If only we elect Barak Obama to the presidency, things'll get a whole lot better.  It's time that America quits poking its collective nose into the affairs of other countries, so Obama'll be a much-needed breath of fresh air.  Uh…wait….

Actually, Obama wants to increase defense spending. He wants to add 65,000 troops to the Army and recruit 27,000 more the Marines. Why? To fight terrorism.

He wants the American military to "stay on the offense, from Djibouti to Kandahar," and he believes that "the ability to put boots on the ground will be critical in eliminating the shadowy terrorist networks we now face." He wants to ensure that we continue to have "the strongest, best-equipped military in the world."

Ok - rhetorical question.  Nobody, at Metro, least of all councilor Rex Burkholder, is inclined to listen to the "common" folk.  As Rex makes clear in an interview here, and as Coyote remarks upon here - the "planners" aren't about to increase road capacity in the tri-county area because, to paraphrase Rex himself, "people will just use them".  No, Rex is big on pay-to-use.  Nevermind the fact that your gasoline and other taxes paid to build the roads in the first place, Rex wants to find a way to insist that you pay extra to use them - but only if you're driving a car.  Bicycle riders like Rex should get continued carte blanche.  As noted in the interview, Rex Burkholder has a new bike, and he's not too shy to show it off.  Rex loves bicycles, hates cars, loves congestion.  And sees really expensive toys like choo-choos and streetcars as important things that you should pay to build and run - even though you never use them.