As threatened, the Senate passed its $1.1 trillion spending bill today and gave billions of taxpayer dollars to unnecessary projects at a time when most Americans are still feeling the effects of the recession and the unemployment rate remains in double digits. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) said it was "shameful" that so many of these earmarks were in the legislation. Most Americans, he said, were watching football and not the Senate debate, adding, "If they knew what we are about to pass..." (source)

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But pass it they did and now it goes on to President Obama for his signature. No doubt there will not be a lavish public signing ceremony for this one. As the Sunday afternoon vote in the Senate suggests, the Democrats do not want the American people to be paying attention while the government spends way beyond our means and pushes the country further toward national bankruptcy.

With this bill out of the way, Congress needs only to pass a $626 billion defense bill to finish off all of the 12 annual appropriation bills for the 2010 budget year that began October 1. Usually an easy pass with bipartisan support, this year might be an exception as Democrats will try to turn it into another catch-all package of measures including an attempt to raise the current $12.1 trillion debt ceiling to $14 trillion. Such an increase would allow them to keep on borrowing and keep on spending without much fanfare and therefore without much notice by the American people until after the midterm elections in November.

One has to wonder if the Democrats are so proud of their policies and legislative achievements, why do they keep trying to hide them in omnibus bills and weekend sessions?