What a scandal -- imagine, the evil administration staging a pro-war propaganda event! (Via Instapundit)
What a scandal -- imagine, the evil administration staging a pro-war propaganda event! (Via Instapundit)
America's new elites seem not to cherish American traditions, and we're losing something as a result:
"A nation's morale and strength derive from a sense of the past," argues historian Wilfred McClay. Ties to those who came before--whether in the military, in religion, in general patriotism--provide a sense of purpose rooted in history and tested over time.
Read the whole thing.
A friend of mine was trying to find some news accounts of the mudslides in Guatemala to do a report for class, and she wasn't having much luck. Turns out there's a reason. But, really, I don't know what she's whining about.
This will be huge news in both papers tomorrow and all over TV: Jim Kelley has died at 87. Kelley is the type of person who is meant when the term "community leader" is bandied about. He was huge in Democratic political circles, a leading business owner for decades, someone who could make things happen just by getting involved. I heard a lot about him when I was on the board of Big Brothers & Big Sisters.
I have a cell phone with which I can talk to almost anybody, from almost anywhere. It has a 1.3-megapixel camera, with which I can take stills or very short videos and post them on the Web, again from just about anywhere. Apple just introduced a new iPod. It enables users not only to carry around thousands of songs and still photos, but also downloaded video; people can watch last night's episode of "Desperate Housewives" (or their own homemade videos, for that matter) while they're on the train or waiting in the doctor's office (OK, make that two episdoes).
Just so no one has any doubts whatsoever about where I'm coming from, I'd like to note that The News-Sentinel has a pretty strict profanity policy. Because this blog is affiliated with The News-Sentinel, I follow that policy here. However, if I were writing completely in my own style solely on my own terms, this post would be filled with language so foul it would make a drunken sailor cover his ears. I feel like cussin.' Got that?
Tonight's lead editorial is about the potential ripple effects of the Delphi bankruptcy and Indiana's need to think ahead about our continued dependency on manufacturing. Here are some related thoughts. And a shot of reality.
I'm not crazy about Oregon's assisted-suicide law. For one thing, it's dangerous to do anything to make suicide an easy first option instead of a desperate last one; that's the wrong thing to add to the culture, considering how many teens consider suicide and don't need that much encouragement. For another, inviting physicians to participate takes that profession where we shouldn't want it to go.
Don't laugh at this or shake your head in disgust, or you, too, may be "ordered to undergo diversity training or cultural sensitivity training." As I've said before, I love the Spanish language and make periodic stabs at learning it well enough to carry on a decent conversation in it. I hope my study of it remains a voluntary exercise, however.
I suppose this might be interesting to somebody. Does anybody actually even read TV Guide anymore? It was a wonderful publication when there were only three networks and people set their weekly schedules to make sure not to miss their favorite programs. But now there are hundreds of channels . . . just turn on the tube anytime, and you'll find something interesting. And if there's something you just have to see, Tivo the thing.
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to have a Hoosier pervert off the streets. But how much money is Oprah willing to spend? What about murderers and rapists instead of just child molesters? Can you imagine the poor snooks who turn their friends into Crime Stoppers now and have to settle for a pitiful few hundred dollars?
Oh, come on. Playing the race card or the gender card is the kind of drivel we've come to expect from diversity-obsessed liberals. Now we have to put up with from once-sensible Republicans?
The Hammond city school district has banned Halloween, at least the costumes and sidewalk parades. The district says it's a safety issue -- all those costumed children walking down the street.
We'll see this term if the Roberts court is willing to back off from the outrageous devastation of property rights in the Kelo decision.
The justices agreed to take up claims that regulators have gone too far by restricting development of property that is miles away from any river or waterway.
Just in case in hasn't sunk in with you yet that Mitch Daniels isn't a politics-as-usual governor:
The same debates about what should go on Page 1 apply to other newspapers besides college ones. The Wabash Plain Dealer, where I began my career, once had a policy that nothing but local news could ever go on Page 1. This led to some devious maneuvers when very big national stories broke. The staff managed to get the 1969 moon landing on Page 1 with a story that began something like this: "Wabash residents were awed and amazed yesterday as they watched the astronauts of Apollo . . . "
Boy, you'd think somebody serving a 40-year sentence would try to find ways to make his stay as pleasant as possible, not think up schemes guaranteed to increase the misery officials heap on him. But then he's not in prison for being smart, is he?
Here's why President Bush is in trouble but Democrats won't be able to capitalize on it (this is from the perspective of one person who supported Bush and wrote editorials endorsing him; it does not purport to speak for any other person or group):
Lots of buzz in the Indiana blogosphere (yes, we do have one) on the front-page Indianapolis Star story about public officials' violations of the state's public access laws.The consensus seems to be that officials are a bunch of scofflaws who generally ignore the toothless Office of Public Access Counselor.
It looks like those of us who think ISTEP testing should be in the spring will get our way. Jim Shella, political reporter for WISH-TV Indianapolis, reported on his blog today:
