Congress may actually pass an economic stimulus bill this week, which is good news for the short-term needs of the country. There is no question the economy is tottering, and could easily tip over from recession to depression, so a bill that focuses on saving jobs and creating jobs is desperately needed. The good news is that the bill will definitely help achieve some of those aims. The bad news is that it will lay a crushing debt burden on taxpayers for the future, which can only be addressed if government becomes far more efficient in the use of tax dollars than it has in the past. That could very well force, down the road, what many of us have wanted for years, a smaller, more efficient government. But somehow, that doesn't seem likely. Because Congress hasn't figured out that the model for government is, and should be, changing. And the best example is the stimulus package. Despite billions of dollars in cuts, it still contains way too much pork. And some of the cuts (to make way for that pork) seem to make no sense, such as dropping $40 billion to help keep schools from having to fire teachers. That's counter-productive. The bill is supposed to save or create jobs, not leave them threatened. Both sides of the aisle bear the blame. The Democratic leadership rolled over on way too many pet projects among its members, losing sight of the long-term goal of the bill. And Republicans kept insisting on sticking to the same failed policies of the past, and playing the same old games where personal and party political power carried more weight than the needs of the nation. One GOP leader actually admitted his goal for the bill, and the amendments he introduced, were designed to divide the Democrats and make them look bad. So much for caring about the people of this country. Both parties should be ashamed. It is time for Congress to look up from its myopic and petty party power games, and its proclivity for pork, and look at the desperate state of the nation, focusing solely on programs that stand a good chance of meeting the goal of keeping people working. Making things work should be a bipartisan issue. This bill should be about America, not the Republican or Democratic parties. -- Kelly Everitt

Swine flu: Don't panic yet

Posted Wednesday, April 29, 2009, at 10:34 AM

Mayor Tom Rist just got back from a trip to Mexico so when he showed up for the council meeting Monday night, and all the council members were wearing medical masks, it was a good gag.

But the swine flu scare isn't all that funny. It's been a long time since the World Health Organization used the kind of language it has used in describing the outbreak of this particularly unusual form of flu, and similarities to the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed, depending of the estimate you use, anywhere from 20 million to 100 million people worldwide, have been raised.

But, while the WHO estimates, that, in a worst-case scenario, up to a million people around the world might die from this flu, it actually isn't time to panic yet.

So far, all of the deaths have occurred in Mexico. While all flu strains kill some infected people each year, so far no one anywhere else in the world has died (as of this writing Tuesday morning). Why it has been so particularly bad in Mexico is unknown at this point.

Perhaps, because medical capabilities in the United States and Canada are so good, we're able to treat the symptoms properly and avoid any deaths.

It will be months before a vaccine is available for this new form of flu, so health officials are urging people to take basic precautions, such as avoiding people who are sick, not going to work or school if you have flu-like symptoms, getting in to see your doctor if you do have those symptoms, and doing basic health procedures such as washing your hands.

It is worth being concerned about. It is worth following the news to track the spread of this infection (in today's interconnected world, it is impossible to prevent it from spreading), but the key thing here is not to panic. It isn't in Idaho (yet), its virulence outside Mexico is currently unknown, and adopting basic precautions like those listed above (no need for masks yet) will probably be adequate to deal with the threat at present.