Quoted Without Comment

“That means the rainy season is off to its best start in at least five years, with 16 of California’s 24 major reservoirs equipped with flood controls already beginning to release water so they can take on spring runoff, state water officials say.

The bounty is providing a shot in the arm to many local economies across California, the nation’s most populous state, which is struggling to recover from the recession.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704482704576071893385942206.html

Economics Trumps Ideology (Or, it should…)

In places where ideology trumps economics, people drive around (equally) in 1957 Chevy Bel Airs held together by duct tape.

But, the City of Washington, D.C. has caved to economics. The incoming Mayor, Vincent Gray, an opponent of Wal-Mart in the city changed his tune BEFORE he was sworn in and now welcomes FOUR new Wal-Marts to the city.

The lure of 1,200 new jobs, and lower prices for the citizens trumped his pro-union tendencies, and the influence of Thomas McNutt, head of the UFCW grocery union.

Mayor Gray’s campaign polling company (Lester and Associates), found out that 73% of the Washington residents wanted to shop at Wal-Mart. (In the Ward run by former Mayor Marion Berry the support was 95%.)

As the last mid-term election showed quite clearly, it takes overwhelming citizen force to move Democrats into doing what is right, but Mayor Gray showed that at least a few will move quickly when the writing is on the wall.

New Spy Plane

The LA Times announced the first test flight of a new spy plane:

“The milestone marked the beginning of high-altitude, long-endurance flight testing of the plane for the U.S. military. The company is developing the drone to stay aloft for a week at a time at a 65,000 feet — vastly expanding the reach of military spy planes.

With a wingspan stretching 175 feet, the Global Observer is built to survey 280,000 square miles — an area larger than Afghanistan — at a single glance.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drone-20110112,0,1346129.story

PSA

As a Public Service, because mail is so slow, I bring news that the Hand-wringers United, a Division of People for a Perfect Society, have elected their new president, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME)

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), her first act as president is to ask the Republicans to rename their “Repeal the Job Killing Health Care Law Act” because it has the word “killing” in the title.

“I don’t think that word is in there by accident — my Republican friends know as well as anyone the power of words to send a message. But in this environment and at this moment in our nation’s history, it’s not the message we should be sending.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/10/gop-heath-care-rhetoric/

More Breaking News, as it happens. Details at 11