Just relaxing...

You know Bush is not in trouble when Mitch Daniels likes his highway funding plan. Why am I not surprised at this latest action?

Gov. Mitch Daniels will not lobby Congress or the president for the Senate version of a highway funding bill even though it includes more Indiana money than a House bill, administration officials said Tuesday.

The difference between the bills is $10.2 billion for all states and about $176 million for Indiana, according to Transportation Weekly, an independent newsletter that tracks federal transportation and public works policy.

The Senate bill puts Indiana's five-year appropriation at $969 million, compared with a House appropriation of $933.8 million.

"We're basically staying at the lower number," Thomas Sharp, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation, said.

Sharp said Daniels' stance reflects President Bush's promised veto of the Senate bill, which the president has said is too expensive.

The Senate ignored the veto threat when it passed the bill last week with a strong bipartisan vote of 89-11. Supporters included Indiana Sens. Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, a Republican and Democrat, respectively.

I just realized that I have sat through a graduation each year since 2000. That streak will continue through 2009, at the latest.

Jonathan Miller has a joke contest up at his blog. Make sure to submit a joke.

I hate to be a bearer of bad news: Bronson Arroyo suffered his first loss since August 15, 2004. Good things always come to an end quickly (coughfletchercough).

On June 8, the Cardinals-Red Sox game has been moved to 7:10 eastern time on ESPN2.

AIPAC endorses pulling out of Gaza. I sure don't.

Now, for a public service announcement from a reader of the blog:

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has urged President Bush to protest the broadcast of an antisemitic sermon by Palestinian TV during his May 26th White House meeting with PA President Abbas. The request to the President by Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, dean and associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (respectively) came on the heels of a May 13th genocidal sermon broadcast live on Palestinian Television by Gaza cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Mudairis. In that sermon, Mudairis, who appears frequently on Palestinian Television, charged that, "The Jews are the cancer spreading all over the world...the Jews are a virus like AIDS hitting humankind...Jews are responsible for all wars and conflicts....Do not ask what Germany did to the Jews but what the Jews did to Germany. True, the Germans killed and burned Jews but the Jews exaggerate the numbers to gain propaganda advantages and sympathy.."

The Sheikh went on to say that God has predetermined that the Jewish problem will be solved with their extermination and that God has also predetermined that Christian-Islam interactions will end with today's Christian countries under Islam.

The Center's letter to President Bush said in part: "...Mr. President, this speech exceeds in its blatant antisemitism and Holocaust denial even the most hateful sermons preached under Yassir Arafat's rule. Furthermore, it coincided with the civilized world's commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazism. What message does this television broadcast convey to the people of Israel other than to leave them to wonder whether this is the peace dividend they can look forward to from their new Palestinian partners?...We urge you, Mr. President, to discuss this matter with President Abbas when he visits you and to make clear that the seeds of peace cannot be grown in fields of hate," they said.

The current chief of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation was personally appointed by Mr. Abbas and several days ago the Center demanded that he be removed from his position. Reacting to a news report that Palestinian Minister of Information Nabil Shaath has asked the Muslim Waqf and Religious Affairs Ministry who employs Sheik Mudairis, "to suspend him, investigate him and prevent him from delivering further sermons on Fridays," Wiesenthal Center officials said, "While this is a positive development, there will no hopes for a lasting Middle East peace unless President Abbas takes immediate steps to stop all incitement to terrorism, Holocaust denial, and antisemitic hatred on the Palestinian airwaves and school curricula."

Political news from the Forward:

Fleischer's best line was a rare nod across the aisle: "The Hebrew word for 'Scoop Jackson' is 'Joe Lieberman,'" he said. "We need more Joe Liebermans."

All told, though, Fleischer spoke for perhaps three times as long as Dean did, prompting jokes about whether Fleischer thought it was his responsibility to be the keynoter.[...]

Candidate, Candidate: Several folks seeking office, or higher office, made the scene at the banquet, including Rhode Islanders Sheldon Whitehouse, a former attorney general, and Secretary of State Matt Brown. Both are hoping to oust Senator Lincoln Chafee, a Republican. Also present were Pennsylvania State Treasurer Bob Casey, looking to dislodge Senator Rick Santorum, a Republican; Texas attorney Barbara Radnofsky, a Democrat aiming for the seat of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, and Maryland House members Ben Cardin and the as-yet-unannounced Chris Van Hollen, Democrats vying for the seat being vacated by Senator Paul Sarbanes. The banquet was the place to be: More than half of both houses of Congress attended the repast, which featured sesame-encrusted salmon and kosher wine.[...]

Speaking about moving fast, Orentlicher reported that Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, known as a centrist, "is setting up his campaign committee" for a shot at the 2008 Democratic presidential nod. "Some people who worked for him in past campaigns are moving to Washington," Orentlicher said.[...]

It pains me to show the next paragraph.

Odd Couple: Former Aipac president Lonny Kaplan, a New Jersey trial lawyer and Democrat, told the Forward he is "helping to arrange fund-raising events around the country" for the 2006 re-election bids of senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, a New York Democrat, and Santorum, one of the Senate's most conservative GOPers. Apparently, when it comes to pro-Israel activism it takes a village.

Evan Bayh to headline the Wisconsin State Convention.

Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) is set to headline the Democratic Party of Wisconsins 2005 state convention. Wisconsin Democrats are honored to welcome the former governor and second term senator to this years state convention. A testament to Senator Bayhs commitment to working for all Americans, President Bill Clinton commented, "I hope and expect some day I'll be voting for Evan Bayh for President of the United States."

Elected to his second term in the U.S. Senate in November, Senator Bayh has worked extensively to strengthen our national security, create more jobs, and provide tax-relief for working families. Before his election to the Senate, Bayh served two terms as the Governor of Indiana, where he established one of the strongest economies in the nation.

The convention will be held on June 10th and 11th at the Park Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Oshkosh. Senator Bayhs keynote speech will take place Friday evening. The convention will also include speeches from Governor Jim Doyle, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton, Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, Representatives Baldwin, Kind, Obey, and Moore, and Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, as well as other elected officials and candidates from across the state.

I sense a comedy festival in Montreal soon.

Jim Belushi, Dame Edna and Eddie Izzard will provide some comic relief at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal (July 14-24).

Also on the lineup are Greg Proops, one-person shows by Tommy Tiernan and Judy Gold, a tribute to British humor, and panels revolving around The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Belushi and Dame Edna will each host two of this year's six JFL galas. Whose Line Is It Anyway? and improv favorites Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie will host another one, with the final gala set to serve as a tribute to Britcom.[...]

In "Daily Show Secrets ... Revealed!" Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee and producers and writers from The Daily Show will present a behind-the-scenes look at the cult show.

Impressive. I wish I could go.

I'm off to watch the trilogy with audio commentary for the first time ever.