But while I'm ranting, how about a solution to a related problem? How about we move the capitol of the United States to, say, Nebraska or Kansas. Why? Let me count the reasons...

1. At least a few more minutes warning if somebody does want to launch nuclear weapons from a submarine.

2. DC was more or less in the center of the country when it was established as the capitol. That hasn't been true for a long, long time. Let's get back to basics.

3. Fight against the Washington to Boston "Corridor" bias built into our entire culture and seek to reduce the impact of the smaller Northeastern states that have an undue influence on our body politic. Let the representatives from Delaware, for instance, have to travel a bit to get back and forth for a change, while also conveniently shortening the trips for, oh, I don't know, Nancy Pelosi and her entourage.

4. Land is much, much cheaper in Nebraska and Kansas than DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. And I bet it will stay that way even after the capitol is moved.

5. Reestablish the capitol as a place where no one will formally reside, return DC to Maryland and get rid of the ridiculous statehood for DC campaigns.

6. People are friendlier in the Midwest. Even if we end up sacrificing some of that, any of it that rubs off on our, ahem, servants, would be a good thing.

7. Talk about a jobs program. Holy cow! Any good Keynesian would start drooling at the effect a building program of this magnitude would have on the economy.

Thoughts?

GLOBAL WARMING UPDATE: "The Bush administration has agreed to provide House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with regular access to an Air Force passenger jet, but the two sides are negotiating whether she will get the big aircraft she wants and who she may take as passengers, according to congressional and administration sources. . . . The defense source, who asked not to be named, termed her request 'carte blanche,' saying she wanted a plane that could carry an entourage just like President Bush, who flies on Air Force One, and Vice President Dick Cheney, who also always flies on military planes." Well, she is third in the line of succession, but you don't need an entourage for that. Dennis Hastert used a commuter-sized jet.

Once upon a time, Congress was in session for a few months at a time and then out for long recesses, especially during the days before air conditioning when summers on the Potomac were too hot to endure.

My dad used to argue in favor of a Constitutional amendment prohibiting air conditioning in Congress, Congressional offices, or anywhere Congressmen meet.

Two words: Parkinson's Law. “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

And don't even get me started on how tough it is to "make ends meet" on their salaries...

"Wow, Dad. You're really working hard." "Yes, I gotta work hard, honey. Daddy made a lot of crazy promises." --Trash of the Titans As a general rule, when you hear anyone in Washington talking about bipartisanship, what they really mean......