No pork for oil...

the latest edition of Maxim Magazine has an article on government pork (not online sadly). Lots of good stuff - making fun of local projects, PBS, and other things that get libertarians and Reganites steamed.

There was one I took issue with though - beating up on the Halliburton military contracts. One thing they said was pork was prices like "$45 for a case of soda". Of course, the first reaction is "I could get 2 12 packs of Coke at Target for $5 every other week when it's on sale". The fact is that what the government is spending money on isn't just a case of soda - it's a case of soda delivered to freakin' war zone.. They aren't just paying for the Coke - they are paying to compensate for the fact that the guy delivering the soda is also dodging land mines and light artillery fire. When you consider that most movie theators, concerts, and sports stadium will charge you at least $2 for a soda (which is about what a $45 case of soda would work out to if you assume a 24-can case), and people aren't shooting at the pimply-faced teen behind the concessions stand, the Halliburton soda price doesn't seem like that bad a dea.