Good Morning, All. It looks like we will have a sunny day to start. Hope so. I have to go out to the library today. My books aren't due yet but I have read what I want to of them. I think I said once one one of these posts I no longer force myself to finish any book that loses my interest. I also have two grocery bags of books culled from my collection that I plan to donate. I would really rather not dodge the rain drops.

I know the feeling, Kay. When I read some of the stories and hear some of the asinine statements public figures make, I have the choice of keeping my mouth shut or turning the air blue. Sometimes speechless is the only response that makes sense. There isn't language to express my response adequately.

For those who follow the 'peak oil debate,' take a look at this for a bit of sardonic humor on the topic. Peak Oil Hausfrau at the Energy Bulletin lists 10 ways to talk about peak oil without actually using the phrase.

An interesting item (interesting for me because I don't have to drive it) is the closure of a long stretch of the Cline Avenue overpass by the Indiana Department of Transportation. It is a major north-south corridor here in Northwest Indiana. Evidently the structural supports are so corroded that the entire overpass is unsafe. I have just been reading some articles on it in the Northwest Indiana Times. (I get it by way of Google search but you can easily Google it yourself.) Evidently an access ramp on the same stretch collapsed in 1982 killing almost a score of people and injuring as many. My first question was 'what has INDOT been doing in the intervening years?' My second thought goes back to an observation I made many, many years ago. In our political system it seems to be much easier to get money for new construction but much harder to get it for continuing maintenance or for improvements on existing structures. I have been reading about dangerous bridges and overpasses for the last 30 years in three different states. Four states if you include Illinois where much of our news comes from.

Taddyporter at BitchPhD has an excellent suggestion for ending operations in Iraq--pay for it. Dear unlamented George managed to put most of the badly misnamed War On Terror off the books. Obama did us all a service by insisting that the costs be placed back on the books and in the open. And I, for one, have been totally disgusted by the cadre of Republicans (and their Blue Dog allies) who will spend anything for a misguided military adventure overseas but not a penny for real needs here at home.

Well, it is now late evening and I am off to play Farmville on Facebook.