Rep. Mike Pence, who has stayed about as true to conservative principles as anyone in washington, is dropping by later today. Maybe I'll ask him about this:
Republicans are preparing to pounce on any wasteful spending in the $787 billion stimulus package as they refocus their criticisms of a measure whose success could hurt their 2010 election prospects.
[. . .]
How do you survive as a not-quite conservative in a conservative state? You try to have it both ways so that you get headlines written about you that say, "Bayh cautiously praises stimulus bill":
"This is not perfect," he said. "I wanted more tax cuts and less spending.
What do you know? Me, too!
. . .he is a little uneasy at the price tag funded by borrowed dollars.
"In the long run, these deficits are damaging ... and they bother me," said Bayh.
Ouch. How would you like to be responsible for what has been called "one of the worst construction jobs in local history"? The 80-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Hotel at West Jefferson and I-69 was built on improperly prepared soil, so now it's only partly finished finished and sinking and tilting and ctracking. The situation creates a tough choice:
When you hear some politician stand up and say that the $787 billion stimulus bill will "create or save 75,000 jobs in Indiana," are you at least a little bit skeptical? You should be. My ex-editorial page colleague Bob Caylor did a little math and came up with something very curious about estimates of the bill's effects:
The estimates show a curious uniformity, given the widely varying unemployment rates and economic conditions among states and regions within states.
Let the revolution begin!
With congressional committees ostentatiously flaying companies that accept bailouts then take lavish trips, "junkets" suddenly have a very bad name. Business representatives are now deathly afraid that someone, somewhere might think they occasionally have a good time. This is bad news for places like Las Vegas and Hawaii, but, apparently, very good news for Indianapolis:
So, the state allowed its two race tracks to add 2,000 slot machines each, essentially making them casinos as well as tracks, because the owners said they needed the revenue to keep the tracks and horse racing viable in the state. In return, they were supposed to pay $250 million each over two years and pay a graduated tax on revenue from the slots. But now they're in trouble, so let's change the rules:
Well, Happy President's Day to you, too, for whatever that's worth.
Since trillion is apparently the new billion, I suppose we're going to have to learn how to grasp that scary number. This is an interesting use of time some people point to to make the comparison:
A million seconds is 12 days.
A billion seconds is 31 years.
A trillion seconds is 31,688 years.
Speaking of food, enjoy that hamburger while you can. If you don't become a vegetarian, you will likely be arrested and charred with Depraved Indifference to the Fate of the Planet:
When it comes to global warming, hamburgers are the Hummers of food, scientists say.
