Lex Libertas

The issue of earmarks and federal subsidies for pet projects is not a new issue. Katrina made the “Bridge to Nowhere” famous, but represents merely the most recent rediscovering of this peculiarity of American government.

One hundred and thirty-six years ago, a congressman from Kentucky gave a hilarious speech about a proposed bill to give federal lands to a private railroad company wishing to build a stretch of rail near Lake Superior. I am constantly struck by how much more beautiful is the language of our predecessors. Perhaps the vulgar tongue has always been vulgar, but even today’s most educated would have trouble composing a speech such as this one. I recommend reading the whole thing, but here are some choice excerpts:

Years ago, when I first heard that there was somewhere in the vast terra incognita, somewhere in the bleak regions of the great north-west, a stream of water known to the nomadic inhabitants of the neighborhood as the river St. Croix, I became satisfied that the construction of a railroad from that raging torrent to some point in the civilized world was essential to the happiness and prosperity of the American people, if not absolutely indispensable to the perpetuity of republican institutions on this continent. [Great laughter.] I felt instinctively that the boundless resources of that prolific region of sand and pine-shrubbery would never be fully developed without a railroad constructed and equipped at the expense of the Government, and perhaps not then. [Laughter.] I had an abiding presentiment that, some day or other, the people of this whole country, irrespective of party affiliations, regardless of sectional prejudices, and “without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” would rise in their majesty and demand an outlet for the enormous agricultural productions of those vast and fertile pine-barrens, drained in the rainy season by the surging waters of the turbid St. Croix. [Great laughter.]

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Yesterday it was about -15C (5F), and fresh snow covered the city. Minus fifteen in Moscow is nothing compared to St. Petersburg. I had heard people talk about the humidity making a difference, but I had never really experienced weather that cold except in St. Petersburg. Now that I have something to compare it to, I fully agree.

A pedestrian street near the Kremlin

Cleaning the streets

Be aware of your surroundings or you will be run over

Casino on the Ulitsa Pravdy (The Road of Truth)

I leave Chisinau on Friday to return to Moscow. I’ve had a good trip overall, rested and explored the city. The sun was finally out yesterday and today, so I wandered around the city and took some pictures.

Cathedral of the Birth of Christ.

Closeup.

View on the Central Square, where the New Year’s festivities were held.

Hotel Cosmos. A typical example of Soviet construction trying to look futuristic.

A beautiful scuplture of a Russian general and a horrendous, dehumanizing new apartment building.

Hypocrisy?

Mrs. Pelosi campaigned heavily on promises of honest government. “Now we find out that she is exempting hometown companies from minimum wage. This is exactly the hypocrisy and double talk that we have come to expect from the Democrats.”

[A] major tuna company in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district being exempted from the minimum-wage increase that Democrats approved this week.

The main square in Chisinau is still all decked out for the New Year, and on Sunday night (Orthodox Christmas) there was quite a crowd. The square is located in the center of town. Stefan cel Mare, the main road, goes through it. On one side is the government building, and on the other an arc and a church. Largely blocked off to road traffic, the square can hold a fair number of people. For the celebrations, one end has a stage, and the other a sort of fair. Several booths sell food, mostly bread-based goods. The main attraction, however, is a series of mini photo studios. All lined up in a row, each is decorated according to a different theme, most involving people in various animal suits. People go and get their picture taken, usually as a family. Each has a background wishing a Happy New Year. I took a video of the whole line of stalls, you can access it here. (Currently having problems with Youtube, will link as soon as it is up)

After ten years of almost constant travel, I am finally getting the hang of packing light. I have, for two weeks, my backpack and a small gym bag. Three shirts, two sweaters, two pairs of pants, underwear, sleeping clothes, and various electronics/toiletries. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any sleep last night. I stayed up talking with a good friend who I haven’t seen in a while, and started packing at 5:30, when I was supposed to be out the door at 6:15. Though it all worked out fine. Packing light is even easier when you travel around the post-Soviet space. It is not unusual for people here to wear the same outfit several days in a row.

Clothing is actually very expensive over here, especially high quality products. Not only are the clothes more expensive in absolute terms than in America, but when you compare the price to wages the affordability is even more skewed. As a result, people might have two or three nice outfits that are wearable to school or work. In the states, we would interchange the outfits, trying to spread them out over multiple days. Here, however, it’s not uncommon for a person to wear the exact same outfit all week. Then next week they would change to a different one. Admittedly, I have noticed this less and less over the past three years, which might be a reflection of a rising standard of living.

This makes packing for trips increadibly easy. In fact, I overpacked. I could have easily gotten away with bringing only one pair of pants, two shirts and a sweater. However, in my packing I made one key misestimation. In Moscow right now there’s no snow, and it’s relatively warm. I’ve been walking around in just a sweater and leather jacket. I figured that Moldova, since it’s considerably further South, would be even warmer. Last time I checked the weather, it was around 7 or 8 degrees Celsius. As such, I left my winter coat in Moscow, and just took my jacket. Morever, I left behind the warmer sweater and took the lighter ones. Imagine my surprise when I looked out the window of the plane and saw snow covered fields.

Now I’m sitting in the apartment where I’m staying, all bundled up, including a scarf. The heating doesn’t seem to be on - thanks Gazprom! I brought shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in, instead of full pajamas. I tried wearing them around the apartment, but had to wrap myself in the blanket. It’s cold, but it’s bearable. I’ve been through worse in St. Petersburg.

1, 2, 3, 4

I just hope the weather here doesn’t dip below zero in the next two weeks.

I leave tomorrow morning for Chisinau. The flight leaves at 10:15am, and arrives at 10:15 am. It’s like a time machine. I’ll be there approximately 2 weeks visiting friends and taking a breather from Moscow. As always, it’s the night before, and I’m not ready. Two summers ago I lived five weeks out of a carry-on bag, and after that experience I’m a lot more confident in my last mintue packing skills. In fact, if I start packing too early, I tend to overpack. Put an empty suitcase in front of me with 30 mintues before I have to leave, and I’ll get the essentials.