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Anything for the Kennedys?
By adamg on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 9:46am
Rob Sama has four words for the news that 20% of federal omnibus earmarks for Massachusetts are for remembering the Kennedys: Oh My F-ing God!!!
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Comments
Business as usual... not a
Business as usual... not a surprise.
This is typical of
This is typical of simplistic and misleading coverage of earmark spending. Some of these projects have the Kennedy name on them, yes. But that is hardly their sole purpose. One is for improving the JFK Library/Museum, which already exists and is a public resource. Another is for improving the stalled Greenway project, which also obviously should be a public resource.
Obviously, it is debatable whether this is the best way to issue funds; whether the Kennedy name should be on any or all of these things; and how hypocritical Obama has been on the subject. But presenting an abstracted, misinterpreted list of projects is deliberately unilluminating--you can make anything (governmental or not) sound silly that way if you choose. And of course, sensationalizers always choose exactly that.
Well, it's not surprising
Considering that Ted is nearly shovel-ready himself.
(What? Too soon?!)
Spatch FTW
*rimshot*
Ouch
Unfortunately, funerals seem to be the only thing that gets planned for in advance around here.
A bit misleading
First off, the $410 billion bill is not the stimulus plan, its the omnibus budget bill. This is not the same at the $787 billion stimulus money championed by Obama.
Second, the $5 million for a building to serve as gateway to the Boston Harbor Islands is not money being spent to "remember the Kennedys". Just because it is located on the RFK Greenway does not mean it is being built for the Kennedys. It s being built to encourage visitors to the Boston Harbor Islands. This serves a tourism purpose, and is not a Kennedy legacy project.
I suppose if you hate the Kennedys (as the writers of the linked to articles seem to) you could be pissed off that they are trying to fund an expansion of the JFK Library, but when Rob Sama writes "they are trying to raise taxed to rub it in" he is showing either his prejudice or ignorance because Deleo's trial baloon of a increase in the sales tax is totally unrelated to any earmark our Senators insert in the Omnibus bill.
You could take away all these earmarks, eliminate the construction and tourism jobs that will come with them and the State would still have the same deficit it has now. The tax issue is unrelated and raising the Kennedy boogeyman doesn't change that.
Having said all that, one can still make an argument for or against particular earmarks. Its just not neccesary or honest to make it all about the Kennedys, unless you want to as a way of having something to yell about.
<strike> "stimulus", insert "omnibus budget"
Adam, since your blurb at the top of this post is incorrect, how about editing it to strike through the word "
stimulus" and replace with the phrase "omnibus budget"?Link, wrapped in a forward, wrapped in a pass-through
If you want to read the original story on these "Kennedy legacy" spending items in the Omnibus, it's located here on Yahoo.
Honestly, $5M for the Harbor Islands portal is needed. Right now there's only a tiny booth next to the whale-watching kiosks and tourist traps on the Aquarium side of Long Wharf. Basically, a Park Ranger sits there and tells you to go through the hotel and out the other side to the North side of Long Wharf where there are two cash registers and some pegboard with brochures next to a completely obscured boat landing hiding between Long and Commercial Wharfs. And that's it. It's sad, really, because the islands are really nice and well kept but if you're taking the shuttle to them, it's quite a first experience and feels almost shady.
Also, I'm not sure how most of these have anything to do with "Kennedy legacy". The JFK library is already what it is and needs improvements as a National Archives project. The Harbor Island portal is being built on or about the Rose Kennedy Greenway...because the boat dock is on or about the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The closest you can come to new "legacy preservation" is the Senate-based center/museum going in next to the JFK Library and that was also already underway since 2003 with over $20M in private donations contributed and $5M is coming out of the Omnibus for it.
So, in reality, less than 4% of the $126M for MA could even be considered legacy building. It seems more like someone saw that $5M and did a CTRL-F "Kennedy" in the Omnibus to see what else came out of it...then "ZOMG! article!".
Problem is once you get
Problem is once you get people looking they look even harder.
In this economic crunch why are we sending money to a legacy building wing for Ted Kennedy? Once you see that you look at everything else that has a Kennedy name tagged to it and you get 20 percent of the money coming in from that bill, it starts to smell. Add that to the recent attempt to snatch away a Senate seat by his niece, and all of the other shenanigans they have been pulling lately you just get a feeling that they feel as if they are better then everyone else and deserve to be treated like some sort of royalty... or like they are a white knight or something... wonder where he got that impression?
I voted for Ted last time so its not like Im some crazy Kennedy hater either.
"kennedy name tagged to it"
The fact that the Kennedy name is tagged on something does not make it a Kennedy legacy project. Reagan National Airport in DC will get money this year, why are we spending money on a Reagan Legacy Project?