A PLAN FOR $50/GALLON GAS:lauraingraham.comSo, the same folks who gave us Amtrak (with its consistently late trains, inability to make money, and generally lousy service), the IRS (infamous for giving millions of Americans the wrong answers on even the most basic tax questions), the modern U.S. Postal service (which stays in business not because of its great service, but thanks to a federal prohibition of competing carriers), now want to nationalize oil refineries.
At a press conference yesterday, Fox News reports that House Democrats responded to President Bush's call for greater domestic oil exploration by issuing a call of their own: in the name of improving efficiency, they're looking to take over Big Oil's refining operations.
Yep, that's all this country needs -- the federal government's deft managerial hand tackling one of the world's most challenging and technologically complex industries. Combined with Dems' insistence on limiting energy supply, this is a sure-fire plan to give Americans $50/gallon gas, leaving little fuel to heat our homes or run the engines of American enterprise.
CASCADING NEGATIVITY: Liberals may finally get their wish after all. Following seven straight years of moping about the "worst economy since Herbert Hoover," Americans are finally convinced. And it appears the sensationalist media, capitalizing on hyperbole, can take credit. The Washington Post reports that only 12 percent of Americans think the economy is afloat and consumer confidence is at its lowest in 30 years. Pessimism wasn't even this bad during the last two recessions. And those were actual recessions!
"This paradox has created a unique challenge for those guiding the economy, who worry that Americans' pessimistic views will become a self-fulfilling prophecy," the Post writes. "Two-thirds of the economy is consumer spending. So if people's negative outlook leads them to cut their spending, a steeper downturn could happen.
"This has left economists trying to figure out why Americans' perceptions are so much more negative than the data analysts use to measure how things are going."
Hmm, now where would Americans get this crazy idea the economy's in some kind of recession? Perhaps these so-called economists could start by reading the more than 4,400 articles about "recession" The Post has printed since 2001.
THAILAND'S TRANS-TOILETS: Taking political correctness to a level not seen since my last visit to Dartmouth, one Bangkok high school has added a "Transgender Toilet" to its menu of restroom offerings. The principal had the restroom built in response to a survey revealing that 200 of the school's 2,600 students considered themselves transgendered. He explained his concern that students needed to be able to relieve themselves without being "watched, laughed at, or groped."
But wait, it gets better. (And by that I mean worse.) These toilets are designated with a human figure that's half woman/half man and the words "Transgender Toilet" emblazoned below.
Here's a clue for the principal: Now that the bullies who roam this campus know where to find these unique students, expect harassment to get a whole lot worse.
