On the one hand, the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) Pig Book is a useful service providing a full accounting of earmarks adopted by Congress and stuck in the FY 2008 budget. Among the leading fun facts, the FY2008 budget includes :

• 11,610 earmark projects worth $17.2 billion
• 337% increase over the 2,658 projects in fiscal year 2007
• 30% increase over the $13.2 billion in fiscal year 2007

On the other hand it equates earmark spending with pork and that tars earmarks projects with too broad a brush. A close analysis -- and guess, what, we happen to have one right here! -- reveals a subtler story. But don't judge the CAGW 2008 Pig Book by its cover...