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I don't understand the complaints about earmarks. First, to the best of my recollection, Obama never promised to get rid of earmarks. And second, he shouldn't get rid of them. They're simply how Congress makes sure the money it's spending is being spent how it wants. Sure, there are sometimes silly things that the money gets spent on, but getting rid of earmarks altogether just throws the baby out with the bathwater. Moreover, most of what sounds silly is often not. Consider volcano monitoring, a vital technology proven to save lives -- this is what the Republican party chooses to criticize, just because they think it might sound silly.
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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."
"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
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