I’m pretty bored....I started to call in a “snow day” this week because I just couldn’t seem to work up a rant about any local issues. No one has made me particularly mad this week, nor has anyone pleased me very much either.

The only political comments I will make is that I think maybe it is time for a “regime” change. The Republicans have sent our deficit skyrocketing, made the entire rest of the world (except maybe England) mad at us, and been the catalyst for a civil war in Iraq, killing thousands of civilians and 3,000 of our own troops.

Then when N. Korea really developed “weapons of mass destruction,” we’ve had to sit on our hands.

I’m not real sure the Democrats could do any better, but have you noticed the increase in the stock market now that it seems the Democrats are going to take over Congress? Or maybe the stock market increase is due to the cheaper gas because the oil producing countries want to keep the Republicans in power. It’s too complicated for me.

Local Democrats have recruited more candidates than they have in years before and are even throwing a “gala” to raise money. Dulles graduate, now nationally known political commentator and author Paul Begala is speaking this Friday at a Democrat local country club shindig. Begala and his then-partner James Carville are generally credited with being the architects of Bill Clinton’s election. Juanita is even referring to this event as a “Begala Gala.” Say that real fast!

I’ll bet the Democrats are glad they recruited some candidates. Their chances of winning are measurably better than they were in March when these guys (and gals) signed up. I’m not predicting they will all win--I’m just saying their chances are better now. If you are expecting more political diatribe, quit reading now.

Some call it a “dumb tax”.....Why would a rational and otherwise conservative investor buy a lottery ticket? I was thinking about that question as I was driving down the street the other day after just purchasing a $1 “quick pick” lottery ticket. I decided it’s a pretty cheap way to wile away time as you drive from place to place or as you are stuck in traffic. You can daydream about how you would spend the money when your numbers are called at the next drawing. And if you remember to purchase your tickets early enough, you can have almost four days to daydream about winning. When you think about it, a $1 lottery ticket is a bargain and much preferable to some other past times you can take up.

I have another idea.....You know how we’ve been told that seat belts save lives? There are even laws on the books to make us wear them or get fined. For several years, car manufacturers even equipped autos with bells that rang to remind us to wear them. I don’t know what happened to that idea because most cars that I’ve been in lately have a bell that rings occasionally to remind you to put on your seat belt but no obnoxious buzzer as in years past..

If seat belts save so many lives and we can be fined for not wearing them, why don’t we make it easier for the police to see that we have them on? Now it is difficult for them to see whether we do. Usually one does not get fined for no seat belt unless stopped for something else.

So my idea would be to make all manufacturers equip cars with a little green light outside somewhere on the grill that lights up when the seat belt is engaged. If the police see a car driving down the street with no tiny green light, they will know you don’t have your seat belt on. The police enforcing the seat belt laws could save even more lives with a very cheap addition to automobiles.