A SWNIDish Political Potpourri

This 'n' that on these and those of late:

• So all the handwringing about the devastating consequences of Detroit auto manufacturers going bankrupt led to massive infusions of public cash. And now the two companies so infused are going bankrupt with still more cash. The point of this exercise again was what?
  
• If Sotomayor is confirmed, the Supremes will consist of six Roman Catholics, two Jews and one Protestant. Are we missing something in the practice of identity politics?
• The recent, deep confusion of the Democrats regarding interrogation techniques, past and future, may mark the end of their ability to run and govern on the basis of Bush hatred. What will they have left?
  
• The myth of green jobs is threatening to overtake the myth of climate change disaster, though the two are not unrelated. Both are matters of politicians demagoging the public with notions about the future, a safe move as the future isn't yet around to contradict the demagogery.
  
• We find it odd but not so that the MSM is not reporting that Chris Dodd is trailing a Republican in polls in CT, as this belies the expectation of perpetual Republican decline outside the South. That's a big story, except that it's a story that reverses the other big story that's been told since 2006.
  
• We find it incredible that with massive budget deficits looming, Cincinnati is still considering the investment of $180 million in streetcars that will serve a tiny fraction of the community. Can't we be done with gimmicky development schemes for awhile?
  
• In all discussion of rising healthcare costs, we keep missing what we think is the most important observation: that people will pay anything they can for the hope of staying alive.

Gentle readers, you'll have to supply your own hyperlinks.