Congressional pork still a tasty dish

By By Bob Martin, The Alabama Scene
Would you believe that our own congressional delegation requested 150 earmarks for private companies, and that (gasp) there were political contributions involved? Of course you wouldn’t. Aren’t we going through terrible economic times that require government to be frugal?
Well, that would be an incorrect assumption. Of course there are those who would say that our guys (there are no gals) in our congressional delegation are just bringing home our share of the pork, even though a big portion goes to those who fund their campaigns.
This is the story reported this week by Mary Orndorff, the Washington correspondent for The Birmingham News, who writes that 147 of the requests actually amount to “no bid” contracts. The longest lists were compiled by Sen. Jeff Sessions and Rep. Mike Rogers, who sit on the armed services committees of their respective houses.
Rogers made 40 requests for private companies totaling $272 million. Three made the cut and are in the House budget. For example, Rogers and a congressman from Georgia requested $5.2 million for Intergraph Corp. in Madison to establish some type of operations center at Fort Benning which would help maintain readiness as the base expands. The project is in the House budget measure for $5 million.
The next longest request lists were from Sen. Richard Shelby and Rep. Robert Aderholt. They want $3 million for an Army Responsive Tactical Space System Exerciser, a project promoted by J2 Technologies Inc. of Huntsville. According to Shelby’s office, it will help the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center decide which technologies are best to replace aging or disabled satellites.
These may be worthwhile projects, but what set them apart are the political contributions involved. How long has it been since worthwhile projects could simply make it on their own merit? Too long for most folks to remember, I suspect.
The News reports that 10 Intergraph employees earlier this year gave a total of $5,550 to the re-election fund of Shelby, and in 2008 the company’s political action committee gave $2,000 to Aderholt; $5,000 to former-Rep. Bud Cramer, of Huntsville; $2,000 to Parker Griffith of Huntsville, who was elected to replace Cramer last year; $2,000 to Rogers; $7,000 to Shelby and $2,000 to Georgia Rep. Sanford Bishop, who co-sponsored the earmark request for Fort Benning with Rogers.
I cannot help but wonder how much this money changing differs from the ongoing pay-to-play scandal involving Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, a lobbyist and an investment banker. The only difference I can see is that the money goes into the bank account titled political campaign fund and not into a private account.
The News reports that Rep. Jo Bonner of Mobile refuses to make earmark requests for private companies, saying that is his policy because of the ethics cloud. Bonner sits on the House Ethics Committee which is currently reviewing the practice of sponsoring earmarks for entities whose lobbyists or employees make campaign contributions to the sponsoring lawmaker. Congratulations for that position Rep. Bonner.
Teaching is a tough job
Perhaps my age defines my attitude to some degree, but I remember when the teacher was the boss and the students behaved when told to do so or were punished. I remember when it was the student who was punished again at home when he or she misbehaved at school.
Now, it seems that the parents refuse to believe that little Johnny should be punished when he misbehaves and that is a real problem, not only for the teachers, but for the parents and for little Johnny.
Ms. Gibson is correct. The bill to which she refers was not aimed at teachers; it was aimed at the Alabama Education Association. There are more than enough laws on the books to protect school children from teachers. Perhaps we need some to protect the teaching profession from parents and the legislature.
Sometimes it’s tough to defeat a bad law. The legislators who killed the law, which would have put teachers in a straight jacket when it comes to disciplining students, should be congratulated.
Bob Martin is editor and publisher of The Montgomery Independent. Email him at: bob@montgomeryindependent.com