Fiscal Responsibility? Not from this Congress...
February 23, 2009 4:18 PM
www.abcnews.com
ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: The House Appropriations Committee just posted its $410 billion 2009 Omnibus spending bill. It's a doozy. This is the bill that will fund the government's operations until the end of the fiscal year. It's larded with thousands (so many, I can't count them all yet) of earmarks and adds up an increase in overall discretionary spending of more than 8 percent, the biggest one year increase since 1978 (with the exception of the spending boost after the September 11 attacks).

And this is a bi-partisan feeding frenzy. Roughly 40 percent of the money for earmarks (i.e. pet projects inserted by individual lawmakers) have been inserted by Republicans.

I am still combing through the bill, but here is what has caught my eye so far:

- The City of North Pole, Alaska (motto: "Where the Spirit of Christmas Lives Year Round") gets $1 million to improve its wastewater treatment system. That's $571.43 dollar per citizen.

- $1.75 million to acquire land for the Cape Cod National Seashore.

- $2.2 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in Geneva, NY

- $2.4 million for the Southeastern Poultry Research Lab in Athens, GA

- $42,000 for "Arbuscular Mycontizal Fungi" in Wyndmoor, PA

- $1 million for Corn and Soybean Research in Wooster, OH

- $1.8 million for the Honey Bee Lab in Weslaco, TX

- $1.8 million for Swine Odor and Manure Management Research in Ames, Iowa

- $443,000 for Beaver Management and Control in Mississippi

- $208,000 for Beaver Management and Control in North Carolina

- Several hundred thousand for "Blackbird Management" programs in KS, LA, ND and SD.

- $657,000 for Brown Tree Snake Management in Guam

- $1,049,000 for "Mormon Crickets" in Utah (I am told they are neither Mormon nor are they crickets)

- $162,000 for Rodent Control in Hawaii

- $209,000 to "Improve Blueberry Production and Efficiency" in Georgia

- $254,00 for the "Montana Sheep Institute"

- $413,000 for Tri-State Joint Peanut Research in Alabama

- $2.9 million for Shrimp Aquaculture in AZ, HI, LA, MA, MS, SC and TX

- $277 million for 2nd Avenue Subway

- $210 million for LIRR terminal in Grand Central

$657,000 for Brown Tree Snake Management in Guam

if this is the same snake i think it is, it might be worth it,

$1.8 million for Swine Odor and Manure Management Research in Ames, Iowa

Nothing like managing crap with more crap.

just thought this may be interesting, or not, lol

The Brown Treesnake on Guam

How the arrival of one invasive species damaged the ecology, commerce, electrical systems, and human health on Guam: A comprehensive information source.


Thomas H. Fritts and Dawn Leasman-Tanner
U.S. Geological Survey
Fort Collins Science Center
2150 Centre Ave., Bldg C
Fort Collins, Colorado 80526 USA


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Synopsis
Shortly after World War II, and before 1952, the brown Treesnake was accidentally transported from its native range in the South Pacific to Guam, probably as a stowaway in ship cargo. As a result of abnormally abundant prey resources on Guam and the absence of natural predators and other population controls, brown Treesnake populations reached unprecedented numbers. Snakes caused the extirpation of most of the native forest vertebrate species; thousands of power outages affecting private, commercial, and military activities; widespread loss of domestic birds and pets; and considerable emotional trauma to residents and visitors alike when snakes invaded human habitats with the potential for severe envenomation of small children. Since Guam is a major transportation hub in the Pacific, numerous opportunities exist for the brown Treesnakes on Guam to be introduced accidentally to other Pacific islands as passive stowaways in ship and air traffic from Guam. Numerous sightings of this species have been reported on other islands, and an incipient population is probably established on Saipan. It is important that people who may come in contact with the brown Treesnake, particularly on neighboring islands and other high-risk sites, understand the scope of this problem and how to identify the snake so proper action can be taken.
This resource has been developed to provide source materials on the history of the invasion, continuing threats, research results, and containment and management of the brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) in Guam and its relevance to other islands and mild continental environments.