No Joy in Fristville

The much-maligned $100 tax rebate-for-high-gas-prices is dead.

Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, said he had decided to jettison the provision, which would have generated billions of dollars by changing the way businesses treat inventories for tax purposes. Instead, he said the Senate Finance Committee would hold hearings on the plan "later this year, so the pluses and minuses of the provision can become well known."

"We'll hold hearings" is the Dirksen Building equivilent of "This was fun; I'll call you sometime."