That rotten Dick Cheney is so demanding when it comes to what he wants in his hotel suite. Isn't that just like a Republican? Well, like a Democrat, too, it turns out. Love The Smoking Gun's bipartisanship.
That rotten Dick Cheney is so demanding when it comes to what he wants in his hotel suite. Isn't that just like a Republican? Well, like a Democrat, too, it turns out. Love The Smoking Gun's bipartisanship.
For those who wondered how far public officials would try to go in eminent-domain seizures following the Supreme Court's outrageous Kelo decision, the case to watch is the one involving the exclusive Long island country club. Officials want to take it because they think it's a darn nice place and they want to run it themselves, as a public golf course.
Say what you will about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, if you ask him an honest question, you'll get an honest answer:
"It was a hand off the chin gesture that was meant to be dismissive," Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said.
[. . .]
The sign he used in Boston is frequently used by Italians to express displeasure with someone -- from mild to deep irritation. It is done by cupping the hand under the chin and flicking the fingers like a backward wave.
Those who are annoyed with Gov. Mitch Daniels' speed-of-light changing of the natural order of things in Indiana AND distrustful of The National Review, that bastion of traditional conservatism, will just love this, a glowing National Review tribute to Daniels called "Indiana Is Open for Business":
Certainly it is barbaric by the civilized standards of today to condemn someone to death for converting from Islam to Christianity. It's symbolic of the whole struggle we're in today against the militant extremists who would turn the whole world into a theocracy of their design. But I think people like Howard and Blair, not to mention leaders in this country, need to be careful not to confuse two issues when they say things like:
Call me crazy, but I liked our mastodon display a lot better than this one:
Maybe it's supposed to be ironic, this former corn field, sprouting 109 people-sized ears of concrete corn in a large oddball art display. But it's also a salute to Sam Frantz, an inventor of hybrid corns, and a very weird sight along the highway.
If we're on the way to using up the clock, it's a good bet we're breaking the bank:
The national debt clock, as it is known, is a big clock. A spot-check last week showed a readout of 8.3 trillion -- or more precisely 8,310,200,545,702 -- dollars ... and counting.
But it's not big enough.
Oh, give me a break:
Many Indiana sex education classes are skipping important information on AIDS, pregnancy and other topics, according to a survey released Monday.
Indiana University conducted the online survey commissioned by the Get Real, Indiana! coalition, a group of organizations that support comprehensive sex education for all Indiana students.
Politicians never lie, of course; they merely "embellish the truth." And if we call them on it, there could be dire consequences:
Some of Johnson's allies say it is a dangerous precedent to punish a politician for exaggerating. But Republican Sen. Mike McGinn, a former police officer, said some lies are too big.
Sadly, neither Fort Wayne nor any other city in Indiana made the list of "15 best skylines" in the world. I still like Fort Wayne's, though, because I remember the first time I ever saw it. I grew up a country kid.
We, too often, see our own state as bland, colorless and dull. We overlook its virtues, disdain short drives to sections of an overlooked Indiana and often never know the joy of finding the real majesty of our state's natural wonders. It is there, on narrow lanes and over serpentine hills, that real Indiana is found.
And it all is within a five to six hour drive, no matter where we live in the state.
I drive I-69 between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis frequently, so I can see the wisdom of the "move over" law:
EVANSVILLE - Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois have passed laws within the last decade to require drivers to move over to the left lane when police have stopped vehicles along the side of the road, but such laws have proven difficult to enforce.
I can appreciate Evan Bayh's desire to reach out to Republicans, but he picked the wrong issue:
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. --Democrats need to reach out to voters of all parties and persuade them of the left's strengths on national security, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh told a gathering of young Democrats on Sunday.
I rather suspect that some readers of this blog:
1. Are probably white,
2. But don't feel sufficiently guilty about it.
This little exercise, from The Michigan State University Web site, will set you straight. You are so privileged, you see, that you don't even recognize how privileged you are. Now, go out and apologize to everybody who isn't white for the circumstances of your birth.
Just in case you thought the chasing of religion away from public spaces had gotten as silly as it possibly could:
So long, Easter Bunny.
A toy rabbit decorating the entrance of the St. Paul City Council offices went hop-hop-hoppin' on down the bunny trail Wednesday after the city's human rights director said non-Christians might be offended by it.
There's been a lot of discussion about how prepared we might be medically in case of a bird flu pandemic. But not a lot of attention has been paid to how a serious quarantine would play out. Schools, for example, might have to cope with keeping education going while being closed for weeks:
Schools may be ordered to close to prevent spreading the disease.
The Allen County Public Library's renovation and expansion project has gotten a little negative publicity -- there was a slight cost overrun ($560,000 on the $65.4 million project, less than 1 percent), and Director Jeff Krull took some heat over the expensive new chairs that were ordered. Compare that to what's going on in Indianapolis.
Today's history lesson:
1. In 1933, FDR initiated the beginning of the end of Prohibition by legalizing the sale of beer and wine.
2. In 2006, the Indiana General Assembly magnanimously allowed the state's wineries to stay in business by letting them ship directly to customers.
Far be it from me to question this selection of the world's greatest tool:
This Richmond Palladium-Item editorial goes a little overboard on Pat Bauer-bashing (without even mentioning his toupee!), but I think it gets one thing right. Democrats who think Hoosiers' disapproval of the Indiana Toll Road lease (60 percent in the last poll I saw) will lead to their return to majority status in the state are being shortsighted, which is just this side of delusional.
