Saturday Night Live's opening sketch ...

Saturday Night Live's opening sketch with Obama telling the right wingers to not worry about socialism since he hasn't gotten anything done... and then listed all the things he hasn't done was pretty good.  Although it does look like healthcare is going get done eventually; Obama, so far, can really only claim victory: the stimulus.

I think at this point we can all agree that the stimulus was not a bad thing.  Flawed?  Yes.  Taking too long for the money to start flowing?  Sort of (but think of it this way, wouldn't rushed projects be a bad thing?). Was it bad?  Unless you're a hard core libertarian (i.e. the government shouldn't even pave roads)—No.

But with state and local governments out of money and things not getting any better any time soon, maybe the stimulus money should have gone to the states, helping bail them out of the financial bind they're in.  It would save a lot of jobs in the short run and stimulate local economies.  Bailing out GM was nice, but couldn't the people of California use that money more?  Wouldn't it have been better served to plug those budget gaps in Chicago?  Because as the state and local governments lay off workers, roll back on projects, and stop providing services that the market usually does not provide at a low cost or at all (ie education, mental illness services, homeless services, etc.,) it hurts the local economy.  I guess what I'm saying is that wouldn't we, as a country, be better off with moral hazard problems in the state government than at GM or AIG?

Illinois does not have to offer "Choose Life" licence plate... hopefully it's because there are bumper stickers for that.  However, if I was the left, I'd respond by having my very own "Choose Life" licence plate with a falsely convicted person who is behind bars.  And can we get a ruling on when the right wants more government and when the left wants less government and how/when it's cool?  Thanks.

I don't like the new Capital Fax.

I'm sure Colbert will touch on this... but seriously, what's up with the UN?  The USA coming in 13th in best places to live?  That's 12 places too low.  Everyone knows that the USA is the best country on Earth and the best place to live.  Our healthcare is awesome, violence not as bad as South Africa's, and our Gini Index (the income gap between the rich and the poor) is on par with Ghana, Senegal and Thailand.

Swine Flu freak outs are going to happen because people love to think they're going to die. And while I would venture to guess we'll see an up tick from flu related deaths in 2009-2010 remember this: 36,000 Americans die of the flu each year.  Also, those who are older (ie, Baby Boomers and up) are much less likely to come down with H1N1 because they've/you've built up immunity towards it.  This isn't to say that we shouldn't worry or do anything about it, but take a deep breath before you start thinking that you're going to die.  So far most Americans have lived to tell about having Swine Flu.

More Olympic fall out from Second City Cop.  Don't disagree with much that he/she says here.  However a suggestion for Mayor Daley.  If the city really does have a $600 million budget shortfall, why not start by trimming all the non-Chicago residents on the City parole.