illumined horizon

This seems like an interesting experiment, I could see this happening in college towns and the like, here in the U.S. I doubt anything like this would happen in LA or NYC, though:

European traffic planners are dreaming of streets free of rules and directives. They want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free and humane way, as brethren -- by means of friendly gestures, nods of the head and eye contact, without the harassment of prohibitions, restrictions and warning signs.

A project implemented by the European Union is currently seeing seven cities and regions clear-cutting their forest of traffic signs. Ejby, in Denmark, is participating in the experiment, as are Ipswich in England and the Belgian town of Ostende.

The utopia has already become a reality in Makkinga, in the Dutch province of Western Frisia. A sign by the entrance to the small town (population 1,000) reads "Verkeersbordvrij" -- "free of traffic signs." Cars bumble unhurriedly over precision-trimmed granite cobblestones. Stop signs and direction signs are nowhere to be seen. There are neither parking meters nor stopping restrictions. There aren't even any lines painted on the streets.

"The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior," says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman, one of the project's co-founders. "The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles."

Bush's environmental legacy will be the rolling back of a whole century of advancement.

There is jubilation in Europe as Democrats have taken control of both houses of congress:

Following the midterm slap in the face to the Bush Adminstration there has been little sympathy in Europe for the beleaguered White House. The day after the Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives, in much of Europe there is quiet satisfaction -- and relief.

Long time Republican Frank Schaeffer, has gotten fed up with the Allen campaign's attacks on Jim Webb. He plans to re-register as an independent.

This guy is wrong. For example, polls consistently show the majority of the American people favoring universal health care. Michael Moore's book Dude Where's My Country was all about how Americans poll liberal on a whole host of issues, yet elect politicians that are more conservative than how the country polls. What the Republicans do is get people all heated up about gay rights, guns, abortion, terrorism and such, then things like health care, the environment, education, and related concerns get moved aside. So I don't see the author's point that public opinion is responsible for the predicament we're in right now.

If the Democrats don't make significant changes it's more because they're raising money from the same people as Republicans, then that they are doing what public opinion reflects.