An amusingly ironic earmark from the multiagency spending bill passed on Saturday night: $1 million for the "Missouri Pork Producers Federation" to develop technology that would improve the environment by converting animal waste into energy. Really. Must have been a big hit in the cloakroom.

(It's worth noting that the bill also included "$25,000 for the study of mariachi music in the Clark County, Nev., school district.")