$1 Billion Earmark Request Reveals Tea Party 'Hypocrisy'

[Sandy Eggo]

Talk of fiscal restraint has been a hallmark of the Tea Party movement. But—by at least one symbolic measure—congressional Tea Partiers are not living up to their "belt-tightening" rhetoric. In a Hotline report, Reid Wilson tabulated the amount of earmarks requested by members of the Tea Party caucus in Congress for the fiscal year of 2010. What he found were 764 earmarks requested by the 52 member caucus totaling over $1 billion dollars. Because so many of these congressmen have pledged support to cut government spending in any way they can, they've been singled out—particularly by liberal pundits—for their contradictory actions:

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Liberals-1-Billion-Earmark-Request-Reveals-Tea-Party-Hypocrisy-6023

[Palehorse]

 

Like I have said before. . . more of the same old bullshit! 

[Palehorse]

Here's another example of their hypocrisy at work!  (And I fully agree with the author's positions in this, so I am posting the entire article.)

My take: Where's the outrage over Noah's Ark Park? By: Stephen Prothero

Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.

By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN

A four-minute video that includes an eleven-second depiction of a crucifix crawling with ants has been removed from the "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture" exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, but it is still stirring up controversy in Washington, DC.

First, incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) blasted the National Portrait Gallery for its "obvious attempt to offend Christians during the Christmas season," while the incoming House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republicans threatened to scrutinize Smithsonian funding next year.

Then Martin Sullivan, who directs the National Portrait Gallery, said "it was not the museum's intention to offend" but pulled the video anyway, which prompted the liberal group, People for the American Way, to accuse Republican critics of the exhibit of censorship: "This new GOP leadership wants a government that stays out of people's lives when it comes to health care and unemployment benefits, but they show no scruples about using government power to censor the free expression of those they disagree with."

I write not to raise First Amendment questions about elected officials transforming themselves into self-appointed curators, but to ask whether these officials are really concerned (as they claim) about the use of taxpayer funds to weigh on matters of the spirit.

In a press release yesterday, Gov. Steve Beshear of Kentucky announced that his state had entered into a deal with the folks behind the Creation Museum to break ground for Ark Encounter, a $150 million theme park complete with "a full-scale model of Noah's Ark."

Rather than speaking of his state's support of this group's creationist agenda, Gov. Beshear spoke of employing 900 workers and drawing 1.6 million visitors a year. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, however, the tax breaks offered by the state to Ark Encounter, as the theme park is being called, "could surpass $37 million."

The entire exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery (of which the brief clip by the late artist David Wojnarowicz was a small part), cost, by contrast, $750,000, and all of that from private donations.

So my question to Representatives Boehner and Cantor, and to Glenn Beck and others who are working themselves up into a lather over this supposed attack on Christianity, is this: Are you equally outraged over millions in tax breaks to a group promoting fundamentalism?

Would you be outraged at all if the clip in question concerned not an "antsy Christ" but an "antsy Buddha" or an "antsy Christopher Hitchens"? And how loud would the outrage be in Washington if Kentucky's governor was offering millions in tax incentives to a Hare Krishna theme park? Or a Disney Land of Atheism?

Beyond these questions of basic fairness, I have a more practical question, this time for Belief Blog readers: Would you pay good money to see a 500-foot-long replica of Noah's Ark?

I hate to sound like one of Noah's scoffers in Genesis, but the last time I was at the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, it wasn't exactly crowded. And that Bible theme park is in Orlando, Florida, not Grant County, Kentucky.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/02/my-take-wheres-the-outrage-over-the-noah-ark-park/

EXACTLY   

[Sandy Eggo]

Oh that pork makes sense. It's only Democrat pork that's bad. That's not hipocrisy, that's stimulating the economy.

[me]

Ya, those turtle tunnels are much more important and would create lots of jobs.   

[Palehorse]

Ya, those turtle tunnels are much more important and would create lots of jobs.   

Spoken like one truly ignorant of the connection between all living things in this place. . .

[The Troll]

   The stupidity of the Far Right Christian Wingnuts is absolutely unbelievable.  Years and years of searching by all of the world scientist have not produced one sign of a world flood.   Years and years of search by the religious nuts have not produced any sign of the Ark and they have tried really hard to find it.  Just plain stupidity.

  Scientist have found the meteorite strike which destroyed the dinosaurs.   A meteorite strike that cause one of earth ice ages.  But no sign of a world wide flood.  If there was one, flood damage is easy to find, floods leave easy signs to follow.

  Wonders of wonders the Christians believe the earth is only 4500 years old.  More stupidity.  What is so bad these people want to control American and for the sane people here, we can't let that happen.

[me]

You mean by that you hadn't heard about the turtle tunnels or that you think the turtles will actually use and appreciate them?  You surely can't mean that it will really be a good thing and create long term jobs unless they're planning on hiring some turtle traffic directors. 

Spoken like one truly ignorant of the connection between all living things in this place. . .

[Palehorse]

[The Troll]

  Does that include Republican Kool-Aid?