Worst ideas of the week
Examiner Editorial
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January 11, 2009
Around the Nation:
Never say never again
1| Reid threatens, then caves
The details: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid began the week vowing “never” to seat former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris in the Senate, but ended it preparing to allow Burris to take office. Routed like the Seventh Calvary at the Little Big Horn, Reid went in one weak week from bluster to Custer.
“Big government” as an understatement
2| More than half a million new bureaucrats
The details: Barack Obama’s promise that his stimulus package would create more than three million jobs, “more than 80 percent of them in the private sector,” would mean that some 600,000 jobs would be new government employees. More bureaucrats, that oughta pump up the ole economy!
SiCKO vs. Gupta
3| Carrying water for Michael Moore
The details: The Hill reports that agitation by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers against the unexpected selection of CNN medical specialist Sanjay Gupta is rooted in a feud between Gupta and Conyers’ friend, film-maker Michael Moore. Whatever Gupta’s merits or lack thereof, the scruffy documentary propagandist should have nothing to do with whether the doctor gets the appointment.
Playing the race card
4| No racism in innocent celebration
The details: Edward Vaughn, president of the Alabama NAACP, complained that Mobile ’s “Azalea Trail Maids” will march in the Inauguration parade, calling their hoop skirts an “antebellum representation.” Never mind that the group has no pre-Civil War ties, is multi-racial and is supported by the biracial Mobile County Commission, and that it was chosen by a national committee appointed by an incoming African-American president.
Bailout without answers
5| Keeping secrets at Treasury
The details: Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren, head of a panel created to oversee last fall’s $700 TARP bailout program, reported that the Treasury Department “did not provide complete answers to several of the [panel’s] questions and failed to address a number of the questions at all.” The panel said the failure of transparency “further erodes the very confidence Treasury seeks to restore.” Didn’t Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi vote for TARP?
Around the Washington Region:
Keeping Virginians out
6| Inaugural plans restrict drivers from Old Dominion
The Details: The Secret Service unveiled unprecedented plans to block highway access to Washington from the Virginia side of the Potomac River on Inauguration Day. Throngs from Virginia side of Potomac can only walk, bike or use mass transit because key highways and bridges from Virginia will be closed to all but authorized vehicular traffic. However, motorists arriving from Maryland will face much fewer restrictions.
Part-time guv’nah
7| Kaine takes DNC job during budget crisis
The Details: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine claims his top priority is working with state Republicans to shave $3 billion from the commonwealth’s budget, but his decision to assume the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee – after insisting he wasn’t interested in the job just a month ago - says otherwise.
Nominating your wife’s best buddy
8| Immigration lawyer picked to oversee utilities
The Details: D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty nominated his wife Michelle’s “best friend” as chairman of the three-member Public Service Commission, even though Lori Lee admitted she has no experience in utilities law, managing a large staff or even creating a budget.
Third stab at ‘All Hands on Deck’
9| More mini surges coming again this year
The Details: D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier is bringing back her controversial “All Hands on Deck” program for the third year,even though homicides in the District increased – not decreased – during the last two years. Lanier defended the program, saying that it promotes positive interactions with police officers and citizens, which is critical to reducing crime. But police union head Kris Baumann says there are not enough officers on the force to run weekend “All Hands” events and also maintain minimum staffing levels during the week.
Chesapeake Bay cover up
10| Officials conceal $6 billion failure
The Details: The non-profit Chesapeake Bay Foundation is suing the Environmental Protection Agency for spending $6 billion to clean up the endangered estuary – and having nothing to show for it. The lawsuit asks a federal judge to set new limits on pollution, including the dumping of raw sewerage by upstream municipalities during heavy rainfalls. Public officials from six states, the federal government and the District of Columbia now admit they deliberately covered up the lack of progress.
