Even those nesting Russian dolls are getting some of the action — Russia is buying $28 million worth of the stuff to compensate for reduced demand.

“Provided this greater accountability, I call on states to reform their charter rules, and lift caps on the number of allowable charter schools, wherever such caps are in place.” Can you guess who it is? Yes we can. Oh, and for those who will fixate on the first clause, take a look at this 2003 report on charters by the Fordham Institute.

Obama Administration Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood opines on a recent federal commission’s call to raise the federal gas tax by 10 cents: With the economy the way it is right now, trying to propose a 10-cent a gallon increase in the gasoline tax is not going to fly anywhere in America, including Washington, D.C…Ten cents a gallon increase is not modest, it’s impossible…We are in one of the worst economies we’ve been in since 1982. I was a staffer on Capitol Hill in 1982 and I know how bad it was because I was working for a guy who was representing Caterpillar and things were bad. We’ve got to be talking differently than raising taxes.

Massport raised its parking fees by $1 last month after its Board of Directors gave their Executive Director, by unanimous vote and without discussion, the power to adjust rates. New Transportation Secretary Aloisi is criticizing the increase, in part because their was no public input to the process. I suspect that it also makes the $2 fee that the state wanted to place on Logan parkers more difficult to sell politically. And now the awkward part — the same Transportation Secretary Aloisi (who is criticizing the increase) was a member of the Massport board that voted unanimously and without discussion to give the Executive Director the power to increase that fee.