Opinion

Poland was conquered by the Nazi juggernaut early in the second World War. After only five weeks of fierce fighting, the country capitulated.

The German conquerors herded 450,000 Jewish inhabitants of Warsaw into a 16-block ghetto section of town where they were, in effect, imprisoned, unable to leave.

Individuals make New Year's resolutions on a wide range of topics, from shedding pounds and giving up cigarettes to saving more money for retirement and spending more time with loved ones.

The U.S. census 2010 is on our doorstep and will be here in just a little over 60 days and it really matters to everyone in our community, our county, our state and our nation.

Many people turn their noses up whenever the census is mentioned. But it is an extremely important part of life in America every 10 years.

We are all part of a team and when a player doesn't do his or her part, everyone loses. The census is not something that came about during this century or the last.

Several years ago when one of our staff writers said she wanted to write an editorial on vandalism, she was jokingly asked, “Are you for it or against it?”

Amazingly, an issue that should be as cut and dried as that one is now before the Indiana General Assembly - whether to prohibit texting while driving for all Indiana drivers.

Wow ... just wow. "Avatar," the long awaited, majorly hyped new film from writer-director James Cameron is simply amazing. When watched in IMAX 3D it turns plain movie watching into a unique and breathtaking experience. There were times when I found myself with a grin on my face or with my mouth hanging open during this film.

It completely encompasses you into the story in such a literal way that it will leave you wanting to go back in the theater and experience it all over again. Now, I've got my excited gushing out of the way, so let's get into the specifics.

The editorial staff of The Perry County News joins journalists around the nation in celebrating the advance of the Free Flow of Information Act out of the Senate Judiciary Committee this month. Known as the federal shield law, it will now go to the full Senate for a vote.

Such laws exist at the state level in most of the country, and a federal law would protect reporters in cases where they may not apply.

This is neither your father's recession, nor your grandmother's depression. In size, scope and duration, this economic downturn is different. And off-the-shelf solutions will not suffice.

President Barack Obama has undoubtedly been hearing from businessmen, labor leaders and economists on how to reverse America's record high unemployment. Pedestrian proposals are inevitable. But truly innovative ideas that can be implemented immediately are what American really needs.

The film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's bestselling novel, "The Road," has had a long trek of its own into theaters. It was supposed to have been released over a year ago but was delayed time and time again. It was finally released into a handful of theaters a month ago and is now being slowly expanded across the country. Typically, when a movie is completed and shelved for over a year, that means it is terrible or just too weird to find an audience. I'm happy to say "The Road" is neither.

Santa, I've run into you several times this season, during parades, in stores and other pre-holiday gatherings with adults and kids. We've chatted briefly but I've never made the time to tell you my Christmas wishes. Since you subscribe to the paper, although it gets to you a few days late up at the North Pole, I'm sharing my requests at this late hour.

Hopefully, you get to read this before that sleigh is fully loaded. I know what a pain repacking is.