In the news...

As someone who finds State spending interesting (comical, deplorable, you choose), I had to share this piece from the Winston-Salem Journal. This story is about the infamous "poster child of pork [barrel] spending," the NC Teapot Museum:

(version taken from the News & Observer.com)
SPARTA, N.C. - Organizers of a teapot museum in the North Carolina mountains to house a Los Angeles millionaire's unusual collection are scaling back their plans because of financial concerns.

The Sparta Teapot Museum was intended to bring tourism money to this small town near the Blue Ridge Parkway. But its board of directors cut the project from $14 million to about $6 million, which the town manager said could jeopardize an agreement to display more than 7,000 eclectic teapots collected by Sonny Kamm.

Bryan Edwards, town manager and a member of the museum board, said scaling back the museum would mean fewer teapots on display and "it is unclear at this time what level of involvement we will have from Mr. Kamm."

Museum officials had raised $4.2 million by summer, including private donations and $1.1 million in public money, but couldn't raise enough private money to pay for a proposed 30,000-square-foot museum. Officials said they plan to display regional crafts if they lose the teapot collection.

"Of course, our first plan was a wonderful dream. It was an absolute dream museum. The problem was we just couldn't afford our dream," said Sandy Carter Herndon, a member of the museum's board of directors.

Some local and state officials said the museum - scheduled to open in spring 2008 - would create spending and jobs in an area hit by plant closings and layoffs.

The project received $500,000 in federal money and was cited as an example of pork barrel spending. The Citizens Against Government Waste included it in an annual list, calling it a "poster child for pork" in 2006.
(Full story here)

Booo hooo!