Grades: Washington, D+. Richardson, AAA

Congress finally raised the debt ceiling. Whew! I know, it's crazy when the question whether the government will pay its bills is considered iffy, but for a while there it was in doubt. Refusing to raise the debt ceiling is like a homeowner worrying that maybe he bought more house than he can afford and deciding to "solve" his problem by stopping payment on the mortgage. The tea party caucus in Congress urged the country to become a deadbeat and pretend it's being fiscally responsible. Luckily, saner heads prevailed. (Unfortunately, what the "saner" heads came up with is not going to help the unemployment numbers, but that's another story.)

After the jump, the impact on Richardson.

Repeat Tweets: Debt Ceiling and Light Bulbs

Repeat tweets from July, 2011:

• 2011 07 01 - Navy Pier. Michigan Ave at the Chicago River. Cars, pedestrians. Outdoor cafes. Chicago at midnight - crowded, active, alive.
  
• 2011 07 05 - From the city with the Chicago Bears to a lake in northern Wisconsin with the real thing. Haven't seen bears here in 50 years. Exciting.
  
• 2011 07 11 - Instead of raising railings, why don't Rangers build a ledge (of netting, chain-link fencing, whatever) out from upper decks?
  
• 2011 07 13 - It's sadly ironic that Texas conservatives are suddenly pro-choice ... about light bulbs, not a woman's right to control her own body.
  
• 2011 07 14 - Headline: "Atheist group sues to block Perry from prayer rally." Atheists&lawyers ganging up on Perry? Are they secretly trying to help him?
  
• 2011 07 14 - Compact fluorescents are the new motorcycle helmets. Despite being good for you, some foolishly reject them just because they're the law.
  
• 2011 07 14 - The Greater Journey, by David McCullough: Go East, not West. American writers & artists in Paris in the 1800s. Clever concept that works. B-
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Midsummer in the Steger Garden (2011)

From Flowers

Dallas/Ft Worth's second longest streak of consecutive days over 100°F:

July 2 101°F July 3 101°F July 4 100°F July 5 102°F July 6 102°F July 7 102°F July 8 105°F July 9 101°F July 10 100°F July 11 100°F

July 12 100°F July 13 103°F July 14 103°F July 15 105°F July 16 101°F July 17 101°F July 18 101°F July 19 101°F July 20 100°F July 21 102°F

July 22 101°F July 23 101°F July 24 104°F July 25 106°F July 26 102°F July 27 104°F July 28 101°F July 29 101°F July 30 100°F July 31 103°F

We can tie the all-time record streak (42 consecutive days in 1980) in just twelve more days. No, I don't think that's anything to cheer about.

Local Tea Party and the Federal Debt

The tea party is having an out-sized influence on the debt ceiling crisis in Washington. It's threatening to run challengers in GOP primaries next year for any Congressman who dares defy the tea party's hard line stance against raising the debt limit. The tea party threat appears to have worked (at least temporarily), as Speaker John Boehner was embarrassed by having his GOP caucus refuse to get their "ass[es] in line" behind him and vote for his plan to raise the debt ceiling. He was forced to make it even more conservative, and thus even less likely to become law, in order to get his own caucus to back it.

It's hard to over-emphasize the significance of the tea party victory over John Boehner in Washington. How influential is the tea party here in north Texas? What's it even up to? After the jump, some anecdotal answers.

Water, Water, Nowhere

It's hot. Really hot. And dry. Really dry. The last nine months are the driest in Texas history. And that includes the infamous 1950s drought and the 1930s Dust Bowl drought. On Wednesday, Dallas suffered through its 26th consecutive day of 100 degrees or higher, the third longest such streak in history. We can tie the second longest streak, 29 days, on Saturday. With all of August still ahead of us, the all-time record of 42 consecutive days, set in 1980, is not out of the question.

After the jump, a roundup of the mounting disaster.