Just because I haven’t been posting to the blog and just because there are an abundance of interesting articles out there for a Sunday morning, I decided to do a quick bit of news link blogging for your reading pleasure.
It seems that the low price of gasoline we have right now is sparking some more discussion about raising the gas tax as much as a dollar or more. As much as it’s fairly proven that higher gas prices did indeed cause Americans to curb their gas consumption and even buy hybrid cars, I think this is bad for an entirely different reason. That reason is that such a high tax on gasoline would inevitably make gas tax policy the fail-safe topic of Republican discourse for years to come, even more so than the Great Society policies which have an immediate positive impact on lower-wage voters that make up their base.
And one can hardly speak of gasoline these days without invoking the familiar of Sarah Palin. On that topic, she’s busy once again keeping herself in the spotlight by attacking journalism and making an ass out of herself. Sily Old Governor Grand-MILF! Everybody knows that you can’t attack the media when they’re attacking you.
But there’s another story that may keep her in the news, this one about her (allegedly) drug-dealing in-laws, the Johnson family. It seems that there are investigators and police union people now starting to grumble about political interference in the investigation of Sherry Johnson – mother of Levi, who begat Li’l Redneck, Bristol Palin’s child. Johnson was eventually caught in possession of a Crystal Meth lab. Given Palin’s history, I think we can all safely say that allegations of political interference are just plain crazy-talk.
Meanwhile, Exile on Erickson St has an interesting post up about the political machinations surrounding one highly-unpopular Governor Patterson and the appointment of a new Senator to hill Hillary Clinton’s seat for New York. It seems rather obvious that CK endorsed Obama specifically to make enough of a name for herself to get some juice in New York politics, one way or the other.
But I’m not sure I agree with Rotten in the comments section that putting her into the Senate seat will almost guarantee a Republican in that seat come the next election. That’s one option. The other option is to trade a junior Senator with lots of power for a junior Senator with really only the appearance of power but lots of money and rich friends that will make her a permanent fixture – to our enduring distress – for years to come. If you think Senator Clinton accomplished jack-shit in the Senate (and let’s face it, she did that and less), just wait for Senator Kennedy of New York.
