Write on your checks 2006

What's news?

From the Census Bureau: Counter Clicks Every 14 Seconds

Nation’s Population Approaches 298 Million on New Year’s Day

The U.S. Census Bureau today projected the Jan. 1, 2006, population will be 297,821,175  up 2,713,518 or 0.9 percent from New Year’s Day 2005.
In January, the United States is expected to register one birth every eight seconds and one death every 12 seconds.
Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add one person every 31 seconds. The result is an increase in the total population of one person every 14 seconds.

For 2006, it appears that the New food labeling requirements will be significant. The new postage rates take effect on January 8 (just after after Three Kings Day - how kind), with the first ounce going from 37 to 39 cents; the next ounce is going from 23 to 24 cents, as the price of a postcard.

But the fact that the oldest "baby boomers" are turning sixty is news? Yeah, the current President and his immediate predecessor are in the group, but it's an arithmetic function that the folks born in 1946 would be 60 years older this year Oh, it's the "boomers", a group so large that the eldest of the group could be the parents of the youngest. Yawn.

Maybe we need some Happy News. And there is a website dedicated to just that.

Of course, what makes you happy may vary. *I* was quite happy to hear this underreported story of religious leaders arrested in front of the Cannon House Office Building while kneeling in prayer to protest the immoral budget and tax agenda which slashes spending on the poor to finance tax breaks for the rich.

The Torino/Turin Olympic Games are in February, which matter in my house because of my wife's affection for the figure skating competition.

This is the 250th birthday of Mozart; expect a lot of Amadeus concerts. It's also the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake in April; the 50th anniversary of the Interstate highway system in June; and also the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian uprising against the Soviet Union. Most of these will be covered as "news". Now the 53rd birthday of Fred Hembeck later this month, not to mention the third anniversary of his website today - or yesterday: now THAT'S news.

But what will be the real news stories for 2006 we can only imagine.