Leslie's Omnibus: Drive-Bys

So President Chicken Little gives himself a solid B+ for his first year in office? Clearly he's paying no attention whatsoever to what the rest of us think, which puts him at at least a C-, and that's if you're grading on a generous curve.
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In other political news, Houston has elected itself a fiscally conservative mayor:

Parker spoke to reporters Sunday afternoon about her new role as leader of the city. She says one of the first priorities will be tightening the belt on the city's budget.
She said, "In the first months of my administration, I am going to spend a lot of my time telling people no and doing things people aren't going to like."
Parker says she does not anticipate any layoffs but maintaining the same level of service while cutting spending will be difficult.

Yes, indeedy, it would be nice if for once the media would quit making a big deal about race or gender or sexual preference and focus on qualifications and character. That's when we'll know that we've achieved true equality.
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And speaking of being fiscally conservative, maybe we should take a gander at the way Ireland is handling the current economic downturn:

High-paid public sector workers face 20 per cent pay cuts. Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach, is leading from the front taking a fall in salary from 285,583 euros (£259,000) to 228,466 euros (£207,000). The welfare budget is being cut by 4.1 per cent.

Yup. Leadership actually cutting its own salary. Who'da thunk it?

By embracing policies of low taxation, Ireland was transformed from being among the poorest countries in Western Europe to among the richest. Lowest corporate tax rates meant it was a competitive country for multinationals to invest in and to benefit from the well educated work force. Unemployment fell sharply.

Yes, the Celtic Tiger has certainly felt the sting of the downturn. However, its leadership understands that spending one's way out of debt simply doesn't work:

Lenihan also rejected the option of just continuing to borrow and hoping for the best. He said: ‘Some have argued we should continue to borrow and wait for the economy to grow again before tackling the budget deficit. There are three reasons why this is not a viable proposition.
‘First, we know from the 1980s how large deficits, left unchecked, can lead to a dangerous spiral of mounting debt and ever increasing interest payments. Never again should we return to a position where all of our income taxes go to pay interest on the national debt.
‘Second, international debt markets have become more crowded and more fragile. If lenders were to lose faith in our ability to restore order to the public finances, the consequences for our economic well-being would be profound.’
‘Third,’ he added, ‘only decisive action will restore confidence. Consumers will only start to spend and business owners will only invest and create jobs if they believe we are tackling our deficit problem now.’
Lenihan added: ‘In our everyday lives we do not borrow to pay for our household bills. We cut back and seek to live within our means. The same strictures apply at national level. Borrowing hundreds of millions a week to pay for day to day spending is just not on. Stabilising the deficit is the next key milestone in our plan to deliver economic recovery for this country.’

Yes, Ireland gets it.

Lenihan had to make some tough choices on public spending. The elderly have been protected, with no cuts in state pension. But elsewhere the savings are widespread.
Subsidies for everything from housing to the arts are being slashed. Surplus assets are being sold. Bureaucracy is being cut back. Unemployment benefit is being reduced because, according to Lenihan, ‘a welfare system out of step with labour costs in the rest of the economy can trap people in protracted joblessness.’
Not everyone will agree with the choices he made. But at least he had the guts to make them.

I wish our governing representatives had even half as much courage and common sense as Ireland's. And I'll bet you that their economy will rebound long before ours.
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Hmmm... I'm going to have to add the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering to my vacation wish list.
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Giggle of the Day: