Our trusty Congressional mouthpiece, Rep. Mike Thompson, is speaking out on behalf of us backwater yokels, a-scrappin' and a-hustlin' for some of that $800 kazillion-berzillion (or whatever) stimulus package. In a letter sent last week to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, Thompson, along with 32 other Congressmembers, argued for the importance of rural infrastructure projects, like highways and bridges (to, presumably, somewhere).

Just today, he singled out the Army Corps of Engineers for special attention. "The Army Corps of Engineers oversees many crucial projects," Congressman Thompson said in D.C., according to a news release. Said release claims that the Corps is under-funded by some $2.2 billion this year alone, and that by kicking down that cash, the government would almost instantly create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country.

Having apparently learned a few tricks from the departing administration, Thompson even threw in some scare tactics: "[We] need to recognize the cost should we fail to invest in the levies and flood control projects the Corps helps to build," he forewarned. "For example, if the levies in the Sacramento Delta were to break, entire towns would be underwater and 63 percent of Californians would be without drinking water."

Not here, though, right?