That must be one hell of a room addition, likely equipped with secret passages and revolving library shelves and whatnot.  No, wait - this is a $1.88 million "study" lasting 18 months.  That's about $100,000+ per month, folks.  And what, you may ask, is the object of this "study"?  Why, it's to determine whether streetcars, light-rail, or monorail might best suit the needs of Clark County.  Oh, sure…they'll look at bus rapid transit (momentarily). 

But these are politicians, and choo-choos are presently "cool" again.  While the Columbia River Crossing group is spending god knows how much money "visioning" transportation options between Clark County and the Portland area, at least they're considering roads.  The Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council is spending $1.88 million just to "study" moving people - not materials, goods and services, just people - around Clark County and maybe Skamania County.  $1.88 million to do nothing more than pay self-important folks in business suits to walk around and look at stuff, then sit at conference tables and discuss what they've "learned" from their "observations".

What happens when people lose faith in the "Criminal Justice" system?  They take matters into their own hands.  Some refer to this as "vigilante justice".  Others note that the "Criminal Justice" system is appropriately named, as the perps get all the breaks and the victims get hosed.  When that happens, people sometimes will adopt the tactic of taking matters into their own hands in order to ensure that the criminal receives due punishment.  To a growing number of folks, providing three hots and a cot, cable tv, basketball games, weight rooms, libraries, and other perks really don't qualify as punishment for criminal activity.  And that's assuming the perps are convicted in the first place.

No, a lot of folks would rather see them chained together, busting rocks or maintaining roads.

As you doubtless know by now, liberal left-wing loon Barbara Boxer critcized Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice; questioning Rice's judgment in the area of foreign policy because Rice is a single woman, and childless.  One would think that a good feminist nutjob like Boxer would be applauding Rice's accomplishments, as Rice clearly embodies the First Law of Feminism: Get out there and break through that glass or marble ceiling; having a family is anti-woman!  Instead, there's Boxer, telling Rice that because she's never had kids, she has no dog in the fight.  Why, lacking the possibility of personal sacrifice, Rice can get behind the idea of sending our children off to war.

How low can she go? 

Who?  Try Russia, Czechaslovakia, Mongolia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Angola and South Korea, among others.

How?  Through the use of "Contract" labor of North Koreans, at labor camps, factories, and the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

So What's The Problem?  Beyong the basic repugnance and evil of Slavery, the vast majority of the "Salary" paid to the "Workers" (around $57 a month at Kaesong) goes to the North Korean government, to support the lifestyles of the leadership, and littell side lines like Nuclear Weapons, and exporting Missle Technology.

(Hat tip to One Free Korea) From the Wall Street Journal:

…several countries utilize trafficked North Korean labor in a manner that provides significant resources for the regime. There are approximately 10,000 to 15,000 North Koreans working abroad for their government. Labor arrangements reportedly exist between North Korea and entities in Russia, Czech Republic, Mongolia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Angola. It is unclear how much hard currency is generated for Pyongyang by these arrangements, but it can be presumed significant, given the number of workers involved.

Plans are afoot to extend westside Portland Light Rail to Cornelius and Forest Grove, for a mere $175 million.  Of course, like the $15 million Pill Hill Areial Rapid Transit (PHART) system, we can expect the price-tag to grow exponentially once they begin construction.  But it'll be really cool, just like PHART.  For one thing, it'll make it a whole lot easier to move illegal aliens to other day-labor sites, since protests at the Cornelius site essentially forced a shutdown there.

And since roads are bad things, we all know that fixed-rail is the only way to go.  After all, bus transport is no good - they rely on roads.   Enhanced bus service is vulnerable to increased congestion on Highway 8, the only major east-west street in the area.   So that's out.  After all, you can't widen roads, or build new ones.  If you did that, then people and commerce would just use them, and that means people wouldn't ride trains, and that deliveries wouldn't be made by train.

Portland Public Schools cancelled classes at the last minute today for no apparent reason.  Sure, there were a few snow flurries, but that's somehow an excuse?  And by "last minute", I mean 7:30 a.m. - a time when many kids are already waiting for the school bus, and when food services and custodial staff are already on-site.  I heard reports of considerable grumbling by food service staff because they'd already prepared a lot of food when the call came, sending them home.What an incredible waste of resources,

Portland Public Schools' decision to close schools this morning after light snowfall came late, district officials said, but was warranted by hazardous conditions in the West Hills and other parts of the district.