(I’m a little miffed at the moment so excuse my hyperbole) So if a republican or blue dog gets Alzheimer’s or other sorts of dementia, I hope the last reliable thought in their heads is the realization that they might have been cured but they cut funding for science.

If it were up to me, this bill would have been written by Obama (rather than Congress), and would be about three pages long.

Here’s the problem: because it is NOT, it is now essentially taking the place of a regular appropriations bill. Perhaps it’s the case that by axing all the “peripheral” segments, it’s not the same as axing them individually, it’s just a matter of cutting them out of this bill and punting the debate on the merits of the particular items until the regular budget and appropriations debate begins. But there’s also a fairly decent chance that this is it for a large number of these individual items; if they can’t find the support now, they’re not going to be seriously revisited later (particularly true of measures like NSF funding which has been on the bubble for the last decade anyway; every strike against it just builds the inertia more).

But regardless, I would make the case that, yes, this particular aspect of the federal budget is a stimulating measure, and one very in-line with what Obama was elected to do. It creates/saves jobs and helps bolster America’s long term competitive advantage. If investing in science and technology in a way that stimulates the economy doesn’t have any place in this bill, what does?

There are aspects of the spending bill that I think are good and valid uses of taxpayer money. Some of the infrastructure projects. Certainly upgrading the electric transmission backbone. Why is it unreasonable to ask our representatives to carefully consider each expenditure of yours, mine, our children and grandchildren’s money on their merits and vote for them on that basis?

Instead we get the repeated incatnation of an ideological canon of liberal Keyensian dogma, chanted at every opportunity. We have to spend just because we have to spend, and it makes no difference if the expenditure is needed, understood or completely wasted.

Did we learn nothing from the hastily passed $700 Billion Wall Street bailout last year? You remember – when we witnessed the rampant stupidity of a craven congress rolling over to an executive demand for fast action on the basis of economic fear mongering – and as a result – were treated to the spectacle of our representatives wasting massive amounts of taxpayer resources without really understanding what they are passing or having any idea where the money will go or how it will be used.

Pretty much exactly what is happening in the Senate right now.