Carnival of Ohio Politics and a John McCain moment....

Once again I'm in the company of some great bloggers, click on the above link to read the second Carnival of Ohio Politics.

I'd also like to point out a statement by Senator John McCain that Aaron provided as part of the earlier discussion on the House Defense Bill.

This to me is a must read, however, this part I had to share:

But perhaps we’re being too hard on ourselves. After all, the conference report includes a number of provisions that will rescind unobligated balances in federal accounts – so we are offsetting a small portion of some of these needless costs. But wait a minute. . . . there’s always a catch. While the conference report rescinds $10 million from the Natural Resources Conservation Service Operations account, it also includes language to prevent any cuts to the projects and activities identified on pages 84-87 of the House Report that accompanies the Agriculture Appropriations bill! And if you review that report, you’ll find 108 earmarked projects totaling more than $103 million. A few examples of the projects that the appropriators are committed to protecting from any reductions, even for the sake of fiscal responsibility, include:

• $242,000 for a wildlife habitat education program in conjunction with the National Wild Turkey Federation in Illinois, which is dedicated to conserving wild turkeys and preserving our nation’s hunting heritage.

• $100,000 for the Trees Forever Program in Iowa – an organization with a laudable mission statement – it claims to be an organization that not only plants and cares for trees, but also addresses the challenges facing our communities and the environment – but hardly one that should be funded in a Defense Appropriations bill.

• $400,000 for dairy waste remediation in Louisiana

• $600,000 for conservation related to cranberry production in Massachusetts and Wisconsin. Conservation related to cranberry production. Remarkable.

• $200,000 for Weed It Now-Taconic Mountains (MA/NY/CT). Weed It Now, I am told, is an effort to remove invasive plants from the forest habitat of the Berkshire Taconic plateau. I am a strong supporter of the Global War on Weeds, Mr. President, but this earmark does not belong in this bill.

Clearly, such projects should not be asked to spare a dime!