I admit that sometimes it's a struggle to come up with our weekly poll questions, and some of them might seem a trifle lame. I don't think we'll ever have one this bad, though, from the Adelaide Advertiser and Sunday Mail of Australia:
Is it a good idea to marry a serial killer? Vote in our poll on the lower right of this page
I voted so I could see the current results, which are (based on 1,787 votes):
Yes, love transcends all boundaries: 21 percent
A lot of conservatives are cheering the struggles of the MSM, even wishing for the imminent demise of all those biased, leftwing newspapers that deserve what they're getting. Be careful what you wish for, says Rick Henderson, for the last three years an editorial writer for the now-dead-and-gone Rocky Mountain News:
Not real sure about this:
Doodling while listening can help with remembering details, rather than implying that the mind is wandering as is the common perception. According to a study published today in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, subjects given a doodling task while listening to a dull phone message had a 29% improved recall compared to their non-doodling counterparts.
You may remember Ed Coleman. He's the Indianapolis City-County Council member who jumped from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party because he had become "disillusioned by the abuse of power by GOP leaders" and he perceived that both "Republican and Democratic leaders on the council wanted obedient followers." He's still disillusioned and, no doubt, shocked and dismayed as well, because those darn politicians just won't quit with the politics!
Ah, the old "build us up to tear us down" gambit comes a callin':
Daniels acknowledges many Indiana City and county governments are chomping at the bit to get stimulus plan dollars flowing into their communities.
But he fears they may be setting themselves up for disappointment.
Fort Wayne Police already do this, and what's not to like about having it as a requirement for all other police departments in the state?
Police investigators would be required to record questioning of criminal suspects who were in custody under a proposed rule being considered by the Indiana Supreme Court.
The rule would apply to "custodial interrogations" that took place after a person had been detained. Recordings could be audio, video or digitaL.
With bad news about the economy just piling higher and higher, somebody sooner or later just had to do a story about the unhappiest cities in America. Business Week has stepped up to the plate, picking Portalnd, Ore., as the absolute worst:
Now, class, what have I been saying about letting those red-light cameras into Indiana?
Like a lot of California drivers, Dave Soss just got a $490 lesson on how the state budget really works.
It all began when Soss, who lives in the East Bay, was ticketed Feb. 1 for rolling through a red light while making a right turn in Emeryville - and was hit with what he called a "mind-blowing" penalty.
[. . .]
If the Obama administration keeps demonizing "the richest Americans" (those who make at least $250,000), it can make them seem evil and greedy, but it can't make them stupid:
I know times are so tough that all the hard-luck stories that have been piling up may have nearly exhausted your store of sympathy. But pause for just a moment to consider this heart-rending account of the plight of some the West Coast's downtrodden. As told by the Los Angeles Times, because of an inability of some people to get government-provided converter box coupons, "Digital TV may bypass skid row":
The Financial Times examines President Obama's first proposed budget and makes a shocking discovery:
Indiana has relaxed its alcohol laws in recent years to allow kids to join Mom and Dad for dinner in certain bars at certain times under certain circumstances, and that's fine. It's not going to be the end of the world if Junior sees the folks drinking in the company of other people who also drink instead of just while they're sitting in front of the TV set. But let's notPosted in: Hoosier lore, The law and the jungle, Politics and other nightmares
Omigod, I can't believe it, the day has finally arrived. Sit down, folks, and take a deep breath -- don't say I didn't warn you -- because this -- squeal! -- is Square Root Day!
Redwood City teacher Ron Gordon is searching for the most unique idea which includes the most participants celebrating Square Root Day — 03/03/09, better known as today. Feb. 2, 2004, or 02/02/04, was the last such day. It will not occur again for seven years, one month and one day on 04/04/16.
I've written here that my weekly reading of Newsweek is how I keep up with current liberal thought (though the magazine would deny that such is what it offers). But it is getting to be a greater and greater chore. First, they had the "We are all Socialists now" cover. Now they tell us that Radical Islam is a fact of life and we have to just get used to it, with a cover in Arabic:
Amen:
Conservatives created Barack Obama and his vision of the Europeanization of America, and so have themselves to blame for the current recessional, as the present as we have known it fades into the past.
[. . .]
So the Republicans betrayed their own principles and allowed the Democrats in 2006 and 2008 to run against deficits in order that they could enlarge deficits, convinced that the natural opposition was long ago discredited.
The Memphis Commercial-Appeal is getting a lot of heat from those with concealed-carry permits angry over a searchable database of Tennesseans with the permits:
Gun owners say the database is an invasion of privacy and makes permit holders easy targets for burglaries. They have flooded the newspaper with complaints — some 600 e-mails daily, threatened staff and posted personal information about newspaper employees, including Google maps to some homes.
I've heard of laws being fine-tuned before, but this effort takes the cake:
The New Albany City Council will amend the adult cabaret ordinance that passed on first and second readings when it convenes Monday.
The new measure switches the closing time for live adult entertainment clubs from midnight to 3 a.m. and shifts the 6-foot no-touch rule to 5 feet.
People are still going to the movies despite the economy, and perhaps in large part because of the economy:
"I have four children and it's the cheapest thing around," said Laurie Furrer.
[. . .]
If we were going to go to something like the zoo, I would probably spend $50-60 and I've only spent $25 here with myself and four children," Furrer said.
I know drug dealers give our their goods for free to build up a customer base, secure in the knowledge that, once hooked, their clients will pay whatever is asked. That might even work for something like ice cream. I do not think it will work for newspapers:
Newsday appears poised to break from the newspaper pack with a plan by parent Cablevision Systems Corp. to end free content on the paper's Web site.
