John Morgenstern

To the editor:

Last week, a supplementary $120 billion spending bill to support our troops abroad, including a provision that our troops leave Iraq by December of 2008, was narrowly approved by the house. The narrow majority was bought by the house leadership by including a full $20 billion of pure pork. The recipients of the pork extracted the money from the taxpayers' pockets for such items as sugar subsidies, studies of fisheries, studies of various kinds, etc. in exchange for their votes. Without these votes, even the small majority in favor of the bill would not have been achieved. And who was chosen to be the Democratic spokesman to mask this cynical and costly maneuver? Our own Paul Hodes. He is shown on television claiming that this action is the will of the people when it in fact was paid for and bought by the house leadership with $20 billion of the taxpayers’ money. Shame on the Democratic house and on Paul Hodes. We expected better.

John Morgenstern

Gilford