A Stitch in Haste

To review: During the second presidential joint press conference debate, John McCain criticized Barack Obama for seeking a $3 million earmark for what McCain snidely dismissed as an "overhead projector."
Science bloggers have been quick to react indignantly. One example:
McCain repeatedly called the requested equipment an "overhead projector" which brings to mind the simple light projector [...]

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A Stitch in Haste recommends the following report from the Congressional Research Service:
Federalism, State Sovereignty, and the Constitution:
Basis and Limits of Congressional Power
Summary:
The lines of authority between states and the federal government are, to a significant extent, defined by the United States Constitution and relevant case law. In recent years, however, the Supreme Court has [...]

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(Loosely based on a post originally published December 20th, 2004; heavily edited, and some links updated with more recent data. Additional post-Palin thoughts appended.)
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First, some background:
–Alaska has been the top recipient of federal taxpayer dollars per capita every year since 1999, and one of the three most lopsided states in terms of "receipts versus taxes" [...]

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In case there was any doubt about the financing structure of New York City's mass transit bureaucracy, The New York Times assures us:
The authority collects far more revenue from subway, bus and commuter rail fares, dedicated taxes, and bridge and tunnel tolls than it draws from direct government aid.
In a libertarian paradise (or near-paradise, in [...]

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First, some background:
–Alaska is the second most lopsided net federal tax beneficiary — for every $1.00 Alaskans send to the IRS, Alaska receives $1.89 in federal expenditures. See also my related posts here and here.
–Alaska is the only the state in the Union to have neither a state income tax nor a state sales tax.
–Only [...]

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