Congress...amuck: Mere days after complaining about Bush's request for $75B to essentially use as he saw fit, the Appropriations Committee goes ahead, in a 59-0 vote, and throws $80B at him, with a nice $3B bailout to the airlines. This typifies the band-aid approach with which Congress has always treated the airlines. I mean, how much time does $3B buy the airline industry? A few months? Then what? Everything will be all better? I think not. The article features some great quotes from an airline analyst:

"If this is going to prop up failing airlines, I'm very very opposed," he said. "I have no problem watching a carrier fail, even if it has my friends in it. Let the industry shake itself out, and we'll be better off for it." Jenkins said the country needs to focus on long-term restructuring. In the short run, the airline industry should "go through the pain and get it over with."

Nahhh, too much sense made there.