Politics and other nightmares

Well, we can certainly dream:

Vice President Joe Biden said today that if Democrats were to lose 35 House seats they currently hold in traditionally Republican districts, it would mean doomsday for President Obama's agenda.

Are we going to be saying a final goodbye to Gary in the near future?

Drat. I got so busy with chores yesterday that I missed all the Sunday news shows. And I understand that our reclusive president made a rare appearance on some of them, explaining his health care reform plans. I do wish he'd speak more often so I could come to understand reform from his point of view. As it is, I have to rely on the few crumbs of information made available by rightwing Obama haters, and I guess you know how they twist things. If you listened only to them, you'd think reform was nothing but a grotesquely expensive expansion of big government.

A Hoosier lawmaker does us proud by getting on a Top 15 list!

U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, has been named one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress by an ethics watchdog group.

It's the first time Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington lists Visclosky in its annual report.

As Gomer Pyle would say, suh-prahze, suh-prahze, suh-prahze! Reuters is reporting that Washington, D.C., has become the favorite area for wealthy young adults, with the nation's highest percentage of 25-34-year-olds making more than $100,000 a year. Why would that be? Reuters offers this:

A letter to the editor in The Richmond Palladium-Item has the non sequitur of the day:

Finally the people in Richmond are saying, "We've had enough and we're not taking it anymore.'' Telling parents how to dress their children must be the straw that broke the camel's back. Congratulations, parents. Let's not lose any more of our rights.

Well, here's a shock:

If U.S. health reform efforts lead to higher costs for employers, employees may end up bearing the brunt, according to a new survey.

Employers will not absorb higher costs, choosing instead either to reduce benefits, lower salaries or cut jobs, the survey from professional services firm Towers Perrin said on Thursday.

The one thing government can't mandate is a divorce from reality.

I don't know whose chickens are coming home to roost, but he doesn't live in Evansville:

Lafayette's urban chicken debate ended Monday night when a city council committee agreed to leave unchanged an ordinance that bans keeping the birds inside the city.

The meeting pitted those who advocated keeping chickens as pets and laying hens against those who argued that the animals smell bad, devalue neighborhood properties and present health hazards.

Sometimes, I am asked, "Well, OK, what kind of government spending do you like?" Here's a $250,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities that I don't mind:

Today's riddle: What's the difference between a member of the WWE and a member of the U.S. Senate? Answer: One is an outrageous fake who creates make-believe conflict for the entertainment of the masses, the most gullible of whom believe it is all real, and the other is just a wrestler. (With apologies to whoever came up with the catfish-lawyer joke.)