What can I say that I haven't already said?
Smokers have already been banned from New York bars and restaurants, and soon they could be prohibited from lighting up in cars carrying minors, an idea giving added fuel to critics who say the city has become a nanny state.
[. . .]
You gotta love all those polls. Let's not talk about where the country is going, but the handbasket is already on order:
WASHINGTON - The Democratic-controlled Congress and President Bush seem locked in a perverse competition for public unfavorability, according to a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll.
A young man came to my door last night, telling me he was with some group that was trying to keep kids out of gangs, apparently by selling me something. I never did find out what, because as he was starting his spiel, Dutch the cat took the opportunity of an open door to escape to the porch. He never gets any farther than that, just sits there not knowing what to do.
There's a funny line in Newsweek's cover story about Facebook:
Facebook does complicate the pleasure of gently losing touch with people you're tired of.
I don't send cards these days, but when I was married, my wife and I did. Neglecting to send a Christmas card to someone whose been on the list for a few years is a great way to start that "gently losing touch" process.
I'm not assuming Matt Kelty's guilt in bringing this up, but it's something I haven't seen discussed yet. Has anybody considered the possibility of a plea bargain in which Kelty pleads guilty to misdemeanors? That's an idea the candidate might not want to entertain if he's absolutely certain he did nothing wrong. But it would be the least complicated way to ensure the mayoral election still goes on with the two candidates the primary voters preferred.
Hillary Clinton's first TV ad for the Iowa voters is standard liberal "the government will take care of all of you" cant. The text:
You know, sometimes having those drug parties at home just gets old, so you want to go and get a motel room. So what if you have a 9-year-old kid? Just lock him in one room and party in another. But, oops:
The nine-year-old boy told the clerk at the Econo Lodge in Richwood, Kentucky he tried calling, then banged on the door of his parents room for three hours, but no one answered.
Jack McClellan has been arrested, and his case is a striking example of how we can so screw up the law. He's the spooky dirtbag who has operated a Web site that told pedophiles where to find young kids, how to stalk them, how to avoid detection. But that's not what he was charged with. After gaining notoriety in Washington for his Web site, he relocated to California, where a judge issued a ridiculous restraining order against him: Never be within 30 feet of a child in this state.
We beat the Japanese at something!
An Indiana woman is now considered the oldest person in the world. Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Indiana now takes over the title. She is 114-years-old.
[. . .]
A Japanese woman held the title previoiusly.
Do you suppose they go into these people's nursing home rooms and give them the news? "Honey, the title holder just died, so you're it! For now."
I'll be writing an editorial for tomorrow's paper on the nine-count indictment of Republican mayoral candidate Matt Kelty. But a few preliminary thoughts:
Robert Spencer, the truck driver in the Taylor crash, has been given four years in prison, but that's not what he'll serve:
A judge sentenced him to eight years total but suspended 4 of them, which would be served on probation. A prosecutor says with time already served including time for good behavior, he will be eligible for release in about a year.
I don't know. One year for five lives. On the other hand, his crime was falling asleep at the wheel. What do you think?
The major effect of the digital revolution is the gradual disappearance of the middlemen. We no longer need retail stores when we can order anything online. We don't need, alas, newspapers or other paper products when we can read everything on the Internet. Goodybe, too, to libraries and movie theaters. Today's disappearing act: not just CDs, but the record companies that produce them:
I was first drawn to this story just because the headline -- "Rules on Women Unclear -- seemed perfect for a snide retort -- yeah, to me, too! But the story below the headline is quite serious:
The Army is following Pentagon policy barring the assignment of women to units whose primary mission is ground combat, but the policies are difficult to understand, according to new study of the issue.
Had to happen: fake cigarettes on the street:
Authorities seized nearly 600,000 packs of cigarettes with brand names like Marlboros and Newports, half of which are suspected of being counterfeits from China, prosecutors announced Monday.
If you're nabbed talking on your hand-held cell phone while driving in Chicago, you get a $50 ticket. But people are routinely ignoring the law. Guess why:
Aren't Chicago Police supposed to be handing out $50 tickets?
Apparently, they have been, but not too often.
Since Jesus turned the water into wine, doesn't that at least suggest it is permissible for Chritians to drink? I mean, he didn't turn it into Gatorade. Perhaps I'm being simplistic, and a theologian will straighten me out.
Since Republicans have George Bush to drag them down, it's only fair that Democrats have their own burden to level the playing field:
Kenneth Foster Jr. is scheduled to be executed in Texas later this month for a murder everybody agrees he didn't do. In fact, the man who did commit the murder has already been executed for it. The case is being cited by capital punishment opponents as obvious miscarriage of justice:
Another sign that I am getting old is that I think this is a very reasonable question: "Nightclubs are hell. What's cool or fun about a thumping, sweaty dungeon full of posing idiots?"
When the federal government decided how many gallons of water every toilet in America should use when being flushed -- resulting in annoying toilets that have to be flushed twice, accomplishing absolutely nothing -- I kind of thought that might be the breaking point. Americans would rise up as one and say, "Enough!" Didn't happen, of course. No matter what, we will go back into our "Oh, well, that's the way it is" mode and just take whatever they dish out. But maybe this is different:
