Things to ponder
From the windmill of my mind … I don’t know about you, but all the hype about “bird flu” isn’t causing me much alarm. Maybe that’s because I’ve seen other predictions of pestilence that seem to peter out once something bigger comes along in the news. It seemed there was a story a week on the growing AIDS epidemic, until the war in Iraq began. And who could forget the gypsy moth?
Am I dreaming, or is it true that one-fifth of the state Legislature is going to get a free ride this election year? How can it possibly be that 46 lawmakers have no opposition in the primary or general elections, especially the 18 who voted for the July pay raise? If you ever wonder why Pennsylvania lags behind other states, remember that sorry statistic.
The abandonment of its deal to manage six big U.S. ports shows that a United Arab Emirates company succumbed to political pressure within this nation and spared the Bush administration a public relations battle it was certain to lose. As such, it’s an admitted win for those who had hotly criticized the deal, Republican and Democrat.
Somebody in politics who doesn’t like my satire has postulated, behind the scenes, that it’s because I’m “pathologically jealous” of a particular person. I am and have been many things, but I’ve never been jealous of any politician. I learned a long time ago that in this business, resorting to personal attacks is a sign that you’re really starting to get to someone. Here’s my take: If I hold up the mirror and you see yourself in the reflection, don’t blame me.
It always intrigues me when the very same elected officials who make a career out of railing against government spending, and who tout the need to cut the fat, spring into action when the federal government decides to reduce its military complex. Such is the case currently with President Bush’s 2007 budget, which leaders worry could reduce the size of the Commonwealth’s National Guard. Hint to fiscal conservatives: You can’t have it both ways.
Can there be too much of a good thing? In the race to replace retiring state Rep. James Shaner, eight Democrats and two Republicans have tossed their proverbial hats into the ring. Four Democrats and two Republicans are vying for the right to succeed retiring state Rep. Larry Roberts. In both races, voters in each major political party will have to sift through the choices. But the multitude of candidates for the Shaner seat makes it more likely that a Shaner clone could rise to the top of the heap, at least in the Democratic primary.
It’s good that state Rep. Bill DeWeese has opposition in the Democratic primary (from Fayette County Treasurer Robert F. “Bobby” Danko) and, if he survives that challenge, in the general election (from one of two Republicans, Richard Yeager or Greg Hopkins). It’s not so good that state Sen. J. Barry Stout (D-Bentleyville) has no opposition in either election. What does it say about the Republican Party when it can’t put up a viable state senate candidate, in a year with such widespread anti-incumbent sentiment?
Should it continue being a big story whenever someone alleges that Barry Bonds used steroids? Such is the case in a new book written by two newspaper reporters. Rather than follow the ping-pong ball of allegations and denials, I’m content to look at this one way: How many men go from a slender 185 pounds at age 20 to a muscular 230 pounds by age 35? The added weight isn’t in his gut. Bonds’ complete change of physique makes it easy for me to believe he’s had a little help from somewhere.
Here’s a non-shocker: A study shows that at the nation’s most prestigious colleges, only 3 percent of students come from the lowest 25 percent of the socio-economic rung, while 74 percent come from the richest 25 percent. Sounds like a good time to cut the federal student aid program, right?
I’m so immune from hearing about property tax reform that its mention in any context no longer generates much of a response. It’s sort of like hearing the Pittsburgh Pirates’ brass predict that the team is going to reach .500, or listening to someone say that they really saw Bigfoot.
Election Day is fast approaching. Get ready to rumble.