May 16th, 2008 08:46am
Wally Haas
Today’s is national Bike to Work Day and it’s a beautiful day to ride a bicycle.
I didn’t see any new faces on my ride today. That doesn’t mean there weren’t new folks who decided to pedal instead of drive; I just didn’t see any.
When the weather is nice like this, my car will sit at least two days and usually three or four without being driven at all. That’s been the case for me for almost 30 years, even when gas was cheap. The high gas prices are incentive for me to try to add a day or two for my car to take a break.
May 15th, 2008 12:38pm
Wally Haas
I received this note, through the syndicate, from Washington Post columnist David Broder.
 Dear friends:
 I want to give you a heads-up that later this week, The Washington Post will be making an announcement that, along with many other longtime employees, I am taking the buyout offer — and to tell you what it does and does not mean.
    The column you have been running will not change at all, and you will continue to receive it from The Washington Post Writers Group. I will continue to write from the same office in the Post newsroom and will continue to travel the country to wherever politics is happening. You will find me at the Democratic and Republican conventions this summer and on the campaign trail this fall, just as I have been this winter and spring.
    As of Jan. 1, I will become a contract employee of The Washington Post Company. For the last two years, the bulk of my reporting has gone into the column, rather than the news pages of the Post. This change will allow me to focus entirely on the column, while freeing up the Post to use its budget for other news-section salaries and expenses. It will not diminish my ability to be out where news is happening.
    I look forward to being part of your paper for many years to come.
   Many thanks,
  David Broder
May 13th, 2008 12:52pm
Wally Haas
I’ve had an interest in space and whether there are other life forms somewhere other than Earth. I’ve written about the Muons from the planet Myton, Billy Meier and UFOs. I was never sure what the Catholic Church thought about those kinds of stories, then this moved on the wires today:
VATICAN CITY (AP)Â — The Vatican’s chief astronomer says that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God.
The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, says that the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.
In an interview published Tuesday by Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Funes says that such a notion “doesn’t contradict our faith” because aliens would still be God’s creatures.
The interview was headlined “The extraterrestrial is my brother.” Funes said that ruling out the existence of aliens would be like “putting limits” on God’s creative freedom.
May 13th, 2008 08:23am
Wally Haas
This is something that has bugged me for a long time. At some businesses, especially banks, when I get done with a transaction, the person says “Thank you, Walter.”
I come from an era where you called everyone Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. and if you called anyone by their first name it was presumptuous at best or disrespectful at worst.
It doesn’t feel right for someone I don’t know to call me by my given name instead of my surname.
What do you think? Am I just a curmudgeon or do I have a case?
May 12th, 2008 07:18am
Wally Haas
Probably not.
We objected to Illinois lawmakers proposed pay raise in an editorial May 2. Today, at least four other newspapers had editorials saying what a bad idea it was for Illinois legislators to allow their pay to increase.
Both chambers of the General Assembly must reject the increase. The House did, but the Senate, ruled by Emil “I need a raise, I need a raise” Jones must also reject it. If the Senate does nothing, lawmakers get the extra money.
Illinois needs to change this system.
May 9th, 2008 12:28pm
Wally Haas
This is becoming an epidemic in Chicago. A 51-year-old man was killed while riding his bicycle Thursday.
May 8th, 2008 08:44am
Wally Haas
Alex Gary, our database guru, sent out this note yesterday:
Karen Lytwyn, who tracks crime for the University of Illinois College of Medicine just called. She saw this again in the paper and said it’s a common mistake that even Rockford Mayor Morrissey makes.
Rockford does NOT have the highest crime rate in the state. Winnebago County has the highest crime rate among the state’s counties.
In terms of cities, Rockford usually ranks third or fourth to the annual leader — not Chicago — but East St. Louis.
May 7th, 2008 03:04pm
Wally Haas
This cartoon sums up the way a lot of people feel about suspending the federal gas tax.
May 7th, 2008 08:54am
Wally Haas
I like Barack Obama and I dislike Hillary Clinton — immensely. Still, I think she should continue to seek the Democratic nomination for president.
Americans love underdogs and come-from-behind stories, but hate quitters. If Clinton ever wants to revive her presidential hopes, quitting now could work against her the next time.
Or there may not be a next time. So why shouldn’t she fight for what she wants until the bitter end? Party unity? Please, we’ve seen how well that works in Illinois. (That’s sarcasm, folks.)
Besides, I’m afraid Clinton has a few tricks up her sleeve that she’ll use before and during the Democratic National Convention. The super-delegates are still in play and Clinton may yet find a way to steal the nomination.
Stay tuned, folks. This political drama may be better than anything else on television this summer.
May 6th, 2008 08:08am
Wally Haas
An AP story about a new version on OxyContin ended with this paragraph:
“OxyContin is a time-release version of the old narcotic oxycodone, designed to be swallowed whole and digested over 12 hours to keep a steady state of the painkiller in the bodies of seriously ill patients. While doctors call it an important option for many patients, abusers rapidly discovered the tablets can produce a heroin-like high if crushed to get the dose all at once.”
So, a pill that can give you a heroin-like high is legal and medical marijuana is not. That doesn’t make sense.
Legalizing medical marijuana in Illinois is not dead yet. Maybe this is the session lawmakers will make it legal. Thousands of patients hope it will be.
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