Listen, up kids. Those of us in the baby boom generation have given you rock 'n' roll, computers, war protest, the breakup of the family and the breakdown of social order, the sexual revolution, drugs, sport utility vehicles and the elevation of self-indulgent narcissism to an art form. We created the world you live in by squandering the heroic sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.
Now it's your turn to start taking care of us:
Fort Wayne Observed notes comments made by Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards in a Wall Street Journal article and follows up with a podcast interview with the prosecutor. The WSJ asked her to comment on a new approach to drug dealers getting some nationwide interest. Instead of being arrested, suspected nonviolent drug dealers are given a second chance, subjecting them to pressure from the "influentials" in their lives such as mothers and mentors.
OK, now we know. Both Baron Hill and Mike Sodrel stand foursquare in favor of the sanctity of marriage:
Those who know me personally know that I am a family man with deep religious convictions. Much has been said by my opponent, Mike Sodrel, about my beliefs concerning gay marriage, and I want to set the record straight.
How do you get rid of a guy who has become an embarrassment, especially if the opposition has been calling for his head and you don't want it to look like you're giving in? You accept his resignation and announce it along with a bunch of other position shuffling announced near mid-term.
As expected, county commissioners this morning responded to the City Council's government-reorganization request with something less than the council proposed. The county wants full consolidation off the table, and instead wants a reorganization committee to study only the merger of these specific departments: clerk of courts/city clerk, communications/911, highway/street departments, human resources, land use planning (GIS), parks and purchasing.
Here are approval ratings for all 100 U.S. senators. Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh are in a three-way tie with Hillary Clinton for 24th place at a net rating (favorables minus unfavorables) of 29 percent. Interesting.
These are challenging times for the aspiring humorist. This is from a blog post I did last month, purely in an attempt to be funny:
The shameless exploitation of prurient interests continues in the Indiana Heartland:
FARMLAND -- The seven members of the now famous Farmland Bridge Club who last year bared it all to support saving the Randolph County Courthouse have lured a supporting cast -- of mostly men -- in front of the camera for an encore calendar.
It's not just evil Republicans such as Mitch Daniels who like the outsourcing option:
Indiana University officials are considering whether to hire a private company to take care of about 600 school vehicles used on the Bloomington campus.
That could be the first step toward also outsourcing other university operations as suggested by some members of the school's Board of Trustees.
A column I wrote for Saturday's editorial page had this as the opening paragraph:
I recently read “Freakonomics,” the book that uses economic models to show how people respond to incentives. Most of the case studies are straightforward, showing, for example, that real-estate agents use their knowledge in a way that benefits them but not necessarily home-sellers, or that inner-city crack dealers use a business model not unlike McDonald's.
On the way home last night, I had WOWO on the radio, and Pat White was all over the PETA cockroach story. It's stupid, it's silly, and wouldn't you like a yummy cockroach, perhaps dipped in chocolate, and, boy, isn't PETA just out there?
This column by Michael Kinsley on the future of newspapers is more thoughtful than most because it doesn't dwell overly on the "paper" issue, which most commentaries do, missing the point. Kinsley just assumes the paper product will be gone and asks, "What next?"
Whatever you do, don't make that legislator mad:
Ordinary citizens will have to check their guns at the Statehouse's entrances when metal detectors are installed in the building next year.
Lawmakers, however, will be allowed to take their guns with them inside.
Sure hope that prayer debate doesn't heat up again. Hate to see a shootout at the Speaker's podium.
More trouble with Indiana voting machines:
A voting machine company is working to fix a software glitch on 5,000 machines in Indiana that prevents voters from casting a straight-party ballot.
Officials with the Indiana Election Commission were upset that MicroVote General Corp. did not tell them sooner about the software problem. The general election is Nov. 7.
Later this week, Ball State is going to release the results of a behaviorial study it did on what "really takes place during an average person's prime time TV hours." Apparently, this won't mean much to the average viewer, but it will tell advertisers some things they want to know, like do people actually watch commercials.
Gov. Daniels knows a good idea when he sees one:
Gov. Mitch Daniels today said the state should consider creating local tax adjustment boards that would be in charge of controlling property tax rates in Indiana's 92 counties.Speaking before the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, the governor said such boards would help simplify the state's complicated property tax system and give citizens a clearer picture of how their money is being spent.
I know I'm risking Kevin Knuth accusing me of harboring romantic fantasies again, but I hope some of you caught Condolezza Rice on "60 Minutes" last night. Her passion for democracy and supporting democratic movements is strong, remarkable and necessary in today's world. A lot of her passion comes from growing up black in the segregated South.
Britons are asked to rate the quantity of life vs. its quality:
A large number of Britons would be prepared to give up sex if it meant they would live to be 100, according to a survey Friday.
The Mori research found that 40 percent would pass on the passion for longevity, although far more women (48 percent) were willing to make the sacrifice than men (31 percent).
Every smoking ban in the country (at least so far) has allowed for smoking in people's homes. But what about when somebody's home is also a place of business?
Delaware County's ban on smoking in most work places and public buildings has put local nursing homes in a no-win situation.
If a nursing home complies with the local ordinance, it will violate a federal regulation, and if it complies with the federal regulation, it will violate the local ordinance.
There's at least one area in which Indiana need not envy surrounding states:
Ohio Learn and Earn, the group promoting the slot machines, boasts impressive numbers. A maximum of 31,500 slot machines in nine locations would produce $2.8 billion in annual revenue, with more than $850 million of that dumped into a scholarship fund for Ohio students, the backers say.
