Blogroll

I'm all for economic development and bringing in businesses and replacing buildings and moving things around and not being complacent and embracing change and all that. But, come on, rural development? Can't we leave one place alone that stays the way it always has, just so we have a retreat when all this city agitation we've been creating starts to get to us?

If you're reading this, I presume you're comfortable with the idea of checking out a few blogs every day just to keep up on what the world is up to. If you're looking for some good sites to bookmark, no matter what your interest is, check out this list of blogs, by category, reviewed by Forbes.com. Opening Arguments does not seem to have made the list as yet.

After a car-egging incident late at night that led to a teenager being shot and killed, the city of Indianapolis is vowing to tighten enforcement of its teen curfew law.

If you love language, check out this for a debunking of some popular myths. Eskimos DO NOT have 200 words for snow. People in Appalachia DO NOT still talk like Shakespeare. The Chinese character for crisis DOES NOT combine "danger" and "opportunity." Lots of interesting stuff in the comments, too, including a thorough discussion of the origin of the QWERTY typewriter keyboard.

When you're zipping through newspapers, don't forget to stop by the letters to the editor. Here's a bit of clever observation from, of course, a Hoosier in the Chicago Sun-Times. I would add to his list of stupid signs the ones in buildings everywhere, "Thank you for not smoking." Oh, I have a choice?

I know you probably think traffic here is just awful at times. But, really, count your blessings.

In their efforts to find something -- anything! -- to use against him, those opposing John Roberts' nomination to the Supreme Court have zeroed in on the fact that he belongs to the Federalist Society. No, he doesn't! Yes, he does! Stay tuned. And just what is this evil cabal of constitutional scoundrels? Well, its members want the "principles of limited government" to have a fair hearing and "believe and trust that individual citizens can make the best choices for themselves and society." Those monsters!

Indiana U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh is the outgoing chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, the group made famous by Bill Clinton for trying to move the party back to the center from the extreme left. That group has been meeting (site also includes video), and there's lots of talk about "finding a message" that the nation desperately wants to hear from Democrats. But they also talk about "appealing to the middle," so I'm not sure they get it yet.

While we're watching for the big signs of the end of the world as we know it, like drug usage, teen pregnancy and the fact that we seem to have only two families in this nation from which to choose presidents, civilization will probably slip away a little bit at a time, with the small things. First, it was a glass of water in restaurants -- you can have it, but you have to ask for it.

Since I seem to be in the middle of a mean streak this morning anyway . . .

. . . Could I please have a Jane Fonda exception to the First Amendment? Go ahead and violate her constitutional rights; just shut her up. On second thought, let's have the treason trial that's 30 years late, and put her in prison where she belongs. Unless we want her help to find Osama. Just give her a camera crew and point her to the east.