Politics and other nightmares

Mayor Henry is heading to Washington with other Indiana mayors to lobby (sorry, forgot that practice will be strictly forbidden by the president) plead for a piece of the stimulus pie. And all he wants is a measly $300 million out of all those hundreds of billions.

So, while Kentucky was hit with deadly ice storms and FEMA was slow to respond, President Obama was enertaining guests with steaks that cost $100 a pound, and where was the mainstream media that loved to hound President Bush over Katrina? Well, come on, we're waiting.

Here we go again with the stupid red-light cameras. At least in New York they're not going on and on with a lot of disingenuous drivel about "public safety":

Drivers beware: Big Brother could be watching you at every Big Apple intersection soon.

The mayor's preliminary budget released Friday proposes to amend state law to allow for traffic-light cameras at "unlimited locations" in the city and to raise the fine from $50 to $100.

If the mean old GOP was trying to intimidate the poor widdle Democrats into staying home on Election Day, it was a spectacular failure:

Even Richard Lugar falls under the spell of the Goracle:

Though some lawmakers tangled with Gore on his last visit to Capitol Hill, none did on the Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. Dick Lugar (Ind.), the ranking Republican, agreed that there will be "an almost existential impact" from the climate changes Gore described.

[. . .]

I really like my Pontiac Bonneville, but it's paid for, so maybe I should considering buying a Ford:

Ford Motor Co. today reported its worst full-year loss on record, but reiterated that it has enough cash and credit available to survive the year without resorting to government funding and said it is ending its controversial jobs bank program.

[. . .]

The economic downturn may have accelerated the Post Office's difficulties, but it hardly seems fair to make it the sole culprit:

 The U.S. Postal Service may be forced to eliminate a day of mail service because the economic downturn has led to plummeting volume and revenue, the postmaster general said Wednesday.

House Republicans discover their spines:

In contrast to the House, where Republicans complain that the $819 billion economic recovery package has been drafted without their input, the Senate is ramping up for a more open process. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed on Wednesday by a vote of 244 to 188, with no Republican support. Eight Democrats voted with 177 Republicans to oppose the bill.

Who'da thunk it? The IU Student Association is pushing for legislation that would produce an almost-conservative plan for getting folks to spend money and boost the economy:

The bill will provide a “sales tax holiday” at the beginning each school semester and will take the sales tax off school items such as supplies, textbooks, computers and clothing for three full days.

It's way too late to even wish for this, but "doing nothing" is a lot better than being stupid:

Instead of fighting over what should go in the economic stimulus bill, pitting infrastructure spending against tax cuts and contractors against contraceptives, they say lawmakers should be fighting against the very idea of any economic stimulus at all. Call them the Do-Nothing Crowd.