I'm sure it sounded like a nice, sweet idea at first: Put a lovely garden in the middle of a rough, southside Chicago neighborhood. Who wouldn't welcome an upgrade like that?

But it seems that the project quickly became a Garden to Nowhere, despite the fact that then-state senator Barak Obama had worked hard to ensure the neighborhood was granted $120K to make it happen.

So he can cheerlead pet projects, and some of them may even have merit.

But when the money he doles out is completely wasted and there's no product to show for it in the end, I wonder how bothered he feels.

Is that just part of 'the way things are'? It certainly doesn't sound like a *change* if in fact that's what happens on his watch when dollars are awarded.

Obama's $100K Englewood garden grant being probed :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: The Watchdogs

My favorite part of this investigation..or should I say "non" investigation.

Here is what I resent about foolishness like this.

There is the absolute disconnect between something that was projected to cost $120,000 and one that was earmarked to cost $398 million.

Let's deduct the whole plan of the inner city garden from the Bridge to Nowhere, that would leave the Bridge to Nowhere on the deficit side of $397 million.

Which is the larger?

I just don't know how you can compare a project of $120,000 to one of $398,000,000. I didn't read the link, but the zeros alone gave me enough to say that your analogy doesn't hold water.

The point is that $120,000 is A LOT of money for a garden, and apparently it was a waste because the garden is no more. A bridge is substantially more expensive to build. It didn't get built because it was unfeasible and the money went to other transportaion projects. But people want to keep bringing it up ad nauseum.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Yeah, and a $398 million is a LOT MORE money than $120,000. And anyone who doesn't see the difference is playing upon party politics.

I didn't say it wasn't A LOT of money. . .but it isn't that much to pay for a bridge. I don't know what the actual cost of adding on to the Narrows was, but the estimated cost was over $800 million.

I'm saying $300/lb for overpriced hamburger that got thrown out is a waste.

And a house that cost $300,000 (but actually didn't because it never got built). . .may not be.

Of course $300 is much less than $300,000!

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Oh, totally agree.

Spending money building an overpiced bridge, for example, which would be a bigger and better version of the Golden Gate bridge, when it would serve a tiny, tiny fraction of the same traffic, would being just waste, wouldn't it?

And spending $398 million to build such an ovrpriced bridge would just be dumb, wouldn't it.

And just because someone supported a fraction of that for another project wouldn't make the $398 million project any less dumb, would it?

Yes. . the bridge didn't get built because it was fiscally irresponsible. The money went to other transportation projects that the Alsakan legislature saw fit.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Yeah, like the road to nowhere.

Uh. . .we already debated that. . .if you want you can read all about it here:

http://www.mycoupons.com/boards/elec...ere-opens.html

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Aw, come on. Don't be hatin'.

My point is pretty simple, really.

Palin has been skewered for accepting money on behalf of her state for a project she didn't initiate personally, but fell into and tried to make the best use of. Some she ended up redirecting, some she didn't. Sounds like she was trying to maximize the benefit of what was received from the feds for the benefit of the state of Alaska.... which in case anyone hadn't checked lately, was pretty much a core function of her governor's duties.

Obama was on the *other* end of this equation in that he was the congressman (at the state level, so the dollars are going to be smaller) who was pushing and pushing his colleagues to *give* money to a project, and he ultimately got them talked into it.

And they gave it.

And they might as well have had a bonfire with that cash because it looks like next to none of it was spent on a garden at all. His buddies who were associated with the project paid themselves for their time *thinking* about it, apparently, and then there was none left to build a garden and so now they have a piddly few thousand dollars worth of infrastructure for a garden that will never be.

I realize there is a big difference in the number of zeros associated with the project, but someone who is true to their core will behave similarly regardless of the magnitude of the money. I got the feeling that when Palin was being maligned it was something of a character issue.... that she was a waster of money who didn't have the best interests of the taxpayers at heart.

With Obama and the Garden to Nowhere... he was operating on a much smaller scale at the time of that project, and that's how he treated it. He fought for something that was apparently ill-conceived and had no back-up plan in case the rest of the money didn't go through. At least with Palin, she asked that the money she was given be redirected to another worthy project. Obama was content to just let his friends get their 'pay' and for no garden to ever appear.

Ask someone who lives in the south side of Chicago if that was the best use of $120K that was allocated to their neighborhood. I'll bet to the people living there $120K sounds like a good chunk of change.

ROFL!!!

This has been a hilarius morning on the Election Board. I'm glad I stopped by.

Garden to Nowhere?

So, are you calling poor, inner-city areas Nowhere?

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I'm the kind of woman when my feet hit the floor in each morning, the devil says "Oh crap, she's up."

I'm saying that it's a project that went nowhere.

Hmmmm... does Iowa City have nicer gardens than the south side of Chicago? We just may have an answer to that which makes us go round and round on this board!

Sorry, I don't find any humor in diminishing the importance of trying to better communities in trouble.

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I'm the kind of woman when my feet hit the floor in each morning, the devil says "Oh crap, she's up."

Yet another reason why you're not a Republican.

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Reading is Fundamental.

I don't think this one is about being a Repub or a Dem....I think it's more about values.

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I'm the kind of woman when my feet hit the floor in each morning, the devil says "Oh crap, she's up."

No it's about wasting money under the guise of values. If it was really about values then the garden would have been built.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Agreed. Excellent point.

If it was that important they should've seen it through. I think projects like that *are* worth doing, but apparently lip service is enough for the politicians. When it comes to oversight... don't bother 'em. They're just about passing out candy.

Gosh, the Democrats are testy today. Can someone bring me a file so I can take care of those fangs?