Current Affairs

Well, they're dropping like flies, aren't they? After the deaths of Don Knotts and Darren McGavin, Fort Wayne blogger Left of Centrist did a very nice post, with photos, of all the 1960s television stars who have died lately. And he did a new post to cover the loss of Dennis Weaver.

Maybe the eminent-domain backlash from the Kelo decision is only the beginning:

Tempers also are growing short over the use of “regulatory takings”

I guess there are worse things our legislators could be wasting time on than direct wine shipments:

Georgia has an official amphibian, crop, folk dance, insect, peanut monument, 'possum and vegetable.

This year it might get an official type of dirt.

Both Indiana and Fort Wayne are spending money to come up with snappy slogans in order to entice the tourists. Doubt that either one will top Australia's:

Australia launched a new A$180 million ($133 million) advertising campaign on Thursday which seeks to attract international tourists by swearing at them.

Some people will attribute this death to the dangers of air-guitar, some will call it yet another side-effect of the worry about secondhand smoke. I say a mattress manufacturer needs to be sued.

I know some of you rightwing, fascist, law-and-order types out there will be in a snit over this decision:

ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico (AP) -- A 16-year-old convicted of killing his family on newsman Sam Donaldson's ranch was sentenced Thursday as a juvenile and ordered held in state custody until he turns 21.

State District Judge James Waylon Counts ruled that the state failed to prove Cody Posey could not be rehabilitated -- the overriding factor in sentencing him as a juvenile.

You think it's kind of scary that a lot of people get their "news" from the late-night comedians and "The Daily Show"? You don't know the half of it:

CBS) CHICAGO Gov. Rod Blagojevich said that he didn't realize it was all a big joke when Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" came to do a segment on him recently, a segment that, among other things, made fun of his last name and suggested he might be gay.

William Bennett and Alan Dershowitz, who probably don't agree on much else, join forces in a column calling the American press's reluctance to print the Muhammad cartoons an abdication of responsibility:

We celebrate beauty all the time, so it seems only fair to saulte 10 of the ugliest things ever created by human beings. I was especially struck by this one:

Though I'm still trying to make up my mind on the controversy over a United Arab Emirates company being allowed to manage six U.S. ports, I have to say I'm inclined to support the Bush administration. I've had a lot of problems with Bush, especially his decidedly unconservative approach to domestic policies, but his commitment to the security of the United States has always been and always will be his strong suit. We're now going to start listening to his critics on security issues? Please.