Wasteful spending, misplaced priorities

Today, I had the privilege of shadowing one of the great conservatives in the Minnesota House, Mark Buesgennes and spent the afternoon on the floor listening to debate on House File 2624.

The majority party passed the LCCMR(Legislative Citizen Commision on Minnesota Resources) bill which funds environmental projects using state lottery proceeds. Unfortunately, wasteful projects made their way into the bill. There were a series of amendments offered by Republicans to challenge the wasteful spending of this money. When one Republican challenged the use of the "hard earned tax dollars", DFL Representative Wagenius countered with a statement, that these were not "hard-earned" but "easy dollars, because they are gambling dollars". Below are some examples of what the DFL voted to spend these dollars on:

Will Steger's Global Warming Adventures
"$250,000 is from the trust fund to the
commissioner of natural resources for an
agreement with the Will Steger Foundation
to provide curriculum, teacher training,
online learning, and grants to schools
on investigating the connection between
Minnesota's changing climate and the
impacts on ecosystems and natural resources."

Bird Breeding Maps
"$372,000 is from the trust fund to continue
development of a statewide survey of
Minnesota breeding bird distribution and
create related publications, including a book
and online atlas with distribution maps
and breeding status."

Unique Microbe Characterization
"$545,000 is from the trust fund to the Board
of Regents of the University of Minnesota
to characterize unique microbes discovered
in the Soudan Underground Mine State Park... "

"Fragile" Granite Ecosystem Protection
"$1,800,000 is from the trust fund to the
Board of Water and Soil Resources, in
cooperation with the Renville Soil and Water
Conservation District, to continue to acquire
perpetual easements of unique granite rock
outcrops, located in the Upper Minnesota
River Valley."

Show Teachers How to Use a Digital Camera
"$160,000 is from the trust fund to the
commissioner of natural resources to hold
teacher training workshops on the use of
digital photography as a tool for learning
about nature."

"Hey Kids, Go Outside!"
"$15,000 is from the trust fund to the
commissioner of natural resources for an
agreement with Project Get Outdoors, Inc. to
develop out of school programs connecting
children to local nature experiences."

Cross-cultural Fishing
"$155,000 is from the trust fund to the
commissioner of natural resources for
an agreement with the Association for
the Advancement of Hmong Women
in Minnesota to provide environmental
information and teaching skills to and
increase participation of Southeast Asian
communities through the gateway of fishing
skills."