Victory for Speech Online
As you (should) know - the FEC issued VERY permissive regulations earlier this week. What remained was the question about what to do with HR 1606. Thankfully, the House Leadership has taken the prudent course: pull the bill off the calendar and hold it in reserve. If the so-called 'reformers' sue - pass the bill. If the "reformers" try to chip away at the regulatory protections - pass the bill. If the regulations turn out to be unworkable for any reason - pass the bill. We've already seen a majority vote and it would be wise for the "reform community" to remember what sort of scenario they're living under.
Well done, Mr. Leader. And well done, Messrs. Hensarling and Ehlers. And a fantastic end to a year of bi-partisan blogger activism. Back to the beating each other about the head and shoulders, I imagine.
I spent some time in Texas this week - hectic, hurried, but good time. A good chunk of that time was spent driving a rented Ford Mustang between Austin and Dallas. I can barely describe how disappointed I was with this, the first new Mustang I'd actually driven. Disappointed because I wanted desperately to enjoy it.
I drove a Mustang for a long, long time. At 18, I bought a 1992 Mustang LX 5.0, and immediately became a complete fanatic about the car. More on that in another post, I think.
But this new piece of crap? It's just that - crap. It's not that it's plastic, heck the old one had more than its share of petrochemical polymer interior trim (and cheap stuff, too) - but the plastic doesn't help. It's not that it handles like one of those dish-shaped aluminum sleds you had when you were a kid (the old one didn't exactly carve up the corners) - but that doesn't help either.
It's that they made what appeared to be a real effort to call imagery from the past. Styling from the 60's? Well, you can't stop finding it in this car. But at almost every turn - it's done so badly that yes, you're reminded of that old green fastback from Bullitt - and then you're reminded that this car ought not be mentioned in the same sentence.