Thursday, August 19, 2010

Getting Around the Ban on Earmarks

When the Pharisees criticized Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands before eating, Jesus pointed out that their hypocrisy.  He said, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”  Matthew 15:3-6 (KJV)

Just as the Pharisees nullified the Law of God, today there are modern-day Pharisees who have no respect for the rule of law and will break any law for money or power if they can get away with it.  My employer gives its employees advice about how to stick it to taxpayers in a bad economy.  I got this email in my inbox.
FYI - if you receive any requests to have the University [name deleted] partner with any entity with regard to federal earmark requests, that request MUST be approved by [name deleted], Vice President for Government Relations and Communication.
[Name deleted]
FYI- Below is an article from today's New York Times about for-profit companies seeking university partnerships and, in some cases, non-profit status to get around the ban on earmarks to for-profit companies.  Several OH earmarks from [Democrat] Rep. Kaptur are used as examples.  If this ban continues there will be more pressure on our faculty to participate in these types of "partnerships" although in the majority of these projects, as they describe in the article, the university is only used as a pass through for the funds. 

(Read the article “Companies Find Ways to Bypass Ban on Earmarks” by Eric Lipton and Ron Nixon at the address below.)



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