I grew up in the Deep South, and as a child loved the Uncle Remus stories. Still do -- they rival Aesop in their trenchant observation of human foibles.

Along with the Briar Patch, my favorite was the Tar Baby. For you culturally deprived Northerners, the story involves Br'er Fox's scheme to trap Br'er Rabbit by setting a Tar Baby alongside the road. When Br'er Rabbit happens by, he becomes offended that the Tar Baby will not return his greeting, and smacks the rude critter, of course getting stuck to him in the process.

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COUNT US!
CARR
HEC

An analysis released today reveals that plans for a so-called "mid-continent" extension of I-69 would actually be 84 miles longer than existing Interstate highways. The proposed I-69 between Port Huron, Michigan and Laredo, Texas would be 1,790 miles long while the existing interstate route between these destinations is 1,706 miles long. A map showing the mileage difference is attached.

We never know, from week to week, whether it's going to be feast or famine at CIVITAS. Because we write almost exclusively on events relating to local civic life, we're constantly at risk of having nothing of consequence on which to comment in a particular week. We're happy to report that this week wasn't one of those weeks.

This week, the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce's list of candidate non-sequiturs, the embarrassingly ill-argued Herald-Times guest editorial denouncing a "living wage," and today's HT gem "Have I-69 foes gone too far?"all conspired to create an environment so target-rich that we almost didn't know which to choose. In the end, we decided to take on yesterday's delightfully-titled editorial.

When Karyn Moskowitz left her home in Oregon to move with her husband to the forested hills of Southern Indiana, she thought she had left her days of political activism behind. Then, one afternoon, an Orange County highway truck showed up in front of her house.

Against her expressed wishes, the county had sent a crew to chip-and-seal the gravel road in front of her home. Moskowitz, her husband, and six-month-old daughter blocked the trucks with their bodies, reawakening her activist journey, which stops in Bloomington this week.

Anyone who has followed any small part of the I-69 debate these past 15 years has inevitably pondered the question: Are they liars, are they fools, or do they just get off on insulting our intelligence?

I'm referring, of course, to the economic development junta that rules Bloomington/Monroe County. The one who envisions Bloomington-future as a piss stop on the NAFTA highway. The one led by the colonel and funded by city and county taxpayers, with generous propaganda support from the editorial board at the Howard-Times.

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Cathy Crosson

Don't get us wrong, we love CARR. The Tokarskis are heroes, and through them and many other dedicated souls, CARR has fought the good fight, staving off this misbegotten highway project for years.

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Hoosier Environmental Council
Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads

Governor O'Bannon asked citizens what they think about the proposed new Interstate 69 highway, and the answer has come back loud and clear.

Ninety-four percent of Hoosiers who submitted comments to the Indiana Department of Transportation oppose "new-terrain" routes for I-69 such as the one O'Bannon prefers, according to a new analysis released April 23.

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Buffalo Trace Earth First!

Early Saturday morning, two members of Buffalo Trace Earth First! climbed a 150-foot scaffolding and crane located at the construction site located in downtown Bloomington, off College between 6th and 7th streets.

Veteran alternative journalist/movie reviewer Michael Redman has created an e-mail discussion list called No "I-69" for citizens to keep track of and discuss developments on the demon highway.

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U.S. Rep. Julia Carson, D-Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS - Congresswoman Julia Carson has secured a slot on the powerful House Committee on Transportation& Infrastructure. The Transportation Committee has jurisdiction over civil aviation, maritime law, ground transportation, water resources development, water resources conservation and management and hazardous waste clean up.

Along with her current assignment on the House Committee on Financial Services, Congresswoman Carson will now serve on two major committees in Congress.