The Democrats came into power promising to reform the abuses inherent in the federal funding mechanism known as "earmarks." This is a practice where a member can add on spending to a bill that no agency has asked for and no Congressional Committee had vetted.Well, the Democrats have "reformed" the earmarks process allright - to the point that California Senator Diane Feinstein was able to slip a provision into the military construction and veterans affairs bill that would deny the Veterans Administration from disposing or leasing any of the 367 acres found on the massive and largely abandoned West Los Angeles Medical Center in Beverley Hills which affectively deprives the government of nearly $4 billion in revenue. Donated to the government in 1888, the center is 387 sprawling, prime real-estate acres in the middle of tony West L.A. More than twice the size of the National Mall, it is surrounded by the mansions and playgrounds of the city's elite, including...(Read Full Post)