The House of Representatives adjourned Friday, May 13, for a week's recess. Before it did, members passed the Intelligence Authorization Bill by a vote of 392-15.

Not long ago, I wrote about how the private sector outraces and laps government. While governments dither and dispute, the private sector discovers.

Though state waters in Escambia County had been closed to saltwater fishing for less than a day, some of the area’s fishing-related businesses Monday afternoon were already fretting the loss of customers.

“Today we’ve done about $20 in business,” said Doug Vance, owner of Gray’s Tackle and Guide Service.

Florida has absolutely no frame of reference for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or its effect on the state economy. And officials admit it will take years -- not weeks or months -- before they can respond to all the claims likely to come from the disaster.

Grass somehow manages to grow up through small cracks in the sidewalk. Similarly, the American private sector somehow seems to be exerting itself despite the vast expansion of government by the Barack Obama administration and congressional Democrats.

While Florida gets ready for a special session of the Legislature that convenes Tuesday to ponder the future of oil drilling in state waters, the U.S. Coast Guard increasingly is playing a prominent role in combating the effects of the Gulf oil spill.