How about some manners?
No matter what side of any debate you stand on, isn't it more effective to speak your point rather than shout it - complete with hand gestures? Nothing stultifies conversation more than churlish behavior. Reasoned exchanges are a way to find common ground. Or is that not the point?
A dubious distinction:
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich now has his own Web site, and by clicking on "About Rod" you can learn things like, "He made history in August 2009 when he became the first former elected official still facing charges to be named host of his own radio show."
Dreams dashed:
Regardless of your favorite sport, you have to feel sad for softball players across the country who appear to be shut out from their dream of playing in the Olympics. While Jenny Finch of the Chicago Bandits and others gave the sport a boost, an Olympic committee is recommending rugby and golf as better choices for 2016.
Something to cheer about:
The Solheim Cup comes to Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove next week, and 100,000 spectators are expected. If you haven't witnessed an even like this, check it out. With the cheering, chants, songs and pageantry surrounding the competition, it's as close to the Olympic atmosphere as most of us will ever get - until, perhaps, 2016.
Air show over O'Hare:
It's fun to head downtown and catch the Air and Water Show, but not so fun to catch the unintended air shows over O'Hare Airport since the new runway opened. Planes come in so low over I-90, if we were driving semis, we'd duck. That's one driver distraction we could do without.
Stand up against unruly fans:
Yet another Chicago sports fan embarrasses the rest of us by dumping beer on a Philadelphia player. With cell phones and texting at our fingertips, isn't it time for fans to help catch these people in action and let security know before they get out of control? Don't let them ruin it for the rest of us.
A municipal timeout:
Faced with all sorts of negative energy caused by the lone wind turbine in the village, Libertyville officials made the right choice by placing a six-month moratorium on new turbine projects to reconsider guidelines for electric power-generating facilities. Aldridge Electric and its neighbors have been at odds since the turbine went live.
Suits us:
The Illinois High School Association's recent decision to ban high-performance swimming suits is dead-center correct. The sport's national and international bodies are in agreement with this stance, and as a result, parents of elite swimmers will have to spend a whole lot less money this school year.
Mother Nature must be a fan:
High school athletes got a break with the weather this year. Wednesday's start of practice was sandwiched between some hot, sticky days. Here's hoping cooler days continue into the fall so players can avoid heat stroke.
Good trend, bad trend:
A Pew Research Center study this week said the generation gap has been shrinking since the 1960s. Sadly, the same trend hasn't happened with our state budget gap.