February 3rd Ramblings

• So, I'm driving my usual 65 during this morning's commute when a yellow-plated state-owned car zips past doing at least 75. The interesting part is that the car was sporting a bumper sticker that said "Drive Smart. Save Fuel." This is worth a letter to the News & Observer.
• On the topic of wasteful spending habits: much has been said about wasteful portions of the economic stimulus package. While I agree that, in appearance, $250mm to Hollywood is wasteful I'd like to see the details before making my decision. Was the film to be purchased from California film makers? If so, doesn't that stimulate the California economy? What about the expenditures on hybrid automobiles for government agencies? Is that wasteful? If the government buys Ford Escape Hybrids or GM Hybrids won't that benefit the U.S. auto industry? And why exactly is fixing up the NIH headquarters wasteful? Is the headquarters in need of repair? If so why not do it? Won't such work benefit contractors (such as Joe the Plumber) and suppliers? I guess my point is that is appears that folks are more worried about form over substance. Sure, it looks bad to be giving $250mm to Hollywood but is it bad in substance? Of course the Dems get low marks for not realizing that some of these "projects" were just begging for GOP criticism.

"BGREENR"

As usual, I was hanging out in the right lane (going 65) during this morning's commute and a small car sporting a vanity plate passed at, maybe, 70 or 75 mph. I enjoy trying to figure out the sometimes cryptic messages on vanity plates and it didn't take long to figure this one out. The driver apparently wants everyone (but him or herself) to BE GREENER. Well this is great but wouldn't this person have been greener if he/she had been driving the speed limit?

Granted, the car was small and was probably getting pretty decent mileage but that's not the point. Another lesson people apparently aren't getting is that even though oil and gas prices have dropped significantly and it costs less to drive than it did this summer and fall is that IF YOU DRIVE SLOWER YOU'LL SAVE EVEN MORE MONEY.

Are we as a country doomed to have to learn and relearn the same lesson over and over again?

McCain is Against the Stimulus

Isn't he the guy who, in October (or maybe September) proclaimed that the fundamentals of our economy were strong? Not exactly the guy the GOP should want as a spokesperson for their party's response to the draft legislation.

The new RNC leader (director) has said that bipartisanship is overrated. Huh? I think what we have here is a failure to communicate.

Not One Republican Vote in Favor of the Stimulus?

As I said yesterday, I'm not pleased with how the House Democratic leadership handled this legislation. That said, I did hear yesterday on NPR that Repulicans were not shut out of the drafting process. Rather, they decided to shut themselves out. Not sure if that's true but if it is then shame on them.

Given the size of this package does it really matter whether the split is 30% tax relief and 70% government spending or 40% tax relief and 60% government spending? I mean, 30% of $800 billion is a load of cash. John Boehner's comments about repairs of the Mall (part of that 70%) don't make sense to me. First, if the Mall needs sprucing up let's do it. If we spend several million on sod some American sod company (like Southern Turf) will get this contract and hire lots of guys to grow, transport and lay the sod. The same holds true for bridges, roads and other infrastructure. If public works projects, like bridge repair, are needed (just ask the folks who live in Minneapolis) then why shouldn't money be spent on them. I mean, we're not planning to build bridges to no where, are we?

Also, if the stimulus package includes upgrades for our power grid and paves the way for delivering alternative energy why shouldn't we do this? The economy needs the shove and the projects appear to be good, in the long-run for the country.

The GOP (and the Democratic leadership) need to stop acting like petulant children and get on with the business of governing.

DOES CONGRESS JUST NOT GET IT?

Just because I voted (mostly) for Democrats this past election doesn't mean that I reserve my anger for members of the GOP. These days the President appears to be somewhat like a kindergarten teacher; Speaker Pelosi, relishing Democratic control of the executive and legislative branches of government, has decided to not involve GOP members of the House in drafting the House version of the stimulus plan. John Boehner, upset at this, told House Republicans that they are not to vote for the stimulus plan and said this even before the President made his way to Capital Hill yesterday. Mitch McConnell (who barely won reelection) seems a little less indignant but . . . .

Of course I remember when the roles were reversed and Republican Senators (and Mr. Bush) smugly demanded an "up or down" vote on judicial nominees and I'm sure Democratic members of both the House and the Senate remember those days as well. So, I'll bet that we're seeing a little pay back here. Now, while the GOP should take their medicine the damn Democrats need to understand that in November Americans voted for change. We seem to be getting this from the President but we also need it from members of Congress. There is simply too much at stake for these turf battles to continue.

Is Hamas Stupid or Just Very Clever?

When Israel was in its infancy the Arab nations were stunned when the Israelis actually fought back. For thousands of years the Jews, having no means to fight back, were victims and this situation was taken advantage of by all types of tyrants. However, Jewish resistance grew out of the Holocaust and matured during the Israeli fight for independence. Always willing to learn the hard way, Arabs ignored these signals and when they attacked, first small outposts and then the new country itself, their noses were bloodied and territory was lost.

So, when Hamas decides to not renew the truce (if you can call it that) with Israel and then begins firing Kassam rockets at southern Israel didn't they realize what was going to happen? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps Hamas is so clueless that it just didn't enter into their heads that Israel would hit back, and hard. Or, perhaps Hamas was baiting the Israelis. Hamas's power is derived from its militancy; with no war to fight they have no purpose. In this way they are similar to the Irish Republican Army (and, perhaps its Protestant equivalent) since all the IRA knew was how to fight (until Sinn Fein came to life). Yesterday evening, during an interview on NPR, the spokesman for the leader of Hamas blamed "Israeli collaborators" for launching the rockets under the theory that Israel was just looking for a reason to hammer Gaza and so arranged for a few pro-Israeli Palestinians to take on this task. In a round about way this is a tacit admission that maybe, just maybe, Hamas screwed this up.

As hard as this is to suggest, maybe the Israelis should have just ignored the Kassam rockets and just laughed at the Hamas leadership. Or maybe, they could just throw a bunch of shoes across the border.

As someone once said about the Palestinians, "they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."

Women as Explained by Engineers