State of the Union

Bush's speech left much to be desired. Topics that were addressed were not addressed in such a manner as to explain or propose any solution.
Yet, as anti-Bush as I may be, there was one shining moment in the State of the Union address, one of which I am overjoyed to see a politician finally so much as mention.

The people's trust in their Government is undermined by congressional earmarks — special interest projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without discussion or debate. Last year, I asked you to voluntarily cut the number and cost of earmarks in half. I also asked you to stop slipping earmarks into committee reports that never even come to a vote. Unfortunately, neither goal was met. So this time, if you send me an appropriations bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, I will send it back to you with my veto. And tomorrow, I will issue an Executive Order that directs Federal agencies to ignore any future earmark that is not voted on by the Congress. If these items are truly worth funding, the Congress should debate them in the open and hold a public vote.

To ask a group of the most self-serving and ambitious people in the country to voluntarily give up the easiest and most abused sources of power and expect good results is naive. Nonetheless, it needed to be said. Perhaps with such a threat those results really will happen. Perhaps that is naive in itself. However, to have someone give voice to the common view of the people who have to deal with the consequences is at least a step forward.

-Modern Diogenes-