Hoosiers lead the way on family values:
A Portland woman has been sentenced to prison for drug-related convictions, and her 17-year-old son might be joining her in the Indiana Department of Correction.
Patricia J. Martin, 39, recently was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison after she pleaded guilty to dealing in a controlled substance, a Class B felony that carried a standard 10-year sentence.
[. . .]
Tomorrow, when Barack Obama becomes the 43rd American to take the oath of office of president of the United States, he will not swear (or affirm) to preserve American values. He will not swear (or affirm) to protect American. He will not swear (or affirm) to defend this nation's borders. He will swear (or affirm) that he will, to the best of his ability, "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Probably like many of you, I've been fascinated by Flight 1549, which first had an incredible stroke of bad luck, then had so many things go right it could be considered a miracle. The pilot is being called a hero, but I'm not sure that's quite the right description. This gets a little closer:
What kind of delicate flowers are we raising these days?
Allen County school districts follow a simple guideline when temperatures drop: If wind chills reach minus 25 degrees, then school will either be delayed or closed. All four local districts are closed today.
Duct tape is a wonderful product that has a thousand and one uses. I'm guessing this isn't one of the recommended ones:
Tippecanoe Schools has dismissed a veteran teacher who reportedly duct-taped a student's mouth shut.
In a letter to the School Board dated Dec. 19, Superintendent Scott Hanback recommended ending Battle Ground Middle School teacher Pamela Dahnke's contract. The School Board voted Wednesday to cancel her contract.
[. . .]
It couldn't have been otherwise. The $825 billion "stimulus" plan as outlined by the House Appropriations Committee is out, and:
It is frightening.
The highlights of this bill, allegedly crafted to save us from the Wall Street crisis but is obviously being used to fund every hail Mary liberal, entitlement cause under the sun, includes:
Omigod, here's some astonishing news that's just going to blow the lid off this whole casino thing:
Indiana's casino workers and customers breathe air containing 14 times more secondhand smoke than the air outside, a Purdue University study has found.
What great news. Kroger plans a $75 million expansion program in the Fort Wayne area that will add three new stores, expand two existing ones and remodel three more, creating 250 new jobs over the next three years. Guess we have to give thanks to some savvy economic development planners in local and county government and, who knows, maybe the state even had a hand in it.
Oh, wait:
Not in the running for Future Leaders of Indiana:
Three "bored" New Castle men face criminal charges over their alleged plan to bomb a homeless man's campsite in a wooded area behind a local church.
Well, this one's going to make me sound like a callous jerk, but here goes anyway.
So, you're just living your life, minding your own business, and one day the city stops picking up your garbage:
Alan Davis, a resident of Jeffersonville's Colonial Park, learned of a new city policy the hard way.
He put his garbage out to the curb during the first week of January and it wasn't picked up. The next trash day rolled around and so he tried it again — still the same result.
Lucien R. McRobbie, 18, has been arrested on marijuana charges. Ordinarily, most of us would never know that. People who rob banks or stab people in bars or commit other felonies usually have their names published in the newspapers and announced on TV as part of their lawbreaking experience. The thousands and thousands of people who commit misdemeanors, which these marijuana charges are, do not. There just isn't enough print space or air time. So why pick on McRobbie?
Life imitates art, which surely imitated life:
Remember what happened to Flick?
In the 1983 film "A Christmas Story," based in the 1940s, Flick, a friend of the young protagonist, Ralphie, gets his tongue stuck to a flag pole when he tries tasting the frozen metal.
Who would DO that? Well, apparently, Flick is not alone.
Which is worse, a nominee for secretary of education who gives thanks to those "who gave my sister and I . . ." or a nominee for secretary of treasury who neglected to pay all his taxes? The former, I'd suggest, but not because of the "he's too big to fail" defense some are offering for Tim Geithner:
Are they coming to take us away?
INDIANAPOLIS - JAN. 13, 2009 - A 19-year-old woman exiting I-65 at I-465 northwest of Indianapolis at 10:45 p.m. witnessed the sky light up a bright blue color while also observing a single blue beam of light at its center connecting the sky to the ground.
[. . .]
Ah, family togetherness. Off-duty Muncie police officer Chris Kirby was waiting in Wal-Mart's customer service line with his wife and daughter when he had an encounter with Edward R. Pluhar Jr., 26, of Frankfort, and his father, 61-year-old Edward R. Pluhar Sr. According to police reports, Pluhar Jr. cut in front of officer Kirby, and Kirby told him to wait his turn, but the man refused. Let us consult the Muncie Star Press for the continuation of the story:
The next time you see a news organization jumping on a politician for being "out of touch with the lives of ordinary Americans" (like, let's see, Bush 41 being amazed at supermarket scanners or John McCain being ignorant of computers), consider that the news organization might need a little reality check itself. Here's CBS-TV telling viewers how to have meals "on the cheap":
I considered blogging about Gov. Daniels' State of the State address, but it was pretty standard fare. The governor says we have tough times ahead, but we're better prepared than most, so let's stick together and tough it out. Well, you know. Rah, rah, rah.
The city of Gary is accused of racial discrimination in its hiring of paramedics, and the irony is so thick that it makes one want to set "what goes around, comes around" to music and hire a brass band to play it:
The federal government is suing the city of Gary over accusations the city discriminated against white applicants for paramedic jobs.
For 15 years, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation have measured nations' commitment to free-market capitalism with their "Index of Economic Freedom." On the 2009 list, the United States has lost ground because of increases in both tax revenue and government spending as a percentage of GDP. It might not seem like that big a deal -- we dropped only from fifth place to sixth on the list of 183 nations -- but it bears watching:
