Current Affairs

Sign of the times:

Dick Stoner's north store has been robbed twice in two years, so he's decided to do something about it.

So, 18 percent of Americans think Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to a Pew Research Center poll, 34 percent believe he's Christian, and 43 percent say they don't know what his religion is. On the other hand:

Why do people who generally take care with most dangers get so stupid around the water?

Indiana authorities say two teenage boys are presumed dead after they were swept away by strong currents in Lake Michigan.

The boys ages were swimming with one teen's father and another man in an area without lifeguards near a Michigan City pier when they were pulled into the choppy water Sunday afternoon.

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You remember the midlife crisis. I certainly remember mine, vaguely. A lot of 20-somethings today don't believe in putting things off, so they're having quarter-life crises. Well, actually, they do believe in putting things off: They're taking an awfully long time to grow up, A New York Times article informs us.

You can say the Iraq War was wrong. You can say it was expensive. You can say the money spent on it could have been better spent elsewhere or not at all. But you can't say the war helped ruin our economy:

Rod Blagojevich looks like a political huckser, and prosecutors kept saying they had an overwhelming case, so it was "a surprise to many," as the Times says, when jurors only agreed on one measly count. But maybe it shouldn't have been:

Those lovable goofballs of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have graced Indiana with their presence a few times, have been set free to again roam the land in search of military families to counsel. A federal judge has ruled that church members have a First Amendment right to picket military funerals with signs and chants railing against homosexuals.

The obvious:

The latest figures from the nonpartisan agency portray a dreary picture of the U.S. economy, predicting U.S gross domestic product would only grow by 2% between the fourth quarter of 2010 and the same period next year.

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We can resume all our usual arguments about the wisdom or folly of Iraq tomorrow, but today let's just note the milestone:

The last combat troops are out and now 50,000, er, “advisors” remain. It's not the end of the war, in other words, but as a not-so-grim milestone for a lot of guys who are no longer in harm's way, it's a moment worth celebrating.