Commentary - Worst Ideas of the Week

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Remember that airline commercial that asks "Want to get away" for those embarrassing moments in life. Too bad because in the Internet age there is no getting away when somebody comes up with a truly dumb, ridiculous or just plain bad idea. Here's 10 of the worst for the past week:

Dimbulb of the Week: Rep. John Mica

Why: The Florida Republican has apparently been asleep since at least November 2006 when voters swept his party out of power in the House and Senate largely because of the waste and corruption caused by out-of-control earmark spending.

How: Why else would he say this week: "There's no way in hell I would support banning earmarks. That's our job, getting elected and making decisions."

Cure: Retirement

1| Give Congress the power to censor the Internet.

Rep. Michael Capuano, D-MA, is chairman of the Congressional Commission on Mailing Standards.

Details: He wants his panel to decide which video web sites on which congressmen can post "Official Content." He also wants to "certify" acceptable web sites. Next up: Congress certifies "acceptable" voters?

2| Don't drill now, don't drill here.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejects calls from Republicans and Democrats to open areas like the Outer Continental Shelf and Artice National Wildlife Refuge that are now off-limits to oil drilling.

Details: Claims it's another evil GOP plot against furry animals and whales: "This call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax. It's an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this Bush administration."

3| No, you don't have a right to work.

California Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman wants to repeal Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Seems 22 states have approved Right to Work laws guaranteeing every employee the right to keep a job without having to join a union.

Details: Says Sherman: "It is time that we let unions organize and time that we allow workers who want to have a union, to enjoy that right." But don't ask not to have a union.

4| Stop your whining!

McCain campaign advisor Phil Gramm, a former senator from Texas, gives the Republican presidential aspirant a real shot in the arm by telling The Washington Times: "We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline…" Or was that a shot between the eyes?

5| Tell Belarus its Gramm or nobody.

John McCain throws his economic advisor under the bus, saying "I think Sen. Gramm would be in serious consideration for ambassador of Belarus, though I'm not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that."

6| Stick it to motorists again.

Gov. Tim Kaine's only idea to deal with Virginia's transportation crisis: Raise taxes by a billion dollars when residents are struggling to put gas in the car and food on the table.

Details: No wonder Kaine couldn't find a single Democrat in the state Senate to introduce this klunker; his fellow party members in the House unanimously voted against the governor's plan.

7| The rich get richer dept.

District of Columbia officials quietly agreed to pay Herb Miller $2 million to settle a $140 lawsuit in which the wealthy Georgetown developer claimed the city promised to let him develop the site adjacent to Nationals Stadium.

Details: The city pulled the plug on the deal two years ago. In addition to the $2 million, Miller also got another $500K for agreeing to relinquish his lease on the Franklin School, a National Historic Landmark he planned to convert to a hotel. Miller promised to donate half of the proceeds to 43 District charities, but he'll still pocket a cool $1 million plus.

8| Local high schools still don't make the grade.

Nearly two-thirds of high school graduates who enroll at Washington-area community colleges need remedial classes in English, math and reading.

Details: Local public high schools are clearly not doing a good enough job of getting their students ready for postsecondary education, a necessity in the highly competitive global job market.

9| Montgomery cops give feds cold shoulder.

Montgomery County is the only Washington region county refusing to provide police protection for federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Details: Feds depend upon local cops while conducting raids on businesses suspected of employing illegal immigrants. One such raid last summer turned up a money laundering operation in Wheaton.

10| 'Metro Madam' knows the business

A former Metro station manager accused of running a prostitution ring out of the Red Line's DuPont Circle station was sent to a "life skills" class to learn about ... entrepreneurship.

Details: Sharon Waters - dubbed the "Metro Madam" for allegedly setting up sexual trysts using Metro's loudspeaker and organizing sex trips to Brazil – already knows quite a bit about being an entrepreneur. How about a time out instead, preferably from the inside of a jail cell?

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