There are some numbers I’d like to put together and I need your help to do it. I’m looking for every specific instance of wasteful, unnecessary or inefficient spending members of Congress have criticized in the Senate or House versions of the stimulus bill. I’m not talking about generic criticisms but rather specific line items such as the funds for contraceptives, research on STDs, refurbishing various buildings on the National Mall, etc. My sense is there aren’t many more than half a dozen that are getting the lion’s share of attention. And I’m not sure there’s more than a dozen that are getting much attention at all. But I want to pull together the examples. So I’d be greatly obliged if you can send in emails with citations and links to specific articles noting the programs and the dollar amounts.

I cannot say my expectations were high. But Sen. DeMint (R) of South Carolina does seem to be an even bigger ignoramus than I’d realized. On This Week this morning he actually said: “Let’s don’t say it’s a stimulus when it’s a government spending plan.” A ‘Stimulus plan’ is pretty much by definition a spending plan, though of course it can include tax reductions as well.

As noted, my expectations are not high. But I’m wowed by the amount of nonsense and lies that are being injected into this debate.

Also, high on the list, of course, is the fact that basically all the ‘wasteful’ spending that’s being discussed amounts to a total of what … maybe 2 or 3 billion out of $819 billion total? Why is this point not being made more clearly?

Tom Daschle reportedly didn’t tell the Obama team about his tax problems until weeks after he was named as Health and Human Services Secretary. That and other political news in today’s TPMDC Sunday Roundup.

From the AP …

Allies of Iraq’s U.S.-backed prime minister appeared Sunday to have made gains in the provincial elections, rewarding groups credited with reining in insurgents and militias, according to unofficial projections.

Initial results from Saturday’s landmark voting are not expected for days. But reports by Iraqi media and interviews by The Associated Press suggest candidates backing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had strong showings in the crucial Shiite heartland in southern Iraq.

If the indications prove true, it would strengthen al-Maliki’s hand ahead of national elections later this year and reflect a shift away from the more religious parties dominating the country.

Notable that on Superbowl Sunday the most compelling sports story of the day (and beyond) has nothing to do with football.