BECAUSE SOME OF US ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

With energy rationing on the horizon if Cap and Tax passes, the economy still in a death spiral and The One and his minions continuing to lecture us on our need to make sacrifices, this is the horrible burden that our representatives and senators have to bear, from the WSJ:

The spending on overseas travel is up almost tenfold since 1995, and has nearly tripled since 2001, according to the Journal analysis of 60,000 travel records. Hundreds of lawmakers traveled overseas in 2008 at a cost of about $13 million. That's a 50% jump since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago.

The cost of so-called congressional delegations, known among lawmakers as "codels," has risen nearly 70% since 2005, when an influence-peddling scandal led to a ban on travel funded by lobbyists, according to the data. ...

Although complete travel records aren't yet available for 2009, it appears that such costs continue to rise. The Journal analysis shows that the government has picked up the tab for travel to destinations such as Jamaica, the Virgin Islands and Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

but its ok, don't get mad. They are just doing their job:

Lawmakers say that the trips are a good use of government funds because they allow members of Congress and their staff members to learn more about the world, inspect U.S. assets abroad and forge better working relationships with each other.

Hey wait a minute! I think I should learn more about the world too! Can I spend blazillions on fuel and jet to paradise whenever I feel like it on the taxpayer dime? It would make me a better Citizen of the World, and since that is primarily what we are supposed to be now (U.S. Citizen is so.....redneck!), I think that it is a good way to become a more highly evolved human being.

You know, sorta like Nancy Pelosi.

Matter of fact, I think it's my right! You owe me that as a human being!