Hey, Cantore just declared Shrewsbury, where I grew up, to be the "jackpot"of Blizzard Juno. I am so proud. This conclusion prompted a relatively prone person across the room to observe, "Rick Santorum thinks this storm proves there's no global warming, but he believes it's Shrewsbury's punishment from god forhaving invented the birth control pill." Works for me.

(I used to play Little League baseball not far from the Worcester Foundation -- which my parents invariably called The Bug Factory, for reasons I never understood -- and the really bad nights were when you were playing center field and they were cremating the lab animals. Cut down the post-game ice cream considerably.

Anyway, there's interesting news from the Hoosier State that makes us once again regret the loss of friend of the BlogDoghouse J. Riley. Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who may or may not be running for president with every other Republican governor in the midwest, has decided that what his personal political ambitions needs is its own Pravda.

Pence is planning in late February to launch "Just IN," a website and news outlet that will feature stories and news releases written by state press secretaries and is being overseen by a former Indianapolis Star reporter, Bill McCleery. "At times, Just IN will break news - publishing information ahead of any other news outlet. Strategies for determining how and when to give priority to such 'exclusive' coverage remain under discussion," according to a question-and-answer sheet distributed last week to communications directors for state agencies. The Pence news outlet will take stories written by state communications directors and publish them on its website. Stories will "range from straightforward news to lighter features, including personality profiles."

Once again, of course, sports are ahead of politics. Each of the four major leagues has their own multi-platform propagan...er...media operation, and many of the teams do, as well. Each of these has its own television network, and a website that produces original content. What Pence is doing, the NFL did first and, I suspect, better, and not at the public expense. Last year, Pence bragged about a budget surplus that was achieved in part by cutting $34 million to his state colleges and universities, and another $27 million from the state's Family and Social Services Administration. So now he can afford to have the taxpayers pay for his personal electronic Wank-o-matic. Presidential timber!

Headshot of Charles P. Pierce
Charles P. Pierce

Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.