WHY ARE TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR $1500 TV'S FOR CONGRESSMEN!?!? Congress must put EVERY Congressman's reimbursed expenses on-line - NOW!

WSJ:

The records show that some lawmakers spent heavily in the final months of the year to draw down allowances before the end of December -- a time when U.S. households were paring their budgets and lawmakers were criticizing Detroit auto executives for taking private aircraft to Washington to plead their case for taxpayer funding.

Rep. Hastings, a Democrat, and Rep. Turner, a Republican, made their purchases in the third quarter. Rep. Faleomavaega, a Democrat, bought the TVs for $1,473 apiece in mid-November. Spokespeople for the three didn't return requests for comment.

... as British politicians come under widening scorn for spending public money on everything from candy bars to moat-dredging, an examination of U.S. lawmakers' expense claims shows Washington's elected officials have also used public funds for eye-catching purchases.

... The Senate and House release volumes of the reimbursement requests for these allowances, but do not make them available electronically. A Wall Street Journal review of thousands of pages of these records for 2008 expenses showed most lawmaker spending flowed to areas such as staff salaries, travel, office rent and supplies, and printing and mailing.

But it also turned up spending on an array of products, from the car leases and electronics to a high-end laptop computer and $22 cellphone holder. Rep. Howard Berman expensed $84,000 worth of personalized calendars, printed by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, for his constituents. A spokeswoman for Mr. Berman, a California Democrat, didn't return requests for comment.

THIS TYPE OF SPENDING WOULD BE BAD IN NORMAL TIMES, BUT DURING A RECESSION WHEN WE ARE BEING TAXED AT HIGHER RATES AND BEING ASKED TO DO WITH LESS IT IS AN OUTRAGE!

I DEMAND THAT ALL CONGRESSIONAL SPENDING MADE PUBLIC BY BE PUTTING IT ON-LINE.

IF THERE'S NOTHING TO HIDE, THEN CONGRESS WILL OBLIGE.

OBAMA SHOULD MAKE THIS DEMAND, TOO!

WILL THEY ARGUE IT'S "STIMULUS SPENDING"!?!?

ALL I GOT TO SAY IS: HOW COME - IF WE DON'T SEND OUR MONEY TO WASHINGTON FOR POLITICIANS TO SPEND, BUT SPEND IT ON OURSELVES AND OUR FAMILIES - IT AIN'T "STIMULUS SPENDING"!?!?