Oldies but Goodies

Apologies for being stingy with posts lately. Here are some fun tidbits from the last few days:

• From Albany Times Union article (HT: Fark headline):

"In one test, TSA inspectors hid the components of a fake bomb in carry-on luggage that also contained a bottle of water. Passengers are prohibited from carrying containers holding more than three ounces of liquids, gels or aerosols through airport checkpoints. The screeners at Albany International confiscated the water bottle but missed the bomb."

• From Anchorage Daily News article (via Club for Growth post):

"'When you are chairman of a committee, you represent the whole nation; you don't represent one district, which is in my case is one state,' [Congressman Don Young (R-AK)] said. 'Earmarks are good for the country and good for the people you represent. That is the role of a congressman. If you can't get money for your district, you shouldn't be in Congress,' he said."

• From Slate article (via a Greg Mankiw's blog post):

"Alumni with kids are 13 percentage points more likely than alumni without kids to give in any year. The tendency to give rises slowly—by three more percentage points total—through kids' early teens... And, indeed, while giving declines after age 14 among parents of kids who do not go on to apply, giving rises from about 18 to 25 percentage points (above the level of the childless alums) for those whose kids do apply a few years later. The timing is certainly suggestive."

• From a Reason article:

"In theory, redistribution of wealth is supposed to benefit the least fortunate. In practice, it doesn’t necessarily work out that way. In a new study, Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute and Paul J. Gessig of the Rio Grande Foundation crunch census data for the 1990s and find that the poor did much better in states with low taxes and low spending than in states with higher taxes."

• From Club for Growth post:

"With alarming contempt toward the U.S. Constitution and American taxpayers, Representatives David Obey (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) have introduced new legislation clamping down on political speech by outlawing all private expenditures from general elections for the U.S. House of Representatives. Ironically named the Let the People Decide Clean Campaign Act, the Obey-Frank legislation will publicly fund all general election House races with taxpayer dollars."

Mmmm, Pork.

HT: Everyday Economist

Links

In order:

More Than 8 Million New Jobs Since 2003 - Club for Growth
Tony Soprano Earmarks - Cato@Liberty
The Real "Me Generation" -- Boomers' Kids - Reason
Obama Health Plan: Give Organs of Rich to Poor - ScrappleFace (via Club for Growth)
Bolivian Leader: Capitalism the 'Enemy' - Forbes
Schumer’s 0.15 Cent Solution - Cato@Liberty
A Poison Pill for China? - Cato@Liberty
China Triples Tax on Stock Trades - New York Times
Brickbats - Reason

"Washington writes the laws, and apparently re-writes the dictionary"

Great CNN report about pork. Via Club for Growth post:

No Confidence in Congress

From Club for Growth post:

Senate Democrats want to hold a "no confidence" vote against Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. If that happens, Senator Tom Coburn plans to offer an amendment, the subject of which he explained in a recent letter to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (received via email). Excerpt:

I am requesting that I be consulted before the Senate enters into any unanimous consent agreements regarding a vote on any resolution or other legislation expressing a lack of confidence in any federal official.

If such a resolution comes before the Senate, I plan to offer an amendment expressing no confidence in Congress’ ability to cut wasteful spending or balance the budget.

Nice.

Emergency Spending

Included in the new “emergency” supplemental spending bill (HT Cato-at-Liberty)

* $1.8 billion in crop subsidies:

* $283 million in price supports for milk producers

* $74 million for “peanut storage” subsidies

* $25 million in aid to spinach growers who lost money during the 2006 contamination scare

Public Lobbying Loophole

From USA Today article:

"When Democrats took control of Congress in January, they passed a sweeping set of ethics rules, including a ban on gifts that prohibits lobbyists from buying a lawmaker as much as a hamburger.

But the gift ban left in place a little-noticed loophole: It doesn't apply to government agencies and public institutions. That exemption, which dates back more than a decade, leads to a stark disparity when it comes to public and private universities, which compete fiercely for federal money.

While private universities are banned from giving gifts, public universities can offer members of Congress free tickets to some of the country's most sought-after sporting events. That includes the upcoming NCAA men's basketball tournament, in which 43 of the 65 teams represent public schools.

Nor do those gifts have to be disclosed, according to the rules."

Pork Map

The Sunlight Foundation has a great mashup using Google Maps that allows you to see where the money from Federal earmarks is going.

HT: The Club for Growth

What!? They Got The Cost Estimate Wrong? Will It Be Cheaper Than We Thought?

From the Club for Growth:
Highway officials in Alaska have increased their cost estimate for the "Bridge to Nowhere" project by $67 million.