Why Is A War Bill Funding That?

The $106 billion 2009 war supplemental appropriations bill passed by the Senate yesterday sure looks like a piggybank for a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with supporting troops operating in Afghanistan and Iraq.

For example there's $8 million to cover the salaries and expenses of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the causes of the financial crisis that hit the country last year. Since one word -- greed -- sums up the cause of the crisis, I don't know why this commission needs $8 million from the Defense Department budget.

The Securities and Exchange Commission grabbed $10 million from the war supplemental to investigate securities fraud, and we all know one word -- greed -- is the cause of securities fraud.

Then there's the "cash for clunkers" program, $1 billion tacked on to the war supplemental bill at the last minute to allow folks to trade in gas guzzlers for new fuel-efficient cars. This will be run through an electronic voucher program managed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The program will reimburse gas guzzler owners up to $4,500 if they buy a new fuel-efficient car.

This electronic voucher program will, in turn, enrich whatever contractor is hired to develop the system. And perhaps someday it will have a use in Afghanistan or Iraq - like if we try to eliminate gas guzzlers in those countries under a pax Americana frugalitas project.

Congress did have enough spare change after tossing all these bucks around to come up with $169.5 million in funding for a new National Security Agency data center located not at the agency HQ in Ft. Meade, Md., but at Camp Williams, Utah, a 28,000-acre base operated by the Utah National Guard located 26 mile south of Salt Lake City.

It may be real difficult to find Old Bay Seasoning in the vicinity of Camp Williams, let alone the blue crabs to use it on.