Current Affairs

Do you know as much about this nation and its history as naturalized citizens are required to know? Take the Naturalization Test to find out. You have to get 58 of the 92 multiple-choice questions to pass.

Drew Stith of Wabash doesn't like the 5 Hour Energy drink, even though he works for Living Essentials, the company that makes it. His problem is that he said so on Facebook and even "liked" a page called "5 Hour Energy Sucks." He is just stunned that his company would think that's a big deal:

Stith said he made a post on the page about a month ago and then, last week, he got called into the main office.

I hope Navy Capt. Owen Honors, who produced profanity- and-slur-laden videos while second in command of the USS Enterprise, isn't being relieved of command of the ship for the wrong reason -- a reaction to public pressure based on our goody-two-shoes culture. But he is in trouble and might deserve to be:

If you're tired of all those grim, earnest 2010 retrospectives, relax and enjoy Dave Barry's take on the Year in Review:

If a test shows you have a greater risk of Alzheimer's, should the doctor tell you? Would you want to know? Those are two different questions.  On the first question, notes The New York Times, five different consensus statements by ethicists and neuorilogists were all in favor of no, do not tell. But in a study of people with a first-degree relative suffering from Alzheimer's, most people wanted to know.:

The Richmond Palladium-Item takes a firm stand . . . against Tuesday Night Football. Actually, they're against the wusses who created the need for TNF by postponing the Sunday night game:

Good for Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

The feisty Democrat turned the National Football League's decision to reschedule Sunday night's game due to inclement weather into a fitting political broadside on our nation's lack of winning competitiveness.

Well, OK, I signed up for one of the new recycling carts, mostly because it would be a pain to deal with stacks of old newspapers without participating. And there's a bonus!

Residents may keep their current yellow and brown bins, reuse them for another purpose, or after receiving their new recycling cart, may leave their bins on the curb and crews will collect them within 72 hours.

Seriously?

Obama, his family, and friends went snorkeling yesterday at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Hawaii, but White House aides kept the press far, far away.

"We are under explicit instructions that there will be no long lenses or other sneaky attempts to take pictures," said a media pool report from the site.

[. . .]

Sonia Sotomayor the nominee:

It's good on principle to give people a second chance, especially if they've demonstrated genuine remorse and a willingness to learn and grow. Still, there's something off-putting about President Obama's championing of Michael Vick: