Alexander Bolton reports in The Hill on the tremendous number of earmarks appearing in the omnibus bill that passed the House last night, many added to help vulnerable Democrats in their upcoming reelection battles next fall.  Many of these pork barrel additions were placed in the bill at the last minute so they couldn't be challenged and debated on the floor of the house.  Worse yet, this 3,565 page bill wasn't made public until Sunday night, meaning that Congressional members and their constituents had only hours to sift through thousands of pet projects.

In the Chicago Tribune, Gabrielle Russon reports that Congress isn't just gridlocked, but is completely paralyzed.  Pointing to a fragile and often fractured majority facing a unified minority, Democratic leadership has been completely ineffective at moving bills through the House. 

"It's paralysis on a historic level, paralysis we haven't seen since the years before the Civil War," said David King, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.