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Anh "Joseph" Cao was born in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam. His father, an officer with the South Vietnamese Army, was imprisoned by the Communists. At the age of eight, Joseph escaped to America with two of his siblings. He learned English, thrived in school, and earned a physics degree from Baylor University before he began studying for the priesthood. Joseph first arrived in New Orleans in 1992. He left to earn a Master's degree in philosophy from New York's Fordham University, returning to Loyola University to teach philosophy and ethics. As he prepared for priesthood, his faith...

Kansas City, Missouri - The maturing Tea Party Protest Movement claimed its first victory this week when Senator Claire McCaskill, D, Missouri, voted against the Omnibus Spending Bill. McCaskill cited her opposition to earmarks in opposing the bill’s passage. “Evidently we made our point,” Kansas City Tea Party organizer Robert Ballard said of McCaskill’s defection from the democratic party line in the Senate. “We applaud McCaskill for recognizing the deep level of discontent in this country that’s being driven by President Obama’s desire to reshape America with an agenda we believe moves America toward a socialist society. We’re counting on...

When Obama signs this bloated piece of legislation as he is expected to do, he will be putting another nail in our nation’s economic coffin, breaking his much professed campaign promises of NO EARMARKS - “And when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely.”

Termite research, walrus rehabilitation and pig manure are among the more than 8,570 of earmarks in the omnibus spending package currently before the Senate. Critics charge the bill is stuffed full of so many pork barrel projects -- $7.7 billion worth -- that President Barack Obama should veto it. Perhaps the most controversial is a direct earmark for a Hispanic civil-rights group -- the National Council of La Raza -- worth $950,000. The group has been a lighting rod of controversy since it helped organize large protests in 2006 aimed at derailing efforts by conservative congressional Republicans to enforce U.S....

Nancy Pelosi is acting like a junkie who gets caught. " Please, she is crying, just one more hit and I will go into rehab tomorrow." In her case it is a promise to president Obama that after this Omnibus bill she promises to sit down with the president and work on ending earmarks. “After we get through the omnibus . . . then we can work with the administration to see what else we can do. But the idea is lower number, more transparency, total accountability,” Gee Ms Pelosi, why AFTER? If you believe in fewer earmarks and more...

In a recent Wall Street Journal Opinion Editorial titled, “Deficits and Fiscal Credibility,“, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) presented his reasons for advocating a “No” vote on the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009. Senator Bayh asserted, “Our nation’s current fiscal imbalance is unprecedented, unsustainable and, if unaddressed, a major threat to our currency and our economic vitality. The national debt now exceeds $10 trillion. This is almost double what it was just eight years ago, and the debt is growing at a rate of about $1 million a minute.” He went on to state, “The bloated omnibus requires sacrifice from no...

Taxpayers for Common Sense says the bill contains 8,570 earmarks at a cost of $7.7 billion. An estimated 60% of the earmarks are from Democrats, while Republicans requested the remaining 40%. Americans are facing an economic crisis that is bordering on the verge of becoming a depression, thus, with 60% of the earmarks coming from Democrats and 40% from Republicans, is there really a difference between these two parties anymore? Obama said ” I am proud we have passed a recovery plan free of earmarks.” REALLY?

As the Senate completes its work on the $410 Billion Dollar Omnibus Bill with over 8,000 earmarked projects, it is important to note who the biggest porkers in the Senate are. The list below shows top 20 Senate Omnibus Bill Porkers. Right on top is Senator Robert Byrd, who when the bill was originally written was chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Other large porkers are Dianne Feinstein of California and Tom Harkin of Iowa. What is particularly disturbing is that 8 of the Top 20 were Republicans, and that Mitch McConnell was so high up on the list. Come on...

Double-Dip Spending DOUBLE-DIP 122 Federal Accounts Double-Dip From Both Stimulus And Omnibus, Spending Billions More Than Budgeted   SEN. MITCH McCONNELL: “Back in January, I suggested to the Democratic leadership that we take up the omnibus appropriation bill first. And I did that because I wanted to make sure that we were not engaged in duplicate spending when we finally went to the stimulus.� (Sen. Mitch McConnell, Press Conference, 02/24/09)   122 STIMULUS FUNDED ACCOUNTS ALSO FUNDED IN OMNIBUS BILL EXTRA MONEY FOR ARTS ENDOWMENT  DIP:               $50 Million in Stimulus: “For an additional amount for `Grants and Administration', $50,000,000 to be distributed...

Apparently one of the appropriations bills the Senate is about to vote on contained a provision that allowed congressional staffers access to individuals and corporations tax returns to which they could do whatever they wish with (e.g., share with the press, post on the internet). And it appears not one Senator was aware of this. LOL! It's just fun watching McCain, ect. go balistic over this.