Sometimes, pork is a bad thing.

I hope that all of you have at least heard of this so-called "stimulus" package that President Barry has been pushing, and that Congress has voted to pass (though in slightly different forms in each house). We're being assured that it's necessary, and that only government can save us now. That's a pretty scary thought. Not because it's actually true, but because they're trying to make us think that it's true.

I saw some of Obama's press conference on the matter last night. Someone needs to tell the man that he doesn't need to be campaigning anymore, at least for a couple years. Someone asked him a question involving where blame should be cast for our current predicament. Obama was sure to not place any on the American people, but instead blamed banks for making risky investments. Essentially, he's talking about loans and credits that banks made for people that defaulted. Apparently, it's the banks' fault for making those loans, and not the people who defaulted. And it's also definitely not the fault of the US government who, back in the '90s, imposed regulations on banks to make loans to more and more underqualified people in the name of increasing home ownership, "fairness" and "justice" and all that. They had to make loans to people who didn't even have to prove that they had a source of income! But seriously, it's all the banks' fault. People (except rich people) and government are good.

I could go on and on about this bill: all of the pork, how the first one didn't work so this won't either, government can't create wealth but only re-distribute it, the dangerous implications in it for health care - if you're old and need treatment, it's up to the government to decide whether it's worth it based on how much longer you're expected to live. Seriously. That's in there. (Thanks, Daschle!)

But I'm no expert. And according to Obama, many economic experts agree with his plan. He claims a concensus, in fact. I've learned never to trust 2 big things. One, any news story about anything that Rush Limbaugh says. Always out of context, always mis-interpreted. And two, any time a politician says "consensus." They were wrong about the consensus on anthropogenic global warming, and they're wrong about this consensus.

Proof? Of course. Here you go.

But if you would like to hear more from an expert, you can read this interview with Prof. Mike Munger from Duke University, one of the many economists to sign that add. It's really good, and he's much smarter than me. But it all makes sense. And no, he's not Republican. Just correct.