Living in Indiana, we are familiar with the stubbornness of the people who live in Brown County's Nashville in wanting to keep their town a certain way. But on occasion an outsider like USA Today stumbles in to observe the quaintness of it all:
Living in Indiana, we are familiar with the stubbornness of the people who live in Brown County's Nashville in wanting to keep their town a certain way. But on occasion an outsider like USA Today stumbles in to observe the quaintness of it all:
Perhaps we're all mired in politics right now, which can be pretty shallow. So let's take a break and, as they say in football, go deep. In the "My Turn" column in this week's Newsweek, DePauw University philosophy professor Erik Wielenberg complains, "I think, therefore I am misunderstood." People are always asking him, "But what do you do?"
He also throws out this tidbit:
Just an observation after having spent a few weeks interviewing political candidates. There are two types of people who run for office -- those who are on a mission, and those who run for a variety of other reasons (an interesting challenge, a good career move, they think they can do a better job than whoever is already serving, etc.). The race that is the most likely to draw those on a mission is the one for school board. People don't seem to just wake up one day and decide they'll run for school board because it seems like a good idea (which some DO in many other races).
This is one of the most disturnbing photos I've seen in a while.
For those of you who vowed to just quit this country and move to France if Allen County even ever considered a smoking ban, too bad:
The prime minister announced Sunday that a ban on smoking in schools, offices and other public buildings will start in February, while restaurants, dance clubs and some bars have until 2008 to comply.
After much soul searching and consultation with friends and family, I have decided not to seek the mayor's office next year. I thought maybe I should give something back to the community but then decided, well, if they don't know I have it, why don't I just keep it? My press secretary will hold a news conference some day next week, at which she will issue the following announcement: "Mr. Morris will be available for interviews later in the month, at which time he will express his intentions and take questions."
I approved this message.
Finally we have it, a kinder, gentler Army:
Hollywood may have to tone down its portrayal of the military's screaming, in-your-face boot camp drill sergeant. In today's Army, shouting is out and a calmer approach to molding young minds is in, says the head of Pentagon personnel. The Army says it has reduced by nearly 7 percent the number of recruits who wash out in the first six to 12 months of military life.
[. . .]
I guess you could file this one under "technology isn't everything."
Some lowlife torched the four-year-old Williamsport Library in northwestern Indiana. I don't know how many books a library in a 2,000-population town would hold -- probably not many by Fort Wayne standards. Almost any of our branches would likely have more.
Third District Rep. Mark Souder has been running his radio attack ads for weeks now, which are so mean-spirited they seem to be turning off even some staunch Republicans. The spots accuse Democratic opponent Tom Hayhurst of being a millionaire doctor who wants to "retire to Congress" so he can spend all your money, nationalize everything and hand Nancy Pelosi the keys to your children's future. And that's just one of the mild ones.
Today's entry for the "If there is no solution, there is no problem" file: A Fort Wayne man, in a letter to the Indianapolis Star, complains about Indiana's political image:
I am overwhelmed with frustration on being confronted, at the same time, with two situations I have absolutely no idea how to solve. (So what's new about that? as my brother might say.)
I have no idea whether the Black Diamond Coal Co. should be allowed to operate in the Glendale State Fish and Wildlife Area. I've never seen the place, so I might like to know what kind of operation there would be and how that would affect what's there. I might also like to know what percent of Indiana is public land and how that might compare with other states, both in total acreage and on a per-capita basis. Lots of information is still needed.
Yes, there is another side to the all-day-kindergarten debate:
The great beer-and-wine debate, I trust most Hoosiers realize, is about people fighting for market share and sales territory, nothing more and nothing less:
More Indiana convenience stores are seeking permits to sell beer and wine - a move the store owners say will help them expand sales, but the package liquor industry says could essentially deregulate the sale of wine and beer.
I hope none of our copy editors see this story. They're so fussy about grammar and language, they might actually think this is a good idea:
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia will levy fines on those incorrectly using the national language, and will set up a specialized division to weed out offenders who mix Malay with English, news reports said Thursday.
A little more than three years ago, Victor Davis Hanson wrote something called "Mexifornia," and he caught a lot of grief from the open-borders crowd for his insensitivy, though he observed that some solution for the illegals already here had to be found other than mass deportation. These days, he says, the grief he gets over the book is from the middle and right. What happened?
Before we leave the Foley fiasco behind -- please, let's -- I though you might find this libertarian take interesting, from Reason magazine's reasononline:
Ryan Lengerich, The News-Sentinel's economic development reporter, passed along this press-conference announcement, which contains perhaps not the best downtown promotion idea that's ever come along.
Does this bother anybody else?
And, Van was receptive to the DNR's plan to handle the swans by destroying eggs in the spring.
"It's better then shooting them," Van said. "I'm happy with that solution. It's a good compromise. If they can convince me that the swans really are hurting the lake, then I say shoot them or whatever you have to do, but you have to convince me of that before I change my mind."
Earth to Purdue Exponent editorial board: It ain't gonna happen:
Indiana should work with SAFER to adopt a legal limit for marijuana possession. The proposed limit is "... making legal the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana for any person 21 years of age or older."
Since Indiana has a legal limit for alcohol, .08 blood alcohol content, it should also adopt a legal limit for a drug that is statistically less harmful short-term.
