A perfect example of the law of unintended consequences:
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- U.S. coal exports reached their highest level in two decades last year as strong demand from Asia and Europe offered an outlet for a fuel that is falling from favor at home.
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Something to think about as we wait for the single Lugar-Mourdock debate tonight (7-8 p.m., check your listings but I do know it will be on WANE):
The Tea Party has lost a number of its top election targets this year, leaving Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) to emerge as public enemy No. 1 for national conservative groups — and poll numbers suggest they could get their man.
The good news is that illegal immigration from Mexico is now effectively zero. The bad news is why:
A couple of surprises maybe. Did you know Sonia Sotomayor was disabled? Did you know diabetes was a disability?
Guess this should be counted as a victory -- Indianapolis "lost less that expected" on the Super Bowl:
Final expenses released Monday by the city's sports and convention board show it's on the hook for $350,000 after reimbursements by the National Football League and its associates. The amount is less, though, than the $810,000 loss the board expected to incur.
This Associated Press article goes into all the reasons Sen. Richard Lugar is being challenged from the right in his party and why some see him and Orrin Hatch, the Tea Party's other main target this year, as "old bulls out of touch with today's conservatives." I think this gets to the heart of it:
Here's a rebuttal to that Robert Samuelson piece in Social Security I posted:
Would Franklin Roosevelt approve of Social Security as it exists today? The question might seem absurd at first, writes Robert Samuelson, but consider that Roosevelt envisioned a contributory pension plan, because a "pay-as-you-go" plan would creater huge debts or much higher taxes as the number of retirees expanded. But that's exactly where he are today:
The case of a Marine who is facing discharge for posting disparaging comments about President Obama on Facebook has renewed a debate about free speech rights for members of the military.
Over the years, I've interviewed a number of political candidates who could only be described as delusional. They were running in races they had zero chance of winning yet insisted they were committed to working hard and being the first one ever to defy the odds. And these haven't just been third-party windmill tilters. There were also the Democrats and Republicans running in districts in which their parties seldom or never won and pretending that they have a legitmate shot.
