I made up a new "Syndrome". I call it "News-Induced Depression"

Somewhere between my parent's generation and their parents was, and still is called "The Greatest Generation".

Like any good story, it's hard to come up with a sequel that stands up to the original.

Perusing this morning's papers...

Maybe Darwin was wrong:

http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...b-f0efb33a8055

Man died while working on his van when it fell on him. It was raining much of the weekend. Here's the part of the story that especially caught my eye:

That's right, folks. He put a full cargo van on a jack IN THE MUD.

Next up, we're finally taking a look at something that has been a problem since the 1980s:

http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...7-7820da0de817

For some reason, here in NH, we issue 50% more handicapped placards and plates per 1000 residents than they do in Massachusetts where they're trying to crack down on abuse. It's rare when you see someone who clearly needs these getting out of a car. I know they're easy to get because I inherited one from my adoptive mother when she died and the state took no measures to rescind it. A friend who died had his widow using it for a couple of years (did I mention she was in her 20s - he had it for ankle problems, she was completely healthy). I grant you I was tempted to use it because of chronic pain in my feet from a birth defect but I took too much pride in the fact that I made doctors eat their words when they said I'd never walk again.

Heading over to Education we have THIS gem:

http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...d-a188bb6158a7

A UNH professor pleads GUILTY to flashing women outside a supermarket and will still be paid until MAY???? He filed a grievance and there's ARBITRATION for this? The university has been working SINCE LAST FALL to fire him?

Okay, not all things have taken so long to fix. We had a problem with elderly drivers who shouldn't be driving. A nice compromise was reached whereby drivers over 75 had to perform road tests in addition to the regular eye exams that are required for renewing a license. Now this:

http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...c-5e754942c813

Get this:

Umm.. Yeah, only FIRST TIME LICENSED teenage drivers are worse and, studies show, they usually only injure themselves and their occupants in a crash. Senile drivers are the ones who drive through stores, plow through crowds at bus stops and constantly make the claim "the gas pedal stuck". It's not age discrimination to refuse to renew the license of ANYONE older than 75. It's public safety to make sure they can still drive before issuing the renewal. Oh - and those teenage kids? THEY have to take a road test as well.

At least there is SOME sanity:

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/...nse-in-nh.html

One of the killers in the most notorious murder in NH memory, is unlikely to get off on an insanity plea. The worst part is that I know this person. Knew him for many years. Heck he wanted to date my daughter back in the days when he was an Eagle Scout. But over the course of 18 months he turned into someone that nobody really recognized nor wanted to be around. Then this happened. At least there will be SOME justice in this world of insanity.