News Digest and Quick Commentary

Item: Mo. Gov. Wants Prescriptions For Certain Cold Meds My first reaction was immediate and personal. What a pain in the butt! It's already a bad deal to have to remember to go to the store when the pharmacy is open, but to have to see my doctor before hand for something that can be fixed with a little red pill (like a sinus headache)? Not to mention the extra cost in money and time. What's to stop meth dopers from going to another state for the chemical? It will not help if not universally applied, and that is just too much nanny government for me. Although the surveillance has its own problems, using the registry in this and other states is a good way to track down meth manufacturing abusers of pseudoephedrine. This drug really works as intended for most people--let's keep it available for those who need it.

Item: Gov't Orders Cities to Change Street Signs Apparently, six years ago, it was decreed by the Federal Gubmint that all street signs shall be rendered in all CAPS. Now, the same Federal Gubmint has decreed that street signs shall be rendered in Mixed Case. It was just a few years ago that the ALL CAPS signs started appearing around Kansas City, Missouri. Now, starting in 2012, those signs will have to be replaced. The gubmint says that signs with mixed case are easier to read--that is that Red Bridge Road is easier to read and comprehend than RED BRIDGE ROAD. Hmmm, OK if you say so on that, but this is an unfunded mandate for states and cities already strapped for cash, even with replacement over the span of several years. Besides what's to stop the overbearing Feds from changing their mind five years from now? Let cities and states make the final decisions for form, within the structure of simple, fundamental specs from the feds which do not change every five minutes.

Item: Wikileaks opens up diplomatic communications A serious offense against this nation? I do think so, although I am not so much wanting the head of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as the heads of those who put the documents in this man's hands. We have already seen one person prosecuted for the previous leaks. Let's find out and prosecute the source of these new leaks. By the way, has anyone heard much from President Obama on this? I'd like to hear some passion from our president, and not so much his intellectual side when and if he comments. Something on the order of, "This is a travesty and we are going to find out what happened and we are going to bring the force of the law on those responsible." That would be good.

Enjoy this chilly night!