Random Riffs...

Hoo, boy, there's a lot of stupid out there today. Here are a bunch of stories that raised my blood pressure this morning:

Patrick considers higher fees for gas guzzlers

Governor Deval Patrick said today he is looking at a Hummer tax -- adding higher registration fees for gas-guzzling cars and offering discounts for those that do less harm to the environment. One industry opponent said it would be the first such fee in the nation on the state level.

The suggestion comes as Patrick prepares to unveil a fuller version of his much-awaited transportation plan on Friday. While he would not release details today, Patrick said at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce appearance that any gas tax increase would be coupled with a freeze on toll rates.

Let's think about this for a second, shall we? These "guzzlers" already use more gas than the average car, right? And gasoline has plenty of taxes levied against it as it is, right? And Deval's talking about a 29-cent increase in the gas tax as a way of shoring up state coffers, right? So isn't this plan just a double hit to those of us who drive larger vehicles?

And don't kid yourselves, folks. They pass this crap, it'll take about 3-4 months before any car larger than a MINI or SmartCar gets hit with this "fee". That part about not releasing details is a little frightening, too; especially in light of the 1,000+ page "stimulus" package proposed, voted on, and passed into law within the span of, what, two weeks? Apparently Cadillac Deval has learned from the master about ramming bad legislation through...

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And to show that MA isn't the only New England state going batshit crazy, the last bastion of freedom here is giving up the ghost:

N.H. House backs seat belt law

CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire House on Wednesday approved a bill that would require all drivers and passengers to wear seat belts.

New Hampshire is the only state that does not require adults to wear seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Correction: Was.

Read the story. It's going to be a primary offense, meaning that the cops can pull you over simply for not wearing your seatbelt. That's not even how it is in the Volksrepublik - the officer has to have made the traffic stop on another violation to write a seat belt ticket. Now, I don't want to say this is all the fault of the newly minted NH democrats - oh, wait, yes I do - but buried in the story is the real reason for this last-in-the-nation change:

New Hampshire would receive $3.7 million in federal grants if it enacts a primary seat-belt enforcement law

Show me the money. Nice to see principles - Live Free or Die - go right out the fucking window when there's cash on the line. I can't really blame NH, really - everybody and their brother has their hand out these days, so why don't they get their piece of the action?

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Lastly, this bullshit thoroughly and completely enrages me to the point of incoherence:

Holder: U.S. a 'nation of cowards' on race discussions

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In a blunt assessment of race relations in the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday called the American people "essentially a nation of cowards" in failing to openly discuss the issue of race.

In his first major speech since being confirmed, the nation's first black attorney general told an overflow crowd celebrating Black History Month at the Justice Department the nation remains "voluntarily socially segregated."

Yeah. We really need to work on discussing race relations when we have Al Sharpton going balls-to-the-wall insane over a fucking cartoon, don't we? When the professional race hustlers stop crying racism over the most trivial of issues, then we can talk. Until then, do not lecture us on how we need to talk more about race. Until we can admit that racism exists on both sides of the issue, there's nothing to talk about.

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Gah. Good thing I'm going to the range tomorrow...

That is all.