With the Supreme Court's death penalty decision, we're going to hear more about this country's "evolving standard of decency," so let's have a little vocabulary lesson.
Devolve is not really the antonym of evolve, or at least it wasn't until recently. Devolve means a transer or delegation (of a duty or responsibility, for example) to another. We can say that, because of the county's dissolution of the cumulative bridge fund, maintenance of Fort Wayne's bridges has devolved on the city.
Driving is bad for the evironment. Walking is healthy for you. So, naturally, it doesn't take a genius to see what to do -- it just takes two Candaian aldermen:
Calgary should consider banning new drive-thrus, two aldermen say -- a suggestion that received a chilly reception from some drivers Wednesday.
In a city trying to put pedestrians first and cars last, blocking new drive-thrus from being built makes sense, said Ald. Brian Pincott.
Just a reminder that if you want to see the Lincoln Museum, you'd better do it before Monday. And don't count on any of the collection being in Fort Wayne for very long, despite the best efforts of a lot of people:
Dang, this cost-of-gas crisis really is getting serious:
When cowboys hit the road 50 years ago in search of the next big payday at rodeos, they did so in pickups and small horse trailers for small purses.
Today, winning cowboys can afford a few luxuries, with first-place prize money reaching more than $10,000. Diesel trucks that cost $25,000 and $30,000 horse trailers are fixtures in rodeo parking lots.
But bigger is not necessarily better.
Here's the big one everybody has been waiting for:
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Washington D.C.'s sweeping ban on handguns is unconstitutional.
The justices voted 5-4 against the ban with Justice Antonin Scalia writing the opinion for the majority.
Newspaper reporters are supposed to be objective, which means they usually aren't allowed to write about things they are personally involved in. If your spouse is on the school board, you can't be on the education beat. If you're married to the police chief, you don't do crime reporting.
Oh, dude, it's just so cool. You light up and take a deep toke, and the next thing you know, you are just, man, oh, man, flying:
The Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at IPFW did a poll asking Hoosiers how much they respected 10 well-known figures, mostly politicians. Please, don't be too shocked, but the politicians didn't come out on top:
The most respected out of the list of 10 figures was Mother Teresa - the late Nobel Peace Prize winner for her humanitarian work - with Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy following closely.
I think District Court Judge David Hamilton made the right call that Indiana's law allowing warrantless monitoring of former sex offenders' Internet activity was unconstitutionally broad. The law would have applied to those who had already served the sentences handed down to themand who, therefore, presumably have the same rights as everybody else.
Good thing so many people are used to driving to Indianapolis to catch their planes, eh?
Fort Wayne International Airport is among regional airports at risk of losing service, according to an analysis from the Business Travel Coalition and AirlineForecast LLC.
Good:
Indianapolis -- On June 25th, personnel assigned to the Indiana State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division working with troopers assigned to the Indianapolis district will be focusing their efforts on enforcing the Indiana Move Over Law for commercial motor vehicles.
I've been remiss lately in my duty to pass along shocking and stunning news from the fascinating world of university research. So here's a beaut of a study:
Women have not adapted to casual sex, according to a Durham University study.
More than half the women interviewed for the survey said they had negative feelings about one night stands.
Oh, shut up, Ralph:
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader accused Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic Party nominee, of downplaying poverty issues, trying to "talk white" and appealing to "white guilt" during his run for the White House.
I've been trying to learn how to talk white all my life, and I don't have it quite down yet. Maybe Obama will have better luck.
Here we go again -- a 4-4 tie, so Kennedy gets to write the majority opinion:
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that child rapists cannot be executed, concluding capital punishment is reserved for murderers.
The ruling stemmed from the case of Patrick Kennedy, who has been on Louisiana's death row since 2003, when he was sentenced to be executed for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.
I don't expect I'll watch it, but The "Baby Borrowers," on NBC tonight, is a reality show that might actually contribute something to society:
The show is based on a controversial British series in which teen couples considering parenthood are given a taste of what it might be like. In many cases, the participants succumb to soul-crushing stress. Rifts in the relationships develop. Frayed nerves, tears and arguments are plentiful.
(Today's quiz: What's the distance from the Fort Wayne Airport Expressway exit of 1-69 to the I-465 exit in Indianapolis?)
I've written some controversial editorials in my time and gotten roundly denounced by people in authority for causing some kind of damage or other to some cherished belief or community institution. But I don't think I ever got accused of doing the most damage in 50 years:
Massachusetts is considering a Jessica's Law that would require a mandatory 20-year sentence for the rape of a child under 12. State Rep. James Fagan, who is also a defense attorney, has outraged victims' rights advocates by saying, during a recent floor debate, that he would "rip apart" 6-year-old victims on the witness stand and "make sure the rest of their life is ruined." Reports the Boston Herald:
It'll be good for the little darlings:
Happy 60th anniversary to the flying saucer:
1947: Pilot Kenneth Arnold sights a series of unidentified flying objects near Washington's Mt. Rainier. It's the first widely reported UFO sighting in the United States, and, thanks to Arnold's description of what he saw, leads the press to coin the term flying saucer.
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