One way to avoid troubles with a union is to not have employees, the strategy FedEx is using to compete with UPS. Naturally, the union will fight back, as the Teamsters are doing. The case is being heard in South Bend, and a loss would be bad news for FedEx:
You might remember how I ranted after President Bush said we were "safer but not safe." What he was saying was understandable, but he was mangling the language. It's adjective, comparative, superlative: safe, safer, safest. A commenter said, well, what do you expect from someone who is such a poor communicator? But what do you say about the Indianapolis Star committing the same sin?
The Professional Porch Sitters Union is a group I think I might have to join:
As you were caressed by the cool, silent kisses of air conditioning last night, Claude Stephens and his wife, Erin Henle, were sitting outside on their front porch in 90-plus-degree heat and brow-coating humidity.
Never, ever thought I would be rooting for Nancy Pelosi:
A tearful Cindy Sheehan cited her son, killed in Iraq, as her inspiration as she announced her candidacy Thursday for the U.S. House against Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
Sheehan last month said she intended to run against Pelosi, the House speaker, if the San Francisco congresswoman didn't move to impeach President Bush by July 23.
First it was that woman who spilled the criminally hot coffee on herself. Now there is this. McDonald's is apparently out to kill us all:
MORGANTOWN - A Monongalia County man is seeking $10 million from McDonald's after an employee put cheese on his sandwich.
This is a tough one for me:
HUNTINGTON, Utah - If the six trapped miners are alive, they may be sitting in inky darkness, their headlamps having burned out. Wearing thin work clothes in the 58-degree cold, they could be chilled to the bone if water is seeping into their chamber 150 stories below ground.
How much air they might have is anyone's guess.
Oh, no! How can I possibly decide for whom to vote if Leonardo doesn't get off the fence?
Leonardo DiCaprio traveled to 14 states in 2004 to stump for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry
Wisconsin has an insane idea for universal health care. It would cost "an estimated $15.2 billion, or $3 billion more than the state currently collects in all income, sales and corporate income taxes." But let them go ahead and try it:
I link to this mostly because it has a headline you will not see every day: "Pork industry supports Purdue's efforts to improve Indiana air quality." Of course, large pork operations do contribute to the air's condition, though we might not like to think about it:
You know the joke about liberal news organizations' coverage of disasters: "World will end tomorrow; women and minorities to be hardest hit." Here it is in real life, from The New York Times:
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 7 — Among the hardest hit in the bridge collapse last week was a group that had survived war and strife in their homeland, Somalia, and a move across the world to settle here.
A U.S. appeals court, of course just following the dictates of the federal government, tells the dying to just suck it up and deal with it:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Terminally ill patients do not have a constitutional right to experimental drugs not approved by regulators, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
Hey, smokers, give up the filthy weed, and you might win the state's $2,500 prize:
In order to enter the contest, you must be 18 or older and pledge to stop using tobacco between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15.
All Quit 2 Win entries must be received by Sept. 5.
The winner will be drawn at random and tested to make sure they are tobacco-free.
One of the downsides of this job is that I have to pay attention to excrutiatingly boring accounts of dull government bureaucrats policing their fussy rules, as in this story about hapless Jasper County, which committed the unforgiveable sin of not getting its paperwork in on time:
Hey, you. Read this. No, no, it's OK, really. No one's watching, and I won't tell. Take your laptop to the corner if that will help:
The next time you're invited to a party but afraid to go, try approaching this: shyness may affect up to 40 percent of the population, but it doesn't have to be a life sentence.
Caught Sandy Thompson's weather report on WANE-TV last night. I know she has a certain amount of minutes to fill, but, really, she could have stopped after her first sentence: "If you didn't like today, you won't like tomorrow."
Here I am, the true believer in markets and free enterprise, alarm-sounder over government intervention and over-involvement, praying that the FDA nips this heresy in the bud:
Like many battles, this one's being fought block by block. Victory, for whoever prevails, will be sweet. Or bitter — or even bittersweet. It all depends on how you like your chocolate.
Here's a stop-smoking aid that might be just a little drastic:
An Iowa woman who smokes two packs of cigarettes a day became so frustrated with her addiction that she called the sheriff's department last week and asked officers to jail her for several days — just to help her kick the nasty habit.
You all knew this, right? It's no big secret:
Meanwhile, if you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents.
I'm not going to watch soccer. You can't make me. I don't care how much they paid Beckham:
