That's a term used to describe the process of politicians slipping earmarks into spending bills and then getting campaign contributions from the beneficiaries. It was used in an article about George Nethercutt and a Liberty Lake company.

Well, the Seattle Times has found that this practice is quite common, especially with the state's senior senator, Patty Murray. The Times compiled a national database and compared contributions with earmarks in a recent defense spending bill.

Certainly this has been going on for years and the amounts shift depending on which party is in power, but it's still maddening to see how much useless stuff the government buys to benefit a particular business.

Two solutions come to mind: public financing of elections and the line-item veto for the president. The latter will take a constitutional amendment since the U.S. Supreme Court shot down a law giving President Clinton that tool.

What's depressing is that neither solution is apt to happen anytime soon. Or ever.

In the meantime, I guess shame is the only weapon. So kudos to the Times for shining the spotlight. Then again, so many pols are shameless.

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