Politics and other nightmares

This bother anyone else, or am I just being a knee-jerk libertarian extremist?

Never mind that the Canada-to-Gulf Coast pipeline might create jobs for more than 100 Indiana companies. Never mind that it would reduce dependence of oil from the Mideast and lessen the need for tankers that could go aground. Never mind all the impact poltically and economicall from 700,000 barrels of oil a day that would be carried the 1,700 miles. There could be a leak, which would be an "ecological disaster!"

And so it begins:

New street lights that include “Homeland Security” applications including speaker systems, motion sensors and video surveillance are now being rolled out with the aid of government funding.

President Obama has a Dan Quayle moment during his fundraising speech in Las Vegas:

It's baaaaack!

INDIANAPOLIS — A controversial “right to work” measure now appears set to dominate much of the Indiana General Assembly's 2012 legislative session.

Encouraging news, 2nd Amendment fans:

A record-low 26% of Americans favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns in the United States other than by police and other authorized people. When Gallup first asked Americans this question in 1959, 60% favored banning handguns. But since 1975, the majority of Americans have opposed such a measure, with opposition around 70% in recent years.

Jimmy Carter, 1979:

The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.

Barack Obama, 2011

We have lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge.

Orwellian? Oh, at least:

A proposed revision to Freedom of Information Act rules would allow federal agencies to lie to citizens and reporters seeking certain records, telling them the records don't exist.

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan has its flaws, but until recently it had the virtue of being the only plan that started with blowing up the current tax code instead of tinkering with it. Now, though, things are starting to liven up as other GOP candidates start to realize the need for radical structural reeform.

Rick Perry:

When someone seeks office as a third-party candidate, there is always the chance he's just doing it for a hoot and isn't really delusional about his chances of winning. But what do you say about a college newspaper that seems to take his candidacy seriously?

On Saturday, reality television star, Rupert Boneham, formally announced that he will be vying for the Libertarian Party's nomination in the upcoming election for Indiana governor.