PHIL WIELAND: Big wind brings blowhard Wielando's annual visit

It's an ill wind that blows no good, and this week's storm blew in the no-goodest prognosticator of them all: The Amazing Wielando.

PHIL WIELAND: Tea Party column generates another protest

Reactions to last week's column about the Tea Partiers was pretty evenly split between those who thought I was a bonehead and those who thought I was a complete idiot.

PHIL WIELAND: Tea Partiers need to rally around reality

The Tea Party rallies in Valpo and Crown Point remind us of the importance of free speech, even if the speech has no basis in reality.

PHIL WIELAND: Indiana's policy on health care is sick

Every year Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, tries to pass a law banning smoking in most public places, and every year, like his comic strip namesake, the legislative Lucys snatch the ball away and laugh when he falls flat on his backside.

PHIL WIELAND: 'Wichlinski Beats Obama' is no 'Dewey Beats Truman'

The Republicans should have a virtual elephant stampede of candidates eager to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012, but they need look no further than former Porter Township Trustee Bob Wichlinski.

PHIL WIELAND: Nothing noble about these knights

How can we defeat the foreign terrorists when we can't eliminate our own home-grown varieties of misguided morons?

PHIL WIELAND: Roundabout got you going in circles? Here's help

Valpo finally found someone who admits he likes the roundabout. He was immediately taken out and Tasered into a coma.

PHIL WIELAND: Bureau hopes U.S. will come to its census

An army of 3.8 million people is about to invade the nation, and it is taking no prisoners.

PHIL WIELAND: Valpo the first stop on the RDA PR tour

The selling of the Regional Development Authority in Porter County kicks into high gear this month, and for once Gov. Mitch "Mitch" Daniels is not the salesman.

PHIL WIELAND: Santa's in a tight spot to get toys to the tots

'Twas the night before Christmas and poor Santa's condition was grim.

PHIL WIELAND: RDA paranoia real or just Harperboly?

Greetings, wordsmiths. Today's vocabulary lesson is the word "harperboly."

Fair adds touch of class to the bathrooms

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP | Who can blame the Porter County Fair for putting on airs? And I'm not referring to the air emanating from the manure bins behind the cattle barn.

Porter County Fair doesn't have everything -- yet

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP | It's hard to believe that a fair that offers entertainment as vast and varied as the Balloon-A-Tics, the Midway of Magic and Mike and His Trike could possibly have overlooked anything to entice the public, except a cure for zucchini.

Exhibit puts a new spin on energy savings

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP | The Porter County Fair is advertising itself as more eco-friendly, which doesn't mean it is recycling the same entertainment. At least, not entirely.

PHIL WIELAND: Gen. Harper rattling his saber against RTA

The war against the proposed Regional Transportation Authority is on, and Porter County Commissioner Bob Harper has met the enemy. It is Valparaiso.

Valpo's roundabout could relieve official's Dyer concern

The great thing about roundabouts is the apparent plethora of "experts" to consult, most of whom offer advice for free.

Only the lawyers win in RDA dispute

At last! The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority is going to provide some meaningful economic stimulus in the region -- for the lawyers.

Will Whitten give bus riders the gate?

Dan Whitten says he has an open mind about funds for Valparaiso's V-Line and the ChicaGo Dash, but some city leaders are worried it's so open his brain might have fallen out.

Smoking ban Indiana's real pro-life issue

Get ready for the biggest batch of misleading and totally falsified information since the Bushies' build-up to the Iraq War.

These turkeys know nothing about cooking books

Does Valparaiso have a recipe for cooking the books for the V-Line ridership, and would it be better for those who think so to serve those books with a white or a red whine?

Maybe the salty language will melt the snow

Remember the good old days when salt was cheap and gasoline was expensive?

Time to close door on open school concept

When the "open school" concept first came up, I have to admit it seemed like a good idea at the time, the time being when the school was in a cave where we studied fire and Making Sharp Sticks 101.

The clash over land that goes splash

Land use is a tricky thing. Everybody believes they should have the right to do whatever they want with their property. They just don't want the guy next door to do whatever he wants with his property.

Flood disaster includes mosquitoes, this rhyme

I think Ogden Nash was the first to decry

This might B-1 good idea for hospital cash

We all should have the problem Porter County officials have of figuring out what to do with $169 million. Personally, I'd use it for a down payment on a full tank of gas.

Another Jose Reyes, another BMV ID problem

I originally intended to write two columns about the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles' difficulties with identities. I added a third column because the stories were just too good not to share. I promise four will be enough.

License horror story thrown into reverse

The driver's license dilemma involving Jose Reyes, which we have discussed in the past two weeks' columns, often elicits two types of reader responses.

Tough to smoke out truth of ban

The Crown Point City Council is a bunch of tobacco weenies.

Less smiles, but more miles per gallon

I'm thinking of buying all my cars from Valparaiso University in the future.

Summer of Love hits far-out 40

It seems odd the media are playing up the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, but I guess, if they wait for the more logical 50th anniversary to commemorate it, no one would remember it.

Is that popcorn or the smell of success

Getting armor for the troops in Iraq or proper medical care for the ones back here is only slightly more difficult than getting a popcorn machine shipped to soldiers in Afghanistan.

Group wants to block run for the border

Many people in Porter County are concerned about the problem of unwanted intruders pouring over the border, not from Mexico into the U.S. but from anywhere into Porter County.

Bryce is nice as gateway device

Why do communities do this?

Owed to a dysfunctional family X-mas

It's the day after Christmas and what's this I see?

We can see clearly now -- to eat

Some people just don't get it.

What's in a name? I forget

Immortality can be so fleeting.

Flag flap blown away by federal law

One place where the terrorists have not already won is Valparaiso's Timberbridge condominiums. Not as long as Tom Moore is around.

Want to be a legislator? Enact like one

By Pam Buhman's standards, I'd make a lousy legislator.

Surprise! Porter County not paradise

The things that surprise people are sometimes, well, surprising.

Rake them? Just leaf them alone

As the trees don their autumn wardrobe of reds, golds, browns and that ugly dark shade that might be black or purple or whatever, I can at last look forward to the end of yard work.

Rules on starting terms need changed -- without delay

Mark Oprisko asked a question that's been on my mind, and I don't mean: If East Chicago gave an election and nobody came, would they still have vote fraud?

Where there's smoke, there's death

What does it take to convince elected officials that smoking should be banned in public places when the fact it kills people isn't enough?

Time -- it passes so quickly

Connie Chung and I shared something very personal Sunday, and I'm not referring to us both being really bad singers.

Another Jordan makes a dramatic comeback

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP | Break out a big can of cockles because we're going to warm 'em for you.

Fireworks law: Sssss. Booom! Bah, humbug

If your ears are still ringing, you still have the smell of gunpowder in your nose and your pets haven't come out from under the bed since July 4, here are some names to remember:

Want security? Get a blanket, Linus

Most people wouldn't consider Sarah Garcia a terrorist, but she fits the definition as far as Susan Zivich is concerned.

Why Johnny shouldn't skip final exam

A few years ago, a report called "Why Johnny Can't Read" created quite a stir. I haven't read the report because, like Johnny, I'm waiting for the movie and the video game version.

Green box has woman seeing red

Leave it to the federal government to choose safety over landscaping.

Kouts plans to party like it's 2065

They like to plan ahead in Kouts -- 100 years ahead.

Making Toll Road leased of state's problems

Everything is so expensive today that leasing has become a popular option for even the items families find it hard to be without. Cars. Furniture. Toll roads.