New Boss, Old Boss, Same Old Routine..

With the nation in the worst recession in a generation, hundreds of thousands of people out of work, and the Government claiming it needs to spend nearly a Trillion Tax dollars we don't have to get it going again, Congress is holding 'working retreats' and fundraisers at plush resorts and giving themselves raises.

Last month, when 600,000 Americans lost their jobs, the House and Senate allowed themselves a $4,700 cost-of-living raise, bringing their annual salaries to $174,000.

But we won't do it next year. Promise.

as the stimulus bill inched forward, Democrats held a two-day issues conference at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Va., a property owned by brewer Anheuser Bush-Inbev NV and whose spa is known for its hops and chamomile massage.

But we were working. Honest.

members of the House of Representatives took a break earlier this month from bashing the Democrats' $800 billion stimulus bill and journeyed here to the Homestead Resort, an 18th-century mountain spa, where the diversions include golf, skiing, skeet shooting and falconry.

But the taxpayers didn't pay for it, only lobbyists. Really.

Next up for Congress this month, once the stimulus debate is done: an overhaul of financial services regulation; help for homeowners -- and two Senate fund raisers in Florida. Senate Democrats will host their biggest campaign contributors at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, with a Greg Norman-designed golf course and 51,000 square-foot spa. Republicans chose The Breakers in Palm Beach, a Renaissance-style landmark on 140 oceanfront acres, where the lowest-price room this time of year lists at $600, when available.

The "Change" is all going into their pockets.