The cluster effect is fascinating. We don't hear about something for years and years, then suddenly there's a whole bunch of them in a very short time. The latest phenomenon to display the effect is the "night-shift air traffic controller falling asleep and endangering planeloads of people" story. How did that become a national catastrophe almost overnight?
In the current climate of red hot political rhetoric, with some people urging civil discourse one day and screaming at their opponents the next, it's refreshing to read this common sense take on "offense" by Dick Cavett:
The geniuses who came up with the new Purdue Pete must have gotten their inspiration from New Coke:
President Obama is overly fond of the "false choice" rhetorical devise (see here), so it's approrpriate for somebody to spring one on him occasionally:
Tim Pawlenty endeared himself to enthused Republican activists here Thursday with an impassioned attack against President Barack Obama's rhetoric on the looming debt-ceiling fight, accusing him of misleading on the issue.
Maybe this will work, and maybe it won't:
INDIANAPOLIS -- A push to punish parents who allow their children to miss too many days of school is gaining momentum at the Statehouse.
An amendment added as part of Republicans' push for educational reform would make it easier to prosecute parents on charges of educational neglect, 6News' Joanna Massee reported.
Here's an innovation we can hope becomes a trend:
He sits somberly on that lone chair outside the dressing room, staring at the floor, a pile of shopping bags piled at his feet.
Poor guy was dragged to the mall.
Poor guy no more.
Question of the day: How can you tell a boob from a boobie?
EASTON, Pa. (AP) -- School officials in eastern Pennsylvania will appeal a federal judge's ruling that allows students to wear breast cancer fundraising bracelets that say, "I (heart) boobies!"
The Easton Area School District voted unanimously Wednesday to appeal the decision by District Judge Mary McLaughlin.
Maybe I'm too jaded and cynical, but I don't respond well anymore to symbolic political gestures:
The Paula Hughes campaign says, “Stop that car!” The mayor's take-home city car, that is.
In a Wednesday news release, Hughes said she would sell the city car now used by Mayor Tom Henry and use her own transportation to get to work and to conduct city business.
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce surveyed 218 employers representing more than 16,000 workers and found, among other things:
>> The amount of employers who said they had been affected by skill shortfalls in 2010 jumped 75 percent from prior year.
Speaking of acohol, Indiana is one of only three states -- along with Georgia and Connecticut -- to ban Sunday alcohol sales in stores. If the governor of Georgia sings a newly passed bill, it will be down to two:
When Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan seven years ago, the military wasn't exactly eager for it to come out that the former NFL player had fallen to friendly fire. "Cover-up" is not too strong a word for the disinformation campaign that Gen. Stanley MChrystal, then the commander of special operations in Afghanistan, participated in:
To my post last week about Indiana's universal carding law for alcohol buyers, commenter littlejohn attached this comment:
Or, we could just get rid of the minimum drinking ago altogether. Seriously, when you were a teenager, did the law prevent you from getting a six-pack if you wanted one? Is a drunk 18-year-old any worse than a drunk 21-year-old, or, for that matter, a drunk 50-year-old?
The tease continues:
Wearing a green jacket that made him look like he'd just won the masters, Gov. Mitch Daniels on Tuesday talked about the "savage process" politicians go through when running for president, and about the "certainty of hurtful things" occurring to the families of those seeking the job.
Paul Helmke never gives up:
Does it have to be either-or?
Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday that he expects a bill cracking down on illegal immigration to be moderated to focus more on employers and less on law enforcement.
[. . .]
Sen. Mike Delph, the Carmel Republican who authored Senate Bill 590, said, though, that some law enforcement provisions will remain under the proposed amendments.
"Perfect" isn't quite one of those absolutes like "unique." There are markers along the way to perfection, which is why the Constitution can refer to a "more perfect union." But what do various degrees of perfection mean? Based on my reading of this story, I realize I may not have a clear understanding of "almost" perfect.
The Indianapolis Star has a conflict-of-interest piece about the General Assembly that attempts to show "just how cozy the relationship between state officials and industry can be in this state." It focuses on a bill that would limit the number of licensed nursing home beds in Indiana because the state's Family and Social Services Administration thinks that would keeps costs down and improve patient care.
Another extremist with a dangerously radical idea:
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, considering a White House bid, said Tuesday that states need more flexibility to devise their health care programs for the poor and predicted costs would skyrocket under the health care overhaul pushed by the Obama administration.
Say so long to the travel and convention business:
If Jim Blascovich and Jeremy Bailenson are right, here is what's in store for you and your avatar very soon, probably within the next five years:
1) Without leaving your living room or office, you'll sit at three-dimensional virtual meetings and classes, looking around the table or the lecture hall at your colleagues' avatars.
