Feds spending millions on Kennedy legacy in Mass.

Lord Lunch gags on his morning muffin.

More than one out of every five dollars of the $126 million Massachusetts is receiving in earmarks from a $410 billion federal spending package is going to help preserve the legacy of the Kennedys.

The bill includes $5.8 million for the planning and design of a building to house a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate.

The bill also includes $22 million to expand facilities at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum and $5 million more for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a park system in downtown Boston named after Kennedy's mother.

The $22 million JFK library earmark was sponsored by fellow Massachusetts Democrat Sen. John Kerry, who is also a top sponsor for the money for the Kennedy Senate Institute. Kerry defended the project, saying, "This shovel-ready project will also bring much-needed jobs to the area."

Local officials are seeking up to $100 million to build the institute, which will focus on the Senate in general and Kennedy's more than four decades of service to the body.

Tentative plans called for a replica of the Senate chamber itself, as well as programs to train new senators.

"These funds will create jobs that are desperately needed, and will provide lasting benefits for all our citizens long into the future," Kennedy said in statement accompanying a list of earmarks.

Feds spending millions on Kennedy legacy in Mass.

Little Hope Left for Scotland's Survival

There is an hypothesis, which gains currency with every passing day, that the best, brightest, and boldest of those born in the United Kingdom left long ago for pastures greener in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and anywhere elsewhere.

And, of course, very many of Great Britain's best, brightest, and boldest sacrificed their lives in World Wars I and II, thereby draining the British genetic pool of its creamy top.

Upshot: with a few notable exceptions, Britain is today peopled by submissive, palms-out morons governed by an alliance of poltroons and buffoons.

Scotland seems determined to surpass what passes for progressive thought and governance in its southern neighbors, England and Wales. Ample examples exist to illustrate this fact, and each new day brings to light additional examples, many vying to be more extreme than the others.

Fox News reports (and I decided to post this post as a result) the following:

Domestic Violence

Vince Hogg of Wormit, Scotland was arrested after tearing out the hair of his live-in girlfriend and slamming her against a wall.

The two apparently have had a stormy relationship and he became incensed because a leaky shower was causing the carpet to get wet.

All of this has caused Hogg problems with his job, as an anger management counselor.

But Hogg is still on the payroll of the National Health Service, which runs the "zero tolerance campaign" against domestic violence, where he worked.

Hogg was, however, demoted and reassigned.

Well, fellow travelers, there's not much to add, except a tear and a sigh from those of us sad to see the sinking of a once so great society.

Yours 'til next I wake,

Lord Lunch, Hamsammich Castle, Worcestershiresauce, England

Tennessee law enforcement is a smoke screen for fascism

Tennessee Department of Revenue agents are under orders to stop Tennessee motorists who have in their vehicles "large quantities of cigarettes" purchased out of state.

How will the 'Revenooers' know the cigs were purchased out of state? Easy-peasey.

Tennessee is dispatching under-cover agents to stake out stores selling cigarettes along interstate highways near the Tennessee border. When an agent spots someone with Tennessee tags buying cigarettes 'in volume' at a store in any one of the eight states bordering Tennessee, a radio call is made to a revenue officer who stops the car when it enters Tennessee.

And what happens then?

The stoppee, the schmuck whose car is weighted down with "large quantities of cigarettes," is arrested for bringing untaxed cigarettes into the state.

What is a large quantity of cigarettes, exactly?

More than two cartons, exactly. Namely, two cartons and one pack.

Toting untaxed cigarettes exceeding two cartons in measure is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in the pokey and/or a $500 fine.

Oh, a further little punishment may also be meted out, entirely at the arresting officer's discretion. Vehicles used to transport more than two cartons may be seized, since they are deemed contraband.

Now, you can bring up to 24 cartons and 9 packs into the state and get off with six months in the pokey, a fine of $500 bucks, and perhaps see your brand new used Buick hauled away to the auctioneer. But if you cross that "Welcome to Tennessee" line with just one pack more, 25 cartons in toto, you'll wish you were an illegal alien instead of a poor sap who likes his 'backy.

Bringing 25 or more cartons into Tennessee is a Class E felony. The punishment is a minimum of one year in prison (the maximum is six years) plus a fine of up to $3,000.

And, agents have been ordered to seize any vehicle carrying more than 25 cartons of cigarettes without Tennessee tax stamps.

Why has cigarette transport into Tennessee become a matter for the Gestapo?

On July 21, Tennessee’s cigarette tax jumped 40 cents, to 62 cents per pack. All eight states bordering Tennessee have lower tax rates, ranging from 17 cents in Missouri upwards. That means one carton (10 packs) is $4.50 cheaper in Missouri. Twenty-five cartons purchased in the Show Me state saves someone from the Volunteer State $112.50.

Is there, Dear Reader, a lesson to be drawn from this dreary dispatch? You betchum.