Pork Busting

The bill for Hurricane Katrina relief and the war on terror is still not finished, thanks to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who should be widely praised for his efforts to reduce pet earmarks. Among other projects, Coburn is at odds with handing $500 million to Northrop Grumman for shipyard damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, of Mississippi, are all in favor of pork when they are the recipients:

"This is personal with me. I admit it. This is my hometown (Pascagoula). ... My dad was a pipefitter in that shipyard and was in the pipe department when he was killed in an automobile accident. I don't just see statistics and numbers. I see neighbors, classmates, men and women who believe in what they do and build a quality product. They have been hit a grievous blow."

Sorry, but that shouldn't cut it. Every town in the U.S. has neighbors and classmates - that doesn't mean we can afford to hand out a billion dollars to each of them.