What is "Pork?"

We hear so much about "pork," but nobody seems to be interested in stopping congress people from getting a lot of it for their district or state, whether it is for important projects or not. Most of the time it is not. That's because we just don't understand that "pork" represents a lot of money coming out of our own pockets. Pork is responsible for most of the extremely high taxes we pay because those in Congress are addicted to it. They consider pork as a measure of their effectiveness. A member of congress really has one job; to spend taxpayer money -- and most of them do a very good job of it. Not always for the benefit of the taxpayer, but for their own benefit. Those who do the best job of convincing their constituents they're the best man (or woman) for the job, get re-elected and take that to mean their constituents want them to spend even more money. What amazes me is that most people hear the word "pork" and go right by it to something else. It doesn't get their attention, just as the number "3,000 killed" eludes their attention because it is a "statistic." ONE death does get their attention, especially if they SEE the body or have a personal connection to that person killed. "Pork" is simply one word that to thinking people means "the unnecessary spending" of your money. (Robert Novak, 10/18/07)