Charles Shiflett Column August 21, 2005

There Is Some Good News Out There

With Congress home for the August recess it's quiet on the national political scene, so I thought I'd try
to dig around for some good news that may have slipped under the radar. Even with gasoline hovering
at $2.50 a gallon, there's no need to only dwell on the negative.

• Just when I was about ready to completely give up on Canada and it's rapid tilt to the left, good news
is springing up. A just released reputable poll reveals that more than a third of those living in the more
conservative western Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan
believe the time has come to begin exploring the idea of forming their own nation.

I have an even better idea… let's swap the New England states for western Canada. John Kerry, with
all of his French connections would be a natural shoe-in as Prime Minister of a new national
government anchored in Quebec. Eight new U.S. senators from our four new former Canadian states
minus the New England lefties we would lose would give Republicans rock solid control of the
senate… no more filibusters.

• Georgia gubernatorial candidate Cathy Cox was all smiles as a majority of her fellow Democrats in
the state house endorsed her campaign last week. Not joining them was Greg Morris of Vidalia, a
prominent Democrat state representative and floor leader for Lt. Governor Mark Taylor who switched to
the GOP a couple of days later. Those Vidalia onions may taste just a little sweeter next spring.

• Could some of us get our wish of no more new Britney Spears music? According to rival
singer/sexpot Christina Aguilera the answer may be yes! In a recent entertainment publication Aguilera
commented that a pregnant Spears had let herself go too much to reclaim her sex symbol status.
Christina said, "She's let herself go. I can't see a comeback on the cards." Now if Aguilera would just
take a stab at motherhood herself.

• A very happy birthday to Social Security on its 70th year of existence. Sounds like no better time for
old SSN to gracefully retire. Georgia Republican Congressman Jack Kingston said Democrats'
celebrating the current Social Security system is like "Sony celebrating the creation of the Victrola. It
is time to bring a 70-year program into the 21st century."

• He was groomed for the presidency from birth, but could we have finally have seen the end of Al
Gore's aspirations? In regards to a future campaign for the White House, this past week Gore said,
"I've not reached the point in my life where I would say there's a zero percent chance. But I truly don't
expect it."

• Could the public finally be tiring of the politics of personal destruction? Pressure from left and right
has forced the pro-abortion group NARAL to pull its blatantly false television attack ads on Supreme
Court nominee John Roberts. Insiders expect 70 of the senate's 100 members to vote to approve
Roberts.

• The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office just released new federal revenue estimates that show
the budget deficit dropping by almost $100 billion over the previous fiscal year. Seems like the Bush
tax cuts are performing as advertised.

• Speaking of taxes… those of you who believe there just has to be a better alternative to our current
cumbersome and unmanageable federal tax code can rejoice. The Fair Tax Book, co-authored by radio
talker Neal Boortz and Georgia Congressman John Linder, has taken the nation's politicians and
booksellers by surprise as it grabs the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list.

The fact that a publication about taxes and economic policy could perform so well restores my faith in
the American public. This book should be required reading at every high school and college in the
nation.

• All you men tired of being compared against bared-chested, hard-bodied celebrity studs can rejoice!
A survey of its readers released by Playgirl magazine shows 42 percent of respondents saying love
handles were "kind of sexy". Even more surprising, 47 percent said a little chest hair was OK. A
whopping 73 percent like their men a little rough around the edges.

• Now about that gas thing… for many years, we as a nation have postponed dealing with the
inevitable end of cheap gasoline prices. Rapid growth in China, India, and other emerging economies
has put the squeeze on world oil supplies and we're all feeling it.

So what's the good news? American ingenuity is reemerging with new technologies like bio-diesel
fuels, hydrogen powered automobiles, and fuel cells. Heck we're even running buses on chicken fat! If
we want it, independence from Middle Eastern oil is within our reach along with other benefits like
cleaner air.

So let's celebrate the positive this week. It's won't be long until congress returns from its late summer
break and that could give anyone gas.