Globetrotters

Lots of Alabama legislators have already planned their summer vacations, and, as The Birmingham News tells us today, some of them won't even make the state pick up the tab. The getaway locales range from Newfoundland to Taiwan to Seattle, where Rep. Elwyn Thomas, R-Oneonta, hopes this year's meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures will offer valuable information about how to ban cell phone use in cars.

The trip dates are scattered throughout the summer, which leads one to wonder if our lawmakers could be so kind as to find time for other recreational pursuits like passing a General Fund budget.