Headlines (More Hilary/Obama stuff, blah blah blah; it reminded me of Kenny Rogers' Roaster; Cyclone; Favre)

Obama, Clinton focus on gas tax

Much of the exchange Monday centered on proposals Clinton has embraced to give drivers some relief from soaring gas prices. Clinton pushed her plan for a summer suspension of the gasoline tax, which she said she would pay for with a windfall profit tax on oil companies. McCain has embraced a similar idea.

Obama has called that plan a gimmick and implied that it is pandering, and many economists expressed skepticism. In a CBS News/New York Times poll released Sunday, 49% of voters said they thought lifting the gas tax for the summer was a bad idea, while 45% thought it was a good idea.

Obama, who argues the proposal would save American drivers just pennies a day, said Sunday that oil companies would simply pass the costs of such a plan to consumers.

Obama rolled out a new TV ad for Indiana and North Carolina that derided "Clinton gimmicks that help big oil." -- USA Today

I'm all for saving as much as possible at the gas pump; after all, any discount is better than no discount. But that doesn't make Obama any less right -- this really does seem like a deceiving, illusory attempt at "fixing" our country's fuel problem.

The article has already done the math; even if Hilary suspended the gas tax for the entire summer, the average driver only stands to save a meager amount of money. It's like when the state suspends the sales tax (all whopping 6% of it) for those "Back to School" sales so parents can buy their kids crayons and trapper keepers and pencil sharpeners. Or, those Duty Free shops you see at airports. It's a thinly veiled attempt to convince the consumer that they're taking advantage of a great deal when, in actuality, it's just a superficial discount thats worth is entirely dependent on the MORE MONEY you spend.

I can appreciate Hilary (and for that matter, McCain) trying to save us at least a little cash, but Obama's got a point, it does FEEL a lot like political pandering. Since this is such a shallow and short-sighted game plan (cut costs a microscopic amount today, watch prices revert back to normal tomorrow), it really does seem like this is just a shiny new gimmick that she's spoon-feeding to us voters simply because it's what we all want to hear. It isn't a solution, it's a postponement.

Lake Okeechobee fires put stench in the air

A section of drought-ravaged Lake Okeechobee, which normally should be underwater, was ablaze. Smoke from the 4,000-acre fire, shoved east by the wind, shrouded the region, irritating eyes and throats and prompting health officials to sound advisories.

O'Connor cautioned folks with respiratory ailments, asthma or allergies to stay indoors. -- the Sun-Sentinel

It really stunk this morning. And I was out there at 9:00 a.m. playing basketball. It's almost 12 hours later and I still have a headache. At this point, I don't know if this is actually medical or psychosomatic in origin, but either way, my head still hurts (or "hurts," as it turns out).

Burma cyclone: up to 50,000 dead and millions homeless

I don't have anything witty or dead-panned or excessively insightful to say about this article; I just think it's horrible news. The amount of destruction Myanmar has suffered is devastatingly enormous.



Connecticut boy takes off Favre jersey for good after 4 years

This was the lead headline on Yahoo's homepage today...what a stupid story.

I'm a fan of Favre too, but how can you wear the same shirt for 4 years? Even homeless people don't do that.

That kid is more than a little weird.