...and make sure I have extra time to read the opinion piece over and over again to make sure I truly and fully understand what I'm reading.
The latest Daily Pilot article is no exception.
Councilwoman Daigle is apparently thanking the Orange County Delegation in Washington DC, as well as US Senators Feinstein and Boxer for EARMARKING $2.87 million bucks in the 2009 Omnibus package to help with the continuing Bay Dredging on the Upper Newport Back Bay.
For those of us who weren't too sure about the Omnibus bill, it essentially,
"2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act totals about $410 billion and covers funding for fiscal year 2009 for the nine federal agencies that were not funded under the regular appropriations process last year."
and (in my mind too)
"Even a recession and record $1.4 trillion budge deficit has not altered Congress' business-as-usual culture of spending and pork"
with it's 9287 earmarks of porky pork.
But...alas!
This bit of pork helps Newport Beach's Back Bay, so that's good right?
Well...let's continue with Daigle's opinion piece...
After reading it the fourth time, I still found myself a bit confused...
She says,
"The City Council is requesting $13.1 million in stimulus funds to complete the project. The project is shovel-ready, an important feature for stimulus funding."
Got it, the project is $13.1 million bucks short, so we need more money.
I'm a bit confused about how completely funding this project helps stimulate the American Economy, but...I continue.
"The City Council also requested that members of Congress provide $15 million in stimulus funds to the Corps for harbor dredging (which is not shovel ready). Dredging the federal channel is an on-going obligation of the Corps."
Wait a minute. I know it's tax season and I know that I'm a easily confused (even when it's not tax season)...
but...
Are we asking for an additional $15 million dollars on top of the original $13.1 million bucks?
So we are asking for $28.1 million total?
That cannot be right?
(Pause, while I re-read the article again...)
So, I think I have it.
1. We received $2.87 million dollars to help with the Upper Bay Project.
2. We are requesting another $13.1 million dollars to finish the Upper Bay Project.
3. We are then requesting a cool $15 million bucks to dredge the Newport Harbor.
I guess all that makes sense.
We scratch and claw for $2.87 million dollars...why not then ask for another $28.1 million dollars right?
Since President Obama is doling the dollars out willy nilly, why not ask for an additional $100 million bucks to build our New White Elephant in the Park (City Hall...to remind you all of that)?
Well...let's now go back to Councilwoman Daigle's eloquence...
The last half of her opinion piece was very easy to understand.
Why?
Because it was written exactly how Junior High School kids are instructed to write...and I'm not making ANYTHING up here...
"The City Council is..."
"Upper Newport Bay is..."
"The City Council also requested..."
"The harbor-dredging project is..."
"The Corps is..."
"The city appreciates..."
"The city is..."
I'm not kidding here...that is exactly how each one of the paragraphs starts for the last half of her piece.
But I'm sure my Elementary School Teacher Ex-Wife would appreciate Daigle starting each sentence off with a Noun and a Verb.
So herein lies the simplicity of the writing mixed in with the utter confusion of the content which gives us the opinions of the Daigle who wanted to be Mayor of Newport Beach...
No comments:
Post a Comment