Between them, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain are likely to contribute more to candidate flip-floppery than all of the past presidential candidates combined (although I like the term used in this article better -- "U-turns):
Mr McCain's U-turns have mostly increased his appeal to the Republican Party's base, placing him on a rightward trajectory.
Now, we're getting down to the stuff that really matters in the presidential campaign:
If the presidential election goes to the dogs, John McCain is looking like best in show.
From George Washington's foxhound "Drunkard" to George W. Bush's terriers "Barney" and "Miss Beazley," pets are a longtime presidential tradition for which the presumed Republican nominee seems well prepared, with more than a dozen.
The apparent Democratic nominee Barack Obama, on the other hand, doesn't have a pet at home.
Representatives of Indiana Michigan Power visited with the editorial board yesterday to argue for their proposed rate hike, and I've gone into a mini obsessive state over what electricity costs:
1,000 watt-hours is a kilowatt-hour (kWh). For example.
- One 100-watt light bulb on for an hour, is 0.1 kWh (100/1000)
- One 100-watt light bulb on for ten hours is 1 kWh (1 bulbs x 100W x 10h= 1000Wh = 1 kWh)
Getting rough out there in talk land. Third-best recent putdown by one celebrity of another -- Anderson Cooper's producer on Fox's Gretta Susteren:
The executive producer of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 last week called Susteren's On The Record "not a news program. It's missing-person of the day."
Second-best: Sustern's 1,000-word response:
Just in case you thought Congress was being distracted from the really important things by trifles such as our energy crisis and the war on terror:
Here's one I just never imagined the federal government might take responsibility for: bedbugs.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court's repeal of the ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., may be a boon for a segment of the firearms industry whose last major windfall might have been in the heyday of the Dirty Harry movies: those who make and sell revolvers.
Today's "Well, duh" headline -- "Drinking games prove deadly to college students":
Yes, Charlie, it sounds exactly like that:
Amid all the speculation about whether U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh might be picked to be Sen. Barack Obama's running mate, at least some pundits are saying not to count out another prominent Hoosier -- Republican Sen. Richard Lugar.
What? No cut-rate college education for illegal immigrants? Goodness -- if we aren't careful, they might start getting the idea they aren't supposed to be here:
Some states are making it harder for illegal immigrants to attend college by denying in-state tuition benefits or banning undocumented students.
Hey, that would make a pretty good slogan for Jill Long Thompson, wouldn't it? "A gallon of milk in every fridge, and a bowl of cereral on every table!":
When asked what she would do to offset a $120 million hit on the state budget, Thompson simply said that savings could be found over time. But Hoosiers were hurting now, she said, and Daniels should act.
"I will balance the federal budget by the end of my first term" is one of those grandiose pledges (like "Read my lips -- no new taxes" and "I will begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Day 1 of my administration") so ridiculous on their face that we shouldn't even be talking about it, except to heap scorn on the person making it:
Call PETA -- maybe they can help:
Eating high levels of some soy products - including tofu - may raise the risk of memory loss, research suggests.
[. . .]
Soy products are a major alternative protein source to meat for many people in the developing world.
But soy consumption is also on the increase in the west, where it is often promoted as a "superfood".
Carnivores. Meat. Get it?
I'd sure hate to be at a meeting of the Pessimist Club:
Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line these days. Eighteen members of the volunteer organization's Gilbert, Ariz., chapter have gathered, a few days before this nation's 232nd birthday, to focus on the positive: Their book drive for schoolchildren and an Independence Day project to place American flags along the streets of one neighborhood.
This is an abomination:
Sometimes a glass of white wine is not enough. Nor is a beer, an iced tea or a lemonade, though heaven knows few things are better than a tart lemonade in a beaded glass on a hot summer's day. ...
we want red wine. And how are we going to drink this red wine?
Joe Klein is allowed to love warm weather, even when it "slouches toward humidity," but he can kiss my icy cold anatomy if he thinks I'm going to join in his silliness:
The unnecessary refrigeration of America has become a chronic disease. It seems to have gotten worse over the past few years, with thermostats routinely set at 68deg.F, and sometimes even 65 deg., in the (far too many) hotel rooms.
[. . .]
Everything old is new again:
Many claim that food prices are causing people to dust off their green thumbs, but whatever the reason, gardening is in.
The impact has been felt at seed companies nationwide and at area garden centers.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported in early June that W. Atlee Burpee & Co. had doubled its seed sales this year. The seed company, which started in 1876, has struggled in recent years as modern families moved away from growing their own food.
Indiana's most tiresomely predictable liberal columnist is aghast that his beloved O, having secured the primary, now seems to be pandering to the Hussein-hating "relentless right."
Didn't it seem for a while there that 9/11 was going to bring us together? Oh, well. Happy Fourth of July from Willie and me and the rest of the gang. John and Barack, too, OK? You can't possibly want to lead a country you don't love. The modern world began with the American Revolution. And for all its faults, the very presence of America continues to inspire people the world over. We were founded on the best ideas and embody the principles that offer the best hope for civilization's advance.
Now go grill something.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6WZtA0TWWQ]
Kinda touching but kinda creepy, too:
Meredith Smith takes part in his final fireworks show Thursday night.
Smith died in February at the age of 74. For nearly 40 years, he was in charge of the fireworks displays for his north side Indianapolis neighborhood and the White River Yacht Club.
About a half-teaspoon of Smith's ashes will be placed in a fireworks shell that will create a white burst in the sky for the finale of the annual show.
I hear dead people!
Oh, no, it's too late -- the aliens have already landed:
With the blankest of blank expressions on their faces, these mysterious figures have been popping up in the most unlikely of places.
The faceless mutants have a penchant for A-list celebrity bashes and have been spotted at Elton John's White tie ball and Harrods summer sale, opened by Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall.
