honestly,

Did you really think it wouldn't pass? Regardless of the party, these people protect each other and each other's pet projects. The only way things will ever change is to elimimate the earmarks and through the bums out of office.

[ToSeek]

Vitter earmark withdrawn (http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/US/216_vitter_earmark_withdrawn_10_18_2007.asp)

Speaking on the Senate floor on October 17, 2007, Senator David Vitter (R-Louisiana) withdrew a controversial $100,000 earmark that he previously added to the appropriations bill for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The earmark was to the Louisiana Family Forum, a religious right group with a long history of promoting creationism and attacking evolution education in the state, including backing a "strengths and weaknesses" policy in Ouachita Parish.

[Van Rijn]

Vitter earmark withdrawn (http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/US/216_vitter_earmark_withdrawn_10_18_2007.asp)

Good! Though I'm curious who it will go to now:

Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), the floor managers of the appropriations bill, accepted Vitter's proposal and agreed to move the funds to a different project in Louisiana when the bill is in its conference committee.

If they had left it alone, I wouldn't be surprised if it would go to the courts. They don't want to have a court battle over that little amount of money.

[KaiYeves]

Alexandria. Never forget. Act.

[angrynight]

Vitter earmark withdrawn (http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/US/216_vitter_earmark_withdrawn_10_18_2007.asp)

Victory! Well, either I read the bill wrong, or this is a recent development. This just leaves me more puzzled on whether or not I was looking in the right place. :confused:

[KaiYeves]

I guess failure really is an option. ;-)