I Did Not Know This

WASHINGTON (AP) - Roads and bridges built by U.S. taxpayers are starting to be sold off, and so far foreign-owned companies are doing the buying.

On a single day in June, an Australian-Spanish partnership paid $3.8 billion to lease the Indiana Toll Road. An Australian company bought a 99-year lease on Virginia's Pocahontas Parkway, and Texas officials decided to let a Spanish-American partnership build and run a toll road from Austin to Seguin for 50 years.Few people know that the tolls from the U.S. side of the tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, Canada, go to a subsidiary of an Australian company - which also owns a bridge in Alabama.

Some experts welcome the trend. Robert Poole, transportation director for the conservative think tank Reason Foundation, said private investors can raise more money than politicians to build new roads because these kind of owners are willing to raise tolls. "They depoliticize the tolling decision,'' Poole said. Besides, he said, foreign companies have purchased infrastructure in Europe for years; only now are U.S. companies beginning to get into the business of buying roads and bridges.

Picture of the Day

War In Israel

Has anyone noticed that there's been zero outrage over Israel's incursions into Gaza and Lebanon? What's up? Could it be everyone's tired of Iran's attitude and wants them knocked down a few pegs? Or, could it be that Israel's neighbors (Saudis, Egypt, etc.) have given them the green light to take out the neighborhood's undesireables?

Yes Folks, They've Finally Arrived...Soccer Helmets

There's a Massachusetts law working its way through the state legislature that doesn't just mandate the use of helmets, it actually originally sought to outlaw heading the ball from youth leagues to colleges and universities. We are quickly becoming a nation of metrosexuals.

Quote (or Poem) of the Day

Vice is a creature of such frightful mien,
That to be loathed, needs but to be seen.
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.

-- Alexandar Pope

Somebody Likes the Reds

From FOX Sports:

6. How, um, wild will the NL Wild-Card chase get?This one's a mess. Right now, seven teams...or almost half the league...are within three games of the Wild-Card lead in the NL. That's a crowded fray to say the least. The Dodgers, Reds, Rockies, Giants, Brewers, Astros and Diamondbacks all have shots at the final NL playoff berth, so you can bet it'll be a frenzied stretch drive in the senior circuit.

Our take: We'll put our money on the potent bats and decidedly easier schedule of the Reds. Cincinnati will also get Paul Wilson, Brandon Claussen and Grant Balfour back in the second half, so they'll have pitching options.

"Her Concern Is For the Children"

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Supermodel Christie Brinkley and her fourth husband, Peter Cooke, have separated, her publicist said Tuesday.

"Yes, it's true. The couple has separated," publicist Elliot Mintz said in a statement.
Cooke and Brinkley married in 1996 and have a daughter.

Brinkley, 52, was previously married to Frenchman Jean-Francois Allaux, singer Billy Joel and developer Richard Taubman.

She and Joel have a daughter, and she and Taubman have a son.

"Her immediate concern is for her children, and she's hoping during this obviously difficult time that people will be kind enough to respect her privacy," Mintz said.