It wasn’t enough to ignore science and push through the idiotic idea that talking on cell phones is somehow contributing to reckless driving. He’s back with another bill to raise the fines that someone would incur if they were ticketed for this offense. From the Courant,

“Many constituents reached out to me and complained that the law is not being enforced and I know that they’re absolutely right. They’re absolutely right,” said Rep. Thomas J. Drew, R-Fairfield. “It’s a safety issue.”

The fine would jump from $100 to $250 under a bill that was raised Wednesday and will have a public hearing before the Transportation Committee on Jan. 24.

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The Washington Post leads with the Dodd story:

Dodd introduced legislation to cap the number of troops in Iraq at roughly 130,000, saying that lawmakers should take an up-or-down vote on Bush’s plan to send additional troops to the country and not settle for the nonbinding resolution several Senate leaders prefer.

Later, however, Democratic senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Carl M. Levin (Mich.) were joined by Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska in putting forward a resolution that describes Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq as “not in the national interest of the United States.” Hagel, a Vietnam War veteran, is considered a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2008.

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