Sucker

Yeah, you're right, Mike, sez Joe, but aid formula stays

BY MICHAEL SAUL and MICHAEL McAULIFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

WASHINGTON - Mayor Bloomberg's buddy Sen. Joseph Lieberman agreed yesterday that risk is the top factor in beefing up homeland security - but still wouldn't fix a formula that stiffs New York City.

That was after Bloomberg testified before Lieberman's Homeland Security Committee in hopes of persuading the Connecticut independent to kill a formula that guarantees each state a minimum share of anti-terror funding.

"Time and time again, our calls for fully risk-based homeland security funding have been ignored," Bloomberg said. "Instead, we have seen huge sums of homeland security money spread across the country like peanut butter."

Lieberman agreed New York is full of targets, but still contended small states like his need to guard against terrorists and deserve their peanut butter. "Everybody and everything is at risk in America," he said.

By his definition, homeland security funding already is handed out mostly based on risk. But he said fighting over how the money is divided isn't the answer; instead, the government should give out more cash.

"It's unbelievable and outrageous that homeland security grant funding has been cut over 40% since 2004," Lieberman said. "If we begin to raise that back up . . . the city is going to get more money."

My ass hurts from laughing.

All that support you gave him, all that money you spent to reelect him?

This is your thanks, Mike.

Sucker