Politics and other nightmares

One estimate says the Illinois smoking ban has cost the state $800 million in casino-tax revenues. So the sanctimonious numbskulls who keep going on and on about how they're doing everything for our good health are prposing a change:

Wow. Some common sense from the Washington Post, in an editorial about a proposal in the U.S. House to re-establish a voucher program for D.C. schools, a proposal strongly opposed by the Obama administration:

The economy can never get so bad that it hurts the consulting business; there are just too many government units willing to hand over taxpayer money to these "experts":

Fort Wayne Community Schools' board Monday night approved a three-year $355,000 contract with a company to help the district communicate more effectively with its students, teachers, staff, parents and the public through surveys.

Not exactly a big shock:

From the states that he won in 2008, Democratic operatives believe that President Obama will have the most difficulty carrying Indiana again when he runs for reelection, according to a special National Journal Political Insiders Poll released on Tuesday.

[. . .]

Yep:

Haley Barbour said Monday he is willing to compromise when it comes to setting the final budget of his eight-year tenure as governor.

[. . .]

"But I cannot agree to where the House is. I said this to somebody the other day, 'No budget is better than a bad budget.'"

Europe seems about to go off the deep end, but people will have to walk those last few miles to take the plunge:

The Associated Press fact checks President Obama's speech on Libya and is surprisingly skeptical. This is especially interesting because it gets to the heart of the difference between Obama the candidate and Obama the chief executive:

Not sure if I agree with this or not:

After a 36-day stay in Illinois, Indiana House Democrats came back tonight.  And while they're touting certain compromises the GOP made as proof that their standoff was successful, it's not so clear they won much more than would have been achieved if they had never left the state.

One small point about nuclear energy:

Okay, I hate to take issue with my own peeps at National Review and elsewhere, but the latest issue of the magazine perpetuates a basic confusion about energy. The second item of “The Week” in the April 4 issue, discussing the hysteria about Japan's nuclear situation, has everything right until the last sentence, which reads: “The United States should continue to pursue nuclear power as an alternative to Qaddafi oil.”

So now President Obama shows us what happens when we choose someone with theoretical knowledge but no real experience. He must rely on formulas that lead to the easy and most obvious answers, failing to take into account the probability of unintended consequences and unexpected deviations from the pattern.