It seems that many of our congresscritters took advantage of the public outcry for a quick passage to pack a bunch of pork into the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. It seems ridiculous, but members of Congress took advantage of a bill meant to save the economy to fund questionable programs in their home states. While many contend that the pork was needed to get enough votes for the bill to pass, you'd think the threat of martial law would have given senators enough reason to pass the bill without the added fat.

Taxpayers for Common Sense compiled a list of the Top 10 pieces of pork stuck into the bailout bill, the most ludicrous listed below.

1. Tax break for manufacturers of wooden arrows used by children -- Cost $2 million
2. 7 year tax extension for Race car Tracks -- Cost $100 million
3. Tax incentives for film and TV production companies -- Cost $478 million

These are just a few of the crazier examples of pork attached to the bailout bill, the rest of the list encompassing billions of dollars in expenditures is sure to turn your stomach.

Not all pork has to be bad, there are many other extras added into the bailout bill which in my opinion fall under the bacon category, as in pork that tastes good!

The good folks behind the other white meat want to make sure that you know exactly how to prepare a pork chop for any occasion. So they've thoughtfully compiled a free booklet called, "Pork Chops Pocket Guide to Pork" to help you out. this handy guide will help you please and feed a hungry family, with several selections to whet any appetite, in addition to giving some great primers for cooking pork.

Even those of us who spend a good deal of time in the kitchen should be able to pick up a new method of preparing pork in this free booklet. I already checked out the numerous cooking methods for prepping a porky delight and I can't wait to try braising a pork chop rather than grilling them which is my go to method!

Unlike most freebies you don't need to wait around to enjoy your spoils, in this case you don't even have to hand over an email address (if you are fine with a PDF), something many of you will enjoy! If you prefer a hard copy, just fill out the form and the Pork Board will ship you off an excellent guide to cooking pork chops for the low low price of free!

If you haven't heard,the National Pig Association in England has been taking some rather drastic measures to call attention to the plight of the pork industry. Because feed prices have doubled in the last year, farmers in England are losing more than £20 on every pig that they raise. For whatever reason, pig farmers in England say that they are in no position to raise their prices and want the increased prices on pork and bacon products in supermarkets to go back to farmers.

So what did the pig farmers do, to gain attention to their cause? Well, apparently pig farmers have a good sense of humor -- they're natural hams -- because 30 pig farmers recorded a song called "Stand By Your Ham," a reworking of the famous 1968 classic, "Stand By Your Man," sung by Tammy Wynette. The lyrics -- well, here's a sampling:

Stand by your ham.
Sau-sa-ges, pork and bacon
Keep givin' all the help you can
Stand by your ham.

You can listen to the entire song at PigsAreWorthIt.com

You can't blame these pig farmers for protesting like this. After all, times are tough, and their families count on them to bring home the bacon. (Sorry, I've tried to be good about this story's pig pun possibilities) And clearly they feel that people who run the supermarket industry are swines, and so naturally, if you're a pig farmer with some singing talent, why not record a song? It's a clever ploy -- and definitely not boar-ing. Sure, the grocers may say that the pig farmer's complaints are hogwash, and supermarket employees have families to feed too, and that they'll share these profits when pigs fly. But it's not like these pig farmers are trying to be media hogs...

(Somebody please stop me.)

Geoff Williams is a business journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale). And Williams says his favorite play is Hamlet.