Sunday musings

Just wondering. Why is it that most blogs and bloggers seem to take the weekend off?

Is most blogging done on company time? At company expense?

What do the companies think of that? Do they know it's going on?

Isn't there time on weekends to blog and read other blogs?

And so it goes.

It's the Whigs' fault

You know, I suspected this.

Sen. Tom DeLay, R-Indicted, recent former majority leader, knows who to blame for the deficit, the economy's problems, unchecked congressional spending and even perhaps 9/11. Oh, yeah, and the bird flu and hurricanes. It's the Democrats.

But you all knew that, didn't you?

This article in the San Jose Mercury News (via Knight Ridder) explains it all.

Republicans may control Congress and the White House, but a leading House Republican says they can't be blamed for runaway federal spending on their watch.

Blame it on the war, said Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. Or the Democrats.

"The 9-11 recovery, the war on terror, our homeland security buildup and related priorities have required Congress to spend more than we otherwise would have," the former majority leader of the House of Representatives told an audience Thursday at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

"These things needed doing, and they needed doing quickly. Yes, they were expensive, but they were necessary and time-sensitive, and, given the circumstances, we were right to err on the side of security over thrift."

He also blamed Democrats, complaining that they haven't offered any suggestions on how to cut spending. He said they created a congressional budget process that makes it difficult to cut spending.

"We've been operating off a Congress designed by Democrats," he said.

Just exactly how long can the GOP go on blaming someone else for its failures? It's beginning to sound like the little kid who blames space aliens for breaking the lamp. It's not MY fault. It's those nasty space aliens, uh, Democrats. It's always someone else.

Problem is, the Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, 10 years ago. They've controlled the White House for 5 years.

How long, Tom, how long?

Even conservatives (at least some) are beginning to wonder. From the same article:

J. William Lauderback, the executive vice president of the American Conservative Union, challenged DeLay's version of congressional spending history. He told DeLay that he ignored the fact that only one-third of the rise in federal spending under Republicans stemmed from security.

Will the GOP ever begin to take responsibility for their failures?

My guess is no.

And so it goes.

Unsafe at any speed

Some people want to blame the buses

Others want to blame the pedestrians.

Still others say speed is to blame.

And finally, some say too many turns are the problem.

They're all right. And they're all wrong.

The fact is, in an area like the UI campus and Campustown, with 40,000 students and another 10,000 to 15,000 support-type folks (not to mention merchants and assorted employees, along with a few of us brave townies) in a very confined and compact area, there is going to be pedestrian-vehicle interaction. These interactions occasionally will result in death. Sorry, it's a fact.

We can legislate and tinker endlessly; we can wring our hands, seek innovative solutions, try new tactics, try OLD tactics, try anything, and we still will have pedestrian-vehicle interactions.

It's been going on since there were students and vehicles. I daresay more than one student was trampled by a horse and buggy a century ago.

Which is why after a day of contemplation and pondering, I came to the conclusion that the Champaign City Council did something right. Feel free to read that sentence again, if you don't believe it's in this blog.

The council did not give in to quick fix solutions and lower the speed limit from 25 to 20 in Campustown. Instead, the council voted 9-0 (9-0!) against such a move. They saw what every rational person already knew. A pedestrian hit by a bus going 20 mps will be just as dead as one hit at 25 mph.

The only thing the cut in speed limit will do is increase the number of un-ticked traffic lawbreakers. Almost no one's gonna really cut their speed 5 mph in Campustown. Would you? Get real. And for the few who do ... they're gonna be paying more attention to the angry drivers behind them standing on their horns than to the pedestrians.

The second part of the equation is that the speed limit in Campustown and throughout C-U is largely unenforced as it is. Is it logical to think that the same police who ignore most traffic offenses are suddenly gonna become ultra vigilant in Campustown? Even if they do, catching one in 20 or one in 40 means 19 or 39 drivers are still speeding.

Won't happen.

So, what's the solution?

Answer: There is none.

You put that many pedestrians and vehicles in that confined a space and accidents will occur. Simple. If you reduce the number of buses, you increase the number of cars tenfold or twentyfold. If you reduce the number of cars, you increase the number of hard-to-maneuver slow-to-stop buses getting students and others from place to place quickly.

The only real 'solution' would be to ban vehicles from campus and Campustown. Won't work. Businesses will close, students will have no way to get from one end of campus to another in a timely fashion and the university will be irreparably damaged.

The only thing anyone can do is education: convince pedestrians that they might stay alive longer if they follow the laws. Convince drivers that pedestrians make lousy hood ornaments and are largely oblivious, inattentive and must be looked out for constantly. You know, like small children.

And then: Pray.

And so it goes.

Damn right

I tried for an hour to write something both witty and at the same time outraged at Senate Majority Leader Republican Bill Frist's little hissy-fit over the Democrats' move to call for a closed session to investigate the administration's lies heading us into the Iraq debacle.
But I couldn't come up with anything nearly as good as Damn Liberals' take. Here's an excerpt:

For all the liberals and progressive Democrats out there, as well as any American interested in why all the intelligence used to rail road this county into war turned out to be crapola, allow me to say just one thing to Mr. Frist:

Shut your fucking pie hole.

Just shut it. Your party used Rule 21 in the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Your party, under your leadership, routinely keeps five minute votes open for 45, 60, 90 minutes against Senate and House rules to twist arms until they get the vote they want. Your party's president has continually recommended judicial nominees without so much as even consulting with Democrats in a complete break from past practice, historical norms, and general respect. Your party's leadership is in the running to challenge Nixon's for the most indictments in this country's history!

I urge everyone to go to Damn Liberals and read the whole post.

I couldn't state it better myself. I know; I tried. (Well, I might have softened the profanity a bit.)

And so it goes.

Big surprise

I was shocked, shocked, I tell you.

In a move that surprised exactly no one, ex-state legislator Judy Myers of Danville announced her candidacy for the 52nd Senate District. Who would have imagined?

It's been area politics' worst-kept secret for a couple of weeks, so the formal announcement, made in separate dog-and-pony shows in Danville and Champaign, caught no one by surprise.

Nor did any of the other 'news' accompanying the announcement. News like statements from former state Rep. Tom Berns and political hack and Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden will not be running for the position. Seems like the area Republicans want a unified candidacy in order to keep the seat in GOP hands. (Or they fear their already confused, disunified party structure can't afford anything like an actual open race.)

Why they think a legitimate primary race would hurt I can't imagine. A spirited race gets lots of names out into the public consciousness. Name recognition counts for more than a few votes in a race like this.

Or are they so afraid of Democratic challenger Champaign County Auditor Michael Frerichs of Gifford that they can't afford anything but lockstep unity? (Insert smiley emoticon here.)

Meanwhile, certain factions within the area GOP ranks are insisting that Myers will be a slam-dunk winner over Frerichs. I don't know how they figure this.

When Myers took over for state Sen Harry 'Babe' Woodard, she represented Vermilion, Douglas, Clark, Coles, Edgar and Iroquois counties. When her district was redistricted to include parts of Champaign County, she was defeated in the 2002 primary by Rick Winkel.

Her new district would include the eastern half of Champaign County and all but the top portion of Vermilion County. The territory covers the communities of Allerton, Alvin, Belgium, Bismarck, Broadlands, Catlin, Champaign, Danville, Fairmont, Fithian, Georgetown, Gifford, Henning, Homer, Indianola, Longview, Muncie, Oakwood, Ogden, Philo, Potomac, Rantoul, Ridge Farm, Royal, St. Joseph, Savoy, Sidney, Thomasboro, Tilton, Urbana and Westville.

There are a lot places in that list that Myers has not shown particular strength in. Figure in Champaign and Urbana, which may be reluctant to be represented in the state Senate by someone from outside of Champaign County, and what you have is a race.

Hardly a slam-dunk, despite what some delusional Repubs would have you believe.

It's a long journey from the announcement to the state house. And it's a tough fight ahead for a 66-year-old former legislator. Particularly one who was an awarded a late-term patronage appointment by outgoing Gov. George Ryan. You know, the former governor now being tried for about a bajillion counts of corruption.

Sure, she can win it. But she can lose it, too.

And so it goes.