The traffic signals were out at two busy intersections on my way to work this morning -- Broadway and Jefferson and Broadway and Washington -- and all the drivers just went into four-way-stop mode. It was very smooth and efficient, no panic or frustration. Why can't we react that way all the time to unforeseen difficulties?
Politics corrupt everything:
Alcoholic drinks have been forbidden on Belmont University's campus since at least 1951. The small Christian school in Nashville has decided to make an exception to the rule when it hosts a presidential debate Tuesday.
Just when you think things can't possibly get any sillier:
The words, "bride" and "groom" will be restored on all California marriage licenses starting next month, state health officials announced Monday.
On June 16, when same-sex marriage became legal in the state, the Department of Public Health issued new gender-neutral marriage forms with the words "Party A," and "Party B" in place of bride and groom.
It's been quite a while since we had a "research dollars hard at work" entry, so here's a dandy:
When dining at Chinese buffets, overweight individuals serve themselves and eat differently than people of normal weight, according to researchers at Cornell University.
Brian Wanink said that obese people sit closer to the food, generally face it and even chew less. He is the lead author of the study and wrote the book "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think."
Considering what a botch Washington has already made of education, this is a small comfort:
Both candidates - Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama - have been quick to clarify that education is still a concern, especially considering that NCLB will have to be renewed - with changes, both agree - during the next administration. But they admit it's something that is not at the forefront of most Americans' minds.
If a man has fallen (or jumped) from the roof of a 20-story building, does it matter whether or not he acknowledges, at about the 10th floor, that he indeed seems to be in mid-flight headed toward an unpleasant landing?
Ball State University economist Michael Hicks has been among the holdouts who have insisted, for months now, that the economy had not slipped into recession. On Monday, Hicks said he's changed his mind: We're in a recession.
Birch Bayh spoke in Terre Haute and told Democrats that every vote matters, which is slightly different and more truthful than the cliche that every vote counts. He noted that he first won as U.S. senator by a margin of victory that amounted to two votes per precinct:
Yesterday was the last day to register and the first day to vote early. Registration is at an all-time high of more than 4.4 million -- nearly 70 percent of the state's 6.3 million residents. A new poll shows what the fuss is all about:
The numbers are even: 46 percent for Barack Obama and 46 percent for John McCain. Three percent named another candidate and just five percent are undecided.
I saw a presidential campaign ad last night in which we were warned that we could not afford a certain candiate's new tax plan, which would cost taxpayers another $3 trillion. The ad was on behalf of Democrat Barack Obama, and we were being warned about Republican John McCain. I haven't felt so disoriented since last week, when I read this and realized it wasn't Obama, either:
I don't know how I'd rank the Colts' comeback yesterday on a technical basis, but on the emotional-satisfaction level, it has to rank in my top five of all time. The team slid after its Super Bowl year, and this year looks to be even worse. So to see them go from being down 27-10 to winning 31-27 in the space of about five minutes was nothing less than exhilarating. It was especially welcome at the end of a very long week with nothing but diaster after disaster coming from Washington.
They finally got Al Capone on income tax charges, and O.J. finally gets his, too:
The columnist George Will has often remarked that Barry Goldwater won the 1964 presidential election, but that "it took 16 years to count the votes." Ronald Reagan's 1980 election was a victory for Goldwater conservatives.
In that same spirit, O.J. Simpson has been found guilty of the murders of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
You suppose this guy went through all through school thinking this would be the mark of his success? Think this will be in the first paragraph of his obit?
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer has re-appointed a southern Indiana man to represent producers on the federal Lamb Promotion, Research and Information Board.
[. . .]
Do you trust these people to, a) know what questions to ask and, b) understand the right answer if they hear it?
State lawmakers want some answers about gasoline prices.
A commission made up of Indiana House and Senate members plans to hold a hearing at the Statehouse Wednesday to examine gasoline pricing policies in Indiana.
[. . .]
Didn't the federal government just spend $700 billion of our money to address this problem?
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson used a Friday appearance in Jeffersonville to talk up a plan that would use mediators to renegotiate mortgages on the verge of foreclosure.
It's part of a legislative package for which she would push to address home loan foreclosures if elected next month.
Two days before voters go to the polls to pick Indiana's next governor, they'll have to turn back their clocks an hour as daylight saving time comes to an end for the year.
For Gov. Mitch Daniels, who pushed the controversial time change through the legislature during his first year in office, the timing couldn't be worse.
Now, THIS is cool:
Researchers have demonstrated a flexible television screen which could result in people folding up their computer and putting it in their pocket.
The design could be used for television and posters, as well as computers, while it could also pave the way for the development of newspaper display technology which would allow readers to upload daily news to an easy-to-carry display contraption.
Don't forget that the voter registration deadline is Monday, but if you plan to register at one of the BMV branches, you only have until tomorrow, since they're closed on Sunday and Monday.
Oh, thank God, I thought they might have all been snapped up by now:
Tickets are now available for the final gubernatorial debate, to be held Oct. 14 at the Indiana University Auditorium.
History should be the most exciting subject students encounter. It tells the story of how we became who we are. How could that be boring? Easily, apparently:
INDIANAPOLIS - The state Board of Education says it recently discovered what students yawning through social studies class may already know -- their textbooks are boring.
