Gosh, Virginia, that's a great idea! Not.

Ok, so congress, in a tizzy, has decided to "stimulate" the economy by sending every person who pays taxes some extra cash. Too bad that won't do a darn thing for the economy.

There are a couple of interesting things one should look at in this situation. First, in my mind, is the war. Wars, as a general historical rule, stimulate economies. There is often some privation during the war, and folks sacrifice to some extent or another, but there's more building, more technological breakthroughs, more science and medicine, and more more more means a better economy--so much so that when "the boys"--and women--come marching home, the economy has to readjust because wartime jobs go away just as a massive portion of the population returns.

Not so for George W. Bush's war. His war--though one could as easily call it his father's war--has effectively shut down the economy. Somehow, that makes sense. Dubya has made his life's work to achieve what his father hadn't--probably out of some "overdeveloped sense of vengeance," I hear Count Rugen whisper in my ear. Nothing to be done for it. Dubya has set his mind against being usefully lame duck-ish and no one can deter him from making detrimental decisions until the next president takes office and makes detrimental decisions.

Seems odd, no?