We should declare a truce in the war on paper:
However, the World Wildlife Fund has taken this to the extreme with a new nonprintable electronic document. Patterned after the highly successful PDF (Portable Document Format) that has revolutionized electronic document sharing and storage, the WWF format takes the decision away from you.
So, think we got our money's worth from that Chicago consulting firm that helped the city develop its social-media skills?
City government is continuing its accessibility offensive with a deeper plunge into social media. Now city residents
President Obama finally and quietly accepted his “transparency” award from the open government community this week — in a closed, undisclosed meeting at the White House on Monday.
Ah, the legend lives on. Mishawaka has become the first Indiana city to designate a "welcome home" day for Vietnam veterans, which is a nice gesture. But do we have to keep dragging out the whole hippies-harassing-vets myth?
Down on Parry Street in South Bend, Vietnam veterans gathered at the Marine Corps League over ice cream, cake and their favorite beverages to say it's about time.
The government consolidation effort went off the rails here, but they're still slogging through it in Evansville and Vanderburgh County. The latest point of contention is whether to merge city police and the sheriff's department. The current proposal calls for the two public safety departments to be consolidated under the leadership of the sheriff, so guess which department is for the merger and which is against? Here is Evansville Fraternal Order of Police President D.J.
One estimate says the Illinois smoking ban has cost the state $800 million in casino-tax revenues. So the sanctimonious numbskulls who keep going on and on about how they're doing everything for our good health are prposing a change:
Wow. Some common sense from the Washington Post, in an editorial about a proposal in the U.S. House to re-establish a voucher program for D.C. schools, a proposal strongly opposed by the Obama administration:
The economy can never get so bad that it hurts the consulting business; there are just too many government units willing to hand over taxpayer money to these "experts":
Fort Wayne Community Schools' board Monday night approved a three-year $355,000 contract with a company to help the district communicate more effectively with its students, teachers, staff, parents and the public through surveys.
For the "at least we're healthier than Indianapolis" file. A new study ranks Indiana counties for "health outcomes." Marion County is 77th on the list. Allen County is relatively much healthier, but at 35th on the list, we don't compare all that well with others in this part of the state. DeKalb is No. 7. Wells is No. 8. Whitley is No. 9, Adams is 15. Huntington is 21. Noble is slighly worse off, though, at 38th.
Not exactly a big shock:
From the states that he won in 2008, Democratic operatives believe that President Obama will have the most difficulty carrying Indiana again when he runs for reelection, according to a special National Journal Political Insiders Poll released on Tuesday.
[. . .]
Haley Barbour said Monday he is willing to compromise when it comes to setting the final budget of his eight-year tenure as governor.
[. . .]
"But I cannot agree to where the House is. I said this to somebody the other day, 'No budget is better than a bad budget.'"
Europe seems about to go off the deep end, but people will have to walk those last few miles to take the plunge:
The European Commission on Monday unveiled a "single European transport area" aimed at enforcing "a profound shift in transport patterns for passengers" by 2050.
The Associated Press fact checks President Obama's speech on Libya and is surprisingly skeptical. This is especially interesting because it gets to the heart of the difference between Obama the candidate and Obama the chief executive:
Not sure if I agree with this or not:
After a 36-day stay in Illinois, Indiana House Democrats came back tonight. And while they're touting certain compromises the GOP made as proof that their standoff was successful, it's not so clear they won much more than would have been achieved if they had never left the state.
I apologize for this, I really do. I am linking to this
A proposal to build a $10 million pet food flavoring plant is raising a stink in eastern Indiana, where residents question whether the number of jobs it would bring would be worth the potential impact on their quality of life.
One small point about nuclear energy:
Okay, I hate to take issue with my own peeps at National Review and elsewhere, but the latest issue of the magazine perpetuates a basic confusion about energy. The second item of “The Week” in the April 4 issue, discussing the hysteria about Japan's nuclear situation, has everything right until the last sentence, which reads: “The United States should continue to pursue nuclear power as an alternative to Qaddafi oil.”
So now President Obama shows us what happens when we choose someone with theoretical knowledge but no real experience. He must rely on formulas that lead to the easy and most obvious answers, failing to take into account the probability of unintended consequences and unexpected deviations from the pattern.
Earth Hour this year, when everybody is supposed to turn everything off in "a symbolic statement on reducing atmosphere-heating pollution," is set for 8:30 p.m. Saturday. And some places, like Notre Dame, are going to extend the pointless gesture to the whole weekend. The golden Dome and -- not kidding here -- Touchdown Jesus -- will be dark for 60 hours:
Some dimwit Republicans still don't get it:
Here's the problem that Hing and too many House Republicans still don't seem to understand: When the deficit is more than a trillion dollars a year, comparatively modest spending cuts are nothing to boast about. They might as well be shooting BBs at a charging elephant.
It's a bad sign that the question is even posed, isn't it?
Is South Bend a dying city?
Thursday a group called the Young Professionals Network sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County had a chance to weigh in. They also got to learn about what's being done to move the city forward.
