As Jay Leno used to say when he was a guest on Late Night with David Letterman back in the 80’s, “want to know what’s bugging me? Want to know what’s eating me up?”

• OK, so I like the idea that globalism allows me to buy $13 jeans from Sears (a Hollister guy I’ll never be) but maybe we should leave whole blocks of commerce to the good old USA. Like Mattel’s toys for children, or fish or tires. Importing from China Elmo complete with lead paint is just the latest fiasco stemming from American multinationals sending their manufacturing to China. Just how much money are you saving when you have to endure a $30 million recall?
• More and more liberal media types are breaking rank with the drive-by conventional wisdom and are finding that the troop surge and leadership by General Petraus in Iraq is working. This has gotten the Democrat leadership in Congress in a tizzy, because they only win if the US loses.  Their blindness caused by their Bush Derangement Syndrome has got them secretly rooting for the bad guys.
• Closer to home, the new $44 million Bayfront Convention Center has opened in Erie. Now I’m a guy that is totally behind a progressive agenda for Erie’s future, but I have a sick feeling that we are going to be holding a multi-million dollar bag here for decades. Losses are forecast for the next 10 years, just in time for another bond issue and more debt to cover what will be most certainly needed renovations. One look at the list of booked events and you get the sense that these would have already happened in Erie at a tax-paying venue. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually agree with Jim Thompson who said it looked like “we’re shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.”