They’ve got to be kidding
1| Dump the Charmin for a ‘Family Cloth’
The details: It’s the latest hot idea among extreme enviros — give up toilet paper in favor of the euphemistically named “Family Cloth.” Call it what they will — variations are “Reusable Toilet Paper” and “Family Wipes” — but the bottom line is this: Do you really want to share such an item with Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister, etc. etc.?
Government tracking you cradle to grave
2| Let Uncle Sam register you to vote
The details: We thought liberals oppose any government invasion of privacy, even if it means stopping the next 9/11. Now comes the National Campaign for Fair Elections proposing that government register people instead of people registering themselves to vote. But wouldn’t the bureaucrats have to track your whereabouts permanently?
Making it harder to fight taxes
3| Teachers union files suit to stop democracy
The details: Citizen activists in Nevada want an initiative on the November ballot that if approved would make it harder for politicians to raise taxes. Guess who just filed suit to prevent the initiative from being placed on the ballot? The Nevada State Education Association, the state’s public schools teachers union.
Politicos want to spend more
4| Washington political leader wants court to reverse democracy
The details: Washington state Senate leader Lisa Brown has asked her state’s highest court to declare a 15-year-old law unconstitutional. What’s wrong with it? Seems Brown doesn’t like the law’s requirement that there be a two-thirds majority of the legislature to raise taxes. Voters upheld the 1993 law just last year.
More tests for college kids
5| Teaching to the test for universities
The details: Liberal critics constantly cry that President Bush’s No Child Left Behind program is wrong because it forces teachers “to teach to the test.” But the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, says Uncle Sam should require colleges and universities to start new academic progress testing that sounds quite familiar.
Using cops as crossing guards
6| D.C. cops needed on the beat
The details: After spending $50 million on a fake-work summer jobs program, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty can’t pay for enough school crossing guards in his notoriously pedestrian-unfriendly city. So, police officers are being taken off their beats to watch District schoolchildren crossing streets. Find the money for more guards.
Paying teens for doing nothing
7| Troubled summer jobs program still handing out cash
The details: Instead of just shutting down his $20 million Summer Youth Employment Program, which overspent its budget by $30 million, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty plans to shell out $6 million more by Sept. 12. Five thousand enrollees were cut from the rolls last month after the media reported they did no work, were overage or didn’t even live in the District.
Paying kids to go to school
8| Middle schoolers will get $100 per month
The details: Instead of coming up with a new curriculum or better teaching methods, brainy Harvard educators took a page out of Congress’ playbook when they recommended that D.C. just pay middle schoolers for showing up in class. But handing over cash to impressionable tweens without an adult overseeing how they spend it is just asking for trouble.
Starting construction without funding
9| FTA okays preliminary work on Dulles Rail
The details: The Federal Transit Administration recently authorized work to begin on the $5.2 billion Dulles Rail project — before it guaranteed full funding. Tearing up Route 7 in Tysons Corner while the FTA is still reviewing the cost-effectiveness of the entire project is premature.
Metrorail operators forget where to stop
10 Metro disabled its automatic door system
The Details: In April after numerous malfunctions, Metro stopped with the automatic system, but switching to manual hasn’t solved the door problem either. Since January, Metrorail operators have manually opened the train doors before all the cars were facing the station platform 23 times, creating a major safety hazard for passengers.
