Am I the only person on the planet who has noticed that states throughout America are now refusing to cut their federal pork in favor of aiding Katrina and, possibly, Rita victims?

How about a $50 million indoor rain forest in Iowa?  Yes, that's a rain forest in Iowa.  Iowa.  Did I mention a rain forest in Iowa?  Oh, and it's an indoor rain forest where rain forests have NEVER existed before — in Iowa.  So why not build one to spite those who are really in need?

And how 'bout a $25 million fish hatchery in Montana?  Obviously Montana residents don't have enough fish, so building an excessively large hatchery must be good policy, especially when it spits in the face of those who have lost everything to Mother Nature.

Then there's the $200 million bridge in Alaska between Ketchikan and an island with only 50 inhabitants and a small airport.  This bridge is higher than the Brooklyn Bridge and almost as long as the Golden Gate bridge and will span a small waterway between a relatively small city and a virtually uninhabited island.  That bridge has been unneeded for two centuries, yet it's now more necessary than aid to hurricane victims who don't even have homes anymore.

I believe I noticed a $200,000 peanut festival in Alabama, paid for by federal tax dollars, that also cannot be cut in favor of those in need.  Being in the line of fire from Rita, I'll readily admit that a peanut festival is substantially more important than helping those Mother Nature has smacked around and left in utter devastation.

These are projects that Senators are refusing to give up in favor of paying for the near $500 billion Katrina relief budget (and this is not considering Rita).

Some residents in these pork-project areas have already said they are willing to give up these unnecessary expenditures so that Katrina and Rita victims can get the relief they need, although some residents, obviously selfish beyond description, have made clear they are unwilling to give up these local cash cows even if it was to aid those in real need, those from whom everything has been taken and for whom there is no hope or future.

Selfish idiots, they are, but I can't possibly explain why there are still Americans who can't see beyond themselves in order to help those in greater need.  Maybe Rita can visit Alaska or Iowa or Montana with the same ferocity with which Katrina visited the Gulf coast.  This would surely help those who, in their infinite greed and egocentricity, need to experience the true desperation that should always take precedence over these stupid and senseless costs.

Apparently doubling our federal deficit is OK in the eyes of those who believe these costs far outweigh any national tragedy or need.