What they cut

According to CNN, the following was cut out of our stimulus bill... in favor of 'tax cuts.'

Partially cut:

• $3.5 billion for energy-efficient federal buildings (original bill $7 billion)

• $75 million from Smithsonian (original bill $150 million)

• $200 million from Environmental Protection Agency Superfund (original bill $800 million)

• $100 million from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (original bill $427 million)

• $100 million from law enforcement wireless (original bill $200 million)

• $300 million from federal fleet of hybrid vehicles (original bill $600 million)

• $100 million from FBI construction (original bill $400 million)

Fully eliminated

• $55 million for historic preservation

• $122 million for Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters

• $100 million for Farm Service Agency modernization

• $50 million for Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service

• $65 million for watershed rehabilitation

• $100 million for distance learning

• $98 million for school nutrition

• $50 million for aquaculture

• $2 billion for broadband

• $100 million for National Institute of Standards and Technology

• $50 million for detention trustee

• $25 million for Marshalls Construction

• $300 million for federal prisons

• $300 million for BYRNE Formula grant program

• $140 million for BYRNE Competitive grant program

• $10 million state and local law enforcement

• $50 million for NASA

• $50 million for aeronautics

• $50 million for exploration

• $50 million for Cross Agency Support

• $200 million for National Science Foundation

• $100 million for science

• $1 billion for Energy Loan Guarantees

• $4.5 billion for General Services Administration

• $89 million General Services Administration operations

• $50 million from Department of Homeland Security

• $200 million Transportation Security Administration

• $122 million for Coast Guard Cutters, modifies use

• $25 million for Fish and Wildlife

• $55 million for historic preservation

• $20 million for working capital fund

• $165 million for Forest Service capital improvement

• $90 million for State and Private Wildlife Fire Management

• $1 billion for Head Start/Early Start

• $5.8 billion for Health Prevention Activity

• $2 billion for Health Information Technology Grants

• $600 million for Title I (No Child Left Behind)

• $16 billion for school construction

• $3.5 billion for higher education construction

• $1.25 billion for project based rental

• $2.25 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization

• $1.2 billion for retrofitting Project 8 housing

• $40 billion for state fiscal stabilization (includes $7.5 billion of state incentive grants)

So let me see here... the GOP doesn't like schools, health prevention and IS technology, the environment (but we knew that;) they don't like the Coast Guard (those jerks that rescued thousands from rooftops during Katrina -- the only government entity to actually show up in time, which undoubtedly made the rest of the Federal Response look terrible;) and of course, they don't like NASA because NASA scientists keep warning us about Climate Change.

The GOP doesn't want to help farmers, clean up environmental disasters like the coal slag mess in Tennessee; they snubbed their noses at making buildings more energy efficient (burn baby burn!) and of course we know they don't believe in science, so they sure won't spend any of our money on it. They obviously don't see why anyone (but themselves) needs broadband, they're certainly not going to protect communities down-river from aging dams (watershed rehabilitation,) they don't care about the desperate needs of many states, and refuse to fund local law enforcement, they flat out reject the needs of Fish & Wildlife, our national parks and... history.

Wait a minute... this is our tax money, right? Don't all of these services... serve... us?

Why am I getting the impression that electing a president that understands our needs was completely useless without cleaning out the senate?

Senate Democrats are useless. They are no different than Senate Republicans (also useless, but organized and determined to put business interests ahead of our needs.) Senate Democrats seem... entirely lacking in any kind of determination. They just sit there, like lumps, whenever it is time to stand up and fight for their constituents (supposedly their constituents include us.)

Senate Democrats won't fight for citizen Americans, won't fight for our programs, won't fight for the president's reform platform (the platform that swept them back into office with a majority;) they won't even fight for their supposed party principles. They whine and insist that they 'don't have the votes;' when this time we know damn well they have the votes. We made sure of that.

They are the passive aggressive business interest representatives pretending to confront the aggressive business interest representatives. They all belong to the same country club.

Harry Reid is the perfect poster child for everything that is wrong with the Wishy-washy Democratic Party. He is Charlie Brown in a business suit. Every time GOP-Lucy holds out that football, he happily takes off running, then predictably falls, face in the mud.

This is what we have to work with? This is going to somehow save our country?