Bibi’s back?
Everyone’s heard of winning the battle but losing the war. That’s sort of where Israel’s acting prime minister, Tzipi Livni, finds herself after taut national elections Tuesday.
Livni’s Kadima Party won one more seat in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, than chief rival Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s Likud Party, but Netanyahu appears to have the best chance at assembling a governing coalition. That’s because Likud, third-place finisher Israel Beiteinu and other conservative-leaning parties can form a right bloc that’s six to eight seats larger than any potential left-leaning bloc.
Final results won’t be known until soldiers’ votes are counted, but it appears Netanyahu, who was prime minister from 1996 to 1999, has the inside track to head Israel’s government. There’s an outside chance Livni, who was foreign minister in the outgoing government, and Netanyahu could come together and form a unity coalition. Possible, but not likely.
Bibi’s back?
Everyone’s heard of winning the battle but losing the war. That’s sort of where Israel’s acting prime minister, Tzipi Livni, finds herself after taut national elections Tuesday.
Livni’s Kadima Party won one more seat in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, than chief rival Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s Likud Party, but Netanyahu appears to have the best chance at assembling a governing coalition. That’s because Likud, third-place finisher Israel Beiteinu and other conservative-leaning parties can form a right bloc that’s six to eight seats larger than any potential left-leaning bloc.
Final results won’t be known until soldiers’ votes are counted, but it appears Netanyahu, who was prime minister from 1996 to 1999, has the inside track to head Israel’s government. There’s an outside chance Livni, who was foreign minister in the outgoing government, and Netanyahu could come together and form a unity coalition. Possible, but not likely.
Birds of a feather …
Have you noticed more northern shovelers in Oklahoma? How about red-shouldered hawks? The Audubon Society says those birds (and others) have become more common in the Sooner State in the past four decades as they have moved farther north for the winter.
Credit global warming – the Audubon Society does. Other factors have no doubt contributed, such as urban sprawl, but the society says warming is the only explanation for why more than half the bird species on this continent winter farther north than they used to.
We wouldn’t mind seeing fewer Canada geese. These fowl now call Oklahoma home year-round and cause havoc for farmers while soiling parks, golf courses, walking trails – you name it.
Birds of a feather …
Have you noticed more northern shovelers in Oklahoma? How about red-shouldered hawks? The Audubon Society says those birds (and others) have become more common in the Sooner State in the past four decades as they have moved farther north for the winter.
Credit global warming – the Audubon Society does. Other factors have no doubt contributed, such as urban sprawl, but the society says warming is the only explanation for why more than half the bird species on this continent winter farther north than they used to.
We wouldn’t mind seeing fewer Canada geese. These fowl now call Oklahoma home year-round and cause havoc for farmers while soiling parks, golf courses, walking trails – you name it.
www.williteverstop.com
Never too early to start a political campaign, right? With the 2010 general election still 22 months in the future, electioneering has begun. Several candidates are on board to run for governor and lieutenant governor. No doubt some term-limited legislative seats are also drawing early interest. For the political novice, running for office can start with a trip down a qwerty keyboard instead of calling an experienced consultant. The Web site electionmall.com (slogan: “Where every day is a campaign”) offers a range of services and advice, from robocalls to blast faxes, to how to raise money without actually pressing the flesh with voters. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was hailed as a breakthrough in harnessing high-tech methods to get voters and cash. New GOP Chairman Michael Steele has vowed to do likewise. With a never-ending campaign season, services such as electionmall.com seem to be a truly recession-proof industry.
Hold the pork
Stimulus package? Who needs pork when you can schedule an election that pumps nearly $19 million into Oklahoma’s economy? A Tulsa World analysis of 2008 election spending reveals a massive amount of cash coming from lawyers and lobbyists (some of it to fight tort reform), a nearly equal amount coming from the oil and gas industry and sizeable chunks coming from health care professional and Indian tribes. The World says the spending figure is a conservative estimate and further digging will swell the numbers. Twenty cents of every dollar contributed came from lawyers, lobbyists or the petroleum industry. Lawyers and lobbyists alone coughed up nearly $2 million. The oil and gas industry was right behind them. Do we need more elections to generate economic activity? Perish the thought! By the way, trial lawyer spending to stop tort reform was a bad investment: Republicans still took over the Legislature.
Economic development endowment funding
Will the envy from the other end of the turnpike ever end? Doubtful. Reaction to Gov. Brad Henry’s State of the State speech is the latest evidence. Henry called for lawmakers to approve a dedicated funding source for the EDGE endowment, boosting the amount of money that can be used for research and growing the principal. The Tulsa World’s reaction was to call into question – once again – whether Tulsa was unfairly shut out of the first round of funding awards. While calling the fund’s goals “laudable,” an editorial noted the awards’ “apparent imbalance” that tilted toward the Oklahoma City area. The newspaper had a similar reaction when the awards were announced late last year. The fund’s oversight board reviewed nearly 100 proposals before deciding on five to split the $12 million in available funding. One of the projects proposed creating 100 jobs in Oklahoma City. Does that mean it’s time for Tulsa to cry discrimination? Hardly. To question the integrity of the selection process based on one year’s results is presumptuous, to say the least. It would be fabulous for the state if the EDGE fund can eventually finance projects in every corner of the state and at many points in between. But merit not geography must be the determining factor.
Cars still rule
High gasoline prices last year contributed to a 4 percent decline in vehicle miles traveled, but public transit didn’t capture all of the traffic that was lost to the roads. Sam Staley, Reason Foundation’s director of urban growth, testified before Congress recently and urged lawmakers “to prioritize transportation solutions that increase our mobility and decrease traffic congestion,” according to the libertarian foundation. Staley asked Congress to keep public transit in perspective when designing a stimulus package. Public transit is responsible for a tiny share of mobility in this country; increasing transit ridership significantly would require “a dramatic and largely involuntary relocation of people and families into housing they do not want,” Reason says. People still like to commute by car. One factor is time: On average, public transit riders spend about 36 minutes traveling to work while private automobile travelers commute about 21 minutes.”
Gregg for Commerce
It’s a little unusual when one of Washington’s back-room deals ventures into the front room. Indeed, the arrangement under which President Barack Obama selected New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg to be commerce secretary, leaving the Senate’s partisan balance undisturbed by Gregg’s departure, was no secret at all.
If confirmed, Gregg would be the third Republican in Obama’s Cabinet (the others are Robert Gates at Defense and Ray LaHood at Transportation). He brings to the administration an budget insider’s knowledge of federal spending and a reputation as a fiscal hawk. To get Gregg, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch was to appoint another Republican to his seat for two more years. The GOP keeps 41 seats and the option of filibustering legislation the minority opposes.
Gregg’s replacement reportedly will be Bonnie Newman, who served as his chief of staff when he was a member of the House of Representatives. Reports suggest Newman is more moderate than Gregg and has agreed not to run for a full term in 2010. For Democrats, the tradeoff is their chances of winning the seat in two years are better against a new opponent than Gregg. It also helps Obama’s push for bipartisan approaches to the country’s problems.
Another bad splash by Michael Phelps
The latest embarrassing story about Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps should remind parents why holding up athletes as role models is a dicey proposition at best.
After the 2004 Athens Games, Phelps – underage at the time – was arrested for drunken driving. He pleaded guilty and apologized, saying it wouldn’t happen again. And in fact, he hasn’t gotten popped for drinking since.
Instead, Phelps made news this week when a British tabloid published a photo of him taking a hit from a marijuana pipe. The newspaper said the picture was taken during a house party in November while Phelps was visiting the University of South Carolina. Phelps and his handlers didn’t dispute the authenticity of the photo.
“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” Phelps said. “I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way …”
Using age as an out is lame – a 23-year-old is an adult by any measure. If you’re going to swim with the big boys, you need to act like one.
Phelps’ remarkable drive to succeed was clear in his stirring come-from-behind win in the 100-meter butterfly at the Beijing Games, where he won a record eight golds. That drive and his work ethic are to be admired, even emulated. Everything else? Not so much.
