... United is considering letting customer bid on overbooked seats. It might not work as well as some think. I can see it now: "What do I hear for this middle seat next to the bathroom on this flight from New York to L.A.?" ... Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price was forced from office after he showed a taste for blowing money on charter flights. Apparently, one wing of the Republican party has switched from trying to drain the swamp to refilling part of it. After all, wasn't it Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty, or give me a seat with leg room"? One of Price's trips was a charter flight from Dulles airport in Virginia to Philadelphia, Pa., for $25,000 while a round-trip train ticket would have cost $72. Hey, I would have volunteered to drive down to D.C. and pick up for half that. .... One of my friends asked me at lunch this week why my wife was not with us. "She's getting a mammogram," I replied. "Oh, how much does it cost to send one of those?" he inquired.