Mmmm... Pork...

I read an article today that made me think about an older, forgotten issue. Bush decided that he's going to send some extra money to hospitals that treat illegal immigrants. It seems to make sense; we can argue the merits later. But there was something profound in the way they are distributing the funds:

The largest allocations this fiscal year are going to California, which will receive $70.8 million; Texas, $46 million; Arizona, $45 million; New York, $12.3 million; Illinois, $10.3 million; Florida, $8.7 million; and New Mexico, $5.1 million.

It would seem that they're giving the money to the states with the biggest illegal immigration problem. I don't see Kansas or North Dakota on there, do you? Contrast that with the pork laden homeland security funds:

But 12 states bested New York on a per capita basis, the AP tally showed. The $17.7 million sent to Wyoming worked out to nearly $36 per person, the most of any state. New York, by comparison, got nearly $17 per person, California $9. ... After Wyoming came Alaska ($35.66 per person, based on the 2000 Census) and Vermont ($29.77 per person). ... American Samoa, a U.S. territory 2,300 miles south of Hawaii, got $5.4 million in homeland security funds, or $94.40 for each of its 57,291 residents.

So are we to assume that the Health and Human Services department is better organized than Homeland Security? Perish the thought! Do you think it might have anything to do with weapons systems and Bush's friends who can profit from defense spending? I doubt that. How about Cheney being from Wyoming? Couldn't be! On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that Tony Rocky Horror isn't working anywhere in the west wing. I'll have to look into that.

I wouldn't go so far as to call the brother fat...