Yes, this is a real story, not something that was in The Onion:
Sheriff's officials were astounded Thursday by a letter requesting the man accused of murdering his girlfriend and possibly participating in cannibalism be placed on a vegetarian diet to keep him from being "involved in any senseless killing" while incarcerated.
Libertarians didn't win any seats in the city election, but it can't be said that they didn't make a difference:
Don Schmidt, who represented the 2nd District for 36 years, lost to Democrat Karen Goldner by 12 votes in a race in which Libertarian Jonathan Bartels drew 580 votes. And At-Large Councilman John Crawford fell about 100 votes short of re-election in a race that saw the three at-large Libertarians draw a combined 11,600 votes.
Happy birthday, one day late:
1949: The 45-rpm record is introduced by RCA. Can rock 'n' roll be far behind?
[ . . .]
If you're going to hold a "public hearing," for God's sake let the members of the public speak first:
About four hours into a meeting Wednesday, Allen County resident Charles Powell and his wife, Marvel, were frustrated.
A landmark bites the dust:
Since the late 1800s, people have stopped at City News in downtown Lafayette to buy a newspaper, snack or cigar.
Customers of the independent business in a legendary location will soon have to find another place to make their purchases.
An inventory reduction sale is underway and City News -- Indiana's oldest continuous newsstand -- will close its doors in a month or two.
Since birthright citizenship is such an obvious contributor to the growing number of illegal immigrants, that would be a good subject for a presidential debate, and I would like to know where the candidates stand. Would any of them, for example, like to challenge Mike Huckabee's position?
I talked with Jill Long Thompson a few times when she was our state representative and liked her. She would be a spirited and engaging challenger against Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels. I know hardly anything about her Democratic primary opponent in the governor's race, Indianapolis businessman Jim Schellinger. Apparently, I'm not alone, as Indianapolis Star columnist Matthew Tully reports:
No souls were harmed when the Indiana Senate session opened Tuesday:
Sen. Patricia L. Miller, R-Indianapolis, opened the Senate's proceedings Tuesday with a nonsectarian prayer, following threats last month of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.
The prayer lasted about a minute and did not mention Jesus Christ or any other deity by name.
Justice Anthony Kennedy can usually be counted on to be the swing vote when it looks like a case is going to a 4-4 tie. But in the Indiana voter-ID case, it might be someone else:
The political pundits I've been watching on TV lately have been trying out a new word (the way it usually works is that George Will does it first, then everybody else jumps on the verbal bandwagon): dispositive, as in, "Well, the results of the voting tonight were certainly interesting, but probably not dispositive." I think that's their way of acknowledging they've been talking through their hats in hopes that we won't notice that they're still going to be talking through their hats.
Great moments in speech -- "I have a dream," "Ask not what your country can do for you," "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" and, of course, this:
In a bid to overturn his guilty plea, Sen. Larry Craig's attorneys are arguing the alleged hand swiping in a Minneapolis bathroom stall is constitutionally protected speech.
The attorneys also say the actions don't fit under the state's "disorderly conduct" law because it didn't involve multiple victims.
I grew up in Kentucky among people who were dirt poor and largely uneducated. But most of them knew enough to make sure they had the mineral rights to property they bought, lest they wake up one morning and find a coal company strip mining in the front yard. They were apparently smarter than Mars Candy multi-billionaire Forrest Mars:
However, in recent years, exploration began pushing north into Montana. Mars' ranch soon began to push back, with lawsuits against the companies involved.
The concept of privacy continues to "evolve," i.e. the trend of everybody wanting to know where everybody else is all the time continues to strengthen. Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York wants to put GPS chips in all patrol cars:
It will allow officers, dispatchers and managers to see where the vehicles are located across the city. The chief said this will help in officer safety because it will better locate officers calling for help.
The concept of privacy continues to "evolve," i.e. the trend of everybody wanting to know where everybody else is all the time continues to strengthen. Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York wants to put GPS chips in all patrol cars:
It will allow officers, dispatchers and managers to see where the vehicles are located across the city. The chief said this will help in officer safety because it will better locate officers calling for help.
"Banishment" is generally thought of as an inappropriate punishment from our less-enlightened past, but that doesn't mean it isn't being tried here and there:
Though Georgia's judges are technically outlawed from banishing offenders, some have skirted the rule by restricting them from all but one of the state's 159 counties. Now, one convict is challenging the practice, claiming it is unconstitutional.
The Indianapolis Star reports that legislators are coming back in grand style --
A "welcome back party" is being hosted Tuesday evening by the Bose Public Affairs Group, a top lobbying firm, preceded by a late-afternoon reception by the Government Affairs Society of Indiana, the lobbying group for lobbyists.
OK, we know why Indiana insists that the names on our divers licenses be the same as the ones on our Social Security records. With legitimate concerns about terrorism and illegal immigration, such a precaution seems only prudent. Still, this seems like bureaucratic insensitivity of the highest order:
LAKE STATION (AP) — A retired steelworker and longtime Indiana resident must change his name if he wants a driver's license, the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles says.
Today's "well, duh" observation:
The first on-the-scene study of college drinking behavior shows that parties with drinking games result in higher blood alcohol levels, while themed parties encourage college women to drink more heavily than men, new research suggests.
If this is true, we can say there has finally been an encounter in which Britney Spears is the sympathetic one:
Troubled pop diva Britney Spears reportedly kicked television talk show host "Dr. Phil" McGraw out of her room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Saturday before being released from the facility later in the day, sources told FOXNews.com.
According to sources, Spears responded angrily when the talk show host entered the room and demanded he leave at once.
Research can uncover anything:
Women and gay men are likely to be the worst drivers, a new study has shown.
Research has revealed that both perform poorly in tasks involving navigation and spatial awareness when compared to heterosexual men.
