The Brier Patch - Can we get a little respect for the Lady?

02.12.04

Can we get a little respect for the Lady?

We have $50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa, and we can't spare a measly $5m for maintenance on the Statue of Liberty?

Come on. So what if she's French? She's a special part of us, an irreplaceable symbol.

Why isn't she a priority?

-KM wants to know. (Article follows.)

"While the Statue of Liberty remains shuttered for lack of $5 million in post-Sept. 11 upgrades, Congress in January mandated $10.7 billion in "earmarked" projects (also known as home-state "pork"), including: $50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa, $50 million to make sure a Florida beach resort bridge remains toll-free, $450,000 to decipher the gene structure of rainbow trout, $225,000 to repair a public swimming pool whose drain U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons of Nevada clogged with tadpoles when he was a kid, $200,000 to introduce golf to youngsters, $90,000 for the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and, ironically, $500,000 for a University of Akron program that analyzes how Congress makes difficult budget decisions. [CBS News, 12-11-03; Associated Press, 12-6-03; Taxpayers for Common Sense press release, 12-8-03; New York Times, 12-20-03; Houston Chronicle, 1-26-03; Washington Post, 1-28-03]"

Source: Chuck Shepherd, msnbc, February 8, 2004

Posted: 19:03
Category: General
Pings: 0

Comments

Obscene.

And, the Statue hasn't been French for years. Not since she was naturalized upon her dedication.

She's an American now, and if she were animated and expressive, she'd be flipping off the land of her birth.

We ought to be ashamed of our neglect though.

Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at February 12, 2004 10:12 PM

Great point, Jim. (lol)

It is moving to see her in person for the first time; she really should be dressed for the occasion.

This is disgraceful.

Posted by: Key at February 13, 2004 01:35 PM

The maintenance required is for security upgrades, isn't it? I'm really not sure that I want a bomb to go off inside the Statute of Liberty. It's okay with me that interior tours have been stopped.

Now as for the pork projects? The reason the line-item veto did not pass through Congress during Clinton's tenure was that our elected Senators and Representatives want to be able to continue to take the pork fat projects home to thier consitutents.

These projects are not proposed by or needed by the Federal Agencies they fall under. These projects can not stand alone in a separate spending bill. They are paybacks for votes supporting the main bill upon which they are amended.

Terms limits would stop a lot of the pork fat crap. Special home-grown projects wouldn't matter when re-election isn't a constant irritant to be worried about.

Posted by: Ms Anna at February 14, 2004 02:59 PM