I love milestones, don't you?
The U.S. debt surpassed 100 percent of gross domestic product after the government's debt ceiling was lifted, Treasury figures showed Wednesday, according to AFP.
The debt, which had been in somewhat of a holding pattern over the past several weeks, rose $238 billion after President Obama signed the debt-ceiling deal into law Tuesday to avoid the country's first-ever default.
[. . .]
I may have been premature to praise Texas Gov. and likely presidential candidate Rick Perry for his commitment to the 10th Amendment and federalism. He and several other Republican candidates speak a good 10th Amendment game, but when "there is a conflict between state sovereignty and conservative policies, their reverence for the 10th Amendment abruptly goes by the wayside."
The News-Sentinel and Journal Gazette editorial pages might disagree on the worth of right-to-work laws (go ahead and guess which paper holds which position), but I think we'd agree with at least one part of the JG's editorial:
The committee did not hear testimony from the public at its meeting last week, but is expected to do so later. Hoosiers need to consider the repercussions of a right to work law and let lawmakers know what they think. The 2012 session will be too late.
Hey, let's not be so alarmist:
Chicago - Chicago's former top cop is coming out strong against the state's new gambling bill, which would expand gambling across Illinois and bring a new casino to Chicago. Gov. Pat Quinn has yet to sign the bill into law, and Jody Weis is hoping that won't happen.
Hey, fellow straight shooters, we can finally hold our heads high and acknowledge who we are. We have our own special day now:
SAO PAULO (AP) -- The city council of South America's biggest city has adopted legislation calling for a Heterosexual Pride Day to be celebrated on the third Sunday of each December.
The Obama administration has ordered insurers to cover prescription contraceptives and other "women's wellness" services and products -- including breast pumps for nursing mothers, an annual “well-woman” physical, screening for the virus that causes cervical cancer and for diabetes during pregnancy and counseling on domestic violence -- without co-pays:
"Illinois tipped workers make more than double Indiana's." When I saw that headline, I thought it was a story about what cheapskates Hoosier restaurant diners are. But, no, it goes somewhere else:
Illinois minimum wage is $4.95 for tipped employees -- $2.82 cents more than Indiana's.
Indiana is one of the 17 states following the federal minimum wage of $2.13 for tipped workers -- the lowest in the nation.
Former Democratic Indiana House Speaker John Gregg has finally filed his official paperwork to run for governor. He correctly identifies the loss of manufacturing jobs as a top concern, but if he can't come up with any solution better than this, perhaps he should move on the some other issue:
Gregg said he would attempt to lure wind-turbine manufacturers to the state as part of his strategy to revitalize the state's crumbling manufacturing base.
Let's give The Onion the last word on the debt-ceiling deal, shall we?
WASHINGTON—Following Sunday's pathetic excuse for an agreement on raising the government's borrowing limit, Democrats and Republicans took time to celebrate the meager, ineffective deal, calling it “a testament to the not-so-great things that can happen in Washington when both parties barely come together and agree to not really accomplish anything.”
Mission acc
It's hard to tell whether this loon is calling for his followers to start killing people or trying to call in God the hit man:
Is polygamist leader Warren Jeffs trying to put a mafia-style hit out on the judge, prosecutors and the jury in his rape case, which is underway in San Angleo?
Maintaining Evansville's Roberts Stadium on standby until officials decide what to do with it could cost the city as much as $300,000 a year.
[. . .]
A new $127 million downtown arena is scheduled to open in November, which will take sporting events and concerts from the 55-year-old Roberts Stadium.
Tiny Roselawn, Ind., makes someone's list of the "10 kinkiest cities in America":
And we like the debt "reduction" deal because . . .?
Turn out the lights, the party's over:
We've invented penicillin, space shuttles, computers and even artificial hearts, among many other wonders. So where will human intelligence go from here?
The answer, if certain scientists are correct, is nowhere.
Mankind's brain power has reached its peak and it is physically impossible for us to become any smarter, they say.
Organizers of the 2012 Olympic Games in London have dusted off The Clash's "London Calling" for use as a "come-see us" promo, which some are calling the most clueless use of a song since Ronald Reagan appropriated "Born in the USA."
Yet another Indiana city is having an identity crisis:
More than once in this space over the years we have described Evansville as a city with an identity crisis. Descriptions of the city have been many and varied — some complimentary, some not. There has been everything from collective complacency to fitness unfriendly, to a big small town and a good place to raise a family.
Peyton Manning is being praised for agreeing to a contract giving him a "mere" $18 million a year for five years -- the same as Tom Brady is getting! -- when he could have gone for more and become the highest paid player in the league:
Well, good for him:
Tucked away in a small warehouse on a dead-end street, an Internet pioneer is building a bunker to protect an endangered species: the printed word.
