50 De-Stimulating Facts

MadManMoon at 01:43 2009-02-16 said:

Do me a favor. Find the word "ACORN" in the Stimulus Bill. I'll save you some time. You won't.

The language of the bill specifically states that funds are to be distributed amongst many groups in a competitive bid process. Funds could go to Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, the Salvation Army, the United Jewish Federations, Habitat For Humanity, UNH Extension's Community Development Group, New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority,  the YMCA/YWCA, and/or a myriad of other organizations.

Do your readers even care that they are being lied to and manipulated? Played for fools? I mean, the facts are there for anyone to see. Plain as day. All you need to do is read. Or, is the agenda behind the propaganda more important than the facts?

But, let's get to the point and explore the line items

A) $150 million for the Smithsonian Renovating and expanding Smithsonian buildings. What type of jobs would be required to get this done? Lets see, architects(jobs), construction workers(jobs), information technology personnel(jobs), accountants(jobs), materials suppliers(jobs), manufacturers(jobs), heavy equipment operators(jobs), and more(jobs).

B) $34 million to renovate the Department of Commerce headquarters See A

C) $500 million for improvement projects for National Institutes of Health facilities See B

D) $44 million for repairs to Department of Agriculture headquarters See C

E) $350 million for Agriculture Department computers Manufacturing computers(jobs). Purchased from a supplier, like PC Connection(jobs). They need to be  installed(jobs) and networked(jobs) and configured(jobs) and managed(jobs).

F) $88 million to help move the Public Health Service into a new building A friend of mine owns a moving company. He was forced to let people go who have worked for him for nearly a decade. Cried like a little girl when he gave the news because he KNEW he was putting people he loves in a bad situation. He would love to be able have a piece of this so he could bring those guys back(jobs).

G) $448 million for constructing a new Homeland Security Department headquarters See D -- this is just too easy

H) $600 million to convert the federal auto fleet to hybrids Where are they going to get all those hybrids from? Suppliers(jobs), sales staff(jobs), manufacturing(jobs), maintenance(jobs)

I) $450 million for NASA (carve-out for “climate-research missions") Classic. Pull out the "climate-change-is-bogus" boogeyman. First, a look at the bill shows that $400M is forenhanced Earth-science and climate research, which can range from earthquake research to weather forecasting to climate change. Scientists(jobs), computer systems(jobs), engineers(jobs)? Could the results prevent another Katrina, or give us the ability to predict earthquakes? How much money would that save in the long run?

Speaking of Katrina, the remaining $50M goes to "The Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and other NASA facilities ... to help pay for repairs from hurricanes and floods last year." They'll need to hire contractors(jobs) to get this done. For some reason I don't think the rocket scientists are going to do it.

J) $600 million for NOAA (carve-out for “climate modeling") I guess that the righties know the misinformed ignorants will buy this stuff hook line and sinker instead of verifying facts for themselves. Lucky for you, there's people like me. From page 39 of the Stimulus Bill PDF:

"For an additional amount for "Procurement, Acquisition and Construction", $600,000,000." Which would mean, see item G in this list.

K) $1 billion for the Census Bureau Nope. Don't need to hire anyone at all to take the census.

L) $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts See PDF page 143 "to fund arts projects and activities which preserve jobs in the non-profit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn" Pretty straight forward there.

M) $380 million in the Senate bill for the Women, Infants and Children program This is PORK?!? Making sure babies get formula and diapers and healthcare? In an economic downturn where record numbers are unemployed, and that some economist are already calling a depression, this might be a reasonably justified bit of spending. It's not like it's the kid's fault we're in this mess.

N) $300 million for grants to combat violence against women More specifically, as found on page 39 of the PDF:

"STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES OFFICE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PREVENTION AND PROSECUTION PROGRAMS"

Liberal? Absolutely. The folks on the right prefer to spend this type of law enforcement money on arresting and prosecuting folks who have sex in non-missionary positions, as opposed to wasting it on protecting women from wife beaters. I guess it's just a difference in philosophy.

O) $2 billion for federal child-care block grants Nope. No jobs there. Day care centers and headstart programs don't need to be staffed(jobs). Parents wont need low cost, quality child care so they can return to the workforce after having been unemployed for months. Clearly we'd be better off just having them stay home and collect unemployment or welfare.

P) $6 billion for university building projects The construction industry sure is getting some love! Imagine how busy the folks at Home Depot(jobs) and Lowes(jobs) are gonna be when all these contractors(jobs) stop in to buy lumber. Once again, see item G in this list.

Q) $15 billion for boosting Pell Grant college scholarships Again. One person's pork is another's common sense. The right wing thinks it's a waste of money to help make college more affordable. Other's believe that a more educated workforce pays dividends in the long run. Then again, given how the right wing believes that an educated citizen is inherently liberal, therefore bad for society, I can see where they might see this as "pork".

R) $4 billion for job-training programs, including $1.2 billion for “youths" up to the age of 24 Job training programs? Yeah. What a waste of money -- actually training people to help make them more employable. Like the child care situation, we'd be much better off if they stayed home and collected unemployment or welfare.

Besides, what's the point of job training programs when there are no jobs? DUH! Shame on Congress.

S) $1 billion for community-development block grants Yet more money for construction(jobs) and infrastructure(jobs)! What's more, it's expedited: "in selecting projects to be funded, recipients shall give priority to projects that can award contracts based on bids within 120 days from the date the funds are made available".

I am definitely seeing a pattern here. It seems that anything that goes towards those in the lower income demographic is considered pork.

However, still again, see item G in this list

T) $4.2 billion for “neighborhood stabilization activities" This is a doozy of a double dip. Turns out that item (S) above is part of a group of appropriations that includes this item (PDF pgs 262-263), which is a "provision of emergency assistance for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes". Which sounds like it would create yet more jobs in the construction industry.

Not satisfied to leave the misinformation in the wording, this item is actually a $2B appropriation. And, it turns out that "neighborhood restabilization" is just a lost phrase amongst the entire paragraph:

"...award criteria for such competitions shall include demonstrated grantee capacity to execute projects, leveraging potential, concentration of investment to achieve neighborhood stabilization, and any additional factors determined by the Secretary of Housing and..."

U) $650 million for digital-TV coupons; $90 million to educate “vulnerable populations" The righties should be applauding this. Considering that anyone smart enough to figure out how the digital switchover is supposed to work isn't going to waste their time watching the likes of Fox News, you need these folks who are too dumb to figure it out on their own. They're the Fox News core audience.

V) $4.5 billion for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers This is getting tedious. Construction, equipment, engineers, suppliers, and on, and on. jobs. jobs. jobs.

W) $850 million for Amtrak PDF page 239 "funds shall be given to projects for the repair, rehabilitation, or upgrade of railroad assets or infrastructure, and for capital projects that expand passenger rail capacity...funds provided under this heading shall be awarded not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act" I don't think you can get any closer to the definition of "infrastructure", and it will have an immediate impact.

Seriously, does it bother you that these right wing propagandists play you for ignorant fools who never bother to fact check? Oh. Wait a minute...

Never mind.

X) $87 million for a polar icebreaking ship We have yet another outright lie. This appropriation, originally for a new Coast Guard icebreaking cutter AND/OR  the maintenance of the exist fleet of ice breakers, was cut from the final version.

It seems to me that this article simply reflects the lack of respect that the righties have for their loyal followers. They can't win on the truth, so they make things up.

Y) $1.7 billion for the National Park System Check out the bill. Construction and maintenance of facilities, roads, trails. Cleanup of abandoned mines. Retrofitting and replacing electrical fixtures with energy efficient utilities. See item G.

Z) $55 million for Historic Preservation Fund See item Y. Same thing, under the same National Park System authorization

AA) $7.6 billion for “rural community advancement programs" Loans and grants for things like; roads, water treatment plants, and, you ready for this? Broadband!

Seems very infrastructury to me. Like the programs that expanded phone service to rural areas. They didn't need phones, but boy did it help bring them folks up to modern times. Best of all, you'll need workers to build the roads, build treatment plants, and run the lines. Workers == Jobs.

BB) $150 million for agricultural-commodity purchases Shoot. This one covers to many things to get into. See the bill. It's insurance. Not a handout.

CC) $150 million for “producers of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish" See above (BB). Same thing.

Folks, this is all there for anyone to read. No lies. No spin. No hidden meaning. Facts. In black and white. Stop letting these guys keep playing you for fools. Well, unless you prefer to be seen as fools. Then keep up the good work. Permalink