Politics and other nightmares

Who'd have thought we'd see such a romantic, sentimental streak from New York City?

Mayor Bloomberg has a special Valentine's Day gift for New Yorkers - new NYC-branded condoms. And they're free.

President Obama said the usual about his stimulus plan at last night's press conference:

And that is why the single most important part of this economic recovery and reinvestment plan is the fact that it will save or create up to 4 million jobs, because that's what America needs most right now.

Let's hear it for Richard Lugar. He voted for the auto rescue package and the health insurance program for children and the financial bailout for banks. But he finally found his "no" button, apparently understanding the stimulus bill for what it really is:

The stimulus bill considered by the Senate is a sprawling affair, with massive spending for a wide variety of projects, some of which are completely unrelated to the immediate economic challenges before us," Lugar said in a statement.

Persident Obama in Elkhart:

“I can't tell you with a hundred percent certainty that every single item in this plan will work exactly as we hoped,” he said. “But what I can tell you is — I can say with complete confidence that endless delay or paralysis in Washington in the face of this crisis will only bring deepening disaster. I can tell you that doing nothing is not an option.”

If you suddenly find yourself in charge of a vast bureaucracy that, unfortunately, governs a shrinking base of supplicants, what are you to do? Well, if you're Tom Vilsack, you redefine your mission:

"This is a department that intersects the lives of Americans two to three times a day. Every single American," he said. "So I absolutely see the constituency of this department as broader than those who produce our food -- it extends to those who consume it."

New York Gov. David Paterson proposes a new theater ticket tax that would increase ticket prices about 8 percent, which causes New York Times editors to worry that such a move "could dim Broadway's lights as tourists start thinking twice about that vacation in Manhattan":

Rocco Landesman, the president of Jujamcyn Theaters, summarizes his latest pleas to lawmakers this way: “Please, don't kill your golden goose.”

[. . .]

Gee, do you think?

The Obama administration's economic stimulus plan could end up wasting billions of dollars by attempting to spend money faster than an overburdened government acquisition system can manage and oversee it, according to documents and interviews with contracting specialists.

But that's perfectly OK, says Michael Hirsh of Newsweek:

If you aspire to have absolute power, forget about the presidency. That office is constrained by Congress, by the Supreme Court, by the Constitution and even by something as nebulous as public opinion. No, if you want real, raw power, just be a judge:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - A judge has ordered the St. Joseph County Council to approve $79,000 in pay raises for his eight employees despite a projected $4.3 million county government deficit.

If you've been the victim of a violent crime, this isn't exactly the kind of mistake you want to happen:

More than 3,600 crime victims across Indiana mistakenly received messages Thursday telling them that the person who committed the crime against them would be released from the Department of Correction.

Government to top business executives: Want some bailout money? Got some rules.

The Obama administration's announcement yesterday that it would toughen executive compensation restrictions at some firms receiving federal aid signaled a broader strategy to remake how Wall Street's top financiers are paid, officials said.