All about me

It has been pointed out to me that when I say that I approve this message, some might infer that I don't approve that one. Since that one is from someone else, it is obviously from someone not like me -- i.e., white, older, Midwestern, etc. I certainly did not intend to be racist, sexist, ageist, homophobic or elitist or suggest in any way that other messages do not deserve to have a place in the debate.

I'm Leo Morris, and I approved this message.

I'm Leo Morris, and I approved this message.

Yesterday, I wrote an editorial saying the mayor's proposed budget didn't go far enough in making spending cuts: "Wouldn't deeper cuts in 2009 make it easier to make cuts in 2010?" Last night, the City Council had its first go around on the budget:

It was with that fact in mind that all the council members seemed to agree a flat budget simply was not good enough.

Howard Chapman has written guest columns for us for nearly 20 years. Judging only by his writing and several talks on the phone with him over the years, I'd judge him as a nice man with a wide-ranging curiosity. Now, he's gone and done something spectacular:

When we say the best and brightest we mean that quite literally,” said William McKinney, IPFW vice chancellor for academic affairs, at the announcement about the new Chapman Scholars Program, which will begin in fall 2009.

The traffic signals were out at two busy intersections on my way to work this morning -- Broadway and Jefferson and Broadway and Washington -- and all the drivers just went into four-way-stop mode. It was very smooth and efficient, no panic or frustration. Why can't we react that way all the time to unforeseen difficulties?

History should be the most exciting subject students encounter. It tells the story of how we became who we are. How could that be boring? Easily, apparently:

INDIANAPOLIS - The state Board of Education says it recently discovered what students yawning through social studies class may already know -- their textbooks are boring.

Blogs work their way into the classroom:

Braden Hickok likes to read the new blog at Yorktown Middle School -- Yorktown Reads -- to find out what is on the minds of his classmates.

"It's kind of cool to see what other people think about things," he said, "especially the quiet people who don't talk much. And it's helped me keep an open mind about books we are reading in class, like Stargirl."

Oh, well. I should have known that "America's Got Talent" wasn't going to end my way last night when Queen Emily was sent home as the No. 5 contestant. I had her in the top three. America may have talent, but it also has millions of morons who wouldn't know real talent if it -- well, fell into their living rooms. The act that should have won -- Nuttin but Stringz -- was dispatched in third place. At least the winner -- operatic singer Neal E. Boyd -- was also one of the top three in talent. He does have a remarkable voice. I'd probably appreciate him more if I liked opera more.

A lot of conservative heavyweights have been freaking out over Gwen Ifill being the moderator of the Palin-Biden debate tonight. Ifill has a vested interest in the campaign -- she has a pro-Obama book due out on Inauguration Day -- so how can she be fair to Sarah Palin? Leave it to The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto -- one of the most interesting and thoughtful conservative writers around today -- to urge a little stepping back and calming down: