You think the war in Iraq has been dragging on too long? How about the one that's been going on for 40 years with costs recently running about $40 billion a year?
But after all these battles and all these billions, what's been accomplished?
You think the war in Iraq has been dragging on too long? How about the one that's been going on for 40 years with costs recently running about $40 billion a year?
But after all these battles and all these billions, what's been accomplished?
A lot of people are talking about the four contending designs for Indiana's new license plates -- here's the post at Fort Wayne Observed -- and you can go to the BMV's site and vote for your favorite. I think all four are kind of ugly, and I agree with Advance Indiana, which wonders why we even need new plates:
The "indecency" police have usually gone after sex and mostly left the violence alone. That may be about to change:
An upcoming FCC report recommending steps that Congress can take to regulate television violence has sharply divided the agency's five members.
Multiple sources said Republican Chairman Kevin Martin and Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps, who are spearheading the crackdown on graphic scenes, had approved the latest version of the report.
I wonder how they define "emergency"?
The Planned Parenthood of Indiana facility in Lafayette will be handing out free emergency contraceptives Tuesday.
Hurry, hurry, she's about to sober up?
Here's an easy prediction -- the blogosphere is going to beat the daylights out of Mike Pence over this remark:
We all believe individuals should be responsible for their own actions. Many of us deplore, to one degree or another, the trend today toward assigning blame to others -- the bartender who sells the drink, the firm that distributes the firearm, the company that manufactures the cigarettes that people make themselves sick with, driving up health costs -- in ways that dilute that individual responsibility. But what about people who know -- or should know -- they are contributing to the harm caused by others but go ahead and do it anyway?
I'm glad April Fool's Day came on a non-working day this year -- staying alert to the gags of the office clowns can be tiresome. I'm also glad newspapers don't print gag stories on April 1 as much as they once did. The Wabash Plain Dealer, where I started my career, ran a Page 1 hoax story every year that continued to an inside page; only on that "jump" page was it revealed that the story was fabricated -- April Fool! One year, the paper's hoax story was to the effect that the Navy was going to build a sub pen at Salamonie Reservoir.
The Indianapolis Star makes a good point. If the plan to save horse racing in Indiana goes through, we won't just have "slot machines at the tracks":
I'm not sure, but this may be un-American:
Five tattooed skulls stretch from Marine Cpl. Jeremy Slaton's right elbow to his wrist, spelling out the word "Death." He planned to add a tattoo spelling "Life" on his left arm, but that's on hold because of a Marine policy taking effect Sunday.
The Marines are banning any new, extra-large tattoos below the elbow or the knee, saying such body art is harmful to the Corps' spit-and-polish image.
The surrender strategy solidifies:
A defiant, Democratic-controlled Senate approved legislation Thursday calling for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within a year, propelling Congress closer to an epic, wartime veto confrontation with President Bush.
Meanwhile, back in Persia, "deplorable" has been downgraded to "grave concern":
Getting ready for the next Katrina:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The leader of the city's effort to recover from Hurricane Katrina unveiled a $1.1 billion plan Thursday aimed at jump-starting the sluggish revitalization work.
The plan focuses on 17 zones throughout the city, from busy Canal Street to the hard-hit Lower 9th Ward, city recovery director Ed Blakely said.
I miss William F. Buckley's syndicated columns. He still writes occasionally for the National Review, at least. Here, he neatly explains John Edwards' plans to give us all "free" health:
An unusual funeral in Fort Wayne:
Misty would have been 10 years old. The chow mix died last week of renal failure, leaving Rosa Davis of Fort Wayne without her beloved companion. Her veterinarian, Dr. William C. Kerley of Anthony Animal Clinic, suspects that tainted dog food, one of 95 brands included in a nationwide recall March 16, contributed to her death.
On Tuesday night, friends and family of Davis gathered to remember the pet that meant so much to her.
Perhaps we need to be careful not to expect tourism to boost our economy too much in the coming years. One of the state's top destinations is having troubles:
The town of Nashville provides a window to craftsmen and culture, but as Brown County celebrates its centennial as the arts colony of the Midwest and celebrates its founders, tourism has taken a downturn. The number of visitors has gone flat.
We don't mind a little scalping in Indiana; it's good, healthy capitalism, if a little blue-collar. But we gave it up for the Final Four, and now we might have to put it on hold for one more event:
The City-County Council has voted to make it illegal to scalp tickets to the Super Bowl, part of an effort by the city to bring the game to the city in 2011.
Enough intentional contrariness for one day; let's try something less controversial. Granted that it's reprehesible to get somebody drunk for the purpose of taking advantage of the loss of rational judgment, shouldn't our standards be different if both parties are drunk and stupid?
A drunken woman can still consent to sex, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.
Wonder if any of these will show up in Fort Wayne:
Despite the smoking ban - because of it, actually - Philadelphia now has "smoke-easies," a play on "speakeasies" that came to us with the Prohibition of alcohol. Prohibition was enacted in 1920, repealed in 1933 and largely ignored in between. I'm surprised at how many Americans meekly obey smoking bans.
This is about Philadelphians who don't.
1. Don't go to war unless you have considered all other options, and there is no choice left.
2. If war is chosen, fight to win it as quickly as possible.
Our favorite band of merry religious warriors is on the march again, this time planning to picket a military funeral in neighboring Ohio:
