A factoid contributed by Formerly From California (And Now From Wisconsin) Charlie:
A recent study found the average Wisconsinite walks about 900 miles a year.
Another study found Wisconsinites drink, on average, 22 gallons of beer a year.
That means, on average, Wisconsinites get about 41 miles to the gallon.
“It’s part of the charm of the neighborhood,” she said. “There’s still a very old Italian contingent here that lives the way they lived 40 years ago....
link: Window Watchers in a City of Strangers - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON — The school newspaper at Dalton, a private school in Manhattan, contained a cryptic note from its editors last Friday.
“We are not able to cover the recent visit by a Supreme Court justice due to numerous publication constraints,” the note said. It promised “an explanation of the regrettable delay” in the next issue.
It turns out that Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, widely regarded as one of the court’s most vigilant defenders of First Amendment values, had provided the newspaper, The Daltonian, with a lesson about journalistic independence. Justice Kennedy’s office had insisted on approving any article about a talk he gave to an assembly of Dalton high school students on Oct. 28.
link: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Asks School Paper to 'Tidy Up' Remarks - NYTimes.com
The “public option” in the president's health care bill is like the “clean” in clean coal.
Or maybe this is just a picture of the concert stage at Chicago's Millennium Park.
The point is that the takeover of the Republican Party by the irrational right is no laughing matter. Something unprecedented is happening here — and it’s very bad for America.
link: Op-Ed Columnist - Paranoia Strikes Deep - NYTimes.com
Noted by our Midwest Bureau
From a collection of painted (yeah, I know there's a name for the style but I have not even a clue on how to spell it) trucks forwarded by Formerly From California Charlie.
MARTINSBURG - The popular online social networking site Facebook helped lead to an alleged burglar's arrest after he stopped check his account on the victim's computer, but forgot to log out before leaving the home with two diamond rings.
Jonathan G. Parker, 19, of Fort Loudoun, Pa., was arraigned Tuesday one count of felony daytime burglary....
Martinsburg is in West Virginia.
(H/T The New Yorker)
Think it's keen to be green? Not if you're California's Pacific Gas & Electric, according to a recent report.
Utility provider PG&E, in documents filed with the state, is seeking a five percent rate increase for its most energy-efficient customers.
link: Calif. power company seeks higher rates for energy efficient customers | Raw Story
Top 10 Non-Emergency 911 Calls
link: No Wedding Bells, Just Police Sirens - Top 10 Non-Emergency 911 Calls - TIME
-Noted by Paul Knue
WASHINGTON – The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 — and is likely to go higher.
Nearly 16 million people can't find jobs even though the worst recession since the Great Depression has apparently ended....
link: Jobless rate tops 10 pct. for first time since '83 - Yahoo! News
Credit card companies are rushing to increase interest rates to historic highs of more than 30 percent, cut credit limits, and add new fees, even for customers who pay their bills on time.
Lenders are making the moves in advance of tougher federal regulations for credit cards scheduled to take effect on Feb. 22....
link: Credit card firms hurry to raise rates - The Boston Globe
But, as Tom Lehrer liked to sing, we had all the good songs.
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