UPDATE, MAY 25, 2011: Apparently, the Republican thugs in the Iowa Statehouse have decreed passenger rail to be dead. The Governor's spokesman, Tim Albrecht--one of the most dimwitted public servants I've ever seen--commented that passenger rail "would require ongoing subsidies". Of course, this half-wit doesn't acknowledge that we subsidize air and highway carriers. But that's OK, because they funnel money into the pockets of the Chosen Ones, the Koch Brothers and the Tea Party terrorists who somehow have managed to grab control of most Republican politicians and hold them by their genitals. Apparently, Albrecht, the governor's spokes-dummy, thinks that it's acceptable to lie to the public. That's assuming that Albrecht actually thinks, which is really a long shot.

So, the Republican thugs, bowing and kissing the butts of their masters, have decreed that Iowans will have no way of travel that doesn't involve higher air fares, or increasing gas prices. And this idiocy has earned the current leadership the well-deserved criticism of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Of course, Albrecht, making himself look even more stupid, responded to that by boasting of Iowa's leadership in renewable energy. Albrecht, of course, is neither honest or intelligent enough to admit that this leadership was the legacy of Branstad's Democratic predecessors, Tom Vilsack and Chet Culver.

Now, the original article:

In a recent Des Moines Register article, Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen stated that funding for the proposed Iowa City to Chicago Amtrak service would not be in next year's state budget. Paulsen needs to be honest with himself and the public. His decision to prevent funding for the proposed Amtrak service from Iowa City to Chicago has nothing to do with the money. It has everything to do with the special interests who have purchased Paulsen and the Iowa Republican Party. The tea partiers, led by the Koch brothers and their astroturf groups, are working overtime to ensure that Americans have no option other than buying increasingly expensive gasoline for their cars. Paulsen is proving beyond doubt that he's willing to put his allegiance to the Kochs ahead of the best interests of Iowa.

Like many Iowans, I question whether the state's budget crisis is as bad as it seems, considering that we had a surplus before Chet Culver left office. However, saving money with as little pain as possible is always a good thing for government, so here's an idea for Culver's successor, Terry Branstad: