Politics and other nightmares

I don't know if this writer doesn't understand the difference between part-time and full-time legislatures, but the article ignores the distinction:

Happy 50th anniversary to the Interstate Highway system. I'm probably a little less enthusiastic about it than this guy, a little sadder about some of the small-town flavor of the country that it helped kill off. But there's no question about the ways in which it reshaped this country, and it was Big Government that did it.

Those lousy, unreliable Democrats. You put them in office to further your agenda, and it turns out they are as, um, diverse in their opinions as other Americans:

Last week's election results may be more of a mixed bag for gay rights supporters than many originally thought.

At least 13 of 50 newly elected House and Senate Democrats oppose same-sex marriage, with two of those backing constitutional amendments to ban such unions.

I think people who keep saying Gov. Daniels is too unpopular to earn a second term should remember that two years is a long time in politics. I likewise thing this sentiment is overly optimistic and suffers from the same shortsightedness:

I'm not sure what to make of this, except maybe, "Yahoo, the Democrats are in, so we'll get more money."

Just one month ago, the superintendent for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore said funding for the Dunes looked grim and that challenges for the National Park Service were growing increasingly difficult.

Dale Engquist now feels better about the future of the park, given the new makeup of Congress.

Here's one way the government can cut back a little. Stop wasting money on things Americans clearly don't want to use:

Can George Washington and Thomas Jefferson succeed where Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea failed? The U.S. Mint is hoping America's presidents will win acceptance, finally, for the maligned dollar coin.

The public will get the chance to decide starting in February when the first of the new coins, bearing the image of the first president, is introduced.

Charles Rangel's proposal to reinstitute the draft -- just like all his similar proposals in the past -- shouldn't be taken as a serious plan. It's just not going to happen. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be discussed. A debate over the draft can tell us a lot about the war in Iraq, the war on terror and what we think about the relationship of the government and citizens.

Smart politics doesn't necessarily mean good government. Gov. Daniels' health initiative is clever politics because it puts pressure on the new Democratic majority in the House right from Day 1. It's a tax increase and big new social spending -- help for the uninsured -- both of which could come straight from the Democratic agenda. About the only response they can have is that this doesn't go far enough to solve the problem.

Mr. Hoosier goes to Washington:

Baron Hill, the 9th District Democrat who reclaimed the House seat he lost two years to GOP Rep. Mike Sodrel, is discovering how much nicer it is to be a member of the party in power.

Hill said he went to a meeting at a law firm Monday where about 50 people turned out to talk with him. When he visited the same firm as a member of the minority party during his first stint as a congressman, about six people showed up, Hill said.

Take a lesson from your peers, Fort Wayne politicians:

The Columbia City Common Council unanimously turned down a raise for itself Tuesday night but granted a 3 percent raise to other elected officials.