SEEING "RED" IN ARIZONA

How would you like to go to AZ and stay at the luxurious Ritz Carlton in Phoenix? The Ritz is located in the city's premier dining and shopping district, according to the hotel's website, with a large selection of upscale restaurants, golf courses and shopping adventures within walking distance. Oh, you say you can't afford such a queenly trip? Well, neither can I, but someone can. Guess Who?

Remember the Stimulus Bill (Recovery Act)? An $816 billion payback with thousands of porkulus projects? Well, hey, this Stimulus Pork Bill mandated the creation of a panel whose ONLY JOB is to consider ways to prevent "fraud, waste and abuse of Recovery Act funds." This panel is a sub-committee of the larger Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board ( known as the RAT board). As you will see, the name RAT is pretty fitting. These panel members were appointed by, you guessed it, Mr. Obama. Probably payback for something they did for him.

Now, two years after the Stimulus Bill was enacted and much of the pork money has been spent, this Fraud, Waste and Abuse Panel is holding a pow wow that is going to cost taxpayers mega-bucks. Do the panel members not understand that having a meeting in a luxurious resort area would be considered Fraud, Waste and Abuse by the millions of Americans who are unemployed? Why couldn't this meeting have been held in Washington, D. C. where the spending mandates come from? Oh, I almost forgot, the temperature in Washington would be, let's see, maybe 20 degrees, while in AZ it's around 75. And you can't golf in Washington at this time of year. Meetings? Oh, heck, let's golf instead.

The truth is I think that government appointees should not be allowed to hold conferences at government expense at any location that normal Americans cannot afford.

But it's the same old, same old: They fill their pockets while they empty ours.

Thank you, Obama, for appointing panel members who still believe in sucking at the government trough. And thanks also for all that "Hope and Change." We're still waiting.