Re: "What's in it for them?" and, "Is there an answer forthcoming?"

I just love this little matter the Prez slipped into that mix: "and, by the way, we had a big victory yesterday by eliminating a weapons program, the F- 22, that the Pentagon had repeatedly said we didn't need -- so we're going to have to eliminate waste there."

Addendum from our Roving Correspondent, C. Brooks Nielsen:

Interesting how the President objects to the restraint of some behaviors while demanding others bow to his version of the common good. Witness the Senate vote on July 21, 2009, on threat of a presidential veto, to strip money for seven additional F-22 jets from a $680 billion national defense bill. The controversy over F-22 vs F-35 soon rivaled the subject of Michael Jackson on Twitter. Yet, the Senate set this issue aside for an amendment to the defense bill, adopting a major expansion to hate crimes law, and later including a proposal allowing people with concealed weapons permits in one state to carry their weapons into other states.

So what do hate crime laws and gun laws have to do with Pentagon spending? From the Senate action, apparently everything, if you're trying to hide an unpopular "pedophile protection" bill from the American people. Now that I hear the bill has passed, I guess I'd better see what in the world it included and report back later. cbn