PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: People are still fighting over earmarks:

The congressional spending season began with a blowup over earmarks in the House yesterday, as the first bill to reach a vote prompted a White House veto threat and scores of amendments from Republicans furious with Democrats’ handling of pet-project spending in the measures.

Debate on the $36 billion homeland security bill, which would fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency, border security and counterterrorism measures, bogged down last night as Republicans pushed scores of amendments aimed at banning the use of counterterrorism money for designer handbags, puppet shows and other programs included in the legislation.

Hard to see why anyone would want to oppose those. And Nancy Pelosi has a cheery suggestion:

“Why don’t we just leave this room today forgetting the word ‘earmark’?” suggested Pelosi. “This is a way for . . . members to come together, sometimes in a bipartisan way, to have the Congress of the United States determine some of what is in the appropriations bills instead of just leaving it up to the White House.”

Indeed! It would have been nice, of course, if the Republicans had been against this stuff before the last election. Heck, they might still be in the majority . . . .