Everybody knows small businesses are the major force for new jobs in this country -- even President Obama says so. But the selfish bums who own the small firms, citing petty concerns over high taxes, the increasing costs of doing business and the uncertainty of Washington's next moves, aren't hiring anybody. What to do?
Ordinary people, arise. Your time has come:
Why "modern" isn't always better:
INDIANAPOLIS - Ever found that perfect parking space, but then realized you didn't have enough change to feed the meter? New parking proposals revealed Monday night would eliminate that dilemma by allowing you to pay at the meter with a credit card or even your phone.
It's all part of an effort to modernize downtown parking and create revenue for the city and for downtown business.
Of course, the service does leave something to be desired:
A night's stay in the Lake County Jail could soon cost inmates $30, as county officials look to take advantage of a state law that allows counties to be reimbursed for up to half the daily cost of holding a prisoner.
[. . .]
"I don't think $30 is so bad," said Blanchard. "Where else can you stay overnight and get three meals for that price."
"The Daily Show" had a parody piece on open carry, with a guest appearance by our own Paul Helmke, now with the Brady anti-gun organization. A lot of gun-rights people seem upset with the bit, but it made me laugh, and the Brady group doesn't come off looking that good, either.
Paul: "Anyone who's carrying a Colt .45 on their hip constantly in public is not a normal human being" and, "People who carry guns around in public are living in some fantasy world."
It's one thing to realize there are still perverts out there dumb enough to get caught soliciting by Internet sting operations after all the publicity they've gotten, but there are cops who don't get it?
My first thought on seeing in the headline that a city council is going to tackle the deer problem, was, hmmm, good! Bet a lot of people will be enjoying venison on the grill. But this is Bloomington, after all. As the deer population has increased in the city, there are more conflicts between animals and humans. Residents are said to be worried about "deer-vehicle collisions, tick-borne illnesses and damage to gardens and safety." But heaven forbid they cause the deer any problems:
I'm not quite with former President George W. Bush on the topic of his speech in Indianapolis Thursday:
Bush's Thursday night speech at Conseco Fieldhouse will be hosted by Life Centers, a nonprofit Christian ministry that helps women in unplanned pregnancies.
Life Centers' president and CEO Brian Boone says Bush's speech "will demonstrate his belief that every life counts."
The Indiana Supreme Court is now considering the case of the man kicked out of a casino for card counting. The casino says common law allows it to refuse anyone entrance, as long as it's not for "a bad rason." The man's attorney counters that gaming is "a statutory creature" that didn't exist in common-law times. Justice Frank Sullivan Jr.'s comments make sense:
A new state-commissioned review of the lowest-performing schools in Indianapolis Public Schools paints a devastating portrait of unprepared teachers, overwhelmed and distracted principals and meddling central office edicts.
The most basic finding, though, was that at most of the schools many teachers either couldn't or didn't teach.
Rats. I coulda been a contenduh:
Story Inn bartender (and ballotkeeper) Danielle "Dani" Hamm took up the title this April Fool's Day as Story Inn's Village Idiot of 2010.
Hamm won election by consensus for unwittingly setting her hair on fire while driving to work.
A press release from her employer details the incident:
I visited my sister in Indy over the weekend, and the big news there was about the two Carmel 15-year-olds who died in a fiery crash after the driver, also 15, led police on a very short chase before running into a utility pole. Police had tried to stop the car for speeding. The time between the dispatch from the police car announcing the pursuit and the dispatch announcing the crase was two minutes.
A new survey shows folks in South Bend are just oozing optimism (so the headline says), with 70 percent of the people saying they are hopeful about the future. The city hired a firm from Alabama (what, no Hoosier pollsters available?) to "measure the effectiveness of South Bend Redevelopment Commission's contract with a firm hired to help promote Ignition Park and Innovation Park." That just sounds like a big waste of money, doesn't it?
World leaders are heading for Washington to discuss what Barack Obama has described as "the most immediate and extreme threat to global security" - the risk that terrorists could acquire a nuclear bomb.
. . . that makes border security even more important, doesn't it?
Sen. Jon Kyl on ABC's "This Week" yesterday:
No, no, don't think so:
Evan Bayh in February threw Hoosiers a curve ball, announcing plans to vacate his U.S. Senate seat.
But if you believe some Internet chatter, we may see him make another big splash in 2012, running for his old job as governor.
[. . .]
Aliens exist and they live in our midst disguised as humans -- at least, that's what 20 percent of people polled in a global survey believe.
The story says most of the blievers are under 35 and across all income classes. Of those who do not believe, most are women. I'll let someone else do the flip comments on this one.
The news moves so quickly today it can be hard to keep up:
None of this public vacillating can be good news for the White House. The longer Stevens ponders his departure, the more time opponents of his yet-to-be-named successor have to gear up.
I've seen a lot of romantic claptrap on TV this week about how so many miners, really, really love going down in those holes to dig out the coal despite the back-breaking work and the prospect of getting blown to pieces. Here's the reality. (Hell of a version, by the way.)
Can a member of Congress really be this clueless?
Rep. Baron Hill is making no apologies for giving his staff members tens of thousands of dollars in year-end bonuses, despite the tough economic times.
6News' Kara Kenney reported last month that Indiana congressmen doled out more than $600,000 in bonuses from 2006 to 2008.
After Chief Justice John Roberts said, in his speech at the IU school of law, that it's harder for the Supreme Court to reach consensus than it is for Congress, where compromise comes with the job. "In effect," the columnist noted, Roberts implied that "on some decisions a justice is conservative or liberal, and there isn't a lot of middle ground." Then he hunted up the dean of the law school, Gary Roberts, to ask him what makes people liberal or conservative:
