Politics and other nightmares

Thanks to the Reporter-Times of Martinsville for putting the sales-tax increase in terms I can relate to:

Starting Tuesday, that cranberry scone and tall latte at Starbucks is going to cost you five cents more.

Drat. Al Gore has seen through our global-warming denial:

"I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view. They're almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the earth is flat. That demeans them a little bit, but it's not that far off," Gore said.

Want to to know why earmarks will never end? Because when people in a district don't get them, "pork" suddenly becomes "needed projects," and people like Sylvia Smith are there to cheer on their griping:

Like many people, I am ambivalent about earmarks.

Politicians get so used to taxing everything that they think people will up with a tax on anything. But if what you're buying is an indefensible luxury in the first place, people aren't likely to keep indulging as their discretionary income gets eaten away:

Are Chicagoans trekking to the suburbs to buy cases of bottled water -- and avoid a new nickel-a-container tax that adds $1.20 to the price of a 24-pack? Or are they making the switch to tap water to save money?

Here's a Hillary Clinton speech on "Solutions for the American Economy" from January. I assume what she will say in Fort Wayne won't be substantially different. Here she explains the genesis of her "bold" approach:

As I've said before, I can't see it, but I'd like to see it:

Someone like Condi Rice doesn't go to Grover Norquist's den to talk about the Annapolis Middle East peace process. She's going to secure her future in Republican politics and to position herself as a 'potential' VP candidate on the McCain ticket.

Strange encounter at Butler University:

Evan Strange, a Butler University student who works on the school's newspaper, The Butler Collegian, said he had asked Chelsea Clinton her opinion ''on the criticism of her mother that how she handled the Lewinsky scandal might be a sign of weakness and she might not be a strong enough candidate to be president.''

Why has it taken so long to reach this common-sense realization?

Pielke's analysis, published last month in the journal Natural Hazards Review, is part of a controversial movement that argues global warming over the rest of this century will play a much smaller role in unleashing planetary havoc than most scientists think.

His research has led him to believe that it is cheaper and more effective to adapt to global warming than to fight it.

Apparently, "supporting the troops" is not as widespread a phenomenon across the political spectrum as we might have thought:

A national tour featuring decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan won't be stopping at Forest Lake Area High School today as planned, after school leaders abruptly canceled the visit.

While we were all talking about property taxes and gay marriage and illegal immigration, the Legislature snuck in a new bill (it escaped my attention, anyway) requring sellers of adult materials to register with the state. The exact effect of the law is being debated. Crtitics say it is too broad and covers anyone that has even one book about sex on the shelves, even if it deals with sex education.