Reason No. 68 Not To Go Near Cincinnati

Last week, the Creation museum opened 20 miles southwest of Cincinnati. The museum takes a very literal interpretation of the Bible. They believe that the Earth is only 6,000 years old and there were dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark. Do you think the T. Rex rode in coach? Apparently, this belief is not outside the line of thinking for most Americans. Incredibly, polls say almost half believe that the Earth is thousands of years old rather the 4.5 billion years scientists claim. For the record, three Republican presidential candidates -- Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) and Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) -- say they don't believe in evolution.

Eighty-three percent of Americans believe that the Bible is the true word of God. Strangely though, most Americans do not actually know what it is in it. A recent survey by a Christian organization showed most Christians do not know who preached the Sermon on the Mount. This I do believe. My wife recently overheard a conversation where one woman told her friend why she stopped going to the church they both formerly attended. “Pastor X started preaching against the teachings of Jesus”. Now, did this Pastor preach against the meek, the peacemakers or even the cheesemakers? No, his son became a homosexual and he started preaching tolerance. I must have missed Jesus' speech against that.

Anyway, the creation museum is open and it’s less than a two hour drive from Indianapolis should you want to go. Personally, I have no desire. There is only one reason to go to Cincinnati— Skyline Chili, and luckily, we have a few restaurants here.

On topic, enjoy this video “Creation Science 101” by Roy Zimmerman.

All is not well in Pacer land

The Pacers had less than one percent chance to retain their pick in the lottery. They had to get one of the top three spots or they forfeited the pick to Atlanta because of the Al Harrington trade. The Pacers' pick fell to 11 and as a result fell to Atlanta.

Things have gotten so bad even out of work coaches don't want any part of this train wreck. Stan Van Gundy turned down the Pacers today. So the search for the next coach of the Pacers continues.

So the Pacers organization wants an authoritarian who would immediately spike fan interest again. Here's a curious thought, why not the General himself: Bobby Knight.

Second place to the Big D

As noted by Torpor below, the NFL voted today on which city would play host to the Super Bowl in 2011. You probably know by now that the Circle City finished second to Dallas. According to the Star the final vote gave the Big D the edge 17-15. It is the second time Indy has been turned down for the Super Bowl having lost its bid in the 80's to Minnesota.

It is certainly disappointing and I have no doubt that the leaders in charge of the city's bid handled it very well. It probably came down to the all mighty dollar. Dallas' new stadium will be the largest in North America. More seats equals more money for the "cash strapped" NFL.

Some I have spoken to have indicated our status as a cold weather city probably had some effect. That I don't doubt. But Detroit got the Super Bowl two years ago and it is colder than Indy. Plus its downtown looks like a war zone, which is a stark contrast to Indy's downtown.

Detroit got the Super Bowl two years ago as a reward for building a new stadium. It would be a disturbing turn of events for Indy to not get the game as a reward for its stepping up to get Lucas Oil Stadium built. Personally I just wished the NFL leaders took Dallas and Indy aside and flipped a coin. Whoever one the first flip got the big game in 2011 and the loser the Super Bowl in 2012.

If anything our Colts have taught us, sometimes it takes a couple of tries to get the prize. Hopefully the city will take another stab at hosting the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl

Sometime today, NFL owners will select which city will win the right to host the 2011 Super Bowl. The three competing cities are Indianapolis, Dallas and Phoenix. Most pundits believe it will come down to either Indianapolis or Dallas.

Both cities are rolling out their top guns in support of their bid. Dallas has Roger Staubach and Indianapolis has Tony Dungy as lobbyists.

The Star's coverage: Irsay: Indy has 'waited our turn' for Super Bowl

The Dallas Morning News coverage: Indy stands in North Texas' way

Both articles seem to agree that Indianapolis has the advantage of a central downtown location for hotels and events surrounding the Super Bowl. The strongpoint for Dallas is that they will have 20,000 more seats in their stadium and at a projected 900 dollars a ticket that will generate a lot of revenue for the NFL.

Close to Home, RIP

CBS announced its fall line up today. The legal drama Close to Home was left off the schedule. You probably know that Close to Home centers around a prosecutor here in Indianapolis.

I am not torn up by CBS' decision. But I am disappointed that the Circle City won't have a presence on network TV. It was pretty cool to see the Circle, the State House (the show made it seemed that was where the trial courts for Marion County were based), the City County Building, and our skyline in the context of a show.

Ultimately the show never developed a following. Mostly I think because the show never could decide what it wanted to be. It was touted as a legal show focusing on the crime taking place in the" back yard" of the suburbs. But the show still centered on Indy and the 12th largest city in the nation hardly counts as suburban. The show also tried to show the balance of the main character's home and work life. But her home life never really factored into the show. I think the main problem with the show was its complete lack of realism. The trial sequences always showed the State's case going down the toilet until someone rushed in at the last minute with the evidence needed to get the bad guy. And the State never lost, at least when I watched. Anyone who reads the Star every day realizes that juries in Marion County aren't so trustworthy.

That makes two shows in a row centered in Indy that didn't make it past two years. Men Behaving Badly made it just two on NBC in the 90's. The TV classic Saved by the Bell was centered in Indiana one year before the show moved to California for the duration of the series. The record for a show based in Indy has to be One Day at a Time. That show made it nine years.

So hey that's at least three shows that were based here in Indy. Take that Columbus Ohio.

Randall Tobias in the Massage Parlor with the Scented oils

Slate.com has an illustrated guide to "Bushies Behaving Badly". Of course, former Eli Lilly CEO, abstinence advocate, and Indiana's own Randall Tobias receives mention.

Tuesday Election

The problems with Tuesday's election have been well-documented. Dozens of scheduled poll workers were no shows. At least five precincts never opened. For most of Marion County, there were few real contested races. Apparently, the Marion County Democratic Party didn't really care enough to send out their list of slated candidates because I just received mine in the mail today. I can't imagine why they would have waited so long to mail their slate of supported candidates out, but it's quite a waste of money to do such a mass mailing if voters are not going to receive the information until a day after the election. I am not surprised. The Marion County Democratic Party has done very little to impress me in the past.

Sunday Miscellany

Bush's approval rating falls to 28 percent.
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I am not sure that I want to be part of a nation that feels the need to have a "War Czar".
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Quote of the day: "Like Thatcher in Britain, like Reagan in the United States, Sarkozy will change things," said supporter Thierry Gauvert, 55. Bonne chance, France.
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Meanwhile, business as usual.
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Editorial of the day: The Nation -- For the past seven years, George Bush has repeatedly violated the Constitution. Even worse, Congress has knowingly let it happen.

There's been the legalization of torture, warrantless wiretaps and the Military Commissions Act (MCA), which gives the president absolute power to decide who is an enemy of the US, to imprison people indefinitely without charging them with a crime, and to define what is -- and what is not -- torture and abuse.

This act represented an unprecedented attack on the basic system of habeas corpus--a fundamental Constitutional right that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment.

The NFL Draft

I am still a little ticked off about the draft. Hey I have no doubt that Anthony Gonzalez is going to be a great player. I have no doubt that it will keep Peyton Manning happy. But you know what else keeps Peyton happy? Not getting run over for 400 yards rushing on D and not having to play catch up all the time.

The defenses' resurgence is deceptive especially considering how they looked during the regular season. A big body like Alan Branch or a first round talent like Paul Posluszny would have gone a long way in shoring up the defense. I know that Dungy likes to draft fast players that work in our offense but our guys got knocked over like bowling pins last year. You know when our D was the toughest? When we had the big body of Corey Simon making opportunities for the rest of our defense. Without that most of our opponents can double team Dwight Freeney and have a good chance of making Sundays interesting for your Indianapolis Colts.

Kurt Weber has a really good point in the post below. But I am still convinced that a good slot receiver good be had in a later round. I am also convinced that if the Patriots got Randy Moss for a 4th round pick, there was talent out there for the right price. Moss may be a nut job but when he is happy, he is dangerous. He will be dangerous this year for the evil New England Patriots.

And why did the Colts find it imperative to give up a number one draft pick next year for a second rounder this year? OT Tony Ugoh won't even play this year. I know Tarik Glenn is getting older but he is still sharp. On the Sirius NFL network they were questioning this move. Apparently Ugoh doesn't even like football but instead would rather be a shot putter. Really Polian? A shot putter is worth a first rounder? And more importantly why didn't we get a back up at running back? We did pick up the Ivy League rushing leader in the free agent market today. Can someone name for me the last great rusher from Harvard?

Torpor has noted that Polian deserves the benefit of the doubt. And he is right. I used to give the same to Donnie Walsh but now the Pacers blow. But notwithstanding that, I hope he knows what he is doing. I can't watch the evil Patriots win again. A one year reprieve for the good guys just isn't enough.

We're Number Nine!

I could hardly contain my excitement today. After routinely seeing Indianapolis by passed on several top ten lists for various categories I finally saw we made the top ten in something. Yes folks your beloved Circle City is the ninth most polluted city in the United States. Our gritty neighbors of the Midwest--Cincy, St. Louis, Detroit, and Cleveland-- all made the list. Way to represent my Midwestern brethren!

What can we say? Here in the Midwest we like to build things and factories make pollution. We also like to drive. Especially here in Indy. Mass transit? Car pool lanes? Bike Lanes? Those are just trends and we Hoosiers don't have time for it. Now if you want to build another highway you got our attention.

I was so excited I had to leave work early. To celebrate I filled my gas tank before 6PM and then promptly went home to mow the grass while the sun was up. Heck I thought I should go look at gas guzzling Hummers. Even though the dealership is only a couple of blocks away I thought it would be a good idea to drive over there. Ten miles per gallon? Sounds good. Maybe I can pull something behind it at all times to get that baby down to eight miles per gallon. That will sock it to the man!

Maybe the Indiana General Assembly will lay off those poor suckers who like to smoke. Another tax hike to smokers to pay for health coverage? Sounds great. Now all you factories causing the pollution and in turn making Hoosiers sick promise to be better. Okay? Thanks. Here's some more corporate welfare.

In all honesty, we have the population now. How about light rail? How about some real solutions? What's that? Gay people might get married? Shoot let's worry about this crazy pollution next year. You guys can hold out another year, right?