While you weren't paying attention, curbside recycling went from being a feel-good but pointless exercise in "caring about the environment" to being a religion:
A bill calling for a reevaluation of the definition of recycling has upset Indiana environmentalists, who fear it could lead to state dollars being siphoned away from curbside programs to fund incinerators that turn waste into energy.
Now that it's almost time to say "Vaya con Dios" to Fidel Castro, will Hugo Chavez become the darling of some of this country's leftist "elected dictator" worshipers? With remarks like this, it's almost a sure bet:
His right hand raised, Chavez declared: "Fatherland, socialism or death — I swear it," invoking the Cuban leader's famous call to arms.
President Bush has now admitted making a mistake, which should satisfy the No. 1 complaint of his critics. Now, as soon as he repeats the admission on Oprah's show, we can all get on with our lives. Well, except for the war and all.
State Sen. Sue Errington gets mugged in Indianapolis and, though she says it will make fighting crime a personal issue, refuses to think bad thoughts about the capital city:
Fort Wayne Community Schools wants to spend up to $1 billion on building remodeling. The City Council proposes to ban smoking in all public places. Whatever we might think of either proposal, we realize they are both pretty big deals. Is it too much to ask that school and city officials do a little coordinating so that big public hearings on the two issues aren't held on the same night?
I like the governor, but he gets on my nerves sometimes:
Gov. Mitch Daniels is urging Hoosiers to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks.Daniels is drafting Pam Smith of Martinsville, who represented Indiana on the latest season of NBC's "The Biggest Loser," and George McGinnis, a former Indiana Pacer and chairman of the Governor's Council for Physical Fitness, to help him with the challenge.
This is getting closer to what I've been waiting for -- the "convergence" product that will be a computer, cell phone, camera, PDA, digital music holder, do everything but make coffee, and be small enough to fit in my pocket. But I'll probably be scared to buy one for several years, because I've been burned before.
USA Today spends a lot of money and devotes a lot of space to a survey of those darn kids today, and reports this shocking discovery:
There's a promo on TV right now for a new sitcom that includes one of the characters saying something like this: "My girlfriend wanted a cat, and I didn't, so we compromised. We got a cat." That rather lame humor does illustrate a valuable point: Sometime there is no such thing as a compromise. There is no way to reconcile getting a cat or not getting a cat -- somebody has to give in. Sometimes there can be the illusion of a compromise -- getting a dog, for example.
City police are trying to find a hit-and-run driver and, because of the nature of the witnesses, there isn't exactly conclusive evidence to go on:
Witnesses, mainly children at the scene, described the car with a wide range of colors, changing from white to silver to maroon. At first they described it as a 1990s make, but Joyner said that is now in question. Some thought a man was driving the car. Now police are backing off that assertion.
The mayor wants to build downtown. The school system wants up to $1 billion. The General Assembly is in session, and all-day kindergarten for more than $100 million a year is just the start of its plans. At times like these, government spending feels like water in my basement that's already at the top stair. And I've had to give up on finding somebody that actuallly wants to bail out the water. My choices these days are somebody who wants to add to it a cup at a time or somebody who wants to add to it a gallon at a time.
Free at last, free at last. I will finally get my due after being held down so long by oppression:
After years of fighting for women's rights, the ACLU is now battling for equal rights for men.
Word of the year from the American Dialect Society:
To "pluto" is "to demote or devalue someone or something," much like what happened to the former planet last year when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto didn't meet its definition of a planet.
Joe Biden is getting into the presidential race, apparently having discovered a qualification for the office no other candidate can possibly match:
"I'm going to be Joe Biden, and I'm going to try to be the best Biden I can be," he said. "If I can, I got a shot. If I can't, I lose."
Almighty Bowl of Lettuce, I come before you today humbled by the magnitude of the responsbilities of doing this blog. May you help me, great Bowl of Lettuce, to realize that those who have been given the greatest responsibility need the greatest guidance. I pray that you show me what is good and what is required of me. I pray for your insight, oh wise and powerful Bowl of Lettuce, your compassion and your strength. Amen.
Here's another story where the numbers don't quite justify the reaction. Most major crimes in Fort Wayne dropped last year, including murder, and the police chief speculates on police initiatives that may have contributed to the good news. The murder rate does sound astounding -- a 40 percent drop from the previous year. But that's 19 murders instead of 31 in a city of 250,000.That means 12 fewer people killed someone in the heat of anger or decided to pick up a gun and take it on a robbery.
Headline of the year so far: Indiana's outdoors vanishing quickly. Funny, last time I looked, it was right where I left it. I open my door, and there it is. Even if I just wanted to hide the outdoors, never mind trying to get rid of it, where would I put it? If you read the story, of course, you get a better sense of what is going on here:
Indianapolis Star Editor Dennis Ryerson walks us through a journalism ethical dilemma. The family of a missing woman calls a news conference to reveal the identify of a man who was seen with the woman on the day she disappeared and also the identity of another person believed to have introduced the man to the woman. The police have shown no interest in this man as a possible suspect. Ryerson:
How do you feel about this? Proud? Horrified?
An Indianapolis-area soldier, believed to be the first female Indiana National Guard member wounded in Iraq, was presented a Purple Heart this morning.
Has anyone considered the negative economic-development impact of this?
The Allegiant Air trifecta is complete. Fort Wayne gamblers can now fly directly to Sin City.
Allegiant today was expected to announce nonstop service from Fort Wayne International Airport to Las Vegas beginning March 2.
This will make it far too easy for Hoosiers to lose their gambling money in Nevada instead of being chumps at our own casinos.
