Odds 'n' ends

Last week I fell behind in my newspaper reading, and last night I tried to catch up. Most of the news is still about different aspects of the economy, which is showing faint flickers that it may hit bottom in the near future, followed by the first stirrings of an ever-so-gradual recovery. This is bad news for Republicans, who are depending on catastrophic weakness in the economy through the 2010 elections.

Speaking of Republicans, former president Dick Cheney continues to attract media attention with his criticism of the Obama administration. If I were forced to choose between spending an hour listening to Dick Cheney, and spending an hour in a dark room with a 7-foot guy wearing a hockey mask and carrying a chainsaw, I'd be tempted to pick the guy in the mask.

More fun and games with Republicans: Texas legislators are planning to use 11 million dollars of federal stimulus funding to finance the reconstruction of the governor's mansion, along with another 10 million or so in state dollars. That makes about 20 million bucks to fix up a place for The Hair God to sleep. I still believe a room at the nearest Motel 6 would be more than sufficient for Ricardo. The guy who's usually searching for a TV camera and microphone to cover his latest announcement on the stimulus is being strangely silent this time.

The Pew Research Center reported survey findings showing that most Americans are taking centrist positions on political issues, with 36 percent identifying themselves as independents. Only 23 percent claim to be Republican, with Democrats in the middle at 35 percent. Most independents line up with the Dems on social issues and national security, and with the Repubs on economic matters. If this analysis is accurate, Obama may be playing it smart by following the track he's been on since January, which is fairly middle-of-the-road despite the accusations of the Hannity/Limbaugh followers. The Kucinich wing of the Democratic Party is also complaining, probably a good sign for Obama.

Added 4:40 pm, Friday, May 29th:

I just read an item in the Austin paper updating the status of repairs on the mansion. Turns out no federal stimulus money will be used in this enterprise after all. As far as I'm concerned, they can wait until we have a new governor to start fixing the place up. Ricardo is enjoying too many job perks already.