have already risen to $74.7 billion. With every passing hour, it seems that some new spending that bilks taxpayers and has nothing to do with the war is being added.

No one in political life wants to be called unpatriotic, particularly during times of war. What can you do when your elected representatives take advantage of America being at war to add on unrelated spending that:

1. the president won't veto because he urgently needs to pay for the war;

2. congressmen won't vote against, for fear of being called unpatriotic;

3. the media won't report, so few people will know about; and

4. that taxpayers can't do anything about anyway?

And just to seal the deal, they want to throw in a multi-million dollar payoff as hush money to the House of Representatives.

These are patriots? In times gone by, mercenaries who did a lot less than this to take advantage of war would have been considered "war profiteers" and would have been taken out and hanged. How refreshing.

Now, billions of dollars to expand unrelated governmental programs and special-interest payoffs will help re-elect these same types of scoundrels masquerading as modern-day members of Congress.

What's in this bill outside the president's request for $62.409 billion to fund the war? Plenty. Here are a some examples:

1. $3.2 billion for an airline bailout;

2. $250 million for Department of Agriculture grants;

3. $69 million for Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust;

4. $11 million for salaries and expenses for the House of

Representatives (they already gave themselves a pay raise);

5. $5.5 million for the Library of Congress;

6. $6.8 million for the Congressional Research Service and

General Accounting Office;

7. $16 million to research Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome;

8. $100,000 for the U.S. Court of International Trade;

9. $165 million for the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act.

The bill also includes $8 billion in foreign aid:

1. $700 million in "economic assistance" for Jordan;

2. $500 million in "economic assistance" for Egypt;

3. $1 billion in "economic assistance" for Turkey;

4. $127 million for "economic growth" in Afghanistan;

5. $1 billion in "military assistance" for Israel;

6. $175 million in "military assistance" for Pakistan;

7. $170 million to "train the Afghan National Army";

8. $406 million for Jordan...and the list goes on.

How can they get away with this? Because the drum beat has already started. Who would have the courage to vote against all this unrelated spending when that "No" vote will be turned against them as a refusal to support our troops in war?

It's up to you. The politicians are up to their same old tricks, this time taking advantage of Americans whose lives are in jeopardy on the battlefield. A clean bill to fund the president's request in support of the war could be submitted and approved, but the politicians can't pass an opportunity to put their hands in our pockets.

Please contact your congressional delegation to help give them the courage to do the right thing. Go to http://capwiz.com/liberty/issues/alert/?alertid=1827421&type=CO

Kent Snyder The Liberty Committee http://www.thelibertycommittee.org

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