Published: Friday, March 6, 2009
EDITORIAL POTPOURRI
So many issues, so little space
With so many issues in the news, sometimes opinions must be condensed, Reader's Digest style. Here's our studied take on the headlines:
"Some skeptical of China's new food safety law": "Some" meaning everybody. Including Wu Yongning, deputy director of China's National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety. "There has been no fundamental reform of the system that many people in the industry hoped for," he said. We hope Wu's honesty doesn't endanger his safety.
"Limbaugh challenges Obama to on-air debate": That takes some audacity. And it would be so great. Supporters of both men think so.
"Port Angeles pays $10,000 to maintain air service to Seattle": According to the Associated Press, the Port Angeles City Council agreed to give Kenmore Air $10,000 to help maintain regular flights between the city and Seattle. Not quite analogous to Paine Field. But still.
"OMG! Italian Catholics asked not to text during Lent": Meanwhile, American Catholics are asked to at least not text while driving. Or while "talking" to someone else. Baby steps.
"Michael Jackson announces 'final' concerts": Beat it, already. Afterward, to prepare for a new career, Jackson will read the job-hunter's manual, "What Color is Your Nose?"
"Doctors seek gag orders to stop patients' online reviews": Sure. And Elaine from "Seinfeld" wants that "difficult" label taken off her chart.
"Stimulus includes $1 billion for NASA despite big cost overruns": Unbelievable. Illogical, to quote Spock. Congress' financial watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, reviewed NASA's newest big-money projects and found most were either over budget, late or both. That doesn't include two of NASA's largest spending projects whose costs have wildly fluctuated and still aren't firm -- replacements for the space shuttle fleet and Hubble Space Telescope, according to the AP. NASA, which has a budget of about $18 billion, needs "a more disciplined approach" to its projects, the GAO said -- in a black hole of an understatement.
"Older adults get drunk faster than younger drinkers": Only on Beer Pong Thursdays at Partly Sunny Estates Assisted Living Retirement Community.
"Pay toilets on planes: Ryanair chief says he's serious": CEO Michael O'Leary has asked Boeing to design a lavatory door with a mechanism for paying by credit card. "Eventually it's going to happen. It's just we can't do it at the moment because we don't have a mechanism for charging you," O'Leary told dumbfounded reporters in Dublin. The profitable Ryanair is a "budget" airline. Cost-conscious people will not pay to use the bathroom. They are going to find a way around it, like resourceful truck drivers. And some poor soul will be sitting next to them.
"Some skeptical of China's new food safety law": "Some" meaning everybody. Including Wu Yongning, deputy director of China's National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety. "There has been no fundamental reform of the system that many people in the industry hoped for," he said. We hope Wu's honesty doesn't endanger his safety.
"Limbaugh challenges Obama to on-air debate": That takes some audacity. And it would be so great. Supporters of both men think so.
"Port Angeles pays $10,000 to maintain air service to Seattle": According to the Associated Press, the Port Angeles City Council agreed to give Kenmore Air $10,000 to help maintain regular flights between the city and Seattle. Not quite analogous to Paine Field. But still.
"OMG! Italian Catholics asked not to text during Lent": Meanwhile, American Catholics are asked to at least not text while driving. Or while "talking" to someone else. Baby steps.
"Michael Jackson announces 'final' concerts": Beat it, already. Afterward, to prepare for a new career, Jackson will read the job-hunter's manual, "What Color is Your Nose?"
"Doctors seek gag orders to stop patients' online reviews": Sure. And Elaine from "Seinfeld" wants that "difficult" label taken off her chart.
"Stimulus includes $1 billion for NASA despite big cost overruns": Unbelievable. Illogical, to quote Spock. Congress' financial watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, reviewed NASA's newest big-money projects and found most were either over budget, late or both. That doesn't include two of NASA's largest spending projects whose costs have wildly fluctuated and still aren't firm -- replacements for the space shuttle fleet and Hubble Space Telescope, according to the AP. NASA, which has a budget of about $18 billion, needs "a more disciplined approach" to its projects, the GAO said -- in a black hole of an understatement.
"Older adults get drunk faster than younger drinkers": Only on Beer Pong Thursdays at Partly Sunny Estates Assisted Living Retirement Community.
"Pay toilets on planes: Ryanair chief says he's serious": CEO Michael O'Leary has asked Boeing to design a lavatory door with a mechanism for paying by credit card. "Eventually it's going to happen. It's just we can't do it at the moment because we don't have a mechanism for charging you," O'Leary told dumbfounded reporters in Dublin. The profitable Ryanair is a "budget" airline. Cost-conscious people will not pay to use the bathroom. They are going to find a way around it, like resourceful truck drivers. And some poor soul will be sitting next to them.
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